When I released her, the Fire Fae had gotten even more out of control. They loved passion and clapped their hands, cheering us on for more.
“All right, that’s enough,” Professor Vulcan griped, even though I could see a gleam of approval in his eyes. “Claire, I’ll discuss a schedule with Elana in the morning. You need advanced training, not intermediate. Well done.”
Chapter8
Vox
Bacon came from pigs.
Pigs.
Fuck. That.
Why would anyone want to eat a pig?
River had assured me it was a delicacy in the Human Realm after I asked him about it, but I would not be entertaining that in our shared kitchen, no matter how adorable Claire may have looked earlier in those little shorts and tiny tank top.
Or the way I’d felt after she used magic on Cyrus.
The feeling of her element brushing against mine had stuck with me all day. Not only did we share magic, but she seemed to like cooking, too. I had to admit sharing a joy of cooking—even if her tastes were questionable—made me want to like her.
But yeah, nope, not going there.
I only went to River to ask about bacon because Sol wanted to try a proper egg pie in the morning. Not because I wanted to please Claire. And fortunately, we didn’t havepigs. But we did have fatty meat from the hide of a troll, something River assured me would be similar. Although, he also suggested I not tell Claire what it was and just call it bacon.
It’s an innocent lie, he’d promised.
Well, we’d see tomorrow morning when she cooked another monstrosity for breakfast.
Sol’s eyes lit up when I stumbled into the Spirit Dorm. “You brought food!” he cheered, sending the floor cracking as he stormed over to me and snatched up the weight as effortlessly as if I’d been carrying feathers.
“Careful with that,” I grumbled as he threatened to rip the bags and send the ingredients scattering.
Sol whistled as I sent a wave of magic to brush the pebbles of the broken floor he’d left behind over the threshold. I was used to cleaning up after the Earth Fae, and I knew how to keep him happy.
There were five mouths to feed now, and no one else seemed to know how to cook. Except maybe Claire. But all I’d seen in the kitchen were ingredients for quick meals like shakes and finger patties. Sol would become intolerable without a real meal, and I needed him to cooperate when it was time to teach Claire some earth magic.
Proving my decision to buy some real food a good one, Sol began plucking out the ingredients, stopping when he saw the troll fat. He gave me a raised brow.
I put it in the icebox. “It’s for the Halfling’s experiment tomorrow,” I offered with a shrug. “River said it was like bacon.” I pointed at him. “But don’t tell her what it is.”
Sol hummed and went back to rummaging through the groceries. “More egg pie sounds good to me.” He held up a salted red weed most fae hated. “Oh, good, you bought some scurbuttle snacks!”
“Do I want to know what that is?” Claire asked, sweeping into the kitchen with a smile on her face. Titus trailed in after her, both of them looking pleased.
Seeing their shared glance of satisfaction reminded me of my interaction with Claire this morning, how we’d shared a moment of air magic, whispers, and then…
Then I’d heard the way Titus had made her scream.
“You definitely don’t want to know what that is,” Titus informed her, slipping his arm around her waist.
She leaned into him just enough that her body formed to his. I wondered if she was aware of how sensual she was in the subtle movement.
Claire’s bright gaze found mine, and then her smile dimmed. “Everything okay, Vox?”
Shit, I sucked at hiding my emotions. I cast my gaze down and continued to unpack the groceries as I tried to think of a response. Every time she opened her mouth, all I could hear were those delicious sounds she’d sent filtering through the air currents just for me. I knew she hadn’t done it on purpose; it was her air magic reacting to mine. It was natural. We were compatible, at least in our elements, but that didn’t mean I had to give in to my primal instincts like some kind of animal.
“I think he heard us this morning,” Titus supplied, his smug grin saying he was damn proud of that. “You weren’t exactly quiet.”
