Page 372 of Never Kiss a Fae
“Then let’s go relive the experience. Afterward, we can spar a little.”
She wasn’t pregnant yet, which meant playing was absolutely allowed. And the way her face beamed at me said it was the right approach.
I wrapped an arm around her while my other hand cradled the Firebird egg.
This trial would be easy as fae pie.
And soon, Claire would be growing with my child.
I couldn’t fucking wait.
The bed was cold without my mates, making me pleased this series of trials was coming to an end.
“They really are something,” my mom murmured, observing my mates from the kitchen window. They all stood outside discussing their kitchen assignments.
Titus appeared disgruntled over something. Sol looked half-awake. Vox’s expression held a touch of arrogance—as the main chef of our mate-circle, he totally had this task in the bag, and he knew it. Meanwhile, Exos and Cyrus looked just like they did thirty hours ago: handsome, polished, and ready to win.
We were waiting on Lance and Kalt, who had taken the night shift to observe and were napping through the morning hours while my mom, Mortus, and River took over.
The utter devotion to these trials warmed my heart. If I had any reservations about having a baby before, they were gone now. Because I realized how much support I had, not just from my mates but also from our family and friends.
“I’m ready,” I told my mom. “I’m really ready.”
“I know you are,” she replied, smiling softly. “You’re going to be an amazing mom, and those mates of yours are going to make great dads.”
I smiled. “Yeah, they really…” I trailed off as a swirl of flames danced along the field, heading directly for Titus. My elements engaged to throw up a shield, only my fire mate triggered his first, blasting off a wave of power in the direction of the source.
Lance.
“Ah, hell,” I muttered, going to the door to stop the two hotheaded males from battling in the front yard.Again.
The last time this happened, they destroyed two of Sol’s trees and blew out the windows to the house. Vox had been furious about all the glass, while my Earth Fae mate had threatened to bury Lance alive beneath the replacement roots.
Cyrus sighed audibly as I stepped outside, his hand forming a wall of water that protected himself and my other mates.
“That’s not going to stop him,” Titus muttered, a ball of fire ready in his palm.
“What’s his fucking problem?” Exos demanded.
“He values his beauty rest,” Titus drawled.
Cyrus snorted. “Don’t we all?”
Kalt created a door and stepped through the water without getting a drop on him, while Lance sprinted through the tidal wave and directly into Exos.
Who proceeded to drop his mirror.
It shattered all over the ground, destroying his object and eliciting gasps from the group.
Exos stared at it for a moment, shock evident in his expression, then he narrowed his gaze at the cause of the issue. Titus immediately stepped in between his little brother and my Spirit Fae mate. “Apologize,” he demanded, his focus on Lance. “Now.”
“An apology isn’t going to fix my mirror,” Exos muttered, his fury and sadness swirling through our bond. He’d lost the trial and he knew it, which meant he was now disqualified from the results.
All because Titus’s brother had lost his temper over Fae knew what.
Shit.
“I… I’m sorry,” Lance said, sounding more contrite than I’d ever heard him. Likely because he’d just pissed off the Spirit Fae King—a male known for his warrior abilities and no-nonsense attitude. “I just wanted… to fuck with… Titus.”
