“How is she?” my father asked, following my gaze.
Well fucked, I mused, eyeing her swollen lips and resting form. The silky sheets hid her body from view, but I knew the rest of her was just as well sated as her mouth. “She’s recovering,” I said out loud instead. “Slowly, but steadily.”
He nodded. “Her healing will improve and strengthen even more once she’s near her other elements.”
I agreed. “Yes. I’m thinking of moving her tomorrow.” While she still slept most of the day, her moments of lucidity were powerful. And, well, demanding. Every time she opened her eyes, she reached for me and wouldn’t focus on anything else—like eating—until I fucked her senseless. “I had no idea the mating bond could be so… stimulating.” Not that I was complaining. I rather benefited from Claire’s neediness.
“Your bond is making up for what should have been months of courtship,” he murmured. “I’m not surprised it’s asserting certain requirements on you both.” His expression lacked the amusement in his tone, his gaze taking on a faraway gleam as he rested his elbows on the balcony railing. “I’ll save you the lecture, son. We both know what this means.”
I appreciated him not wasting my time with words. My mind was littered with enough of them already. “I can’t ascend until I’ve found Exos.” Because I couldn’t rule two kingdoms.
He remained quiet for a long moment, the breeze from the seas below ruffling the collar of his suit and blowing the fabric of my loose pants. It felt nice being surrounded by life and energy. Yet my duty to the Spirit Kingdom hung over my head, weighing me down. I couldn’t just turn my back on them. Even after I accepted my rightful place here, I’d advocate for the kingdom I considered my true home.
“I wish you would have come to me,” he finally said. “About Exos, I mean.”
“You know why I didn’t.”
“Yes. But you know I can keep a secret from the Council, Cyrus.” He glanced sideways at me. “I think this week proves it, don’t you?”
I swallowed, bowing my head in agreement. “Yes.” While the news of my mating with Claire had spread on a tidal wave throughout the kingdom, the circumstances that required it were never mentioned. And my father had even gone as far as to tell Elana that we were on a honeymoon of sorts, which was why Claire needed to
miss her internship and some school.
I supposed it wasn’t entirely a lie. We’d spent all week in bed together, after all.
But my father had done what he could to protect us both, and I appreciated his loyalty. Even more so because he didn’t tell anyone about Exos’s disappearance.
“Do you still believe him to be in the death fields?” he inquired.
I shook my head. “No. He’s awake now.” I’d felt him through Claire, a thriving presence pacing in a cage, waiting. It took serious effort not to request she communicate with him, or allow me to penetrate her spirit to find him, but her rest came first. Both to me and to Exos.
And my brother would kill me if I broke that unspoken pact.
Never in my life could I have imagined putting another before my kin, but Claire changed everything.
She’s my mate.
I vowed to protect her, to cherish her, to comfort her in times of sickness, and most importantly, I promised to put her needs above my own.
“When she’s in a better mental state, I’ll ask her to reach out to my brother,” I said, having decided this days ago. “What’s important is that he’s alive. He’ll be able to assume his duties as the Spirit King once we’ve found him, and then I’ll face the consequences of my mating.”
“Consequences,” my father repeated, snorting. “Still so reluctant to accept your true place.”
“The Spirit Fae need me more than the Water Fae.” It was an old argument, but still relevant. “You’re not even two hundred years old. They’re fine beneath your rule.”
“But there will always be contention until the most powerful rises to the top, son. That’s what you fail to understand. You worry about your spirit half while neglecting your fae here, and while many may understand the choice, fae will always respond to power. And you possess the strongest water element of any in the history of our kind.” He glanced again at the beauty in my bed. “With Claire being a close second.”
Those were the right words to say. I liked that he acknowledged her gift. Even ungroomed she surpassed the royals in this palace. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?”
“I had my doubts,” he admitted. “But I can feel her potential now. If you’re not careful, she’ll surpass even you.”
“And wouldn’t that be a wonder for the Fae World to see?” I mused, intrigued by the prospect while also knowing it to be impossible. Oh, Claire possessed superior abilities to most. However, her connection to water didn’t quite rival mine. Even with training, I’d still remain the king of this kingdom.
Oh, but Claire would become queen to several kingdoms. And that was what made her more powerful than even I was.
“When do you leave?” he asked, again staring at the incoming waves crashing into the black sand beach below.
“Tomorrow,” I decided out loud. “Being around Sol, Vox, and Titus should improve her health enough for her to hear Exos clearly.” It would also lessen some of the tension I felt building in the bonds, her other mates longing for their Claire. She still didn’t yet understand that she’d bonded with Sol and Vox in her desperation for survival, her elements reaching out to those she trusted most and latching onto their reserves to bolster her own.