Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance

by Lexi C. Foss

How was I supposed to get out of here?

  This was still the spirit plane. I felt it in every fiber of my being.

  But I was standing in the middle… of the source? Maybe?

  My feet sprinted on my behalf, taking me this way and that as I fought to find a way out, any path I recognized. Yet everything looked the same. Just white. No souls. No mates. No life.

  I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound escaped me.

  Just soundless inexistence.

  Think, Claire, I demanded. There has to be a way out of this. A way home.

  To my mates.

  Yes.

  I just needed to think about them. They would come. My loves. My life. My circle.

  My breath evened as I envisioned them, demanding they respond, that they find me and free me from this pristine cavern.

  “Claire?”

  Not the voice I expected to hear.

  I turned toward my mother. She stood in a translucent state several feet away, her blue eyes wide with surprise.

  “How did you bring me here?” she asked, glancing around as if in a hypnotic state. “How did you break her spell?” And then her expression morphed into one of horror, her eyebrows lifting in astute alarm. “You didn’t. Oh, darling, no. Dark magic is not for our kind. Promise me you’ll stop. Promise me you won’t do it again!”

  “I didn’t,” I replied, my voice strained. “I haven’t touched dark magic.”

  “Then how did you break the binds?”

  “I didn’t,” I repeated. “Exos… He called you to the spirit plane.”

  “Oh no,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Oh, no, no, no. She’ll know, Claire. She’ll have felt the interference! You must run before she finds you. Run, Claire! Run now!”

  “Who will find me?” I demanded. “You’re not making any sense.”

  But my mother seemed to be fading, her expression one of absolute terror. “She’s coming. Oh, she’s coming. Run, darling. Don’t let her find you. Ru—”

  The ground roared to life, swallowing me into a hole of sound and sensation and eliciting a scream from deep within as I was forcefully sucked into a vortex of swirling color. Life. Death. Water. Pink. Fluttering wings. It all wavered around me in a blanket of confusion, swathing me in the sea of reality and spitting me back out onto Cyrus’s bedroom floor.

  I came alive with a gasp, my lungs on fire, my heart racing against my ribs.

  Cyrus and Exos let out a cry of relief, their hands running over me in protective strokes.

  “Holy fuck,” I breathed, my voice raspy and harsh. “What a trip.” Because wow, that was intense. It was as if I’d seen a millennium of life in that tunnel, all whipping around me in a whirlwind of activity too fast for my brain to comprehend.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Exos demanded.

  “What?” I gaped at him. “What do you mean?”

  “You stopped breathing, Claire,” Cyrus snapped. “For ten fucking minutes.”

  My eyes widened even further. “What?”

  Exos sat back on his heels, shaking his head.

  Cyrus rubbed his face with his hand.

  Pissed-off energy mingled with relief between them, their grips on my arms almost bruising.

  “It was all white,” I whispered, trying to recall what happened. “And then my mother appeared.” I told them what she said, how she made no sense at all, and they just stared at me in obvious alarm. “Say something.”

  They both shared a long look.

  But it was Exos who finally broke the tense silence. “You went into the elemental core, Claire.”

  “Right into the damn center of it,” Cyrus added, his tone somehow furious and surprised at the same time.

  “And somehow survived.” Exos grabbed my shoulders and yanked me into him. “Don’t ever do that to me again, Claire.” His mouth captured mine before I could reply.

  So I whispered, I don’t even know how I did it.

  Never again, he repeated.

  Which I would promise if I knew how it happened in the first place.

  But he wasn’t hearing any of it, his lips too busy memorizing mine as if he thought he’d never kiss me again.

  Cyrus clasped the back of my neck, tugging me away from Exos and kissing me with the same vigor, his emotions a tidal wave of need against my senses. Each lick engraved his name upon my soul. Each nip a reminder of our bonds. Each caress a promise for a long future ahead.

  By the time he released me, I couldn’t form a coherent sentence, let alone think.

  Which seemed fine by them.

  Because Exos was already tasting me again, his tongue mating violently with mine as Cyrus ripped off my dress.

  What is happening? I wondered, my mind spinning beneath the onslaught of their seductive energy.

  We almost lost you. Exos sounded frantic. We thought we lost you, Claire.

  I’m right here, I promised.

  Prove it, little queen. Cyrus bit my shoulder, causing me to groan and arch back into him. We need you to prove it.

  Cyrus

  She died.

  Claire. Fucking. Died.

  Her heart stopped.

  Her lungs ceased to breathe.

  Her svelte form refused to move.

  And her soul…

  I shuddered and buried my nose in her hair, her neck, needing to feel her, to believe she was actually still here. “I’ve never been so terrified in my life,” I admitted, my mouth trailing along her neck. “Fuck, Claire. Don’t ever do that to me again.”

  “I didn’t—”

  Exos’s mouth captured hers, silencing her response.

  Not that it mattered.

  Nothing she could say would alleviate the pain of our momentary loss, the agony of having her ripped from my arms for what resembled eternity.

  Exos and I had awoken frantic, unable to sense her at all. She’d just disappeared. Her spirit gone.

  Never had I felt so lost and weak all at once. Neither of us had known what to do, where to go, how to find her and bring her back.

  My sweet Claire.

  My little queen.

  My heart.

  I breathed her in once more, tasting every inch of her skin with my tongue. Her breasts. Her flat stomach. The apex between her thighs.

  Fuck, I loved her scent. Floral and sweet and, oh, that delicate place that wept for attention. I licked her deep, adoring the way she cried out into Exos’s mouth.

  Alive.

  She’s alive.

  I repeated the words over and over again, reveling in her strength, her spirit, the soft beat of her heart.

  “Make her come,” Exos urged. “I need to hear her scream.”

  “Mmm, happily,” I agreed, circling her clit before sucking the bud between my teeth.

  Her back bowed off the floor, her limbs shaking from the onslaught of sensation writhing through her veins. Confusion warred with yearning in her features, her body bending to our will on pure instinct and need.

  More.

  We all needed so much more.

  However, she required gratification first.

  A small hint of the evening to come.

  Because after almost losing her, we had no choice but to celebrate her life. To lavish her with our love, to rejoin all our souls and reignite the bonds between us. Oh, they still existed. Still flourished after her first returning breath. But it wasn’t good enough.

  As Exos demanded, we needed to hear her scream.

  And scream she did, her orgasm slamming into her body on an excruciating wave of power that I felt through our connection.

  The others would, too.

  Which, I knew, they needed just as much as we did, because they had to have sensed her detach from this plane. Just as they would have experienced her return.

  “More, Claire,” Exos breathed. “Give us more.”

  She moaned, her breasts flushing from her residual pleasure and calling to Exos’s mouth. He laved her nipple, eliciting another delicious
sound from her throat as I drew her arousal downward with my tongue.

  Our sweet Claire was too lost to the assault of our lips to understand my goal, too wet from her climax to realize where my mouth was headed even as Exos rolled her to her side to grant me better access.

  It wasn’t until my touch reached the heart of her backside that she jolted. First with my tongue and then my fingers, preparing her for what we all needed.

  My name fell from her lips, whether in warning or question, I couldn’t tell. But she soon succumbed to the moment, her beautiful form writhing beneath Exos’s mouth as he worshiped her sweet pussy with every ounce of skill he possessed.

  Life breathed into the air between the three of us.

  Claire’s life.

  Her spirit rejuvenated. Joyful. Alive. Here.

  But still, I needed more.

  She’d left.

  Stopped breathing.

  Her energy gone.

  Never again. I wouldn’t allow it, would thread my soul with hers if I had to, just to keep her with us forever. And I knew Exos felt the same, could sense it in the way he caressed her now. So frantic, alarmed, and uncontrolled. All heat and emotion. Arousal. Yearning.

  A craving she nearly left us with for eternity.

  A deep sadness.

  A perpetual loneliness.

  No. I refused to accept such a fate.

  Mine, I thought, biting her rump and smiling at the imprint left there.

  “Cyrus,” she groaned, searching for me over her shoulder. With one hand in Exos’s hair, she tried to grab me with her other, but the angle was all wrong. I nipped her backside once more before pressing kisses up her spine to the back of her neck, my fingers still lodged deep within her. Scissoring. Expanding. Preparing her for something I doubted she’d ever experienced.

  But our Claire wasn’t shy. No. As soon as I was close enough, she grabbed the back of my neck and forced me to kiss her.

  Exos chuckled against her damp heat, high from the taste of her ecstasy—a sign of life.

  We were drunk on it.

  Fueled to take her to additional heights.

  To fuck her into an oblivion of mutual satisfaction.

  Sharing women wasn’t unusual for us. It also wasn’t typical. We’d been known to experiment and play. But to have Claire between us now put all that previous experience to shame.

  Because she was our heart.

  Our mate.

  The one we adored more than existence itself.

  “We’re going to take you, Claire,” I whispered against her mouth. “Together.”

  “Mmm, and you’re going to love every second of it,” Exos agreed, licking a path up her stomach to her breasts. “I can’t wait to hear you come with both of us lodged deep inside you, baby. It’ll be the most amazing sound.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. Her screams resembled vitality, assured us both she still breathed. And her pleasure was still ours to give.

  I withdrew my fingers, certain of her readiness, and nudged her backside with my cock.

  “Do you understand, Claire?” I murmured, my lips at her ear now as she arched back into me. “Do you understand what we’re about to do to you?”

  “Oh God…” She shuddered, her eyes falling closed as she pressed into my groin once more. “Yes…”

  I smiled against her neck, tonguing her racing pulse. “Good.” I positioned myself at her entrance—the one no one had dared enter before—and pushed just enough to test her acceptance.

  She shivered, her body flushing all over.

  And Exos distracted her by sucking her nipple deep into his mouth while his fingers grazed her damp folds.

  I slid in a little more, my balls tightening as she squeezed my shaft in response. “Easy, Claire,” I murmured, gently kissing her throat. “It’s better if you relax.”

  “Mmm,” Exos agreed, switching breasts and biting down on her stiff peak.

  She cried out, her focus temporarily shifted, and I used the distraction to thrust deeper inside her. “Oh!” She jerked against me, causing me to glide home, where I stayed and allowed her to acclimate. “Fuck…”

  “We’ve not even started yet,” Exos mused, causing me to chuckle against her nape.

  Because yeah, we really hadn’t.

  And when we did? Oh, sweet Claire would be in for the ride of her life.

  Exos licked a path up her throat to her chin and hovered over her mouth. “There’s only one mate I’ll likely ever be able to truly share you with like this, Claire.” He kissed her softly while I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling deep. “But we can do this whenever you want.”

  Which we both knew would be often.

  But I’d let her admit that when we were done.

  I nibbled her ear, exhaling slowly as Exos pressed his arousal to hers. “Ready, little queen?” I asked, meeting Exos’s gaze.

  He wouldn’t hurt her.

  But he wouldn’t be gentle either.

  I caught her hip just as he thrust into her waiting heat, her cry one of surprise mixed with ecstasy and maybe a hint of pain. We weren’t lacking in size, and having us both inside would be a bit overwhelming the first time.

  An expletive fell from her lips, followed by a mewl of pleasure as we began to move—slowly at first, introducing her to the experience.

  Then Exos set a pace, one I met with ease, my mouth falling to her neck as my breathing turned harsh. Because fuck, that felt good. To be inside her. To feel her quivers. To scent her arousal. To embrace her soul with my own.

  With each thrust, I embraced her vitality. Heard her moans. Experienced her gratification. She squeezed my cock, groaned our names, whispered commands, and engaged us both in a hedonistic display that would grace my dreams for decades to come.

  She was perfect.

  Gorgeous.

  Mine.

  I couldn’t imagine a more exquisite feeling than having her writhe between us with abandon. Words left her mouth that were so fucking dirty and beautiful that I could hardly believe my ears. She demanded more. Harder. Faster. Again. And we gave it to her and more.

  She came on the hottest surge of power, our names an engraving into the stars above.

  But we weren’t done.

  It wasn’t until she released again that I allowed myself to follow, with Exos quickly on our trail, the three of us lost in a euphoric cloud of wantonness.

  A cloud that continued.

  On and on.

  Our need to worship Claire, to celebrate her existence, too strong for just one climax.

  No, we fucked until we couldn’t move, our hearts hammering in our chests, our bodies depleted and shaking from the exertion.

  A wildness had taken over, driving our movements, forcing us to the point of no return.

  We collapsed together in a pile of limbs with Claire giggling between us.

  I glanced sideways at her, noted her gorgeous pink complexion, and smiled.

  She looked so animated and joyous that it almost hurt my heart. But I used the last vestiges of my strength to tug her to me for another kiss and sighed as she relaxed against my chest.

  Exos wrapped his arm around her waist, nuzzling her back, our positions having switched at some point during the fuck fest. I couldn’t be the only one to experience that sweet ass of hers, after all.

  Now it all resembled a blur of sensation and sex and absolute bliss.

  One I would happily experience again, once my dick awoke from a long nap.

  Claire nuzzled into my pec, her cheeks still pink. I drew my fingers through her hair, unknotting the strands. “Don’t ever leave us again, little queen. Please.”

  “I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, her eyes drooping. “I don’t even know how I did.”

  Which was even more concerning than her actual disappearance.

  Exos’s eyes said the same as he met my gaze. “We need to talk to Kols. Find out what the hell is going on.”

  “He might not know,” I pointed out. “But I agree.
If anyone can shed some light on this darkness, it’s him.” Because that was what I felt when Exos had unraveled the binds holding Ophelia’s soul hostage.

  Dark Fae magic.

  Evil shit.

  And somehow his slicing through the ropes had sent Claire directly into the source, a consequence we absolutely needed to avoid in the future. Assuming they were related. Which, I was willing to bet, they were.

  “I’ll arrange it,” I said, referring to Kols. “In the morning.” When I could properly move again.

  Claire wasn’t even listening, her eyes having fallen closed after uttering her last word.

  But Exos was alert. He nodded, then kissed her nape. “Good night, princess.”

  She didn’t even stir.

  I smiled. “Yes. Sweet dreams, little queen.”

  Part III

  “When one becomes half

  And five become one,

  A plague will descend upon the fae.

  Only death is the cure.”

  —Gina

  Claire

  Of all the places to meet a Midnight Fae, Cyrus chose a Manhattan nightclub. Like, in New York City. With humans. Alcohol. And obnoxious music that grated on my nerves.

  I winced as a particularly harsh bass kicked up to the roar of the crowd, everyone gyrating to the hypnotic tune. At least it wasn’t as loud at the bar, which allowed for conversation.

  Not for the first time, I glanced at my entourage and demanded, “When is this guy going to show?” Because I was more than ready to head back to the peace and quiet of the Elemental Realm.

  Cyrus sipped his bourbon and grinned. “And here I thought this place would make you nostalgic.”

  I snorted. “This is not what I miss about my world.” Pizza? Absolutely. Loud parties? No.

  Exos wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him and kissing my temple. “It won’t be much longer.”

  “He’s right,” a feminine voice chimed from behind the bar. “He should arrive in the next few minutes.”

  My brow furrowed as Cyrus and Exos broke out in matching grins. “Well, would you look at that?” Cyrus mused, reaching for the woman’s hand. “A Fortune Fae playing bartender in the city. I never would have prophesied such a thing.”