Page 27 of Conquering the King of Storms

Was it something to do with being mates, or was it just… him?

“Would you be able to sit up?” His voice was still so damn gentle.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. His hand was on my arm as I eased myself back up to a sitting position, careful to keep myeyes away from the place the monster’s body had fallen. It didn’t smell bad yet, but I figured it would soon.

Sirus’s hand remained on my arm even after I was stable and sitting. “Let me take care of your hair, and then we’ll need to start moving again.”

I nodded, still quiet. He caught the bottom hem of my dress in his hands, and with two sharp gusts of wind, cut two thin strips off of it. My throat swelled at the reminder of how powerful his magic was. I had seen his tornadoes, and the destruction he could create, but to form the wind into sharp gusts capable of literally cutting living beings into pieces…

Fuck, that was big.

And I didn’t know whether to be terrified because of it, or to feel safe. He had said he could never hurt me, but that just wasn’t something I could really trust given my last relationship.

“That creature is called a blenth. They resemble living trees until they come in contact with water, and then they can slowly transform into whatever shape they choose to be. The transformation takes time, though, and when they’re truly hungry, they’re not intelligent enough to wait until it’s completed. They feed on magic—which is why they were rounded up and dropped into the Aboa many centuries ago.” Despite the terrifying picture his words painted, Sirus’s voice was calm. That calmness made me feel a little better.

As he spoke, his fingers parted my hair deftly, and began working through the tangled curls. I felt a few soft puffs of air, and assumed he was using his magic to detangle it as he went. I definitely approved of the method considering there were no tugs or yanks.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” I said quietly, as he continued. “Wind is stronger than I realized.” After I said the words, I realized they could’ve been taken offensively, and cringed silently.

Sirus chuckled softly instead. “Wind is whatever its holder wishes it to be, much like those the element chooses. We are the people who can adapt to the life fate hands us without losing ourselves in the process. The steady and strong of mind, heart, and soul.”

I grimaced. “Wind definitely won’t choose me, then. If I were strong, I never would’ve stayed with Steven for so long.”

There was a moment of silence between us, and I realized I’d made things awkward. Sirus had been pretty damn pissed the first time I brought up Steven—why wouldn’t he feel the same this time?

“There are many different kinds of strength,” Sirus finally said, as he tied the end of the braid. I started to get up, but his fingers sank into the other side of my hair and I realized he’d parted it into two. “You said Steven had you trapped. Despite his control, you remained in school, studying the subject you wished to study. You didn’t allow him to take away all of your choices, even though it may feel like it.”

Sirus’s words surprised me. “How did you know that?”

“You told me about his control on the beach, days ago.” Sirus reached the end of the second braid and tied it.

“No, about my degree.”

“You spoke with Ivy about your schooling often, and with passion, whether I was sane or not. And you mentioned Stevenwanting you to follow him into a law degree, once. I didn’t know who he was to you then, but I listened.”

Shit.

I hadn’t realized he was listening closely, when he was sane. He always seemed kind of… aloof. I supposed that was probably because I always tried to ignore him as much as possible when he was in control of his magic, though, which made me feel a little guilty.

As much as I was surprised by Sirus’s thoughts on the subject, I knew he was right. Steven and I had argued multiple times about my degree, but it was the one thing I had never budged on. Eventually I’d gotten too far into my education to swap majors anymore, and then myuselessnesshad just been something for him to complain about. He didn’t have a single good thought about elementary school teachers. But then again, he was an absolute fucker.

“Those with the patience and desire to teach children are treasured in my land. Elemental fae don’t have many kids, and because of that, a lot of people don’t wish to work with them. Having a queen who loves kids enough to teach them herself would be a tremendous blessing for my kingdom,” Sirus said. His voice was neutral, and I thought he might be trying not to let his own emotions on the topic sway me.

Usually, I would’ve welcomed that.

But… I wanted to know what his actual emotions were, for once. He had distracted me thoroughly, and I was rolling with it.

“So you’re saying that after this whole collecting-the-kings quest is over and you go back to your kingdom, that you want me to go with you?” I asked. “And to become a teacher, there?”

“That’s… not what I said.” The manstillremained neutral.

I was kind of impressed with his ability to control his emotions, and kind of sad that he’d felt the need to learn it. Then again, hadn’t I done the same, if only when interacting with Steven and his friends and family?

Sirus stood up and offered me a hand. When I took it, he helped me to my feet. I stretched for a minute, hoping it would help my many tight muscles.

“So youdon’twant me to go back to your kingdom with you and become a teacher,” I countered.

I was pushing him, and I knew it.

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