Elemental Fae Academy: Book Two: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance Read online

  “Why would anyone want to eat a bland fruit?” I wondered aloud, taking a small bite of my peach.

  So, so good.

  I sent up a request for more, and the tree responded immediately.

  This is so much better than a vortex, I thought.

  “Apparently, it’s good for cooking,” Sol said, grimacing. “Not my favorite. This is much better.”

  His magic brushed mine as he took control of one of my branches and forced it to lower to him so he could pluck several more peaches. The tree groaned as he released his mental hold, the leaves and sticks flying upward with a snap that shook the earth.

  He cringed. “Sorry.”

  I soothed the earth, healing the fractures he’d caused within my creation, and smiled. “You’re powerful.”

  “Yeah.” He waved his hand, causing a new stump to form and grow. “Vox is helping me learn how to foster and maintain it, but I grow stronger every day. It’s like I’m constantly absorbing energy, but I’m only one fae and I don’t have anywhere to release it all.”

  My element reached out to his without thinking, blending into his life force as if searching for a way to ease him like I did the tree.

  He flinched, his gaze widening. “What are you doing?”

  “I-I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s just sort of… I fixed the tree and now…”

  “You can’t fix me, Claire,” he snapped. “Stop.” The ground quaked as he shoved my element away from his, the power of his strike sending me backward off my stump. He cursed. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”

  “Well, that’s one way to train the little queen,” a haughty voice interrupted. “Intruding on one’s elements without permission is a punishable offense. I’d have knocked her out for it.”

  Gasps littered the air in his wake, the Spirit Fae having just appeared out of nowhere.

  How did he do that?

  Sol stood, his arms folding across his chest. “What the hell do you want, Royal?”

  Tremors traversed the earth, the other fae backing away with fear in their eyes. Fear for Sol, I realized. Because he’d just squared off with the King of Spirit Fae.

  Damn it.

  I jumped up and brushed the grass from my hair and uniform. “Why are you here, Cyrus?” I demanded, wanting the focus on me, not on Sol.

  “I need you to sign some documents,” he said, not taking his gaze away from Sol. “Your challenge is noted and not accepted, Earth Fae. When you have better control, we’ll talk.”

  What? How had Cyrus interpreted a challenge from Sol’s question? I’d essentially demanded the same thing, albeit with a tad more respect, but still. “What challenge?”

  Cyrus finally glanced at me. “He’s proving I chose the right Earth Fae guardian for you, is all.” He glanced back at Sol. “Isn’t that right?”

  The giant of a man merely glowered at him. “I make my own choices, Spirit King.”

  “Good. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Cyrus reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a few pieces of paper. “I need you to sign these, Claire.”

  “What are they?”

  “Documents for your internship with Elana.”

  I frowned. “But I haven’t decided to do that yet. I was supposed to talk to Exos before he, uh, left.” The last word was a whisper. I couldn’t say disappeared. We’d agreed to not tell anyone what really happened, although I still didn’t agree with why.

  “There’s no decision to make. You’re going to work with Elana.” Cyrus held out the papers. “Sign.”

  I mimicked Sol’s stance and folded my arms. “No.”

  He cocked a brow. “So you don’t want an opportunity to learn more about your mother? To discern truth from fiction?” His gaze flickered to Sol. “To find out why the Earth Fae believes it’s a corruption of my people that created the plague, and not Ophelia?”

  Sol blanched, his demeanor shifting from shock to fury in a blink. “Get the fuck out of my head!”

  He took a menacing step forward, only for Cyrus to send up a waterspout between them. “I’m not in your head. I just happened to be observing Claire’s course today and heard every word you said.”

  Sol raged behind the water, his words cut off by the increasing flow that kept Cyrus safe from the wrath the Earth Fae unleashed. Except then the ground began to shake in earnest, a sinkhole pulling the geyser underground and spreading to the tips of my shoes.

  “You’ll hurt Claire,” Cyrus warned, his words underlined in power. “I don’t wish to fight you, Earth Fae, but I will if you continue to endanger the future queen. Control it.”

  I grabbed my tree, terrified of the show of power and the violent energy swimming between Cyrus and Sol. Then I met the big guy’s sorrowful gaze over the water and saw his shoulders collapse. The ground calmed, his expression falling as he turned.

  “Sol…,” I started but didn’t know how to finish. Not that he was intent on listening to me anyway. He disappeared into the trees lining the courtyard where several others waited for him. Aflora wrapped an arm around him, guiding him away without a backward glance.

  “He has a lot of potential,” Cyrus mused, staring after him. “He’s one of the strongest of his kind left. He just requires control.”

  “Why does he think Spirit Fae are corrupt?” I asked. It wasn’t like I could break Sol’s confidence since Cyrus had eavesdropped the entire fucking time.

  “Everyone believes your mother incited the plague by breaking one of the most sacred vows between mates, but there are several—myself included—who think it was a cover for something far more sinister. And it seems Sol is one of the enlightened few who suspect similar foul play. His kind are dying, and your mother is the source of blame. But she’s dead. So how can that be?” He raised a brow at me as if I might hold all the answers.

  I swallowed, uneasy. “Are you saying I might be the cause?”

  He stared at me for a long moment, all traces of arrogance fleeing his expression. “I’m saying it’s an unsolved mystery that holds a variety of possibilities, including ones involving you.” He held out the papers and shrouded us in a wall of mist. I opened my mouth, ready to ask him what he was doing, when he softly said, “I need you to accept this internship, Claire. Not just because of what Elana can teach you, but because of what you might observe under her tutelage.”

  My eyebrows lifted. “You want me to spy on Elana?”

  “And anyone who crosses her path, yes.” A blunt reply, one I could appreciate. His gaze drifted to my tree and then back to me. “She mentored your mother. Now she wants to mentor you. I find the correlation between the two to be suspect, don’t you?”

  I hadn’t until now. “I thought it was my access to all the elements that intrigued her.”

  “Oh, most definitely that. But the question we need to ask, little queen, is why? Wouldn’t you like to discover the answer? Because I know I would.” He leaned closer. “Someone powerful enough to subdue my brother is holding him hostage, and as powerful as Mortus is, he’s no match for Exos.”

  “But Elana has the ability to overpower him,” I translated in a whisper.

  “Indeed,” he replied, studying me intently. “Did you sense her in his spirit?”

  I shook my head. I hadn’t, but I wouldn’t know what I was looking for even if I tried. “She exonerated me,” I said instead, confused. “Why would she do that if she wanted to hurt Exos?”

  “A better question would be, why didn’t she use her gifts to exonerate you before?” he countered, arching a brow. “Something isn’t adding up, Claire. And this internship provides you with an opportunity to learn more. If you’re up for it.”

  “If she’s the culprit, isn’t giving her access to me dangerous?”

  “Yes.” No hesitation. “Which is why a guard will escort you to every session.”

  “Yeah, but if she could subdue Exos…”

  “They don’t stand a chance against her,” he finished. “But it might give you just enough
time to escape should you require it.” He sighed then, leaning back against my tree and gazing upward at the branches. “It’s all conjecture on my part, Claire, but I have to consider everyone as a suspect. And you’re the only one being provided direct access to Elana. She’s very likely innocent. However, I learned a long time ago not to trust anyone except family.”

  Which meant he didn’t trust me, either. Hence his comment earlier about all the possibilities of the plague.

  I’m a suspect in his eyes. How many others felt the same?

  The icy gaze that fell upon me said he knew what I was thinking and refused to put my thoughts at ease in any way. “What’ll it be, Claire? I’m late for a meeting.”

  Did I really have a choice? If Elana had Exos—which I strongly doubted—then I had to at least try, right? If anything, I’d learn more about myself and my mother and the history of this world. And maybe I’d garner stronger control.

  Nothing to lose, really.

  I cleared my throat and nodded, taking the documents and his pen. “All right.”

  “Good girl.” He eyed my tree again and snagged a peach from a lower branch. “Thanks for lunch, little queen. I’ll see you after the Council meeting.”

  I signed where indicated and handed the papers back to him. “Council meeting? Like the ones Exos attends?”

  “Mm-hmm.” He smirked. “I’ll take you one day. You’ll hate it.”

  “Are you going to tell them about Exos?” I asked, hopeful that maybe they could help us.

  His gaze shuttered, darkness shadowing his light eyes as the watery wall collapsed around us. “Absolutely not.”

  With that, he disappeared as quickly as he’d appeared, leaving a trace of mist in his wake.

  How did he do that?

  Cyrus

  “What news do you bring us?” Elana asked, her place at the head of the council table brimming with power.

  I’d debated all day if I wanted to announce Exos’s disappearance and ultimately decided against it. With Mortus sitting across from me, it seemed even more prudent I say nothing at all and play along. They all believed I’d tasked my brother with something spirit related, temporarily taking his place by the Halfling’s side.

  Showing weakness to these fae would be detrimental indeed.

  So I relaxed into my chair and shrugged, feigning boredom. “Claire is progressing in her classes as expected. She’s proven quite capable with fire, her spirit is growing, and the other three elements are not far behind.” I didn’t bother mentioning she was one of the most powerful water elementals I’d ever felt or that she’d managed to shove me across the room with a single gust of wind.

  This Council was out for blood.

  I would not be offering up Claire’s for sport.

  “All five elements,” Vape marveled, his shock of white hair cascading around his shoulders like a waterfall. “The prophecy—”

  Zephys slammed his hands on the table. “Don’t bloody start about the prophecy again.” He glared at Vape, then turned his attention to me. “And your brother? Why did he choose now to leave her? Haven’t they bonded?”

  I tilted my head, keeping Mortus in my line of sight. “I’m not my brother’s keeper,” I replied flatly. It was the truth, after all.

  Blaize watched me expectantly as he played with a flame over his fingertips, rolling the element with a gentle control that took a Fire Fae years to master. “Yet, you sent him on an errand of some kind. Yes?”

  “A family matter required his attention. In return, I offered to help Claire improve her affinity for water.” I lifted a shoulder, my gaze sliding to Mortus. “I’m sure he’ll return soon.”

  “Excellent,” Elana said with approval, ignoring the brewing tension between the Council members. “I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing her powers firsthand, and I’m thrilled at her development.” She grinned and splayed open her hands expectantly. “And the tutorship I offered?”

  I slid the signed document across the table. “Claire will be meeting you once a week. Thank you for offering her your mentorship. She’s thrilled.” Or she would be when I informed her that I’d finalized the opportunity.

  Mortus scoffed. “No good is going to come of this. If she’s anything like her mother—”

  “You’ll kill her, too?” I asked, arching a brow.

  The Spirit Elder wasn’t used to me talking back to him so directly, but I wanted to surprise him. I needed him to drop his guard just for a second.

  “If she poses a threat, yes, I will do what I must for fae kind.”

  “And I’ll be right there beside him,” Zephys agreed. “I voted against this. You have nothing to lose, Cyrus. Your people have already been obliterated by the curse Ophelia unleashed upon us, but what about Obsidian’s people?”

  The Earth Fae Elder rolled relaxation stones across her palm. “We have managed to stifle the illness expanded from the Spirit Kingdom. It will breed out in a generation or two.”

  Obsidian didn’t like to take sides or vote and often opted out of decisions for things she felt were out of her control. She dealt with problems as they came to her.

  “You should be more concerned,” Zephys growled. “This Halfling will bring about the curse again, and it could be your people who suffer.” She shrugged, which only enraged the Air Elder. “Come on, Obsidian. Get your head out of your arse.”

  She narrowed ebony eyes at him. “Trying to predict the way the earth moves will not help us prepare for tomorrow. If the curse hits us, we will respond to it.”

  Mortus snorted. “She’s right about one thing. We are ready for whatever comes.” His black eyes flashed with challenge. “I hope you’re keeping an eye on the Halfling when you return to the Academy, because there are others who know what trouble she’ll bring.”

  There you are, I mused.

  I tilted my head in mock innocence. “Is that a threat, Mortus?”

  He launched to his feet. “If I was threatening you, then you would know it, you insolent—”

  I slammed my hands on the table, standing and leaning toward him. “You’d what?” I demanded, wanting him to snap, to provide me with the opportunity to shred apart his soul and find my brother. “Come on, Mortus, what would you do?” I pressed on him with my spirit, allowing him to feel my challenge deep inside. “I am your king,” I reminded him, my words underlined with enough power to make the entire room cringe.

  My spirit wove around his, prodding, sensing for a weakness, anything that could tell me what he’d been up to. His enlarging irises told me he felt it, knew what I was doing, and the shiver that rolled across his skin said it scared him.

  Good.

  Unfortunately, Elana ruined the moment by sending a fine mist of water over the table as if she were spraying a herd of cats for misbehaving. Interesting timing for her to intervene, as if she sensed I was closing in on something important.

  And since when could she create water? Elana was notoriously powerful in spirit, but she had no other elements under her control. A very rare state for a Spirit Fae, but a well-known fact where Elana was concerned.

  Did I imagine it? Because it was already gone. Maybe it was pixie dust, not water?

  “This meeting is meant to be informative,” she stated flatly. “I will not have bickering.”

  “Then what purpose does this meeting truly serve, Elana?” I inquired, over the charade of this bullshit. “None of us like each other. It’s all a power play, and as I sit at the top, I’m a constant opponent.” I moved away, pushing my chair in. “If there’s nothing else of import, I’ll get back to my temporary assignment.”

  She sighed. “Cyrus…”

  “I understand what you’re trying to accomplish here, Elana, and I admire you deeply for it. But not everyone on this council feels the same.” I glanced pointedly at Mortus and Zephys and finally at Blaize. “You all want to condemn an innocent woman for the atrocities of her mother. Perhaps you should consider investigating the sins of your own parents to de
termine your ability to lead.”

  My name trailed behind me as several argued my words, but I didn’t listen.

  I’d attended the council as a formality and to remind Mortus of my place.

  Task accomplished, I had a new item on my list. Protect Claire.

  Because I’d seen the indignation in the Councils’ eyes. One slip and she’d pay the price with her life. I refused to allow that to happen on my watch.

  Where are you, Exos? This power game grows tiresome without you. And your little queen is quite the handful.

  Just thinking of Claire had my lips curling. Oh, she loathed me, and I, of course, encouraged it. But she needed the tough love to grow.

  All this coddling bullshit would destroy the woman. She needed to realize her potential, and the only way to do that was by pushing her to achieve greatness. As no one else seemed keen to do it, I’d taken on the task.

  And when we found my brother, he’d take over what I’d started.

  Easy. Hopefully. Maybe…

  I shook my head. There was no alternative. I needed her to be strong so I could use her to find Exos. Whatever she did with that strength was her choice and didn’t impact me in the slightest. Not even a little bit.

  If I told myself that enough, I’d grow to believe it. Because she wasn’t mine, and she never would be. Exos owned her spirit, and I refused to interfere with that. But even I could grudgingly admit as I tilted my head up to observe the stars above that my brother had chosen well. I didn’t get it at first, but two days with her showed me why.

  She’s a good mate for you, Exos, I thought to him. I vow to keep her safe. Always. For you.

  And maybe a little bit for me.

  But Exos didn’t need to know that part.

  No one did.

  Exos

  Claire… I could feel her trying to find me, her essence an intoxicating presence in my soul that I longed to stroke. But I had to push her away. It was the only way to fight the shadow holding me hostage.