I kissed Titus again before he could reply, this time with tongue, and he responded with a growl. His grip on my hips tightened, his leisurely movements disappearing as he took control of the embrace and reminded me of his inner strength.
Fire.
I reveled in it, bathed in the glory of his heat. It soothed mine in a way no one else could because he was my chosen mate. For eternity. My flames called to his, engaging him in a passionate gyration of power that warmed the room. Embers floated around us, kindled by our coupling, and stirred a smoky flavor in the air around us.
“Fuck, Claire,” he whispered.
“That’s the idea.” I tugged his lower lip between my teeth, sucking hard. “Take me to bed, Titus.”
I didn’t want to do this in the living area, not when others could interrupt us. Not that many would. The Spirit Quad was a wasteland—a consequence of ninety percent of the Spirit Fae dying after my mother— No. I refused to think about it. Not now. Not while Titus was doing that with his hands.
Traveling up my sides.
An inferno trailing in their wake.
Oh, for the love of the fae… I loved when he did this, displaying complete control over his power and incinerating my clothes along the way. It showed restraint. It seduced and taunted my fire to come out to play. And it heightened the moment.
Titus’s palms went to my ass as he stood. My legs tightened around his waist, my lips never leaving his. He kissed me back with a fervor, his excitement hot and evident between my thighs.
We’d only just moved to the next level of our relationship, a place where our fiery souls promised each other eternity. There was still a step beyond this one, something about a ritual with words similar to wedding vows. I didn’t know, would reach that stage when we were both ready. But for now, I would delight in the present and learn everything I could about my intended fire mate.
Such a stark contrast to Exos.
And yet, I adored them equally. For entirely different reasons.
By the time my back hit the mattress, my clot
hes were already gone, thanks to Titus’s precise use of energy. He’d burned away every inch of the fabric from my body. I began to return the favor, when power sliced through my heart, eliciting a sharp cry from my mouth.
Titus pulled back, his gaze full of alarm. “Claire?”
The pain struck again, this time to my mind, cascading my vision in shades of white and black as if someone had slammed a fist into my head.
I pressed my palms to my temples, fighting to understand, but the ache only grew. An emptiness formed a cavern deep inside, creating a black void of nothing.
“Claire!” Titus shouted, his hands on my shoulders. But I couldn’t see him. Could hardly feel him. All I sensed was this immense torment of loss. As if something had been ripped from my very spirit.
Oh God… “Exos!” I sat up abruptly, my head connecting with Titus’s hard chest. I still couldn’t see, the fog behind my eyes a mist my senses refused to navigate. “He’s… Oh… Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong with Exos, Titus. Something’s… I don’t… It hurts!” I clutched my head again, whimpering as fractures of light pierced my pupils. “He’s hurt.”
“Claire…” Titus cradled my face, his familiar presence cascading heat over my quivering form. Exactly what I needed, a call to return to the present, to the bed, to his mostly naked body.
I blinked at him, my cheeks damp from tears I hadn’t realized I’d shed. Somehow I knew time had passed without my knowledge, as if I’d lost consciousness when something hit me—no, Exos—upside the head. I tried to reach out to him, to sense his presence, our link, but I felt empty and alone. My heart raced. “He’s… he’s gone.”
What does that mean?
Did he sever our bond?
No. He wouldn’t do that. I had felt his emotions, strong and vibrant and true.
So what happened?
“Where is he? Where did he go?” Frantic sparks clawed over my skin, scattering goose bumps up and down my body. Coldness unlike any I’d ever experienced solidified in my veins. “He’s… Titus… Where is he? Why can’t I feel him?”
A sob caught in my throat, worry and panic overwhelming whatever he said in reply. Pounding flourished in my ears, and the room began to spin again, my entire existence being swallowed up into a void of confusion and despair.
“Where’s Exos?” I repeated again and again and again. He wouldn’t leave me. Not after everything. Right? Our spirits were bonded, not quite as deep as the one I had with Titus, but still just as powerful.
“Claire.” Titus’s voice finally penetrated the rhythmic beating clogging my ears. “Breathe.”