“Sol!” I bellowed.
I hadn’t checked on the peach orchard since that night, but stopped, alarmed, when I saw the unexpected decay. What Sol had spent days putting his energy into, a thriving forest of life and sweet fruit, was now a graveyard. Wilted trees hung with rotten fruit, and a sour scent spiked the air.
I found Sol slumped against one of the larger trees that had a scar down its center and leaned precariously to the side with half of its roots upended. Sol didn’t seem to notice and tossed pebbles across the dirt.
“Sol,” I tried again, my voice softer as I approached him. “You all right, buddy?”
He glanced up at me, and he looked just as tired as I felt. “It’s all ruined,” he lamented. “When Claire gets back, she’s going to be so disappointed. She didn’t get to see what it looked like… before.” He turned his attention back to the ground, and his shoulders sagged.
I set the bowl of soup next to him. “You sure you don’t want to eat something?”
He wrinkled his nose at the bowl. “I’m good, thanks.”
Sitting down, I sighed. “Well, we’re a sorry pair, aren’t we?”
Sol scoffed. “That’s what happens when we find a beautiful mate and Cyrus keeps her all to himself.”
My fist curled at the thought. I forced myself to loosen my fingers. “We didn’t find a mate.” I palmed the back of my neck, noting the knots there and wincing. “She didn’t give us much of a choice.”
Sol’s eyes, the color of the earth with flecks of green, glanced at me, full of disdain. “Is that what you really think? She chose us, Vox.”
“Actually, she didn’t.” The memories of the last few weeks had me jumping to my feet. I started pacing, my air working overtime to brush aside the countless stones Sol had scattered across the courtyard. The pungent smell of rotting fruit wasn’t helping my mood, either. “Maybe she chose you, but she didn’t choose me,” I continued, needing him to understand. “Think about it, Sol. She asked you to the ball. I’m just a convenient Air Fae for her to suck dry. I’m a fucking mentor with benefits.”
And I was not pleased about it.
“Don’t talk about her like that,” Sol warned as the ground trembled. “She was dying, Vox. And she would never force a mating bond. Claire isn’t like that. She needs us just as much as we need her, and I know you can feel her inside of you.” He rubbed a fist over his heart, in the same spot where my own chest ached with a need I couldn’t understand. “Trust your soul for once, not your head.”
I scoffed and opened my arms at the expanse of destruction around us. “You mean you’re taking it so well?” I marched over to him and bent to stab a finger into his chest, which hurt when my knuckle popped, but I didn’t care. “Look at this place, Sol. You’re falling apart without her because she bonded to you, and she’s not even fucking here!”
“Enough!” came a voice with enough power to make both Sol and me flinch.
Authority.
Demand.
I turned, only to have every air molecule inside of me wilt with both relief and fury.
Cyrus stood with an unconscious Claire in his arms, and all I wanted to do was punch him in the face.
Cyrus
What a fucking mess, I thought while laying Claire down in her bed. The silky blue robe she wore contrasted with the cotton surrounding her. I slid it from her shoulders, removing it en
tirely, and allowed her to nest into the familiarity of her own sheets.
She murmured something unintelligible, lost to her dreams, but I immediately felt her content at the energy strengthening around her. Returning her to the Academy had been the right call.
Even if I had three very angry fae at my back. They were oblivious to Claire’s nakedness, mostly because I blocked their view of it.
Once the blankets covered her completely, I turned to face the fuming mob.
Titus seemed ready to push forward, to take over, but I shoved him back with a water punch to the chest. “Outside,” I demanded, not wanting to disturb Claire. She needed more rest.
All three of the men appeared ready to argue, but one pointed glance over my shoulder at the sleeping beauty had the trio marching toward the exit.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Titus snapped as soon as we exited the building.
“What the hell did you do to the kitchen?” I asked instead, having noted all the destruction along the way. At least Claire’s bedroom appeared safe and clean.