Page 148 of Never Kiss a Fae
Vox balked at me. “What in the five elements has gotten into you, Sol? Now the entire floor is ruined and we have trees in our kitchen.”
Titus chose that moment to walk in, sparking embers across his fingertips that looked like tiny explosions. He’d already been wearing a scowl when he’d entered, but when he saw my handiwork, he stopped midstride. “Well, somebody’s redecorated.”
Heat scalding my skin from embarrassment, I took a seat at one of the overgrown stumps at the table and plucked a peach from a lower branch. “You were making dinner, weren’t you, Vox?” I reminded him. “You wanted me to fix the dining room, and, well, I did.” Simple as that. I sank my teeth into the delicate fruit, relaxing instantly.
Vox glowered, then deflated—literally. A puff of air sent his loose hair floating around his head, the band having broken free in his attempts to reassemble the table. “Fine. I’ll cook. Maybe some food will calm down whatever’s gotten into you.” He glanced at Titus, who had steam wafting off of his skin. “And you, too, apparently.”
Titus took a nearby stump and glowered. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Flames slithered over his skin like snakes, making me flinch.
“Don’t burn down the trees,” I chided. “I made it for Claire because she likes peaches. And I do, too.”
Titus hummed in approval, some of his fire dying. “Assuming she makes it back, I’m sure she’ll love them.”
There was so much resentment in his voice that I stopped eating. Juices from the peach ran down my wrist, and I wiped it on my pants. “Assuming she makes it back from where?” It struck me then that if she wasn’t with Titus, she had to be with Cyrus. Or maybe Elana.
Titus growled and clasped his fist in his hand. “Cyrus took her to the fucking Spirit Kingdom.” His eyes flashed with rage. “He claims to have a lead on Exos, but I call pixie shit on that.”
“But classes start up again in a few days,” I said, confused. “Why would he take her there? She could be gone for weeks. And then she’ll miss the ball.” That last part wasn’t meant to escape, but I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it for over a month. I never actually saidyes, and she’d not brought it up again, so I didn’t know if we were going or not. But I sort of wanted to take her.
No, Ireallywanted to.
Which was definitely a problem because we were supposed to be just friends.
Except my fantasies were decidedlynotfriend-based.
The silence overwhelming the kitchen had me looking to Vox and Titus. They were both gaping at me.
“Claire’s been dragged off to the undead wasteland of a realm, and you’re worried about the ball?” Vox asked, sounding incredulous. “Since when do you care about those things?”
I creased my lips together and frowned. I’d already said too much, and Vox was right. Claire was in danger, although I highly doubted even the Spirit Kingdom could dampen her life. Still, this was no time to worry about stupid Academy social events.
Even if I was starting to look forward to it.
“Yeah, Sol,” Titus said, his flames receding as a spark of amusement flashed across his face. “Why do you care about the ball?”
“Did she ask you?” Vox interrupted, an odd note in his voice.
“So what if she did?” I demanded, taking another bite of the peach. “Titus didn’t ask her to go, and she said she’d go with me and we’d wear jeans.” We just never finalized our plans, but she still planned to go with me.I think.
“Formal attire is required,” Vox reminded me. “You can’t wear jeans.”
“Well, she said we’re wearing jeans, and I’m good with that.” And there wasn’t shit he could do about it.
Vox’s brow furrowed. “I’m going to win our bet. You’re falling for her.”
I snorted. “Dude, I haven’t lost yet. We’re not mated, just friends. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Tell her she can’t go to the ball?” Even I could hear the defensive quality of my tone, but fuck if I would admit it out loud. It was a ball. Who cared if I wanted to take her?
“If you don’t want to adhere to the social customs, you should let someone take her who actually wants to dress up,” Vox grumbled, slamming his knife down into the slab of meat with a gust of wind. He cursed when he couldn’t get the blade free from the cutting board.
Titus leaned back against one of the peach trees and smirked. “Are you two seriously bickering over who gets to go to the ball with Claire? Why don’t you just both take her?”
Vox stopped trying to yank his knife free, and I stared at the Fire Fae. “You’re not upset?” It was his mate, after all.
Titus shrugged. “Look, when she gets back from whatever nightmare Cyrus puts her through, she’ll need a distraction. I think the Solstice Ball is a great idea, but I can’t go. Banned, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” Vox chuckled. “You burned down the pixie orchestra at the last ball. That was hilarious.”
Titus frowned. “Only because some Water Fae were being dicks. I wasn’t in the mood for their shit.” He shuddered as if the idea of any Water Fae revolted him. I wanted to remind him that Claire had control over water as well, but I didn’t want to be the next thing he burned. “Anyway, you both should take her. It’ll help get her mind off things after Cyrus inevitably comes back empty-handed.” His jaw flexed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say this is all a ruse on his part to make her stronger. He’s been a complete ass since day one.”
