He palmed the back of his neck. “You, uh, are the first and only fae to control more than two elements.”
“More than two?” I squeaked, repeating his words.
“Yeah, as I said, Spirit Fae have two. That’s the most there’s ever been.”
And I had five. I blinked. Five. “I… What does that mean?”
He shook his head. “I don’t actually know,” he admitted softly. “But what I can tell you is that the Academy is your best course. They’ll teach you how to control the gifts, Claire. And it sounds like you’ll be rotating between campuses throughout the week.”
I sat back in my chair, flinching as a horde of those colorful insects fluttered into the room. My instinct to kill one earlier, like one would a fly, had overwhelmed me in the lobby. And then I’d screamed when the thing started yelling at me.
That kind of shit did not happen in, well, reality.
Except I’d given up considering any of this to be a dream. It was far too fucked up for even me to fathom.
Especially the bits about my mom.
“What, uh, did Exos mean when he said my mother destroyed the Spirit Kingdom?” I asked. He’d mentioned her a few times today, but I hadn’t been in the right frame of mind to hear him, let alone understand him.
“You don’t know?” Titus asked, sounding surprised.
I gave him a look. “In case it’s not clear, I was celebrating my twenty-first birthday at a college bar just… whenever ago. And I knew nothing about fae or fairies or pixies or elemental magic. Until, like, whenever I fell here.” My English professor would be appalled by the way I just explained all that, but who could expect any sort of clarity after throwing me into this insanity?
Titus nodded. “Right, yeah. Okay. Are you done eating?”
I eyed my partially finished plate. “Uh, yeah.” I couldn’t eat any more even if I tried. Not with the gymnastics going on inside my belly. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”
“I know,” he said. “I was just trying to figure out if we should have that conversation here or, uh, elsewhere.”
“Like upstairs?” I suggested, liking the idea of being somewhere less out in the open and away from those sparkly, chattering bugs.
“If that’s where you want to go.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know where else to go, actually.”
“You mean you don’t know where else I’m allowed to go,” I translated. “I’m not going to run again.” At least not yet. Not until I knew more about this place. Otherwise, it was a waste of effort, and Exos’s ultimatum about my options didn’t leave me all that enthusiastic to act out again. Because I didn’t doubt for a second that he meant his threat. He very clearly did not like me, and the feeling was mutual.
Well, mostly mutual.
Aside from the fact that I still sometimes wanted to kiss him.
I shook my head. “Let’s go upstairs,” I said, standing. Because, unlike Exos, I actually liked Titus. And also found him hot as hell.
A Titus and Exos sandwich would be, well, amazing. Two powerful bodies thrusting, tongues dancing, hands roaming…
And, oh my God, I needed to stop that line of thought.
Wow.
No.
Not happening.
Ever.
And, Jesus Christ, what was wrong with me to even begin to imagine that? Very clearly losing—
“Claire?” Titus asked, his brow furrowed. He’d stood with me and seemed to be waiting for me to lead.
“Right.” I turned and started toward the stairs. To lead him to my room. Which, after that last thought, probably wasn’t the brightest of ideas, but it wasn’t like Exos would be joining us. Although, I wouldn’t exactly complain if he did.