Part I
Prologue
Claire
My mother’s alive.
I repeated that phrase over and over again in my mind and out loud until someone shook me out of my stupor. No, not someone. The ground. Sol.
I blinked and met the concerned gaze of the Earth Fae. He stood stark naked before me, his muscular form momentarily grabbing my attention before I frowned at the males standing around me.
All of them were naked except Exos.
And no one seemed to be noticing this apart from me.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, guys...”
“What do you mean, Ophelia is the one who orchestrated your kidnapping?” Vox demanded, his arms folded over his lean torso. While Sol was built like a solid linebacker, Vox had a runner’s build. And Titus, well, he reminded me of a wrestler. No, a boxer.
Why were they all naked, again?
Right. We’d been in bed.
And then Exos came and revealed—
“My mother is alive,” I whispered. “And you’re all very naked.”
Titus smirked. “You didn’t mind that a few hours ago.”
Honestly, I still didn’t. But it was damn distracting.
“From what Cyrus and I have discerned, Ophelia is very much alive and using Mortus as a puppet. It’s the only explanation for what has happened.” Exos glanced up at Sol. “It also explains why the Earth Fae are slowly dying.”
“Because she’s the cause of the plague,” my earth mate replied softly.
“We think she’s using Dark Fae magic,” Exos added. “And Claire coming to the Academy is what has led Ophelia to come out of hiding.”
“Dark Fae magic?” I repeated.
“Vampires,” Titus muttered, shuddering. “Vile fae. They live on human blood and play with the dark arts.”
“Vampires are real?” I squeaked. “Like Dracula?”
Exos sighed. “They’re not vampires the way you’ve been taught. But yes, other types of fae exist.”
“What other types?” I demanded. “Werewolves? Skinwalkers? Demons?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Claire,” Exos replied, shaking his head. “What matters is Ophelia is using dark magic to weaken the Elemental Fae.”
“Seriously, are werewolves real?”
He just gave me a look. “No.”
“Demons?”
“Also, no.” He shook his head, his expression softening. “We can talk more about the types later. I promise it’s nothing alarming.”
“Says the fae who just revealed vampires exist,” I muttered.
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Before we get to all that, I need to ascend, and I want you with me, Claire. As my mate.”
Wait… “Like… fully mated?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat.