Page 14 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

My eyes widened. “Orc?” Like the giant horned-goblin things? “Orcs are real?” I demanded, looking at Exos.

He kissed my temple. “Not the way you think. But Cyrus is right. I love a meaty orc. When do we eat?”

I suddenly wasn’t very hungry. All I could envision were those gross-looking things from that famous movie about the ring. Weren’t they, like, dead elves or something? “Where does spritemead come from?” I asked, cutting off whatever Feather had just said. “Sorry,” I added, my cheeks heating.

Cyrus squeezed my shoulders a little. Honey and grains, little queen. Made by the fae with all-natural elements.

Well, that’s okay, then. But orc? Yeah, I’ll pass on that.

Feather asked Exos if he wanted to do the honors of slicing off the first piece. He heartily agreed, leaving me beside Cyrus to watch. I cringed, shaking my head back and forth the entire time.

Nope.

Not happening.

Don’t care at all how hot Exos looks in that suit. A girl has to have limits, and I am not eating that.

When he returned with three plates and a dimple on his cheek, I sort of felt obligated to at least try the odd meat. No, I felt coerced. Seduced. Compelled. Whatever the word. And I had to admit, it didn’t smell all that bad. It reminded me a bit of roast beef, at least in terms of scent.

“You use the algae wrap to eat it,” Cyrus explained, picking up the leafy green on his plate. He used it to break off a hunk of the orc and put it in his mouth, then waggled his eyebrows as he chewed.

Anyone else, and I would have gagged.

But it was Cyrus.

And somehow, he made the entire damn thing look elegant and far too sexy.

Exos did the same, minus the eyebrow move. He just smiled afterward and promised to find me something else if I didn’t want to try the meat. Which was apparently a delicacy, according to Cyrus.

Because yeah, why wouldn’t orc be a delicacy?

When in the fae world, I thought to myself as I broke off a piece of the leafy green wrap. How the times have changed.

One of these days, I was going to force the guys to find me a pizza. No, a hamburger. Maybe both. And ice cream. Oh, that sounded decadent. But instead, I had a weird piece of roast beef–looking meat wedged between two grassy leaves.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a bite.

Warm and smoky. Not chewy. Hmm.

I wrapped up another piece and tossed it into my mouth.

Okay. This isn’t bad. Actually, it’s pretty good.

After a few more bites, I found Exos and Cyrus both watching me with hungry expressions. “What?” I asked, wiping my lips.

“You keep moaning,” Exos replied.

“Loudly,” Cyrus added, his gaze falling to my mouth.

“Oh.” I swallowed. “Uh, the orc is, uh, good.” I picked up my spritemead and downed the rest of my mug, needing a distraction.

Exos took it from my hand as soon as I finished.

And Cyrus wrapped his palm around the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss, his tongue wasting no time in exploring my mouth. More than good, he corrected, referring to my comment about the orc. You taste amazing, Claire.

He released me on a pant, my chest rising and falling from the much-needed oxygen that disappeared as Exos took hold and sealed his mouth over mine.

Right. Okay. I can get used to this.

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