“You tried to burn me alive, little queen,” he murmured, amused.
What? I did no such thing.
“So you tried to drown her in response?” Titus demanded, sounding furious. “You almost killed her!”
“I merely reminded her of her place,” Cyrus replied, his eyes still on mine. “Or rather, I informed whoever attempted to control her that I won’t be going down so easily.” He searched my face, spirit swirling in the depths of his gaze. “Whoever has my brother is tied to spirit and is very powerful indeed.”
I blinked. Was that what I felt force me out of Exos’s mind? The person trying to distort our link?
Cyrus nodded. “Yes, someone tried to use your bond to get to me.” Had I spoken out loud? Or were the comments in my eyes? “Which explains why my brother tried to cut you off,” he continued. “That’s the pain you felt hours ago—Exos trying to close the link, to keep you safe.” He ran his fingers through my hair and sighed. “That’s going to make it more difficult to find him, but I understand his choice.”
“So a Spirit Fae has him,” Titus translated.
“It would appear so, yes. A powerful one.” Cyrus continued to pet me, confusing me greatly. Mostly because I liked it.
No. No way. I would not be attracted to this jackass.
First, he was Exos’s brother.
Second, he was a dick.
Third, I really needed him to stop looking at me as if he cared. As if I amused him in some way.
He chuckled. “I’m starting to see the appeal,” he murmured, that head of his tilting. “She’s much more pleasant when silent.”
Yeah, I hate him. I started to squirm again, but those arms of steel held me in place. “Let me go,” I managed, my voice a rasp I hardly recognized.
“No.” He glanced up at Titus. “There are very few Spirit Fae in existence who could subdue my brother and reach me through her bond.”
“Mortus,” Titus replied.
Cyrus nodded. “He is a potential candidate, yes, but he’s not strong enough on his own. Regardless, I suggest we keep an eye on him.”
“Or corner him and demand he tell us what he knows.”
“That would be the rookie approach, of course. But I play in the land of fae politics, Fire Fae. We need to go about our business as if everything is normal, continue training Claire, and prepare her for the battle to come. If we accuse anyone too early, we risk Exos’s life, and that’s not a mistake I’m willing to make.”
“How is tracking down Mortus and demanding Exos’s location going to risk your brother’s life?” Titus demanded, taking the words right out of my head. Well, sort of. I had a few additional curses and commands woven between my thoughts. Like, Let me go, you asshole. I’ll talk to Mortus myself and get Exos back.
“Mortus is old and wise and won’t break easily. By the time we learned anything from him, Exos could be dead. There’s also the possibility he’s innocent and knows nothing at all.”
“Can’t you just mind-fuck him like Elana did to the mean girls?” I asked, my voice slowly recovering from whatever the hell had happened.
“Mortus is too powerful. While I could break him eventually, it would take weeks, if not months, and a lot of energy.” Cyrus shook his head. “Going about our business and putting him at ease is the smarter play, because ultimately, he’ll lead us to Exos. Assuming he’s the culprit, of course.”
“I heard a man laughing,” I whispered, recalling the cackle of sound.
“Another clue, but not enough for us to be certain. And as I said, he won’t break. So even if I charge him with kidnapping my brother, we still risk not finding Exos in time.”
Which meant fae could die. I’d never actually asked how that happened, too busy trying to learn all about this new world. “Is that why I could smell rust?” I wondered aloud, more to myself than to Titus and Cyrus. “Fae don’t like iron, right?”
Silence met my query, followed by a soft voice saying, “It’s a common myth on Earth.”
River. He must have felt the use of water outside.
I finally looked around, noting the destruction Cyrus and I had caused. Singed ground, a new pond in a formerly dried-up crater, all the flowers destroyed, and the buildings charred.
Well, shit.