Resisting the urge to burn down the door, I waited for Claire. In spite of what Cyrus believed, I wasn’t an idiot. I sensed the change in her—a big one—perhaps a change I would enjoy exploring, but she wasn’t just mine anymore.
She belonged to all of us.
Claire appeared and paused, taking me in with those bright blue eyes that now glittered with an overflow of Cyrus’s power.
I wanted to fall to my knees and worship her.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered, awed.
She slipped into my arms, and every muscle in my body relaxed, knowing her as my mate. She tilted her head back and smiled.
“Titus,” she said, my name having a new flow on her lips that made my core tighten.
I wanted to give her space to adjust to the fae inside her overriding her human half, but I couldn’t resist as she tugged against my flame from somewhere deep in my soul.
My lips found hers on instinct, the taste of her grounding me as her mouth parted for mine.
Safe.
Home.
Mine.
A wave of heat slammed into me, showering me in a deep-seated craving we shared—our fire yearning to complete what we’d begun.
Soon, I vowed. Soon.
Her teeth sank into my lip, and her nails ran down my back, leaving a trail of embers that deliciously burned and danced with my own magic.
“While I appreciate that you’ve stopped throwing fireballs at my head, can we focus?” Cyrus rudely interrupted. “Claire’s vitality is what needs to be rejuvenated, not your own.”
He was right. Claire’s hand already dipped to my pants, sensing the need in me for her touch. I grabbed her wrist before she could slip her fingers past the waistband.
She pouted and narrowed her eyes at Cyrus. “It’s not all about me.”
The amused smirk on Cyrus’s face said otherwise, not that I doubted he hadn’t enjoyed their past week together. The residual impact from full mating rituals was well known, and while I was envious, I also knew Claire would have been ravenous in her near-death condition. It was a tall order for any man to take on.
Cyrus responded with his element instead of his typical smart-ass retorts. A glimmer of liquid swept across Claire’s lips like a kiss, a show of power that surprised me in both its precision and gentleness. Her tongue slipped out to taste it, and she fluttered her eyes closed with delight.
Not to be outdone, I followed the trail of magic with my own, concentrating to sweep blue heat across her delicate skin. She gasped, her lashes lifting as the steam mixed with our breaths, her blue irises flashing with a knowing flame that absorbed my energy. My hand fisted in her hair, angling her to my desire to give her everything she wanted—everything she needed.
“Yes,” Cyrus said, his tone approving as Claire stopped trying to give me what I yearned for and greedily drank in the elements swirling around her. “Just like that.”
A blush crested Claire’s cheeks and she smiled.
Energy danced in her gaze, and I realized I’d never seen her like this—balanced, like a new fae born into the world who understood her powers and how to control them.
No hesitation.
No emotions running her into the ground.
Just knowledge and acceptance.
Cyrus had done what none of us had yet to accomplish—he’d given her what her elements craved. And while she was sated with regard to water, she needed more.
Challenge accepted.
I poured my flames through the bond, adoring the way it lit up her features and the sigh that feathered from her beautiful mouth. But I wasn’t enough, and the flicker of her gaze to the hall told me as much.