Jackass. I snatched the mug from his hand and gulped several swallows while he watched with a touch of impatience.
Right. Because one could just recover immediately after hours of mental torment and allowing another to use his energy.
I took another sip just to piss him off and smiled when he rolled his eyes.
“It was Mortus,” I clarified, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “But he’s being controlled.”
“By…?” Cyrus prompted, waving a hand.
“Ophelia.” I met his widening eyes. “Claire’s mother has turned Dark Fae, and it would appear that she’s very much alive.”
“You’re sure?” he asked, his voice holding a hint of disbelief.
I dipped my chin in the affirmative. “Now that I can properly think again, I recognize the essence. It feels so much like Claire, but darker.”
“And she’s fixated on our little queen as well,” Cy
rus added, his eyebrows lifting. “That’s why it holds similar properties to the plague, but different.”
“It would seem it’s all connected, yes.”
“And that Ophelia somehow survived, and by bringing Claire to the Academy…”
“We awoke a dormant beast,” I finished for him. “Yes.”
“Fuck,” he breathed, glancing at the acid-like substance eating through our stone floor. I flicked a flame over it, needing the shit to burn and disappear. “This is bad.”
I snorted. “Understatement of the century, brother.”
“Has she been controlling Mortus all this time?”
“It’s possible.” The fae never had seemed right, but I’d chalked it up to his dark history. “But I’m more interested in figuring out how an Elemental Fae turned Dark Fae.” They were usually born, their world far different from ours. They required blood to survive—hence, vampires. And they lived without sunlight, something our kind thrived on, which was why trapping an Elemental Fae underground for too long could kill one.
“That is an odd development,” Cyrus agreed, scratching his jaw. “But who knows what happened while she was up in the Human Realm?”
“True,” I agreed. The Dark Fae liked playing with humans; the whole blood and drinking thing really got them off. I blew out a breath, rubbing my face. “Dude, I need a shower.”
“No shit?” Cyrus feigned shock. “It’s only been a few weeks.”
“When I’m done, I want to see Claire.” I could feel her happiness through the bond, her lazy energy telling me exactly how her other mates had distracted her. My heart warmed, my spirit rolling in her bliss. “Do you regret it?” I wondered out loud, pausing at the exit of the living area.
Cyrus glanced up at me, his own spritemead a breath away from his lips. He didn’t need me to clarify, his thoughts almost always in tune with mine. “I expected to,” he admitted. “But no. No, I don’t.”
“Would you change the way it happened?”
He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure it was the only way it could have happened.”
I nodded, understanding immediately. “She didn’t like you.”
“Not one bit.”
“Good,” I replied. “She needed someone to break through the human shell and unleash the fae beneath.”
His lips curled. “You’re welcome.”
So arrogant, my brother. But I couldn’t help my resulting laugh.
Because yeah. We all had him to thank. Seeing that Claire had finally embraced her inner fae.