She swallowed hard, but I felt the heat of her trust where her skin touched mine, our hands instinctively finding each other again. It told me that as long as I was with her, perhaps she could face anything, even a protesting crowd of fae.
Elana waved her hand, causing the bangles on her wrist to jingle. The wide doors of her estate opened with low groans, reminding me of ancient trees bowing in the wind.
Sunlight poured into the foyer and illuminated the golden spirals around Claire’s face. I wanted to reach out and run my fingers through her silky strands, gather her hair in my fist, and kiss her.
Again.
Fuck. This uncontrollable need to take her was going to be the death of me if I didn’t learn how to tamper it. A tour would help. Assuming we could make it through the masses.
“Now or never,” I said, more to myself than to Claire.
“I’d rather get the shit show over with now,” Claire replied, surprising me with the vigor of her words. She shrugged. “Beats staying in this, uh, forest of a house. Show me your fae world, Titus.” She squeezed my hand, her gaze warm and trusting.
A smile twitched at my lips as we stepped out onto the dried leaves in front of the estate. The chanting near the front gates ceased, students’ eyes going wide. “Here we go,” I said, pulling Claire along at my side.
“There’s a lot of them,” she whispered.
I snorted. “Yeah. I’m not concerned.” I created a fireball in my hand and threw it up in the air, before catching it. Many of the fae at the gates took several steps back, some even going as far as to leave. They all knew me, understood my gifts and how powerful I could be in a full rage.
Begrudgingly, I also had to admit that borrowing Exos’s royal attire helped matters. Because they would see his symbol on my clothing, which boldly announced my actions to be official orders. And fucking with those orders was a good way to end up in the fire pits.
I tossed a ball at the gates for fun, smirking as several more fae dispersed.
Another flame appeared along the periphery, the signature belonging to Exos, who stood behind us in the doorway wearing a stoic mask.
That caused almost the entire crowd to die, the students not wanting to mess with me or the notorious Spirit Royal.
“Yeah, you’ll be fine,” I told Claire, winking.
She gaped back and forth between me and Exos. “Did he just…?”
“Yep.” I glanced back at him with a nod that he returned before disappearing into the house. “He’s just throwing his weight behind mine, not that it’s needed with this ridiculous outfit.”
Claire giggled, her cheeks pinkening. “You look…”
“Handsome?” I prompted, waggling my brows. “Hot? Sexy as fuck?”
Her laugh was music to my ears, even as she shook her head. “You look hideous.”
I covered my heart, feigning a wounded expression. “Claire… How could you? You know my ego is fragile.”
She snorted. “Somehow I doubt that.”
I slung my arm around her shoulders, tugging her into my side. “You’re right. I’m pretty sure even I make this outfit look good.”
She patted my abdomen. “Pretty sure you don’t.”
“Yeah, yeah. You want this tour or not?” I teased. The majority of the onlookers were gone, leaving Claire much more at ease beside me.
“Ye
ah, I do.” She gave me a small smile. “I’m actually a little curious.”
“Just a little?”
She ducked her head shyly, her blue eyes sparkling with power. “Scared, too. But mostly curious.”
“You have nothing to fear, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” I kissed her forehead, the action so natural, as if we’d been doing this for years, not hours. Not wanting to dig too deeply into that realization, I released her shoulders and held out my hand. “Let’s go.”