“I don’t think she has Exos.” I’d told Titus about Cyrus’s suspicions last month, not wanting to keep anything from him. He’d agreed with the logic, saying that, while dangerous, it made sense to get closer to her to see what I could learn. And today seemed to have taught me more than the last several weeks combined. “Did you know my mother’s body was never found?”
He considered for a long moment and slowly shook his head. “I’ve never heard that.”
“Elana said Ophelia’s body was never found and that Mortus claims to sense her sometimes,” I said, thinking out loud as I played the scenario through my thoughts. “What if Ophelia is still alive?”
Cyrus chose that moment to materialize, his water element heavy in the air. “Well, that’s an interesting theory,” he replied, causing Titus to scowl.
“I fucking hate when you do that,” he muttered.
“Ditto,” I agreed.
Both men cocked their brows.
“It means I agree with Titus,” I clarified.
“Of course you do,” Cyrus said, smirking. “Regardless, I need you to come with me, and we can continue discussing your little theory along the way.”
Little theory. What an ass. “Titus and I have plans.” We didn’t, but it was the principle of the matter. “So go mist off somewhere else.” I started walking again, but Cyrus’s response froze me midstep.
“I have a lead on Exos, Claire.”
Cyrus
Claire rotated so quickly that Titus had to grab her hip to keep her from falling over. “What?”
“I don’t like repeating myself.” She’d heard me just fine. “Will you come with me or not?”
“We will come with you,” Titus said while Claire’s mouth moved silently over words I couldn’t hear.
“No.” I met the Fire Fae’s gaze. “Only Claire.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because we need to go to Spirit Kingdom.” And only a Spirit Fae could survive there without lasting consequences.
Titus’s answering expression said he knew it, too, his face going white at the prospect. “You can’t be serious,” he breathed.
“It’s a solid lead.” Mainly because I’d followed Mortus there the other night and there could only be one reason he’d chosen to venture into the dead kingdom—Exos. “We’ve searched the Academy grounds, and we’ve even combed through the enchanted forest. Where we haven’t been is the Spirit Kingdom. And it would explain how my brother was able to cut himself off from everyone.” There were elements in the dead realm that could facilitate such a trick. It would also mean he might be harvesting leftover energy to put up a fight.
“Y
ou need her to help you sense his presence.” Titus sounded horrified.
“I do,” I admitted. “I tried myself last night and came up empty-handed. Maybe Claire will find something different.”
“At the risk of her own life,” Titus managed to say, his teeth clenching. “The Spirit Kingdom is a wasteland.”
“True.” On both accounts. “So I guess the question is, how much is the little queen willing to risk for her spirit mate?” I arched a challenging brow at her. “Are you strong enough, Claire? Or would you rather leave him to suffer until it’s too late?”
“That’s not fair,” she whispered.
“What’s not fair is my brother lying in the ground somewhere,” I argued. “He’s dying, Claire. And every day we pretend he’s fine is another day closer to his demise. So either—”
“You’re the one who said we should go on like nothing happened,” she snapped, squaring off with me. “You won’t go to the Council. You won’t corner Mortus. You are the one killing him, Cyrus. Not me.” She sent a blast of air straight into my chest, sending me a step backward. “Don’t you dare talk to me about his death as if I’m the one causing it. You’re not the one going to bed every night and dreaming of him and waking every morning trying to find him in the connection he turned off.”
I rubbed the spot where she’d assaulted me and grimaced. “You might not agree with my methods, but I—”
“I don’t agree with you popping up and acting like I won’t do everything I can to save him. You want me to go to the Spirit Kingdom? Fine. I’ll go. But I don’t need you to provoke me into it. I want to save him just as badly as you do, if not more. So fuck you and your mind games, Cyrus. Either take me or mist off.”