Sol whistled as I sent a wave of magic to brush the pebbles of the broken floor he’d left behind over the threshold. I was used to cleaning up after the Earth Fae, and I knew how to keep him happy.
There were five mouths to feed now, and no one else seemed to know how to cook. Except maybe Claire. But all I’d seen in the kitchen were ingredients for quick meals like shakes and finger patties. Sol would become intolerable without a real meal, and I needed him to cooperate when it was time to teach Claire some earth magic.
Proving my decision to buy some real food a good one, Sol began plucking out the ingredients, stopping when he saw the troll fat. He gave me a raised brow.
I put it in the icebox. “It’s for the Halfling’s experiment tomorrow,” I offered with a shrug. “River said it was like bacon.” I pointed at him. “But don’t tell her what it is.”
Sol hummed and went back to rummaging through the groceries. “More egg pie sounds good to me.” He held up a salted red weed most fae hated. “Oh, good, you bought some scurbuttle snacks!”
“Do I want to know what that is?” Claire asked, sweeping into the kitchen with a smile on her face. Titus trailed in after her, both of them looking pleased.
Seeing their shared glance of satisfaction reminded me of my interaction with Claire this morning, how we’d shared a moment of air magic, whispers, and then…
Then I’d heard the way Titus had made her scream.
“You definitely don’t want to know what that is,” Titus informed her, slipping his arm around her waist.
She leaned into him just enough that her body formed to his. I wondered if she was aware of how sensual she was in the subtle movement.
Claire’s bright gaze found mine, and then her smile dimmed. “Everything okay, Vox?”
Shit, I sucked at hiding my emotions. I cast my gaze down and continued to unpack the groceries as I tried to think of a response. Every time she opened her mouth, all I could hear were those delicious sounds she’d sent filtering through the air currents just for me. I knew she hadn’t done it on purpose; it was her air magic reacting to mine. It was natural. We were compatible, at least in our elements, but that didn’t mean I had to give in to my primal instincts like some kind of animal.
“I think he heard us this morning,” Titus supplied, his smug grin saying he was damn proud of that. “You weren’t exactly quiet.”
Claire turned as red as the scurbuttle weed. “Oh God,” she said, covering her full lips with her hand. “I’m so sorry, Vox. I didn’t even think—”
Titus cut her off with a kiss and sent a lingering flame running down her shirt, making Claire squeak with surprise. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
“You’re not helping,” she whispered loudly.
“I’m not ashamed, sweetheart,” Titus replied. “And neither are they.”
“Oh God…”
“Hey, why don’t you help me cook dinner,” I offered, trying to put her at ease and to prove I was fine. That everything was fine. That this whole fucked-up situation was, well, fine.
Besides, Claire and I were going to be spending a lot of time together—Titus included. I knew better than to try to dampen a Fire Fae’s passion, and by the look on Claire’s face when she’d walked in those doors, he was what she needed right now with Exos missing and his asshat of a brother coming in and ruining all of our lives.
Oh, fuck, I hope he doesn’t join us for dinner.
Claire brightened, the light in her eyes returning. “Okay, that sounds fun.” She looked to Titus and he laughed.
“Don’t need my permission, sweetheart.” He stretched, making a show of putting his arm around her shoulder. “I’ll go shower before dinn
er and leave you all to it.” He grinned at me with a knowing glance. “Didn’t get a chance to this morning.”
Right, because Sol had been in our shared bathroom, so in a moment of desperation, I’d stolen Titus’s shower in order to take off the edge Claire’s screams had given me. The Fire Fae had warned me there would be a lot of cold showers included with this job…
Fuck.
If Claire had put two and two together, she didn’t comment.
“So, what’s for dinner?” she asked.
I was grateful for change the subject. I pulled out the largest item from the sacks and used my air magic to lift it up.
“Dragon steak,” I announced with a grin. River had said this would impress Claire, and after the way Cyrus had treated her, I wanted to do something to take her mind off things.