Page 391 of Never Kiss a Fae
“What are you doing up there?” my mother demanded, shock evident in her voice. “You shouldn’t be tottering about at dangerous heights.”
“Good luck convincing her to stop,” Titus muttered, then cursed as fire raced up one of the curtains. “Damn it.” He stilled the flame with a wave of magic.
“I don’t like you up there,” Cyrus said, his hands on my hips, steadying me while Titus focused on the candles. “Come down, please.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted. Vox and I often found ourselves in the clouds during one of our one-on-one sessions, but she didn’t need to know that.
But I allowed him to pull me off the ladder anyway just as the rest of my mates entered.
Exos narrowed his gaze but didn’t comment.
“Why aren’t you steadying yourself with the earth?” Sol asked as he helped Vox place a mountain of food on the table near the burnt nuts. “And what happened here?”
“Claire likes candles,” Titus explained.
“And she can handle heights just fine,” Vox added, then frowned as glitter floated toward the food. He sent it away with a puff of air. “This stuff is everywhere.”
“I know, and it’s so pretty!” I exclaimed, lacking a better reason for why all of this was necessary.
He softened and smiled at me. “Yes, it’s all beautiful. Just like you, Claire.”
Exos smirked in amusement, then left for more food. When he returned, it was also with a bunch of plates and cutlery.
“Seriously, why do we need all this food for a meeting?” I asked him.
“Because it’s not a meeting,” he replied. “It’s a surprise nesting party.”
“Which isn’t so much a surprise since everyone keeps telling her,” Cyrus added dryly, his arm around my waist again.
“Okay, but what’s a nesting party?” I asked again, hoping somebody would clarify. “And if it’s not for the Interrealm Fae Academy, then I want an update on how all that is going.”
Cyrus slipped behind me to wrap his arms around my waist, forcing me to face my mother. “Want to explain, Ophelia? This was all your idea, right?”
My mother giggled, the sound girlish for her age, as she sat down beside Mortus. Of course, she didn’t look a day over thirty, and neither did herboyfriend.Fae genetics were kind of awesome like that.
“Yes, Cyrus is right. I’m to blame,” she admitted as Mortus slid his arm around her. I wondered if they would ever decide to mate each other again. Their first mating hadn’t been by choice. But they really did seem to love each other now.
“I wanted to surprise you with a nesting party, which is like a baby shower,” she explained, making me recall Gina saying something like that to me last month. I met the Fortune Fae’s gaze, and she gave me a dazzling smile. Right. She’d predicted this.
“So your mates helped me with this ruse,” my mother continued. “You’re in the heart of your nesting phase right now, so I thought you’d enjoy a little celebration.” Her gaze swept across the room, then fell to my stomach, and her features softened into a smile. “Your little holiday heir will be here before we know it.”
Holiday heir.
I liked the sound of that.
“So there’s no meeting,” I said. “But someone is going to update me on the Interrealm Fae Academy, right?” The only update I had was that they kept scheduling meetings all over the realms, providing information from my presentation and trying to secure alliances. There would be a big vote near the end of the year.
“How about after the nesting party?” Cyrus suggested, his lips against my ear. “Let’s enjoy our faeling first, then Exos and I will shower you in political discussion.”
My lips curved. “Promise?”
“We promise,” he murmured, kissing my cheek.
I call your pussy this time,Exos said in my head, causing me to choke on my own tongue.
Exos!
What?He gave me a devious look from where he stood beside the food.Do you prefer me in your ass?
