Page 30 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

“Claire is what you need,” I reminded him. “And damn your control. Your ass is tighter than an orc’s. You really need to get over yourself.”

The Air Fae smirked. “That’s a lovely picture.”

I retrieved another Solstice brew and made him drink it. When he was done, I shook him by the shoulders. “Now, are you going to pull yourself together and show Claire a good time? She’s counting on us. It’s important that she feels welcome here. I don’t want anything to make her feel like she doesn’t belong, especially not your broody-ass self.”

Vox chuckled and pushed my hands off him. “Yeah, all right. Stop hounding me already.”

We both nursed a fresh drink while we waited for Claire, but when the next song started and she still hadn’t returned, an unsettling feeling grumbled in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t until an unfamiliar surge of fear swept through the mate-bond that I realized Claire might be in trouble.

“Did you feel that?” I asked, shoving my drink to a fae next to us.

Vox’s eyes locked on the corridor. “She’s in trouble.”

We hurried through the gathering of female fae, ignoring their shrieks when I ripped the door open. “Claire?” I called, my rumbling voice rising in panic.

The room was empty.

Claire was gone.

Claire

Five Minutes Earlier

Perfect.

Everything was perfect.

And yet, I still had that strange nagging suspicion that I was missing something. It’d crept back up my spine on the way to the bathroom, and as I stared at my reflection in the mirror once again, I felt it hitting me square in the chest.

What is it? I demanded.

No one stood nearby, the restroom empty.

I hiccupped again from the bubbly brew Vox had given me. The pear-like taste still lingered in my mouth. So good. I wanted more. Just as soon as I figured out this sensation of loss.

Gripping the counter, I studied myself. “You’re losing your mind,” I muttered. “Here you are at a beautiful ball with two gorgeous men, and you’re talking to your reflection.” Good thing no one else was in this bathroom to hear me, or they would have agreed.

“Claire…”

I jumped at the sound of my name, spinning around and searching for the source.

No one.

Nothing.

Not even the beat of the music from the ballroom reached me here.

What the hell?

Had I imagined it?

I crouched down to look beneath all the doors, wondering if I somehow missed a person, when I heard my name again. It came on a whisper against the back of my neck that sent me rotating upward onto my feet.

Vacant space.

“What the fuck?” I demanded, the hairs along my limbs standing on end.

It had to be an Air Fae of some kind playing a trick. But why?

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