Page 56 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

Claire clung to my robes as she took in the vast scenery.

The kingdom glimmered with lights, alive with celebration and joy. The music could barely reach us at this height, but another melody caught my ears. One of wind and nature’s harmony as the element twirled and played at the top of the ceremonial spire.

Claire focused on the starless sky above, its tapestry blocked out by a long sea of rolling aura lights. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed, lifting her fingers as if to touch the masterpiece. “What is it?”

“Wind’s source,” my grandfather said with pride. He moved to a single pedestal that housed sacred texts, even though he didn’t need it. We all had the vows memorized by heart. To mate-bond was the most important day of our lives as a fae, and I didn’t take this lightly.

“Nothing is more beautiful than seeing you here with me,” I said, brushing away Claire’s hair from her face. My fingers didn’t touch her skin but hovered just out of reach as my element kissed her cheek.

She smiled. “What made you change your mind?” she asked, seemingly bewildered by my readiness to mate-bond with her. “I’m not blind, Vox. I’ve sensed your hesitation from the ver

y beginning. I thought you would never go beyond the second stage of mate-bonding, but then the other night, I thought maybe I pushed you into the third bond...” Her gaze drifted to the aura again. “Are you really ready for this?”

I didn’t tease this time. I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her close to me so that I could feel her breath on my face.

“I’ve been a fool.” My admission echoed out across the great expanse even though I’d barely uttered the words. The energy in my chest stirred, and anticipation made every inch of me feel electrified.

“Yes, I’ve fought the bond,” I continued. “But not because of you. I fought because deep down I knew what it meant for my power. All my life, I’ve prided myself on my control, and you, my darling Claire, unwind all my practiced restraint. It terrified me at first, made me feel like I’d lost a key part of myself. However, I realize now that you were teaching me how to live. How to breathe for the first time. How to truly feel.”

I cupped her cheek and brushed my lips across hers, loving the taste of her, the sensation of her in my arms, the irrefutable reality of her finally being mine.

“I love you, Claire,” I told her. “So yes, I’m ready. I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.” And I meant every single word.

Claire answered me with a kiss of her own that ignited a storm inside of me. A storm that confirmed this was where I belonged.

My grandfather creaked the old book open. “Repeat after me…”

Claire spoke the words first, her lips hovering just over mine.

I, Claire, accept the power that binds me to Vox, born of the Four Winds. To cherish and respect, through all of the eras and time that may fall before us, until our souls do us part. I give unto him my promise of freedom, my warm breeze, my calm before every storm, and accept his in return. My element is now his just as his is now mine, to the fae heavens may we never part. And I shall never forsake him for another, my wind forever belonging to him and to him alone.

The elements roared to life when she completed the last phrase, and she gasped, her finger running over my cheekbone. “Vox, your eyes.”

I didn’t have to ask her what she meant, because her eyes had transformed as well. For just this moment in time, she was an Air Fae, embracing all that it meant to become one with me and to approach the source of my power. Her irises glistened with a wild silver band that grew as the winds surrounding us picked up.

I felt that power in my chest, and I did what I never could have done without Claire.

I embraced it.

I, Vox, accept the power that binds me to Claire, a Halfling who completes me like no Air Fae could. To cherish and respect, through all of the eras and time that may fall before us, until our souls do us part. I give unto her my promise of freedom, my warm breeze, my calm before every storm, and accept hers in return. My element is now hers just as hers is now mine, to the fae heavens may we never part. And I shall never forsake her for another, my wind forever belonging to her and to her alone.

The blast that hit us swept us off the platform. It didn’t matter that there was a rail; we went flinging over it and into the skies. Claire gasped and clung to my neck.

“I thought you said we couldn’t fly!”

We couldn’t, but we weren’t flying.

We were being accepted by the source of the Four Winds into a sacred realm only royals could go.

“Don’t be afraid,” I assured her and turned her so that her back was to my chest. Our feet dangled, but an invisible force took us up into the thin air where the surging aura lights waited. Jewel tones filled the horizon, and a bed of clouds formed under us.

I lowered Claire onto the soft element, finding it tangible and real. She marveled as she swept her hand through the cottony substance. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Her eyes had gone completely silver now, and my element called to hers. My yearning for her to complete what we’d started overwhelmed me. We had to appease the energy swirling around us, to become one in the most sacred of realms.

“Claire,” I breathed, her name a desperate plea as if I were in pain even from this small separation. We needed to complete the bond.

Her silver eyes gleamed knowingly, her fingers sweeping in an arc that sent wind tangling her power through my hair, undoing my warrior’s tail, and lifting the dark strands over my shoulders. She tugged at my clothes as I did the same to hers, sending my desire to shift her sleeves off her shoulders. My lips went to her delicate skin, then I tasted her neck with my tongue.

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