“Coral,” I returned, the usual acid in my tone gone in favor of the female curled into my core.
She eyed Claire with interest, her lack of questions suggesting she’d already been informed of what was happening.
Time seemed to be escaping me by the minute, Claire’s life hanging on by a thread I desperately held on to. I could feel the presence of the others, all lending their elements to her in a vain attempt to bolster her reserves. With every passing moment, I sensed the veracity of my father’s claim.
Claire needed a fully bonded mate to provide her with the strength she required to survive.
And while she’d probably prefer it to be Titus, not even he could bring her back now.
She needed royal blood.
Myblood.
A room adorned in plants and life opened before us, the altar situated at the foot of a giant waterfall. I’d only been here once—the day my father took his new bride in the mating-bond ceremony.
It was one of the worst days of my life, rivaling the funeral of my mother.
And I’d not set foot in these palace walls since.
That would change today, my obligation to the Water Kingdom bearing down on me with the weight of a thousand waves.
I laid Claire on the podium, brushed the blonde hair from her face, and bent to press my forehead to her icy one.
“Hang on, little queen.” There were preparations required, the need for a fae priestess to initiate the ceremony. All I could do now was pray we weren’t too late.
Because my father was right. I could feel it now, the need to finish this, to give her what she required. But it was on Claire to accept it. To acceptme.
And after our tenuous relationship, I wouldn’t be surprised if she told me to mist off.
In which case, Elements help us all…
Chapter20
Sol
What the hell was that?I thought, bleary-eyed and dazed.
I slept like a rock—literally—but the explosion that flashed behind my eyelids had me shooting straight up in a cold sweat.
Heat raked across my skin, making my element react and crust over a protective layer of earth.
Where is it coming from?
I rushed to the source, my entire room bathed in a glow of red, and found an inferno shooting into the sky in front of the Spirit Quad.
Titus.
I knew the Fire Fae was powerful, but he roared with terrifying fury with arms outstretched and muscles taut as his element left him all at once, seeking and devouring everything in its wake.
Something pinched inside my chest, and I grabbed at it as if a needle had just pricked me. Then it struck again, this time harder, and cracks spread out at my feet in protest.
“Sol!” Vox came billowing from the house in a rush of wind that caught the inferno and sent tiny tornados swirling across the destroyed landscape. “What’s happening?” His wild black eyes with that distinct ring of silver grew wide as he took in the scene. “Sol, you have to stop Titus from whatever he’s doing. He’s going to die if he keeps that up!”
This had to be the same force that took Exos, that wanted Claire dead, and now it was after us.
“I’ll get to him,” I promised and set my feet apart. I’d never done this before, but now was not the time to fear what I was capable of. I opened the gate that I kept tightly locked on my talent. No hesitation. No fear at what I might destroy. If I didn’t stop Titus, his flames would consume him and then melt us all.
My power rushed out of me and made the world tremble, but Titus wouldn’t be deterred. His inferno lifted him up and made him throw his head back, and he pushed even harder on a scream, his skin turning white-hot and his eyes ablaze when they flung open to take note of me.
