Page 170 of Never Kiss a Fae
He grunted as the force knocked him back. My powers didn’t seem to work unless I was emotionally invested, like right now with Titus in my face, which wasn’t like me at all. I wouldn’t admit how much that lack of control unsettled me.
“Where’s Sol?” I asked. “Perhaps he’s better company right now.”
Titus ground his teeth before replying. “Out back. But if you think he’s better company than me, good fucking luck.” Titus shoved past me, his embers burning my Academy robes as he went.
I doused the tiny flames with a snap of wind and thought about going after the Fire Fae, but a fight was what he wanted.
Actually, you know what? Fuck it. I want a fight, too.
My vision went white, and with it, a tornado burst into existence. Every display of weakness I’d had over the past few days transformed into what was really hiding under the surface. My royal lineage had been dormant, suppressed under years of careful control, but something had cracked, allowing it to escape.
Titus bellowed and didn’t have time to stop the force from launching him into the air. He hit the wall—hard—and landed with a thud. He popped back onto his feet and grinned.
“A challenge? Who knew you had it in you?” His smile was feral. “Let’s take it outside and burn off some steam. Or better yet, let’s gofindher.”
The fae wasn’t even fazed by my attack.
He just wanted a sparring partner. A way to let loose.
I dismissed the tornado with a flick of my wrist, sending siding and damaged wood crashing to the ground. Our kitchen was even more hopelessly ruined. Not that I cared.
Okay, maybe I did a little.
Damn it!
“We can’t just go barreling into the Water Kingdom without permission. We are Academy students,” I reminded him. “We don’t have the clearance or the right to trespass.” It was Elana’s dream to unite the fae, the Academy being a grand gesture in that regard, but borders were tighter than ever since the plague hit.
Titus growled. “I’m so fucking tired of these excuses.” Fire burst up his arms, then quelled, and then flamed again. “Claire is stuck there, and if Cyrus isn’t going to tell us what the fuck is going on, he can’t blame us for going after her. Can’t you feel that she needs us?”
Yes, of course I could feel her.
That was the problem.
“I’m not going anywhere without Sol,” I said, my air rumbling over the ground in tiny somersaults.
“I think you’ll find him far more willing than you realize. Ask him.” Red veins spidered down Titus’s arms as if a volcano built inside of him and was just itching to get out. “Actually, you know what? Fuck that. If you and Sol aren’t at the front door in five minutes, I’m leaving without you assholes.”
Cursing under my breath, I snatched up the tepid soup—which had remained miraculously untouched—and marched toward the back of the quad. Even if it was pathetic food, it was still food. And I needed something to bargain with.
“Sol!” I bellowed.
I hadn’t checked on the peach orchard since that night, but stopped, alarmed, when I saw the unexpected decay. What Sol had spent days putting his energy into, a thriving forest of life and sweet fruit, was now a graveyard. Wilted trees hung with rotten fruit, and a sour scent spiked the air.
I found Sol slumped against one of the larger trees that had a scar down its center and leaned precariously to the side with half of its roots upended. Sol didn’t seem to notice and tossed pebbles across the dirt.
“Sol,” I tried again, my voice softer as I approached him. “You all right, buddy?”
He glanced up at me, and he looked just as tired as I felt. “It’s all ruined,” he lamented. “When Claire gets back, she’s going to be so disappointed. She didn’t get to see what it looked like… before.” He turned his attention back to the ground, and his shoulders sagged.
I set the bowl of soup next to him. “You sure you don’t want to eat something?”
He wrinkled his nose at the bowl. “I’m good, thanks.”
Sitting down, I sighed. “Well, we’re a sorry pair, aren’t we?”
Sol scoffed. “That’s what happens when we find a beautiful mate and Cyrus keeps her all to himself.”
My fist curled at the thought. I forced myself to loosen my fingers. “We didn’t find a mate.” I palmed the back of my neck, noting the knots there and wincing. “She didn’t give us much of a choice.”
