“Why’s that?”
He chewed thoughtfully before answering me. “I heard that if there was one more fae death at the Academy, then the Halfling would be expelled and banished to the Spirit Kingdom.” He shrugged. “Not a bad thing, because that bastard royal will go with her and I won’t have to keep tiptoeing around my own damn campus. She has power over all five elements, you know so she would eventually have earth classes.” He shuddered as if horrified by the idea.
My heart skipped a beat. Banished? Spirit Kingdom?
No fucking way.
She’s innocent.
And fuck if I was going to let anyone send an innocent girl to a damn wasteland.
I slammed my fist on the table, sending dust flying. “For one, Sol, you don’t fucking tiptoe anywhere. You shake the ground like a beast that can’t be contained.” I held up two fingers. “And secondly, don’t judge someone you’ve never even met. The Halfling is innocent.”
I didn’t give Sol a chance to digest my outrage. Instead I caught a glimpse of his wide eyes—and perhaps a little hurt in his gaze—before I tore open the front door with a gust of wind and marched out of the Earth Dorms.
I should have returned to my own quarters, but I found the breeze taking me straight to the Halfling, who I knew would never harm another living soul and didn’t deserve the fae’s wrath.
Everyone on campus knew she was living in—or rather, banished to—the Spirit Dorms. Now I just had to figure out which room she’d chosen in a wasteland of nothing.
No one ever encroached on the Spirit Quad, and for good reason. The wasteland looked like a scar across the otherwise beautiful grounds. A stark line grooved out in the dirt where the barriers between majestic energies bordered each other. The lively, shifting rock of the Earth Quad kept its distance from the cold, gray, and lifeless dirt that made up the majority of the Spirit grounds. I drew in a deep breath, as if I could gather my air element inside of me in a protective bubble, before braving a step forward.
There.
Ouch.
Okay, yeah, it hurt. It felt like crossing over from life to death because I wasn’t meant to be on the Spirit Quad. I hadn’t received an invitation, and there wasn’t even the slightest breeze here to make me feel at home.
Lifeless, colorless buildings wrapped in dead vines boasted what had once been classrooms teeming with bright-minded students. There was, however, one pop of color that stood out against the corpse-like dirt.
A white flower.
I leaned down to inspect it and grazed it with my fingertips.
Claire.
Another flower marked the path just a few paces down, so I went to it and squinted until I spotted another. Then another still, until I was so deep into the Spirit Quad that I swore I was starting to hear the voices of the dead that had once roamed these grounds.
Oh, not the dead—that’s a fae.
I tilted my head to the side and allowed a sliver of my power to carry a breeze to catch the sounds.
There, the dorms.
I ventured in without knocking, not because I meant to intrude, but because I was so intent on discovering what kind of fae might be here other than Exos and Claire.
“You have to fucking do something,” a muscular fae demanded. Auburn locks licked with tiny flames, and embers burned in the fae’s eyes as he challenged the royal that leaned heavily against the wall. He was shirtless, his hair damp, maybe from a recent shower.
“And you need to calm down,” Exos ordered. He pushed off from the wall and startled me by pinning me with his gaze. “Ah, Vox. Finally, you’re here.” He waved me over as if he’d summoned me here. “Come in and make yourself at home.”
My eyes widened. I was an Air Fae adept in the skills of stealth. I’d passed every shadowstep and secrecy class with outstanding marks, to the point that I was well on my way as a spy for Air Kingdom if I so wanted, yet the royal had noticed me without any effort at all.
The Fire Fae glared at me, causing me to reconsider coming here. I recognized him. Everyone on campus would. He was a renowned fighter. A champion. And lethal as fuck. “Well, you heard Exos,” Titus said. “Don’t just stand there, Vox. Join us.”
Swallowing hard, I entered and awkwardly adjusted my ruined suit. I probably should have changed into something more presentable before venturing over here. “Ah, so, is Claire okay?” I asked.
Smooth, Vox.
“Yes, she’s having a nap,” Exos said, then gave Titus a raised brow. “And shouldn’t be left alone, Titus.”