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

by Lexi C. Foss

  Claire frowned. “And what are we planning to do in the interim? Just wait for Elana to attack us again?”

  “Yes,” Cyrus said, his tone that of a king. Final and with no room for argument. “Except this time, when she returns, we’ll be ready for her.”

  Titus smirked as a flame danced across his fingertips. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

  Cyrus smiled. “I’ve been speaking it for years, Fire Fae. You just weren’t very adept at listening.”

  “Sounds like you want to start sparring right now, Water Prince,” Titus drawled.

  “Now you’re just trying to seduce me,” Cyrus replied, closing his textbook. “But we can dance tomorrow, Powerless Champion. See how you hold up with your element.” He waggled his brows in challenge. “You’ll need it, after all.”

  “So will all the others,” Exos interjected.

  “Sounds like we have a new course for the Academy,” Titus said, grinning. “One I’ll very much enjoy leading.”

  Cyrus snorted. “More like co-leading.”

  “Sure.” Titus grinned. “We can call it that.”

  “Regardless.” Exos stood, interrupting their little bickering match. “When Elana returns, we’re taking her down,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. “Together.”

  “Together,” everyone agreed.

  Part IV

  “At the core of every element is a light so bright it blinds those with unworthy intentions. I can only hope it finds my heart pure and gifts me with the strength to survive. For a war is on the horizon. One we all desperately need to win.”

  —Claire

  Titus

  One Week Later

  “Again,” Cyrus demanded, eyeing River’s form as he created a water whip and lashed it through the air. When we announced our intentions to train some of the fae in preparation for Elana’s return, several students—and professors—had jumped at the opportunity to learn.

  Others had fled for their kingdoms, the Academy on a permanent break until the situation here could be sorted.

  Apparently, finding out the lead Council member and Chancellor of the Academy was an evil bitch turned everything into a shitshow. Who knew?

  But Cyrus and Exos were confident she’d be back. If anything, to retrieve Claire.

  I wasn’t as certain because I didn’t understand Elana’s motives. Sure, she was an abomination. She hated the way people treated her and decided to bolster her power to seek revenge. Seemed a bit extreme to me, but then again, I’d never been on the receiving end of such cruelty.

  Exos claimed it really messed with her mindset.

  Cyrus said it might stem from a lack of Midnight Fae training, which led to her misguided use of her death magic.

  My opinion? She was just a power-hungry bitch out to rule the fae.

  Claire seemed to agree with me.

  I struck my bo staff against hers, countering her attack and smiling as flames danced between us. “Now, now, Claire,” I taunted. “Don’t let those emotions rule your movements.”

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, sending a liquid wave over my weapon and cooling my fire. She readied another fighting stance as the flames in her eyes glazed over with the azure glow of her water element. A breeze shifted between us, gathering moisture from the air to form a barrier that slithered across the ground. Her powers had definitely grown, but I noted the lack of control when it came to earth and fire.

  That was her primary weakness.

  And weaknesses weren’t acceptable when it came to a battle with Elana.

  Claire’s elements naturally strengthened through her bonds with her mates. By engaging the final level with Exos, Cyrus, and Vox, she’d created a shift in her balance of power. It was almost lopsided in favor of her completed links. Meaning she needed more fire and earth to truly feel grounded.

  Meanwhile, Elana drew energy from all of those around her, which meant that Claire had to be ready for anything.

  And her current state suggested she wasn’t.

  Which concerned me.

  “Focus,” I said, vaulting over the floating stream to her side. I faked a blow to her head, forcing her to raise her weapon before I snatched my staff back and caught her in the ribs. She buckled at the impact, even though I’d held back. “You’re distracted.”

  Her jaw ticked as a powerful gust shoved me off-balance. She launched at me, using her staff against my throat to pin me to the ground. “My mother is in a coma. Elana is off doing fuck knows what while we prepare for an attack we don’t even know is going to happen. We not actually sure if she really intends to come back or do something worse. Hell, we don’t even know what she’s truly capable of yet. So yeah, I think I have every right to be a little distracted.”

  “Titus is right,” Cyrus interjected, approaching us and leaving River in charge of Water Fae training.

  Claire frowned as she swung her leg over me and allowed me to stand. Cyrus offered an arm and I took it, grateful for the backup. It wasn’t often that we found ourselves on the same side.

  The Water Prince gave me a knowing grin. I’d pleased him with our sparring session this morning. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, we worked well together and our opposing elements created a spark that I’d never felt with another male.

  As much fun as it would be to practice more of my fire on Cyrus, Claire was the one holding back, and all of us knew why.

  Cyrus was just the first to say it out loud.

  “You need to complete your bonds to the elements, Claire. You’re clumsy when it comes to fire and earth. I paired you with Titus as a test, and it’s proven my theory correct. You’re having to rely on your other elements to fight him because they are easier to access.” He brushed a kiss across her cheek, proving his point when droplets swarmed around her in an effortless display of her gifts. “You need to complete your mating bonds, little queen. It’ll strengthen you.”

  Claire’s expression showcased a mixture of emotions, her hand clenching around her staff. “It feels wrong to indulge in my bonds when so much is happening.”

  She glanced at Mortus. He was supposed to be leading the other Fire Fae but instead lingered on the outskirts while the high-level students took turns building fireballs and launching them into the air. He still had that distant look of horror on his face, as if he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the two decades he’d lost.

  “How am I supposed to concentrate when so many are suffering?” she added quietly. “It seems selfish.”

  “No, little queen. It’s practical.” Cyrus took Claire’s hand and placed it in mine. Flames linked our fingers together, our elements ready to take the next step. “Denying the bonds isn’t going to solve anything. It’ll only make matters worse.”

  “He’s right,” I agreed. “You need our elements to bolster your own, and it’s not selfish to strengthen yourself, sweetheart. It’s a good way to prepare for the inevitable.”

  “Assuming Elana even comes back here,” she muttered.

  “If she doesn’t, then we’ll go after her. When we’re ready.” Cyrus lifted a brow. “And in your current state, you’re not ready.”

  She blew out a breath, her irritation palpable. Then she glanced at me and her gaze softened. “This isn’t at all how I imagined mating you, Titus,” she admitted, her words tinged with regret. “You deserve better.” The way she said that implied she thought I only meant to do this because I had to, not because I wanted to.

  “Claire,” I murmured, drawing her into my embrace. “We don’t have to be in a fancy room in the Fire Kingdom for me to declare my love for you.” I brushed my fingers over her shoulder, and her skin glowed red in response. “My fire has always belonged to you.”

  To prove my point, I claimed her mouth and ran my tongue across hers, this time not holding back as I poured my element into her. She could handle the raw truth of the passion she brought out in me.

  We were both ready for this step and had been ready
for a while now. There just hadn’t been the right moment. And maybe now still wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t care. I just wanted her. I always had, from the first time I’d laid eyes on her in that field.

  My beautiful Claire.

  She melted into my touch and kissed me in return. Flames licked at my hair as she nudged open that well in my soul where my fire burned. Claire stoked those flames unlike anything else I’d ever experienced, and I knew mating with her would decimate my world in all the right ways.

  The ground trembled beneath our feet—courtesy of Sol. A subtle reminder that we were still in the training yard and had a very real audience.

  Claire giggled as she pulled away and waved at her earth mate. A number of Earth Fae practiced building shields as trunks and branches shot from the ground, although they’d all stopped when Sol had formed a brutish wall of solid rock in demonstration. He grinned at Claire. “Titus isn’t the only one who has something to offer.”

  Maybe, but tonight Claire was mine. I made sure of that as I stabbed my staff into the ground, allowing my fire to inch across the earth to melt Sol’s stone block. It’d worked well enough during our last encounter, where I’d temporarily trapped him during his little smash tantrum.

  But the Earth Fae was ready for my trick this time.

  Powerful roots wove across the ground, making a lattice against my molten attack. He grinned. “Nice try, Fire Fae.”

  “Nice tactic,” I mused.

  The surrounding Earth Fae seemed to agree as they mimicked the motion with their own magic, trying to accomplish a similar style of defense.

  I grinned. Sol might not see himself as a royal among his people, but he was a leader where it mattered.

  Claire smacked me in the ribs with her staff and grinned when I expelled a startled breath. “Now who’s distracted?”

  I retaliated by sending a tuft of fire underneath her clothes that bit at her nipples. She squeaked and tried to soothe the burn with water, but I wasn’t going to allow her to cheat her way out of playing with my flames this time. I nodded to Cyrus and his eyes darkened. He was a source of power for Claire, but he could dampen that connection, even if it took some effort.

  Claire’s mouth parted as I took advantage of the momentary lapse of her power. Her skin heated, and my inferno wrapped around her, forming an embrace on every sensual curve.

  “No fair,” she breathed, her tone aroused and willing.

  “I think you’re ready,” Cyrus murmured, approaching us. “As we don’t necessarily have a Fire Fae available to complete the vows, I suggest we use Exos as a stand-in. His royal title and affinity for flames should do the trick.”

  “Wait, you want to do this now?” Her eyebrows rose.

  “Why not?” Cyrus countered, already leading the way. “It’ll give you two time to celebrate afterward.” He flashed me a knowing wink over his shoulder, causing my lips to curl.

  “It’s like you’re trying to get into my good graces, Cyrus,” I said, pulling Claire along beside me.

  “Maybe I am,” he replied, a smile in his voice.

  Claire glanced between us, her brow furrowing. “I thought you two hated each other.”

  “Fine line between love and hate, little queen.” Cyrus opened the door to the dorm. “After you.”

  I met and held his gaze for a long minute before guiding Claire inside. Something was definitely there between us, a weird spark I didn’t quite understand. Most days, it resulted in me wanting to kill him. Today, however, it burned a little on the aroused side—a place typically only Claire could touch.

  A consideration for later. It was probably just the mating circle fucking with my instincts.

  Exos sat inside, his nose in one of those dark-magic textbooks. His Midnight Fae friend had sent a few more, along with a few suggestions.

  Hence the training outside.

  Kols. who was apparently a Midnight Fae Prince, told us to prepare for anything. Because if Elana was truly messing with death magic, she was capable of a hell of a lot more than burning her own house down. He even mentioned the possibility of spirit minions, whom Claire had immediately called zombies.

  Cyrus inched a brow upward when his brother didn’t react to our entrance. “Exos.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He shuffled some of the books around and stood. “We don’t exactly have a ceremonial space on campus, so how do you feel about your bedroom, Titus? It’s already pretty well decorated by you and Claire.”

  Her cheeks reddened at the cause of those decorations, and I smiled. “Does that mean I can mate her naked?”

  “I’d enjoy that,” Cyrus mused, glancing at his brother. “Reminds me of her spirit mating.”

  Exos’s lips curled in memory, his gaze flickering with wicked intent as he looked at Claire. “I love this plan.”

  She sputtered out an unintelligible response that earned several chuckles from the room. I moved behind her while fondling the hem of her shirt. “It’ll help keep you focused,” I whispered against her ear, inching the fabric up her skin.

  “Focused?” she squeaked out. “How?”

  I kissed her racing pulse, drawing the shirt higher and over her breasts. “Trust me.” Because it was already working. She wasn’t thinking about Elana at all now. Just the two hungry males watching as I tugged the cloth up and over her head.

  Goose bumps trailed across her skin, followed by a swathe of heat as our element danced across the surface.

  She barely seemed to notice me removing her shoes, socks, and pants, too lost to the sensation all three of us stirred inside her. Part of me thanked Cyrus and Exos for that, knowing how badly she needed to remain grounded in the moment without concern for what was happening outside or in another realm.

  This moment was about our mating.

  And I accepted that Cyrus and Exos were very much a part of that.

  I unsnapped her bra and slid the straps from her shoulders, revealing her hard nipples to the room. Then sent a strand of fire across the lace of her panties, singeing them at her sides and causing the rest to fall to the floor. “Beautiful,” I said against her ear, running my hands up and down her sides. “Ready, sweetheart?”

  She swallowed, her back relaxing into my chest as she placed her palms over my grip. “Yes.”

  I smiled. “Good.”

  Exos turned away first, heading toward my room.

  Cyrus followed, but not before running his gaze over Claire one more time. I couldn’t exactly blame him. Our mate without clothes served as the best kind of distraction.

  I lifted her into my arms and carried her to the bedroom, not releasing her until we stood beside the bed. She clung to my shirt, then crinkled her brow. “Wait.”

  Wait? My heart skipped a beat, uncertainty an evil presence in my soul, until I felt the stirring of her power.

  A flame erupted down my spine as she effortlessly sawed through my supposedly fireproof shirt. As it disintegrated to the floor, I wondered—not for the first time in her presence—if I needed to invest in a new wardrobe.

  My pants were next, her fire coming awfully close to my stiffening dick.

  She stroked a flicker of heat across it, reminding me of a kiss, before teasing the head and completing the job.

  “If I have to be naked, so do you,” she said, her palms resting against my abdomen as she lifted a challenging brow while the rest of my clothes turned to embers at our feet. Even my shoes.

  “I’m starting to wonder if she needs the bond to help her focus, or just sex,” Cyrus commented conversationally.

  “That was impressive,” Exos agreed. “Maybe it’s both?”

  I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her to me. “I suggest you start the vows, Exos. Before our mouths become too busy to repeat the words.”

  The vows came quickly and efficiently, each statement breathed against each other’s mouth.

  I, Claire, accept the power that binds me to Titus, born of Fire. To cherish and respect, through all the era
s and time that may fall before us, until our souls do us part. I give unto him my heat, my passion, and my internal flame, 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 fire forever belonging to him and to him alone.

  I promised her the same, my soul igniting as the finality of our bond slipped into place. The room grew hot from the fire flaring between us, causing Exos and Cyrus to excuse themselves before the true inferno began.

  An inferno that I assured Claire would blaze all night long.

  One she happily accepted.

  Over and over again.

  Claire

  Every part of me ached from Titus’s attentions. He’d more than lived up to his pledge to fuck me all night. And then some.

  A glance at the clock showed it was well past noon, meaning we’d only slept a handful of hours. Not that I minded. Titus had provided me with the escape I needed from the reality looming over our heads.

  I turned in his arms, smiling as he trailed a molten rope of fire over my naked thigh, inching up and up.

  “Mmm,” I moaned. “You’re going to make it so I can’t even walk later.” My eyelids fluttered closed, reliving the all-consuming sex that had left me both sore and empowered. Our vows had come hot and quick, pledging our souls to one another in an endless cascade of fire and bliss.

  Titus kissed my cheek, then grinned against my skin. “Did I wear you out, sweetheart? Or can I wake you properly?” He punctuated the request by sliding his fire inside me—down there.

  “Fuck,” I groaned, arching into his touch, my body alighting from the inside in response to his hot intrusion. Rather than burning me, I reveled in the way I absorbed the power as it fueled my spirit. “More.”

  He inflamed his elemental touch and grabbed my hip to keep me from moving.

  Mate-bonding with Titus was everything I had imagined it could be and so much more. His raw need slithered over me, trailing a sea of molten lava in its wake up and down my spine.