Page 41 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

I held her tight, my heart thundering from the very real fear of losing her. She was a true fae sometimes—wild and free. And she had no idea how easy it would be to fall from the windows of this spire.

“The Air Kingdom is located in the highest lands available in the Fae Realm,” I said and led her to a bench on the translucent floor. The picturesque view below depicted low-lying clouds intertwining with rocks and trees. “It’s also the closest we can be to the source of our element. That’s what you sense, Claire. And through our bond, you’ll be able to access that source while you’re here.”

I palmed the back of my neck. It hadn’t occurred to me that by mating with Claire, she would gain access to my power and bloodline. All my walls wouldn’t protect her. She’d have to build her own.

Claire rested her head on my shoulder and squeezed my hand. “Tell me what it was like to grow up here,” she mused, her gaze locked on the expanse beneath us. “Your mother seems nice.”

I snorted. “She just knows you’re mated to two kings and wants your approval.”

My mate shrugged. “Or maybe she cares about you and wants to make me feel welcome.”

I highly doubted that, but I didn’t debate it. “I apologize for my father, and my grandfather. They can both be a bit, uh, much.”

Claire chuckled and burrowed her nose against my neck, leaving tender kisses that forced the knots to unwind from my shoulders. “No family is perfect.”

I winced. No one knew that better than Claire. “I’m sorry,” I admitted. “I shouldn’t complain.”

She nipped my ear as her hand drifted over my thigh, making me forget why I’d been so upset to begin with. “Nonsense. Complain away. I want to hear why you hate it here so much, because then maybe I can do something about it.”

“I never said I hated it here.”

“You didn’t have to,” she replied, eyeing me knowingly. “I can sense it.”

Of course she could.

I sighed. Titus and Sol already knew about my history. But I hadn’t yet told Claire. I supposed now was as good a time as ever.

So I told her the story about my grandfather and how he obtained his scar. How the Air King gave him access to the source, only for my grandfather to take advantage of it. “He killed people,” I told her. “And not because he’s vile or malicious, but because he was arrogant and lacked control.”

I continued by telling her how it brought shame to our family, how despite being of the royal bloodline, we were no longer permitted to touch the core of our power.

“My connection with the source is stronger than anyone else’s in our bloodline. As such, my father seems to think I can restore our family’s good name,” I concluded. “But I know my limits, and I have no desire to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps. Hence my need for control.”

Claire studied me for a long moment, and I half expected her to express disappointment in my history. Instead, she murmured, “Hmm, but denying your gift isn’t how you stay in control.”

“I’m not denying it.”

She gave me a look. “I can feel you fighting it, Vox. And if you continue to deny your abilities, it’ll eventually explode out of you. That’s how people get hurt.”

The shadow of memory in her gaze told me she was thinking about the night she burned down the human bar. It was a bit different since she didn’t know about her gifts then, but I understood her implication.

“I’m not fighting it,” I clarified slowly, “so much as trying to find new ways to tame it.”

“Seems similar to me.” She studied me. “You’ve felt… stressed.”

I huffed a laugh. “Yeah, that’s one way to describe it.”

“And coming here didn’t help,” she added.

“No, maybe not. But I’m determined to enjoy our Festivus regardless. I even ordered food for us to cook together.”

Her blue eyes twinkled. “Bacon and eggs?”

Not exactly bacon… “Yes,” I said instead, still not having the heart to tell her the truth about the origin of her precious pig meat

.

“So this is like Christmas,” she mused. “Right?”

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