Exos entered the foyer, his hands in his pockets. “Then hit me,” he said, coming to stand beside me. He must have figured out what I wanted to do, or perhaps realized he deserved her annoyance. “Come on, princess. Let me have it.”
Her gaze narrowed. “You.” Energy hummed inside her. “You made me destroy the bar.”
“You’re the one who approached me,” he reminded her, an edge to his voice. “Youdestroyed the bar. Isavedpeople.”
Her hands balled into fists, her gaze narrowing to slits. “You could have stopped me!”
Exos shrugged. “I had no idea you were going to light the damn place on fire, Claire.”
“Rick’s dead,” she continued, not hearing him. “He’sdead!”
“Yes.” Exos didn’t flinch, just continued to stare her down. “Come on, princess. Hit me.”
“Ihateyou,” she said, tears glistening in her eyes. She opened her palms, unleashing an impressive stream of fire that I caught and absorbed before it could hit Exos. Another blast left her hands, weaker than the first one, followed by a third and a fourth until her knees gave out beneath her on a cry. I grabbed her before she could fall, catching her against my torso and holding her tight.
Exos met my gaze, his expression unreadable. “Welcome to the team, Titus.”
Chapter7
Titus
“You’ll fit right in at the Academy,” Elana said, smiling from the entryway. “Shall we eat? The food is getting cold.” She gestured for us to follow her, but Claire seemed unable to move.
“In a minute,” I replied, running my fingers through her hair.
Elana’s eyes grinned as she nodded and disappeared.
“What just happened?” Claire whispered, shaking against me.
“You expunged some built-up power.” My lips brushed her forehead, something that seemed to happen without my permission but felt right. “And I absorbed it.”
She gasped, pulling back to look me over, her gaze wild. “D-did I hurt you? Exos?”
“We’re fine.” I cupped her cheek. “I just wanted to show you how to channel your emotions into your gifts, to control it better.”
She shook, more tears glistening in her eyes. “I don’t understand what’s happening to me.” She swallowed, clearing her throat and letting out a sad little laugh. “God, I’ve never felt so emotional in my life. You must think I’m a wreck.”
“No, I think you were stolen from your world and placed in a land you never knew existed. Pretty sure I’d feel the same if someone put me in the Human Realm.” I chuckled at the thought and shook my head. “I’d destroy, like, everything.”
She blinked. “You would?”
“Oh yeah. My power is barely contained here. Around mortals? I’d be like a firestorm.”
Her lips twitched, a funny look gleaming in her eyes.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” But that look didn’t go away. If anything, it intensified.
“Tell me,” I encouraged her, curious as hell.
“You… You sound like a superhero from one of those movies.” She giggled, her palm lifting to cover her lips, but a laugh escaped between her fingers. “Firestorm.” Her eyes crinkled, her shoulders shaking. “Oh God.” A burst of sound came from her, something I enjoyed much more than her shrieking and crying. And I couldn’t help joining her even though I didn’t quite grasp the joke. I just really, really liked that sound.
“Sorry,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “God, I feel insane. All of this. I just don’t even know what to do, how to react… anything.”
“Well, I vote we start by trying to eat dinner,” I suggested, gesturing to the dining area. “Unless you’d prefer fighting more pixies?”
“Pixies?” she repeated.
