Page 9 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

Right. Because Cyrus had essentially renounced his throne when he mated me in the Water Kingdom. He was the king’s only heir, leaving him with no choice but to ascend now that he’d chosen a mate for his water element.

And Exos had to become the Spirit King.

Making me the mate to not one but two Royal Fae.

Just another day in the life of Claire Summers, I thought with a snort.

My heels clacked against the marble ground as we reached the first floor and started toward the main hall.

This place was a vacant maze where sou

nd echoed due to the lack of people. Stepping outside almost relieved me, until I felt the cruel pull toward the death fields.

Fortunately, we were headed in the opposite direction, toward the town in the distance.

Cyrus stopped beside a vehicle—or I assumed that was the purpose of the strange three-wheeled contraption. It looked like the kind of thing I saw back in the Human Realm, with a few distinct modifications.

Like the open-air seating.

And the lack of a steering wheel.

It looked like what would happen if a car mated with a motorcycle.

“Hop in, princess,” Exos said.

“Hop in,” I repeated. “Right.” A magical fae car wasn’t the most exciting thing I’d been introduced to over the last few months, so why not? I allowed him to help me onto the soft, leather-like seat while Cyrus climbed in behind me. “I didn’t realize fae had cars.”

“Not really a car,” Exos replied as he slid over to sit beside me. “More like a teleporter.”

“A wh—”

The wind whooshed from my lungs as the contraption began to spin. I grappled for something to hold on to, which turned out to be Exos’s arm, and held on for dear life as the scenery morphed into a cloud of dust.

Within seconds, we were surrounded by tiny cottages and cobblestone streets. I blinked. We’re in Bavaria, I thought, bewildered. Thoughts of my high school geography class populated my mind, flashing images of Southern Germany left and right.

No, little queen. We’re still in Spirit Kingdom.

Looks like Germany to me.

Well, sometimes fae travel to the Human Realm and create inspirations. Where do you think supernatural tales came from? Cyrus nibbled the back of my neck before jumping out of the teleportation transporter thing. He held out a hand. “Claire.”

“Cyrus,” I replied, allowing him to help me find my footing. “What do you call that thing?”

“A convenience.” He smiled. “Much faster than walking.”

“But that’s not how we got here from the Academy.”

“No, we used another method of transportation,” Exos said as he came around the front of the teleporter thing. “Portals take us between the kingdoms, and the realms, too. Same idea in terms of technology and power, but different execution.”

There was still so much about this fae world that I didn’t know or understand. So I just nodded as if it all made sense, when it very much did not.

Exos cupped my cheek and pressed a brief, sweet kiss to my lips. “We have all the time in the world to teach you, Claire.” He brushed his nose against mine before pulling away. “So let us introduce you to another aspect of our world—the coronation.”

Vox

Saying goodbye to Claire after she’d turned my world upside down hadn’t been easy, but I’d done it for her. I’d put on a smile and given her a tender kiss and sent her off to the Spirit Kingdom, a place that I couldn’t go, but I would have tried in a heartbeat if she’d asked.

I might have looked calm on the outside, but Claire had awakened a tempest in my soul. It slipped out more often now, especially when I was thinking about her… which was all the time.

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