t the cool claws of reality seemed to be clinging to my heart.
That soul… he felt pain. I was certain of it.
“I don’t mean to frighten you, sweet child. You have to understand that I’m a thousand years old. I’ve seen life and death run its course hundreds of times, and I have grown to accept its finality.” Elana twisted a ring around her finger. “It’s easier that way.”
Guilt spiked a hole through my chest.
Of course Elana must have lost so many friends and family members over the years. I was being too hard on her to expect her to have the same level of empathy that I did. What did I really know of loss or spirits? Rick’s death still held its bitter weight in my soul, but that was one death, whereas Elana must have experienced many. “I’m sorry,” I said. “You’re right.” I gave her a weak smile. “It was just… unexpected. That’s all.”
She nodded. “Sometimes lessons are best learned without warning.” She rose to her feet and brushed spirit dust from her dress. “I’ve traumatized you enough for today. Return to your mates, Claire, and think about what I’ve said. You have a great gift, and if you choose to embrace it, you can help the Spirit Fae and the rest of the realm in ways no one else can. I would love to explore your spirit magic further on our next visit. We don’t have to continue to explore this side of your power if you are averse to it. However, if you are willing, there is much I can teach you.”
The hope in her gaze said she truly believed me to be capable of great things. Although, I wasn’t sure I could ever get behind summoning spirits as part of my training. “I’ll think on it,” I promised. “Thank you, Chancellor.”
Elana beamed and guided me to the front hall, indulging me in meaningless chitchat that I tuned out, too consumed with the day and everything that had happened.
All I wanted to do was return to my mates. To Sol, who waited just outside and promised me life—not death.
I smiled to myself. Yes. My Earth Fae is exactly what I need right now.
Sol
Finally, it was my turn with Claire. I knew having four other mates kept Claire busy, but I hadn’t gotten to spend time with her like this since before she left for the Spirit Kingdom.
I paced back and forth in front of Elana’s mansion, not realizing that I was grinding a crack in the stone until I tripped over a jagged edge. How long was Elana going to keep Claire in there? Was everything all right? Should I go in?
Before I made a fool of myself and barged into the Chancellor’s home, Claire appeared with a knot to her brow and her gaze distant. I waved a hand in front of her face.
“That bad?” I asked.
She blinked up at me as if she’d almost forgotten I was there. I’ll admit, that stung a little, but then she smiled and slipped her fingers around my neck to pull me down for a kiss. Her lips brushed mine, and I tossed out any notion that Claire could ever forget about me.
“Better now,” she promised, then curled into my chest. “I just don’t think Elana was good for me today. I need to relax.”
I grinned and wrapped an arm around her tiny waist, careful not to put too much weight on her. It made me nervous to be this close to Claire without Vox as my backup to make sure I didn’t break her, but I couldn’t use him as a crutch forever.
Baby steps.
“I know the perfect place to relax,” I told her, grinning.
She glanced up at me, curiosity bright in her blue eyes. Her irises had an occasional rainbow sparkle to them now that she had embraced her fae half, and I adored the small curve of her newly pointed ears. “Consider me intrigued,” she said.
I led the way toward a field between the Spirit Quad and the Earth Quad. I’d tried—and failed—to grow Claire an oasis of peach trees on more than one occasion. I finally figured out that it was all about placement. Too much shit went down on a constant basis to have such delicate things out in the open in the Spirit Quad. Not with Vox sending tornados out the window when he sneezed and Titus setting things aflame because, well, that was just what Titus did.
No, Claire and I needed a place only for us.
Just for earth and sky and sweetness.
The punch of flowering peach trees hit us before we crested the hill to the small grove hidden in the forest.
Claire’s eyes lit up and she sucked in a breath. “Sol, did you make this? It’s gorgeous!”
My heart grew three times its normal size. I’d created and lost so many groves in an attempt to impress Claire. They never seemed good enough or were destroyed before she’d gotten a chance to see them. Then I had worried she would think it was stupid or a waste of energy.
But seeing her expression now? Yeah, it was worth all the effort.
She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the oasis, the crunch of forest under her shoes morphing into the soft patter of her footsteps over the smooth stones I’d placed for a path. My own thunderous footfalls drowned out her excitement, but she didn’t seem to mind.
Claire let go of me toward the middle and skipped to one of the trees, running her fingers up through the leaves and wrapping her delicate fingers around a peach. She snapped it free and brought it to her nose. She closed her eyes and drew in a long, deep inhale. When she let out the breath, her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at me. “Sol, really, this is lovely.”