“It’s… different.”
“It’s a sandwich,” he replied, acting as if I’d lost my marbles.
“This is not a sandwich,” I assured him. “It’s like a, uh, melted salad in brick form. There’s not even meat on it. Or cheese.”
He gave me the most offended look imaginable. “Why the hell would you put meat and cheese in a sandwich?”
I gaped at him.
And giggled.
“Meat and cheese in a sandwich.” He shuddered. “Gross.”
My giggle blossomed into a laugh that shook my shoulders, the goop on my plate forgotten as I keeled over in a humorous fit. He sounded so displeased by my comment, as if I’d made the most ridiculous suggestion. And hey, maybe to him, I had. Because he wasn’t human.
He was a fae.
A fae meant to be my protector and executioner.
I couldn’t stop laughing, the hilarity of the moment and situation unraveling inside me. I burned down a bar. Me. Claire. What were the chances? Oh, apparently good because I was a fae, too. I battled an inferno today—one I seemingly created. And I fought it with my breath.
My body vibrated with uncontrollable mirth. I couldn’t stop, the burst of emotion requiring an escape. An outlet. Something.
Exos said something, but I couldn’t hear him over the thoughts pelting my brain.
I’m a fae.
I control fire.
Wind. Er, air. Whatever.
Water.
Hot chocolate.
And I’m eating goo for lunch. Is it even lunch? Oh, who the hell knows?!
I lost it. Completely lost it. Tears sprouted in my eyes from laughing so hard, tears that turned to sobs. Sobs that hurt.
But I deserved it. Because I hurt people.
Rick.
Those girls outside. They may have provoked me, but that didn’t warrant me burning them alive over some petty jealousy. Jealousy over a man I hardly knew, yet almost fucked last night.
Oh God… I couldn’t stop crying. Couldn’t stop laughing. Couldn’t stop being.
So much for being strong and fighting through my shit, because all I wanted to do right now was curl into a ball and hide.
And I did just that, tucking my knees into my chest while burying my face against my forearms, and let it all out. Every ounce of fear, agony, and sadness, that I’d harbored for days, flew from me in a cacophony of sobs mingled with strangled laughs.
The plate clattered to the floor.
I didn’t care.
Exos wrapped his arms around me, his chest to my
back, his face in my hair.