by Lexi C. Foss
Or, at least, I hoped it was.
It took considerable effort not to pull Vox aside and apologize to him for yesterday. Though it wasn’t my fault, but I felt obligated to say something. Maybe even to thank him for believing in me enough to visit last night and going out to search with Exos.
Yeah, that would be good.
I could express my gratitude for what he’d done, for helping again today, and for supposedly joining my mentor team.
All normal-ish things to say. Nothing too emotional or strange, just typical conversation.
Why am I nervous about talking to Vox?
I glanced at his profile. His crisp features definitely drew the female eye, and while I didn’t usually like long hair on a man, he definitely wore it well. Lean, athletic lines. Handsome. Okay, so maybe I found him a little attractive, but that shouldn’t deter me. I had two equally good-looking men watching from the sidelines. Clearly, my docket was a little full.
But something about Vox’s energy called to mine. Like he soothed me in a way the others didn’t. Because he understood my chaotic affinity for air? That seemed to be the one element I couldn’t master. It ebbed and flowed and fought me at every turn.
Yet, I’d managed to hone the energy under his guidance just yesterday.
That had to be it. I felt a strange connection to him as a result, sort of like he resembled an antidote to the insanity building—
A ball slammed into the side of my head, sending me sideways a step.
“Ow!” I shouted, glowering at the approaching blue-haired bitch to my left. Sickle, if I remembered her name right. “What the fuck?”
“Earth. To. The. Halfling.”
Seriously? “What?” I demanded, half tempted to pick up the ball and throw it at her bitchy little face.
Her resulting smile was all teeth. “I asked if you’re ready to go to the Spirit Kingdom, where you belong.”
I blinked at her. “Wow. That’s your taunt?” I glanced around, meeting the gaze of several of my teammates. They all appeared as welcoming as she did. Great. I shook my head on a laugh, deciding to play this one low-key and not let her get to me. “Sorry, I just expected more originality in the Fae World. But that wasn’t much better than my high school bully.”
“You’ll wither and die there,” she continued.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay.”
“And disappear for good.”
“Uh-huh.” I refused to let this bitch bother me. “Still not impressed. But please, continue. I could use some entertainment.”
Ice clouded her blue eyes. “You tried to kill my friends, and you think this is funny?”
“I haven’t tried to kill anyone.” I folded my arms, bored. “I’m just trying to learn about my fae heritage. That’s it.”
She snorted. “Your mother was a whore who fucked a human and caused a plague that killed off most of the Spirit Fae. An abomination. And you’re the product of it all, a walking reminder of Ophelia’s atrocities.”
Okay, those words stung a bit. Mostly because they were right. But… “I’m not my mother.”
She spit at my feet. “You’re right. You’re worse. Taking a Spirit Royal for yourself to, what, destroy him, too? And Titus? And how many others? You’re an even bigger slut than your mother!”
My palm itched to meet her face, but I swallowed the urge and forced a smile. “Anything else?” I learned a long time ago that the best way to deal with a bully was to not react.
“Yes. I hope they banish you,” she seethed, ice forming around us. It prickled against my skin, raising goose bumps along the way. A few of the students stepped back, eyes widening. River, however, stood firm, gaze narrowed.
It couldn’t be Sickle.
That would be too obvious.
And she couldn’t control air or fire.
Although, the two girls glaring daggers at me from across the gym were capable of controlling those elements.
No.
That couldn’t be it.
I’d literally done nothing to them, apart from apparently stealing Titus from Ignis. But he claimed they were never in a relationship.
Hmm, though, she did try to drug him into one. So she clearly has a thing for my mate.
The whistle blew loudly, calling all the players to their respective locations. Our team was in the field first. And that, apparently, was a literal location because grass grew across the floor with each step, bathing the gym in an exterior appearance.
Lily-pad-shaped bases formed a diamond configuration, denoting our field positions, and another whistle sounded.
Sickle maintained a distance—thankfully—leaving me to guard third base. My competitive drive was piqued as a ball shot over my head. I jumped to catch it, then threw it to the first baseman.
He caught it with a surprised look, then grinned at the growling fae who halted mid-run.
“Nice,” Vox praised, having skipped over to my side in anticipation of the kick.
“Thanks.” Maybe this would actually be fun.
We went a few rounds with me catching more balls, completing several throws, and generally pissing off the other team while enthralling my own.
Several fae even smiled in my direction.
Considering how this started out, I took that as a reasonable sign that at least a couple of fae might actually begin to like me.
At least, until Ignis nearly slammed into me during a field-to-base transition. She tossed her long red hair over her shoulder and sniffed. “You reek of Titus.”
“Thank you,” I replied, smiling. He winked at me from across the room. “As I’m very familiar with his scent, I’m taking that as a compliment. Now, if you’ll excuse—”
She shoved me back with her hand on my shoulder, causing me to stumble. “You might have him fooled, but I see right through your little innocent act. Your mother’s blood runs thick through your veins. And soon, you’ll end up just like her. Dead in the Spirit Kingdom.”
My lips parted on a reply as ice drizzled across my skin, forming a ball in my palm.
I gaped down at it, confused.
This isn’t mine.
I glanced around, searching for the culprit, and found several people backing away. Including Ignis.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her eyebrows rising. “Stop that.”
“I’m not—”
“You’re insane!” she jumped backward, her hands up. “Everyone sees this, right? She’s an abomination that needs to be banished!”
“What are you doing, Claire?” some random chick in a skirt demanded.
“Noth—”
“This is how it started yesterday!”
“In the courtyard, too.”
“She’s unstable.”
“A monster.”
Energy crawled over my skin, foreign and cold, and began to spiral into a voracious ball of energy.
“River…” I searched for him, finding him too far for comfort.
The mean girl brigade began to approach their team captain, their expressions alarmed, but a sheet of ice blocked their path. Ignis leapt sideways on a yelp, her terrified gaze flickering over her shoulder at me. I did nothing but watch as frozen blades appeared around the room, spiking up from the floor.
Fae screamed.
The instructor—whose name I didn’t even remember—shouted.
My name rent the air.
Accusations flew with a fervor.
Stay calm, I told myself. Exos and Titus are here. It’s fine. I stole a deep breath from within and willed my body to remain warm despite the arctic drop in temperature flooding the room.
Vox was suddenly at my side, his palm on my shoulder. “Do you feel it?” he asked softly. “The negative presence?”
I swallowed, trying to search for whatever he meant and shook my head. “I can’t feel anything.”
He glanced down at the metal bracelet clamped around my wrist and nodded. “Then the cuff is working.”
“Is that a good thing?” I asked, shiver
ing as a frozen sheet blanketed the ceiling of the gym.
“Yes.” He nodded toward Elana standing just inside the door beside a man with shockingly white hair. “Looks like Exos invited some of the Council members to the show—Elana and Vape.”
Vape. That must be the lanky male with the long, stark strands. Power seemed to emanate from the male’s gaze as he studied the room with a serene expression. He said something to Elana before glancing at Exos and giving him a nod.
Something seemed to pass between them. An understanding. Unspoken words. I opened my mouth, ready to ask Vox if he knew what was happening, when an ominous crack sounded through the air.
Golf ball–sized hail fell from the ceiling, crashing into the ground around me. I screamed, falling to my knees, and covered my head just as a lethal ice pick sliced through the air toward Exos’s head.
“No!” I made to move, but a wave of fire went up in a flash, incinerating the approaching weapon and leaving a very livid Royal Fae in its wake. He sent waves of power through the gym in a show of dominance unlike any I’d ever seen or felt.
Fire mingling with spirit—the royal declaring his right to the throne.
Everyone froze.
Then several fae fell to their knees on a whisper of sound, his name a chant on the wind.
Claire
I stood gaping at Exos, unable to speak, unsure of what to do.
“Who dares to threaten me?” he demanded, his blue eyes scanning the gym. “The last of the Spirit Fae line. A royal.”
Several heads turned in my direction, causing him to scoff.
“You all discredit my ability to sense my own mate’s power? You think I wouldn’t be able to feel any malevolence coming from the future Princess of the Spirit Kingdom?” He tsked. “Such an insult requires punishment, perhaps in the form of a reminder of what a Spirit Fae can truly do.”
Shudders rolled through the room, palpable and fear-driven.
“She did it!” someone shouted.
“Who?” Exos demanded.
A petite male with curly dark hair stood slowly and pointed at Sickle. “I felt her water energy roll over me just before it surrounded the Halfling.”
“He’s right,” Vox added, still standing at my side. “I felt it, too.”
“Same.” The high-pitched voice came from the fae I’d first thrown the ball to at the beginning of the game.
Sickle was frozen on her knees, her expression one of shock. “I… I…”
“I recognized the signature as well,” the white-haired male said from the doorway, his voice carrying over the crowd. “It flooded the room. And as you’ve put the distinctive Powerless Champion cuff on your mate, Titus, it most certainly did not come from Claire.”
Several gasps filled the air as Vox lifted my arm. He tugged up the sleeve to reveal the bracelet underneath while I stood stock-still beside him, unable to properly breathe.
Sickle did this?
That just seemed too obvious somehow.
“I didn’t do this,” Sickle said, her head rotating back and forth. “I would never… I mean… I’m not… This can’t…”
“What about the vortex?” Aerie asked, her wiry form shaking beside Sickle. “And the fire? Sickle didn’t do those.”
“Yet they targeted both me and Exos,” Titus broke in. “Odd, considering we’re the only two fae helping Claire. Why would she try to harm us?”
“Because she’s insane,” Ignis muttered from across the room.
“No, I suspect something else is at play.” Elana stepped forward in a pristine white outfit, her hands clasped before her. Energy seemed to ripple around her as she moved, the air shifting beneath her, the grassy floor rekindling with life beneath her feet.
Several in the room gave her a wide berth, their reverence palpable as they kept their heads bowed for both Elana and Exos. Even Titus and Vox appeared to defer to them, making me wonder if I was supposed to be kneeling or bowing instead of gaping.
But I couldn’t stop.
I couldn’t look away.
I needed to see what the hell was about to happen, hear whatever she intended to say. This woman—the Chancellor of the Academy—held my future in her hands. Exos never said that; it was just something I knew. And now she seemed to be considering her options, weighing the events of the room in her mind, and stroking the guilty parties with her spirit.
It slithered over me, a darkness that surprised my senses—there and gone in a flash. But it left an inky texture in her wake, confusing my ties to my inner elements.
Wrong.
Intrusive.
Reject.
Exos moved to stand beside her, his hands tucked behind his back, his spine erect in a distinctly regal manner. Titus remained at his station near the side of the room, unmoving, gaze downcast.
But the white-haired one strode forward with purpose, his eerily light gaze sweeping over everyone he passed.
“Stand.” Elana’s command sent a shiver through the air, but only three obeyed.
Ignis.
Aerie.
Sickle.
“Chancellor El—”
Elana silenced Ignis with a wave of her hand. “No speaking unless I ask you to.” She strode around the trio, the atmosphere moving with her as a twirl of pixies appeared on her shoulder. “Mmm, yes, do.”
They took off in a swarm, dancing over the three girls who appeared frozen in time, unblinking. I gaped at the display, concerned and confused, while everyone else in the room appeared to be incapable of observing.
What is happening? I wondered.
She’s searching their minds for memories, Titus whispered back, causing my head to whip toward him.
What?! She can do that?
As a Spirit Fae, you possess the same ability.
I gaped at his prone form. He’d remained tucked into a revered pose, his eyes hidden from my own. I learned last night that we could somehow communicate in our minds now that we’d mated, but I didn’t realize how clear our conversations could be.
Am I supposed to be bowing? I asked, wiping my palms against my skirt.
If you were, you would be. She’s controlling the entire room right now, apart from you and Exos.
Why? I wondered. And how did he know she wasn’t controlling me? I’d felt her energy slither over my skin. Just thinking about it made me tremble in foreboding. I never wanted to feel that again.
Because she can and she’s pissed, Titus replied. But most importantly, because it’s a way of exerting power.
Oh. And you’re telling me she’s able to search everyone’s memories? Why didn’t she—or Exos, for that matter—do that before? It would have saved us a lot of trouble, and me a lot of grief.
Who’s to say they haven’t? he countered. But from what I understand, it takes a lot of energy. And to dive into someone’s mind requires a conflict worthy of the intrusion—such as witnessing a fae using elements inappropriately.
Hence, today’s trap, I realized.
Exactly.
“Interesting,” Elana said as her pixies began to chatter. “Very interesting.” She clapped and the creatures disappeared. “It would appear none of the incidents were Claire at all, but the three of you trying to sabotage the new student out of petty jealousy.”
“That’s not—”
“Silence!” Power thundered through that softly spoken word, making even me want to think twice about ever speaking again. Ignis visibly shuddered, her fiery hair falling in a wave over her shoulders as she bent even lower. “What was it you three desired? Oh, yes. For the Halfling to be banished to the Spirit Kingdom. Well, I do find that to be a suitable punishment for knowingly trying to destroy the reputation of an innocent student. Thoughts, Exos?”
“Perhaps a temporary visit,” he suggested flatly. “They are students, after all. And the Spirit Kingdom is not kind to outsiders.”
“Temporary,” she mused, tapping her lip. “Vape?”
The white-haired male lifted a shoulder in
a slight shrug. “As it is an affront on the Royal Fae and his intended, I would defer to his choice on the matter.”
“And you, Mortus? I sense you lurking in the corridor. What say you?” she called.
My heart skipped a beat as the tall male with familiar dark features entered the room, his hands tucked behind his back in a similar fashion to Exos. “Does my opinion even matter?” he asked, his tone emotionless.
“As I request it, yes.” She gave him her full attention. “Ignis is one of your students, after all.”
He glanced at the redhead. “One of many.”
“Then you should care what happens to her.”
“As I said, one of many.” He considered Ignis as one would an inconvenient mosquito. “Well, I suppose a temporary punishment would be adequate. Though, I’ll also note that I surmised something like this would happen. The Halfling is not necessarily well liked, and if she is to survive in this world, then she should get used to being attacked.”
Ice slithered through my veins at his callous words. Even Vox flinched beside me. But Exos merely chuckled. “I wish anyone luck who attempts to touch my intended betrothed. Not only will they have me to contend with, but also Titus. In fact”—he paused to address the room—“allow this to be a warning to you all. For while I may suggest a temporary sentence to be served in the Spirit Kingdom, I’m also requesting they be stripped of their elements during their stay. As they’ve proven to use them wrongly, it only seems fitting. Wouldn’t you agree, Elana?”
The girls began to cry—silently—while the elders observed, and I wondered what all that would entail. Cuffs like my own? Or something more dire?
“Yes, that suits the crime, indeed,” she agreed, a note of admiration in her voice. “Care to do the honors?”
“I do.” He shifted forward, hands still behind him but gaze focused on the three bowing females. “As I said, consider this an introduction, for I will not be so lenient on a second offense.”
Swirls of energy laced through his words, stringing through the air and wrapping around the women in wispy vines of magic. Their mouths opened on soundless shrieks at the contact, tears streaming from their eyes as Exos weaved the power through them and over them and around them.