Page 106 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

Obeying, I nodded and eased into the shadows where I could keep an eye on her should Ophelia go from cowering corpse to crazed killer.

But Exos took a step forward, unwilling to hide. As Spirit King, I supposed he had the most right to that claim. This was the female who supposedly demolished his kind. I got it.

Titus and Vox lingered in the doorway while Cyrus joined me in the shadows, his spirit humming at the ready. Between him and his brother, Ophelia wouldn’t be able to pull any tricks on us.

And if she did, well, I could always smash her face in.

Claire glared at me when the ground rumbled, and I pulled my power back into my body, biting the side of my cheek to keep myself in check.

“Mom, it’s me. It’s Claire,” my mate said, her voice low and sweet as Titus’s shirt billowed around her thighs. She seemed to frown at it, momentarily distracted. And my lips parted as she burned away the garment, replacing it with an array of fluttering pink butterflies.

“When did you learn to do that?” I wondered out loud.

Her lips quirked up. “Aflora taught me a few wardrobe tricks.” Her amusement was short-lived, her focus quickly returning to her mother. “Mom?”

Ophelia blinked up at Claire, her expression competing between terror and awe. “C-Claire?” My mate reached out to comfort the creature, but the moment of lucidity passed and Ophelia’s face twisted with horror. “No! Stop it! I can’t take it anymore!”

A shock wave of spirit flashed out and slammed into my chest. Exos and Cyrus were ready and held off the attack. Exos shoved out with raw power, making Ophelia’s eyes roll back in her head.

“Sleep,” he commanded.

Ophelia collapsed, and Claire caught her just before her head slammed against the wall. She glared back at the Spirit King. “Was that necessary?”

Exos didn’t flinch or respond to her censure. “It’s as I feared. Her mind can’t handle the two decades of torture Elana has put her through. We’re going to have to get answers a different way.” He shared a look with his brother. “We could go into her mind…”

“No,” Claire said with finality. Exos might be a king, but Claire’s gaze burned with a regal authority of her own. She held power over the five elements, not to mention our hearts. “We’re going to do this my way, Exos. Nobody is touching her mind ever again.”

When Claire struggled to drag Ophelia’s limp body back to the bed, I left the shadows and gently took the woman from my mate’s arms, then draped the frail female over the sheets as carefully as I could.

“Thank you,” Claire whispered, taking my hand and guiding me out of the room. “Call me if she wakes up,” she called over her shoulder, the words a demand, not a request.

I couldn’t help the grin that formed at the edge of my mouth. I loved hearing Claire boss around the royal brothers.

And their responding smiles said they felt the same, even if they didn’t agree with her.

Vox and Titus followed us into the living area, where Claire began to pace.

“That went well,” the Fire Fae said, crossing his arms and settling his gaze on Claire. He looked as if he wanted to go to his mate, to comfort her, but Claire was too shaken for the unbridled raw emotions Titus inspired in her right now.

She needed something solid, a rock she could hold on to.

As if hearing my thoughts, she stopped by my side. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close and kissing the top of her head. “It’s going to be okay, little flower.”

She nodded, then melted into my embrace. “I know. But I need to be here when she wakes up again. There are things she can tell us, things that can help us, and I don’t know if she’ll talk to anyone else.” She flicked her gaze to Exos and Cyrus as they entered. “And she won’t be able to if they just knock her out every time she screams.”

“She’s suffered intense pain and torment, Claire,” Exos replied, unapologetic. “Her mind is unreliable, which means defensive energy is our only approach until we can ease her into her new reality.”

“He’s right,” Cyrus agreed. “I can’t even begin to understand what she’s endured these last two decades. And I can’t decide whose situation is worse—hers or Mortus’s.”

“They’re equally bad,” Titus muttered. “Have you seen how lost he is out there?” He gestured to the makeshift sparring grounds outside. They were empty right now due to the evening hour. But his point was made.

“It’s bad,” Exos agreed. “They’re both in rough shape.”

“Which leaves us without additional information on Elana,” Cyrus added. “Luckily, we’ve learned a lot from those books. Such as the source of her power.”

“Which is?” Claire asked, her brow furrowing.

“The death fields,” Exos replied, glancing at his brother. “The spirit energy she’s imprisoned there is used for sacrifices to the dark arts, particularly death magic. Fortunately, she can’t access it anymore.”

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