“Gale? Spritemead?” Exos feigned surprise. “And here I thought he hated alcohol of all kinds.”
Neither name meant anything to me, but the fondness in Exos’s and Cyrus’s auras told me they meant something to them.
“Are they Spirit Fae?” I wondered out loud. It seemed an appropriate deduction since we were in the Spirit Kingdom, but I also knew over ninety percent of the Spirit Fae had perished after my mother unleashed a plague a little over two decades ago.
“Yes. Gale helped raise us after our mother died.” Exos threaded his fingers with mine, walking to my left, while Cyrus’s arm remained snug around my waist, his heat a blanket against my right side. “Feather is the oldest matron of the Spirit Fae, but only about fifty human years old. She looks closer to twenty-five, like the rest of us.”
“The plague took out all the eldest fae among us,” Cyrus clarified.
“And it’s happening again with the Earth Fae,” I added, swallowing. “At least, that’s how Sol described it.”
Exos nodded. “Something similar is happening to his kind, yes. But rather than wipe them out in a single day, it’s taking years.”
“Almost like something—or someone—is feeding off their energy,” Cyrus murmured, his expression falling into serious lines.
“Someone like my mother,” I translated.
“Maybe.” He cleared his throat, his arm tightening around my waist. “But that’s a discussion for tomorrow. Tonight is a joyous occasion. My brother has finally decided to grow the fuck up.”
Exos snorted. “Okay, Prince of Water. If that’s how you want to play this.”
“Who served as Spirit King for the last decade because his brother preferred playing warrior?” Cyrus pretended to think about it. “Oh, right, me.”
“Playing warrior.” Exos shook his head, but his grin said he didn’t mind the jibe. “I’ll play warrior with you later and see how you fare.”
My eyebrows rose. “That sounds like an innuendo.” One I would really enjoy watching unfold.
“Because you have fae cock on the brain.” Cyrus glanced over my shoulder as we descended one of the palace’s many stone staircases. “I’m starting to think you left our little queen unsatisfied, brother.”
“She’s insatiable,” he drawled.
Cyrus grinned. “Tell me about it.”
“If you both keep talking about me like I’m not walking between you, I’ll make sure you’re both very unsatisfied.”
They laughed, their confidence a palpable cloud around us. “We’ll see,” Cyrus mused. Yeah, he sounded pretty sure of himself. And, well, I couldn’t blame him. Not with them both resembling gods in their matching suits. They would have me naked and panting in seconds if they put their minds to it. Especially if they worked together.
Just thinking about it had me clenching my thighs.
An Exos and Cyrus sandwich? Uh, yes, please.
I’ll keep that in mind, Cyrus replied.
Stop playing in my head, I muttered, my cheeks heating from how easily he read my thoughts.
Stop telegraphing so loudly, he returned.
“I rather like how open she is to sharing,” Exos said out loud. “Something to consider later.”
“Can we not do this right now?” Because if they kept it up, I wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face in front of the other Spirit Fae. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I could stand before them at all without melting into a puddle of need. Mating Exos had left my body primed and ready and needy.
It’d taken almost a week in bed with Cyrus to work it out.
I’d only indulged in an afternoon with Exos.
To say I wanted more would be an understatement.
Don’t worry, princess. I’ll take care of us both, Exos whispered, squeezing my hand. But I need to ascend first, to stabilize the Spirit Kingdom.