The tension in my chest stung again and I rubbed at it. Whatever Cyrus was doing to Claire was strengthening her, and I hoped that meant she’d return soon.
Because when she did, she had some damn explaining to do.
If I’d hoped to get some reprieve by returning to the Spirit Quad, I was in for a disappointment.
Without Claire, the place seemed to fit its reputation. The Spirit Quad had lost what little bit of life she’d sprung back into it, the ground outside a desolate wasteland of cracked, burnt soil and overturned stones.
My affinity for air cleared my path, flinging away debris as I approached the front door and made my way inside. I found Titus brooding over a cooling plate of leftovers.
I winced. Admittedly, my cooking had taken a hit ever since that night. I just didn’t have it in me. “Not hungry?” I asked him, leaning against a darkened stump that had once been a dining table.
Titus didn’t look up. Instead, he glowered at the tepid soup. “It’s too cold.” Meaning he couldn’t heat it up.
I sighed and rubbed at my chest again. “My powers are on the fritz, too. Whatever Claire did to us—”
Titus was in my face, eyes wild with awakened embers, before I had a chance to even think about finishing that sentence. “This isn’t Claire’s fault,” he snapped.
Normally, I’d find the Fire Fae intimidating, but I didn’t have the patience for his short temper today. I sent a gust of wind reeling and aimed at his chest.
He grunted as the force knocked him back. My powers didn’t seem to work unless I was emotionally invested, like right now with Titus in my face, which wasn’t like me at all. I wouldn’t admit how much that lack of control unsettled me.
“Where’s Sol?” I asked. “Perhaps he’s better company right now.”
Titus ground his teeth before replying. “Out back. But if you think he’s better company than me, good fucking luck.” Titus shoved past me, his embers burning my Academy robes as he went.
I doused the tiny flames with a snap of wind and thought about going after the Fire Fae, but a fight was what he wanted.
Actually, you know what? Fuck it. I want a fight, too.
My vision went white, and with it, a tornado burst into existence. Every display of weakness I’d had over the past few days transformed into what was really hiding under the surface. My royal lineage had been dormant, suppressed under years of careful control, but something had cracked, allowing it to escape.
Titus bellowed and didn’t have time to stop the force from launching him into the air. He hit the wall—hard—and landed with a thud. He popped back onto his feet and grinned.
“A challenge? Who knew you had it in you?” His smile was feral. “Let’s take it outside and burn off some steam. Or better yet, let’s go find her.”
The fae wasn’t even fazed by my attack.
He just wanted a sparring partner. A way to let loose.
I dismissed the tornado with a flick of my wrist, sending siding and damaged wood crashing to the ground. Our kitchen was even more hopelessly ruined. Not that I cared.
Okay, maybe I did a little.
Damn it!
“We can’t just go barreling into the Water Kingdom without permission. We are Academy students,” I reminded him. “We don’t have the clearance or the right to trespass.” It was Elana’s dream to unite the fae, the Academy being a grand gesture in that regard, but borders were tighter than ever since the plague hit.
Titus growled. “I’m so fucking tired of these excuses.” Fire burst up his arms, then quelled, and then flamed again. “Claire is stuck there, and if Cyrus isn’t going to tell us what the fuck is going on, he can’t blame us for going after her. Can’t you feel that she needs us?”
Yes, of course I could feel her.
That was the problem.
“I’m not going anywhere without Sol,” I said, my air rumbling over the ground in tiny somersaults.
“I think you’ll find him far more willing than you realize. Ask him.” Red veins spidered down Titus’s arms as if a volcano built inside of him and was just itching to get out. “Actually, you know what? Fuck that. If you and Sol aren’t at the front door in five minutes, I’m leaving without you assholes.”
Cursing under my breath, I snatched up the tepid soup—which had remained miraculously untouched—and marched toward the back of the quad. Even if it was pathetic food, it was still food. And I needed something to bargain with.