Page 39 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

“Something we actually agree on,” Titus replied.

“Seriously, we cannot do this in Air Kingdom,” Vox tried again.

“Sure,” Cyrus murmured. “We’ll keep it in mind.”

Vox sighed, shaking his head. “I’m so fucked.”

“No, that would be Claire,” Exos corrected, winking at me. “And we’ll figure it out, Vox. It’s just a week of holiday celebrations. How difficult can it be?”

“You’ve clearly not met my parents,” the Air Fae grumbled.

My heart warmed at the idea of meeting his parents and learning more about my air mate. It sounded like a great way to spend the holidays. Whatever holidays they were.

I frowned. “What are we celebrating, exactly?”

“Fae Festivus,” Titus said.

“And what’s that?” I asked, curious.

“Oh, Claire,” Exos murmured. “You’re in for quite a treat.”

Part II

“The Fae Festivus is a time for bonding among the elements. Raise a toast to the gods above, thank them for our beautiful gifts, and be merry. Cheers.”

—Exos

Vox

Nothing about home had changed. Not the way the wind plucked at my hair, or how dizzy I became when I looked over our spire’s balcony, and certainly not my family.

“Tempest, quit your fussing!” my father roared at my mother, his temper already out of control.

He didn’t like it when I visited, but rather than own up to it, he took it out on everyone else. Especially my delicate mother, who would never face his rage head-on. Instead, she bent to his wrath like a willow leans with a strong breeze, somehow never breaking under the strain.

Ignoring my father, my mother cupped my cheeks and gave me a kiss just above the line of my trimmed beard. “Vox, darling. Am I fussing?”

She always liked to put me in the middle. A blockade against my father’s winds.

Shifting my gaze to the angry Air Fae, I took in my father’s scowl as he stood in the foyer surrounded by baggage for two—Claire and me. Sol, Titus, Cyrus, and Exos would be coming in a few days. That had been my only condition that Cyrus would agree to.

By the look on my father’s face, it wasn’t going to be enough.

“No, Mother, you’re not fussing. And even if you were, I haven’t been home in quite some time,” I reminded my father, not that he seemed to care.

“You could have given us more warning,” he growled, crossing his arms over a perfectly pleated white suit. “Or better yet, you could have just done what you do every year and not come home.” He narrowed his gaze. “You’ve made it clear that your family disappoints you.”

I didn’t let his challenging stare deter me. Yes, my family disappointed me. And if there was somewhere else we could have gone for the holidays, I would have suggested it in a heartbeat. But Claire needed all her mates right now, and Air Kingdom made the most sense. The grounds were protected and well populated, and being here offered us the space and opportunity to spend the Festivus together as a unit.

Our only other options had been the Academy or Cyrus’s home. The former posed a problem because of Elana, and the latter would have likely forced Cyrus and Claire to focus solely on coronation planning.

No, we needed a place to lie low, enjoy ourselves, and allocate adequate time to analyzing Elana’s and Ophelia’s motives without any potential interference. This place provided us all with an opportunity to determine our next steps beneath the sanctuary of my home. Because Elana couldn’t visit Air Kingdom without an invitation, and Ophelia, well, she wasn’t welcome anywhere.

Yes, this was where we were mea

nt to be.

My father would just have to deal with it.

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