Yeah, understatement of the afternoon. “Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?”
The giant shook his head. “Everything and nothing.” He gripped the back of his neck and finally met my gaze. “You don’t understand what it’s like to watch everyone around you die and have no idea why you survived. But I feel the marks of it every day—whatever that Spirit Fae did to my soul that damaged me so much that not even the plague wanted to touch me.”
“But Claire isn’t like that,” Vox whispered. “You know she’s not. And neither is Exos or Cyrus.”
Sol visibly shivered, his shame painting his cheeks a dark red. “I know. I… I just don’t know who did it. Or why. And now they’re teaching Claire how to do the very thing that nearly destroyed me. The thing that I’m convinced created the plague among my kind, not that I have any fucking proof.”
He kicked a glassy stone with his shoe, his tension mounting again. But rather than unleash it on me, he just puffed out his chest again with another of those violent sighs.
“You know the worst part?” he mused, more to himself than to me. “I don’t even remember most of it. Just what I see in my nightmares. I couldn’t even tell you who did this to me. That person could still exist, could be stalking our Claire, and I’d have no idea.”
He bent to pick up the pieces of my staff, his shoulders falling again.
“It’s not her fault. I know that. It’s not anyone’s but the asshole who did this to me. It’s just… It’s hard.” He pressed the two halves together, his earth magic flaring to life. “Give me some fire and wind,” he said, focusing on the splintered frays. “Help me meld this back together.”
My eyebrows lifted as he smoothed over the wood, gluing it together with a flicker of power that lifted the hairs on my neck. I added my flames to the seam, helping to melt the embers as Vox guided them with his wind.
And in seconds, the staff was as good as new. Just with a few added flavors to the mix, making it not only a gift from Claire, but a product of the three of us as well.
Sol tossed it to me. “You might need Cyrus to add some water to the weak spot to ensure your inferno doesn’t rip it apart again. Otherwise, it’s solid.”
“Thanks,” I said, somewhat pleased to have my weapon back. I twirled it once to test the balance and infused it with my heat, watching as it effortlessly flashed a blue shade. “It’ll do.”
He gave a nod. “Good.” He glanced up at the sky and then back at us. “Just so we’re clear, if anything happens to Claire during this spirit lesson, there’ll be hell to pay.”
I grinned. “On that, we agree.”
“Good,” he repeated, brushing some rubble from his shoulder and rolling his neck. “Then how about we try all that again, Fire Fae? I have a lot of anger to burn off, and you seem somewhat capable of holding your own.”
“Somewhat capable?” My brows inched upward. “You really want to use those words?”
“Prove me wrong and I’ll change the phrase,” he taunted.
I grinned and tossed my staff to the side. Weapons weren’t required for friendly sparring. And, well, I didn’t exactly trust him not to snap it again. Especially as it hadn’t worked all that well on him the first time. “Bring it on, Earth Fae.”
Sol grinned, and for the first time today, it reached his eyes. “Your funeral, Fire Fae.”
Vox sat on the sidelines, a giant smile on his face. “Let me know when it’s my turn. I think I’ll enjoy this game.”
Of course he would.
Cocky-ass Air Fae.
Claire
“All right, Claire. I need you to close your eyes.” Exos’s warm tones echoed through Cyrus’s bedchamber, his voice sounding much farther away due to the chaotic beat drumming in my ears. “And breathe for me,” he added softly, his palm sliding up and down my bare arm.
Cyrus sat to my other side, his hand bracing my lower back while Exos led the exercise.
I swallowed and focused on the comfort of their presence. It was so peaceful here with the soft flow of the waterfall trickling into the makeshift fountain in the corner. Magic existed all around us, kissing the air with a blissful mist that soothed my soul.
Slowly, my heart rate returned to normal.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Repeat.