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

by Lexi C. Foss

  An eternal flame.

  That was my Titus.

  He wasn’t royal, but he didn’t need to be. His passion more than made up for his lack of a noble bloodline.

  “You’ve really been holding back on me,” I accused, sensing his yearning pooling beneath his skin like liquid fire.

  “You have no idea, sweetheart.” He nuzzled my neck, his lips caressing my pulse. “This is only the beginning.”

  My mouth parted when his heat licked at my swollen clit. It both hurt and soothed, causing me to crave another stroke. I would always want more from my Fire Fae.

  And it seemed he felt the same, if the erection pressing up against my thigh was anything to go by. Titus possessed an impressive stamina, something our mate-bonding had only seemed to strengthen.

  “I will fuck you over and over again,” he said, confirming my thoughts. His palm slid to my lower back, branding my skin. “I will consume every inch of you until the two of us melt together as one.”

  Oh, I’d long ago melted. Warmth and liquid heat pooled all around us, adding more scars to the floor and bedroom walls. It was a miracle we hadn’t burned the entire building down.

  Titus’s fingers trailed back to my hip and down to the slickness between my thighs. The world turned red as his flames devoured me from the inside out, his touch a searing stamp of our promises to one another.

  “Yes, that’s it, Claire,” he breathed, his mouth hovering over mine. His kiss belied the intensity brewing below, an intensity he bolstered by pushing me to my back and replacing his fingers with his hard cock.

  I gasped as he slid inside me, his claiming pure and passionate and so fucking hot.

  “More,” I demanded, lifting my hips into his and urging him to take me deeper.

  “Always,” he returned, nipping my lower lip.

  And then he was kissing me.

  Hard.

  Fast.

  Perfection.

  He rivaled the rhythm with his lower body, taking me to new heights with every stroke. “I love you,” I chanted. “I love you, Titus.” Maybe it was in poor form to announce such a thing in the heat of our passion, but that was what defined us—our fire.

  “I love you, too, Claire,” he whispered, his tongue dancing along my lower lip. “My mate.”

  “My mate,” I repeated, squeezing my thighs around him and sighing as he slowed the pace. What had begun as a rough taking morphed into gentle lovemaking, his body worshiping mine in the best way.

  Because he knew.

  He always knew.

  Exactly what I needed and how.

  Tender strokes.

  Followed by intense, deep thrusts.

  Erotic and emotional.

  Arousing and heartfelt.

  My Titus.

  My fire mate.

  My love.

  Exos

  “At this rate, she won’t be physically capable of mating with Sol tonight,” Cyrus said, joining me at the table. He scanned the page of the text I had open and whistled low. “Well, would you look at that.”

  “It’s like they wrote this about Elana,” I muttered, reviewing all the ways a Midnight Fae could absorb the powers of others. “Kols says it’s not practiced often.”

  “I imagine not. It sounds painful for both parties involved.” He was still skimming. “A lot of sacrifice required.”

  “Which explains the plague that took out our kind.” Because all of this magic necessitated death, typically in the form of absorbing a soul and gifting it to the Midnight Fae gods as payment. “She used this spell”—I found a previously opened book, turned it to the right page, and gave it to Cyrus—“and her spirit magic to create a vortex of power. It’s how she created the death fields.”

  “They’re all the souls she’s refused to release from this plane,” my brother finished for me, his eyebrows lifting. “Shit.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed, blowing out a breath. “It proves she’s coming back, because those souls still exist.”

  “And she needs them to practice her fucked-up magic,” he surmised, taking the words out of my mouth—again.

  I nodded. “Exactly.”

  He collapsed into his chair, meeting my gaze. “We need to tell Claire.”

  “We need Claire to finish her mating to Sol first.” Because if these texts were right, Elana had amassed more power than any other fae in our realm. And our only hope was that Claire could use the five elements to take her down. “She needs earth to complete the circle.”

  “Then I should probably tell Titus to stop exhausting her,” Cyrus suggested, his lips curling.

  I shook my head. “You keep flirting with him and he’s going to retaliate.”

  “Good,” Cyrus replied, standing. “I can’t wait to see how that works out for him.”

  “We both know you’ll end up on top,” I said, returning to my texts.

  “But he doesn’t know that,” my brother mused.

  “Who doesn’t know what?” Vox asked, entering the dorm’s lounge with Sol following close behind.

  “Sol doesn’t know that he’s mating Claire tonight,” I announced smoothly before Cyrus could comment on the sensual game he had in store for Titus.

  The Earth Fae froze, his eyebrows lifting. “What?”

  “She needs to complete the circle,” I said, feeling like a broken record. “She needs her earth.”

  “And she’s okay with this plan?” Sol pressed, no doubt fully aware of the fucking going on in the other room.

  “Of course,” Cyrus replied, his tone one of confident ease. “I was just about to go ask her for a time. But perhaps you can tell me instead and I’ll just relay the details?”

  Sol’s mouth opened and closed several times.

  I closed my book and leaned back, folding my arms. “What’s wrong, Earth Fae? Afraid of the competition Titus is providing in the other room?”

  The giant scowled. “No.”

  “Then what’s the problem?” I demanded, not having time for this. We had a hybrid fae on the loose with an undetermined return date.

  And she was definitely going to return.

  Those texts proved that not only did she need the death fields but she also needed to remove any and all powers that stood in her way of accessing those fields. And now, I just happened to be that power. The second I’d learned of her energy source, I’d used my spirit to seal it off from all external parties. Only I could enter that field now. Until someone removed me from the equation.

  No one knew I’d set myself up as the bait yet. Mostly because I’d just done it this morning. Cyrus would be the first one I told, as soon as we figured out this final mating.

  “Nothing’s ready,” Sol grumbled. “I’ve not even asked her if that’s what she wants.”

  I frowned. “Why wouldn’t she want to mate you, Sol? You’re already on the third level. That makes you engaged by her human standards.”

  His cheeks tinted a red shade. “Yeah, I know, but I wanted to ask her… properly.”

  Cyrus smiled. “The closet romantic. Let me guess—peaches were going to be involved?”

  The ground rumbled beneath us as Sol narrowed his gaze. “Yeah, well, unlike you, I value consent.”

  And all the amusement in the room died.

  “Excuse me?” Cyrus said slowly. “Are you trying to accuse me of something?”

  “It’s not an accusation. It’s the truth. You mated Claire while she was unconscious, without a voice.”

  “To save her fucking life,” Cyrus retorted, taking a step forward. “Or are you saying I should have just let her die? Because if that’s the case, then you’re not worthy of her at all.”

  “I’m more worthy of her than you are, Spirit Fae.” The words tumbled from Sol’s mouth, followed by a vibration of the foundation of the building, his power mounting by the second. “At least I’ll never manipulate her into anything. Won’t threaten to break her fucking soul. But you can’t promise that, can you? Water Prince or not, you’re sti
ll a Spirit Fae at heart. And Spirit Fae hurt.”

  Right. One step forward, twenty steps backward.

  I pushed away from the table to stand in front of Cyrus before he could physically react.

  It didn’t stop the whip of water that lashed out and struck Sol across the cheek. Or the words that seethed from my brother’s mouth. “I have been patient with you, Sol. Very fucking patient. But your misconception regarding Spirit Fae? It ends today.” He shoved him again with another strand of liquid, then wrapped it around his throat. “Spirit Fae are not the only ones who can inflict pain and harm. Shall I demonstrate?”

  I opened my mouth to tell him to stop, when a root burst through the floor and circled Cyrus’s waist. Squeezing. Hard.

  “Stop!” Vox shouted.

  But the two fae were lost to their elements now.

  Sol had already conjured another thick branch, this one coming through the window from the outside, and went directly for Cyrus’s chest.

  While my brother lashed out at it with a tidal wave, snapping it into pieces.

  Chaos ensued as Vox tried to blast them apart with air, and I used my fire to incinerate both the water and roots infiltrating the dorm.

  They were going to take this fucking place down.

  “What are you doing?!” Claire screamed, her body clad in a sheet as she took in the wreckage of the living area. Her power flew out of her, smacking all of us in the chest as she forced us to different sections of the room.

  Spirit, I recognized.

  Not her other elements.

  But her spirit.

  She’d used it to force our compliance, and the look on Sol’s face bespoke of just how much that hurt him.

  Shit.

  “What the fuck is wrong with all of you?” Titus demanded, coming up behind Claire in a pair of boxers and nothing else. “We have an unconscious Spirit Fae, who happens to be Claire’s mother, resting in the other room, and you all are trying to take down the damn building on our heads!”

  Cyrus had the grace to appear contrite.

  Vox just looked frustrated.

  And Sol, he was utterly broken.

  I sighed, rubbing my hand down my face. This was not a team ready for Elana’s pending arrival. It was a clusterfuck of emotions and twisted-up pasts. I focused on the core of the pain—Sol.

  “I don’t know what happened to you or who did it,” I told him. “But I can promise it wasn’t me, Cyrus, or Claire. And this animosity you carry toward our gifts? It has to end. Now. Either you trust us or you don’t. It’s as easy as that.”

  Claire froze, understanding seeming to punch her in the chest. “Wait.” She cleared her throat and turned to face Sol. “You think we would, no, that I could ever use my power against you? In a negative way?” She released all four of us in an instant, her touch against my spirit gone in a flash. “You think I could hurt you? Intentionally?” She blinked, but not fast enough to hide the tears blossoming in her gaze.

  It had me wanting to take a step toward her, to pull her into my arms.

  But this wasn’t my hurt to fix.

  This hurt belonged to Sol.

  “Do you not know me at all?” she whispered, her heart breaking before our eyes.

  Cyrus gave Sol a thunderous look, as though he wanted to rip him limb from limb.

  Vox merely sighed and shook his head.

  And Titus appeared ready to join Cyrus in his rampage.

  “Claire,” Sol started, taking a step forward.

  But she took one step back, her head swaying back and forth. “I… I don’t know what to do with this. I thought… I thought we…” She trailed off, swallowing. “I need… I need a minute.”

  Her shoulders hunched as she turned away from everyone and left the room.

  Titus took a step to go after her, but I called out, “No. Don’t.”

  He glanced back at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

  “Sol needs to do it,” I said, gritting my teeth at how hard it was not to follow Claire myself. “He needs to fix this.” I looked at him. “You’re either in our circle or you’re out, Sol. No more waffling. No more distrust. You fucking fix what you just did, or you leave. Your choice.”

  I couldn’t stand there to see what he’d do.

  Couldn’t think beyond the beating of my heart.

  Because if he didn’t go to Claire and heal the pain I felt radiating from her soul, I’d fucking kill him.

  Which meant I needed space, too, before I did something we’d all regret.

  I grabbed my brother—who was seething just as much as I was—and forced him to follow me outside. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Now?” he demanded.

  “Now.” I had his shirt gripped in my fist as I all but yanked him outside. Sol’s bullshit notwithstanding, we had Elana to worry about and a trap to discuss. One I now regretted igniting because it meant she’d be here sooner rather than later.

  And after that show in the living area?

  Yeah, none of us were ready.

  Which meant we needed a plan B.

  “I want to talk about contingency plans,” I told him.

  He snorted. “Why?”

  I met his storming gaze. “Because we’re going to need them for when Elana realizes I’ve cut off her access to the death fields.”

  His eyebrows lifted. Then a curse tumbled from his mouth.

  “Yeah. My feelings exactly,” I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. “We’re going to need backup.”

  He huffed a laugh. “Brother, at this point, we’re going to need a fucking miracle.”

  For once, I hated that he was right.

  Sol

  Well, now I’d really fucked things up. I’d never seen Claire look at me like that, and I stood like an idiot in the destroyed living room.

  Fix it.

  Exos’s last order to me before he dragged his brother out of the room, although a part of me wanted Cyrus to try and take my head off. Prove me right. Prove what the Spirit Fae were really capable of.

  Yet, if all Spirit Fae were evil, then that meant Claire was evil, too.

  In my heart, I knew she wasn’t evil at all. And neither was Exos or Cyrus.

  Which left me with one option—to figure this the fuck out. And, as Exos had said, fix it.

  Clenching my fists, I gathered the courage to go after my mate. I’d hurt her deeply, and raw emotions ripped through the bond-mate circle. An apology wouldn’t be enough, but I had to start somewhere.

  “Are you just going to stand there?” Vox demanded, not hiding his disgust. He was used to my tantrums, but this time I’d gone too far. And even I knew it.

  “I don’t know what to say to her,” I admitted as I stared down the hall. “I love her, but...” She’s part Spirit Fae.

  “But nothing,” Vox said with a snap of wind across my face. “If you love her, then that’s all you need to know.” He pointed down the hall. “Like Exos said, you’re going to fix this, or you’re going to get the fuck out.”

  It stung to hear Vox give me an ultimatum like that. We’d always been close, but on this there was no room for negotiation.

  Vox was right.

  They all were right.

  All of her mates were more than capable of calming Claire down. I was the only one not fully mated to her, which made me feel least qualified for the job. Still, I’d created this mess, so I was going to fix it, even if I had to bare my scarred spirit to her.

  If I were being honest with myself, I’d admit that was what frightened me most—that she might see how damaged I really was.

  But maybe that was exactly what I needed to do.

  Show her everything. Trust her with not only my heart, but my very soul.

  I found Claire in the next room with her back to me, the white sheet draped precariously low across her waist as she clutched the fabric to her chest. She stared out the window, up into the sky.

  “Claire…” I swallowed
, mostly because her shoulders stiffened upon hearing my voice. Not the kind of reaction I desired or liked from my intended mate. I moved closer, stopping just within touching distance. “Claire, I’m—”

  She spun on me and growled before I had a chance to finish. Her eyes blazed with raw power from her bond with Titus.

  “I don’t want an apology,” she said, stabbing a finger to my chest. The tiny digit held enough earth magic to stagger me back a step. “Actions speak louder than words, Sol. I would expect you to understand that by now, but clearly, you don’t. Or you couldn’t possibly think I’d ever intentionally hurt you.”

  “You’re right,” I whispered, hanging my head low and splaying my palms open in surrender. “You’re right,” I repeated. “Actions do speak louder than words, Claire. And if I let you understand my history, you’d understand just how true that is.”

  That seemed to soothe some of her ire, just enough to let a hint of curiosity through. “Then tell me.”

  “I could,” I whispered, realizing in that moment exactly what I needed to do. How I could truly gain her trust and prove myself to her in kind. “But I’d rather show you, Claire.” She required more than words. I understood that better than anyone. So I’d give her everything.

  My love.

  My trust.

  My very soul.

  “There are two sides to a Spirit Fae,” I continued. “I want to show you the darker side. No, I need to show you, Claire.” I knelt beside the bed, pleading with her. “Help me stop hiding who I am. See me, Claire.”

  She studied me, her expression softening another fraction. “I do see you, Sol. I always have.”

  “I’m not talking about my exterior.” I swallowed. “I’m talking about my soul.” I closed my eyes, my forehead meeting the mattress. “I need you to truly look, Claire. Go into my spirit and witness what was done to me. The pain. The torment. The marks I can feel but can’t actually see. The torture I can’t remember but have spent countless nights reliving in a sea of darkness and screams.”

  My throat began to burn.

  My heart pounding in my chest.

  The memory of that night a haunting image just out of my reach.