by Lexi C. Foss
Cyrus lifted a shoulder. “Hey, I’m not one to judge.”
“I’m a Water Fae, not a Winter Fae.” Kalt uttered the words through his teeth, his pretty eyes blazing with icy power.
“What’s a triad?” I asked, glancing between them.
“Similar to a mating circle,” Exos replied. “The Winter Fae culture is a little different from ours. They form male packs that take a single female mate.”
“So they’re like Fortune Fae?” I guessed, thinking of Gina and her mate-circle.
Exos considered that for a moment before saying, “Hmm. Sort of. It’s a comparable concept in how the males bond with each other just as much as they do with the female. However, the Winter Fae don’t have the same Alpha, Beta, Omega structure.”
Kalt snorted. “Tell that to Lark. The royal elf sure as fuck thinks he’s an Alpha.”
“That’s because you keep fighting fate,” Cyrus replied.
“I am not a Winter Fae,” he retorted, his white hair frosting at the ends. “And why are we even talking about this? I just came to deliver the declaration.”
“From Lark,” Cyrus added.
“Yes. From Prince Lark,” he admitted, his jaw clenched. “They’ve agreed to support the academy and the necessary magic. Now I’m taking a few days off while the Winter Fae go play and spread Christmas cheer throughout the Human Realm.”
“You should come back with us to Elemental Fae Academy,” Cyrus suggested. “You can help us with the trials.”
“Trials?” he repeated, his expression morphing from confusion to exasperation. “Ah, fuck, what did Lance do now?”
I almost laughed. Lance was Titus’s little brother and Kalt’s best friend. And yeah, the little firecracker was a troublemaker. But he’d mostly cooperated with his probationary sentence, where he served as my assistant at the Academy. I rather liked the hotheaded fae. He reminded me of his brother, just younger and a little more wild.
“He’s talking about their competition,” I clarified. “For who gets to be the father of our first baby. Nothing to do with Lance.”
Kalt blinked at me. Then he looked at his cousin and arched a white brow. “Why the hell would I help with that?”
“We need judges,” Cyrus explained. “And last I recall, you still owed me a favor.”
The Water Fae narrowed his gaze. “So this is the favor you require? Judging sex games on my days off?”
“Uh…” I cleared my throat. “I don’t… I, uh…” I couldn’t remember what the other trials were, as my mind had concentrated solely on the orgasm competition. “I agree with Kalt on this one.” Because those trials were probably sex related.
Exos chuckled. “The other trials are all about nurturing, nonsexual endurance, and meal preparation. We need the judge specifically for the last part.”
“Meal preparation?” Kalt arched his brow again. “So you need someone to judge food?”
“Essentially, yes.” Exos lifted a shoulder. “All three trials blend together but end with cooking dinner. We’ll be relying on others to tell us who prepares the best meal.”
“Free food,” Kalt said. “Okay, sure. I can handle that.”
Cyrus smirked. “Not enjoying the Winter Fae cuisine?”
“It’s a little sweet for my liking,” he admitted. “They eat cupcakes for breakfast.”
“I see nothing wrong with this,” I replied as I retrieved my untouched hot chocolate from the end table. “Let’s go to the North Pole.”
“But I made bacon.” Vox waved at the plates. “And real eggs.”
My lips twisted. “True. Okay, breakfast, then cupcakes.”
All my mates chuckled, while Kalt remained unmoved. He clearly didn’t like the idea of going back to the North Pole.
“We have to start the trials today, little queen,” Cyrus said. “But once we’re done, we can take you wherever you want to go.”
“Why today?” I asked before taking a sip of the decadent liquid. It was so, so, so good. I seriously love you, I told Exos.
I love you, too, baby.
“Because we all agreed that it was best to test our endurance and nurturing after a week of pleasuring you. It increases the stakes and makes it more realistic,” Cyrus explained.
“Yes, because we need to make sure we can balance fucking you and raising a child,” Titus added, his trademark bluntness coming out to play. “So the next phase is to nurture a breakable object, stay awake for thirty hours, and then cook a nutritious meal.”
Cyrus nodded. “We’ll be evaluated on all three tests and have that added to our scores from this week.”
“What kind of breakable objects?” I wondered out loud, picking up a piece of bacon to nibble on between my sips of hot chocolate. Weird, yes. But it tasted amazing.
“It’s yet to be assigned,” Titus replied. “And we’re supposed to have an observer for that part, too.”
“True.” Cyrus looked at Kalt. “So you’ll be judging that as well.”
“He can’t be your observer,” Exos interjected. “He’s too biased.”
“You’re right. He’ll say I failed,” Cyrus replied. “He can observe Titus.”
Kalt grunted. “You realize I know nothing about caring for an object?”
“All you need to do is take notes and say how the object was treated,” Vox murmured. “If Titus lights it on fire, add the observation to the notes.”
Titus scoffed at that. “I’m not going to light it on fire.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?” Vox replied, his lips curling.
My fire mate just rolled his eyes before saying, “Lance can be another judge.”
“River, too,” Exos suggested. “He’s at the Academy, so it makes sense.”
“We can also get Ophelia and Mortus to help,” Cyrus said. “That gives us five observers for the nurturing trial. They can also confirm we didn’t fall asleep for thirty hours. And afterward, everyone will join us for dinner.”
“It’s settled, then,” Exos agreed, clasping his hands together. “So let’s eat, then we’ll head back and find our items.”
I smiled around my mug of hot chocolate.
This was going to be amusing as hell.
Good luck, boys, I thought at them all, then lost myself to breakfast.
Because bacon was almost as good as sex.
“WHAT IS THAT?” I asked, eyeing the translucent sphere in Cyrus’s hand. It resembled a glass orb with ice crystals etched along the outside.
“It’s an ice relic from the Winter Fae realm,” Cyrus replied, using his water magic to keep it frozen. “I asked Kalt to bring me one.”
“It’s beautiful,” Claire said, her element stroking the item tenderly. “What did you find, Titus?”
I cleared my throat, suddenly nervous. Why did Cyrus have to go show me up with a relic from another realm? Dick. Not all of us had access to foreign objects. At least mine was elemental related. I gently unrolled my pouch to present my fragile item for Claire.
“It’s a Firebird egg,” I said. “An infertile one, so it’s technically edible.” I hadn’t wanted to risk a life in this trial. Perhaps that was counterproductive to the nurturing part of the test, but Firebirds were beautiful and rare and very protective of their unborn young.
“I love Firebirds.” Claire’s eyes took on a dreamy quality, her mind picturing one of the stunning fiery creatures. They reminded me of phoenixes, only smaller.
Vox, Sol, and Exos all went next, displaying their items for Claire in a similar fashion.
Vox had a feather.
Sol had a peach from Claire’s favorite tree at the Academy.
And Exos held an enchanted hand mirror, one that could function as a portal key to peek into other realms. He demonstrated by showing her a picture of her home in Ohio, which earned him the biggest grin of all.
“Oh, I miss it there.” Our mate sounded so wistful, which only further confirmed that our plans for her were the right ones. “The pumpkin patch and corn mazes w
ere always so fun.” We watched a kid run through one of the mazes she mentioned, cheering him along until the end, then Exos stowed the mirror.
“You can have this when the trial is done,” he promised her.
“I would love that,” she admitted.
He kissed her on the cheek, then faced us. “All right. Thirty hours. We have our observers,” he waved to the five fae who had agreed to help.
Well, maybe not all of them had agreed.
My brooding brother stood on the sidelines with his arms folded, his expression bored. He would much rather be off playing in another powerless duel. The prick had a penchant for shattering all my records. It was like he’d made it his life’s mission to destroy my legacy and replace it with his own.
So yeah, I didn’t feel at all bad about roping him into this assignment.
Besides, he was on probation for another month, which meant he had to do anything we told him to anyway. That was what happened when you ran off to the Human Realm to pick fights with mortals.
Honestly, Claire had gone too easy on him by just turning him into a glorified intern. He needed to serve a jail sentence for what he’d done in New York. But I respected my mate’s wish to try and mentor him first. When that didn’t work, I’d be pushing for a harsher sentence. He needed to learn that there were strict consequences for his actions, something I knew he didn’t fully grasp yet.
“The goal here is to go about our typical day while keeping our item unharmed. But as our observers are all here at the Academy, some of us will have to improvise.” Exos looked pointedly at Cyrus, as the two of them didn’t reside on campus full-time. Sol, Vox, and I would be fine since we all had our respective studies. “Perhaps we can go work on the Spirit Quad? Continue the restorations?”
Cyrus nodded. “I think that would be a wise use of our time.”
“I can help,” Mortus replied. He was in charge of watching Exos—an activity that five years ago would have been completely off the table. We all had a history with the former Spirit Fae professor. It wasn’t a good one, either. But he’d slowly redeemed himself over time, particularly via his treatment of Claire’s mum, Ophelia.
The two of them had been engaged once, their third-level bonding one that should have been unbreakable. However, a bunch of shit went down that destroyed their mating and several lives.
There was a lot of heartbreak involved, but the pair seemed to be healing together.
“I guess I’ll help as well,” Lance muttered. “Since I’m observing Cyrus.”
The Water Fae King made a noise through his nose. “I’m going to put you to work for that comment.”
“You sound so disappointed about that,” my brother drawled, his attitude problem firmly in place.
I considered saying something but decided against it. Cyrus had this sorted and would quickly put the rebellious Fire Fae in his place.
I looked at Kalt. “Guess you’re joining me in the gym.”
The Water Fae lit up. “I like where this is going.”
“It’s not all that exciting. He doesn’t fight anymore,” my brother replied. “You’ll be bored in five minutes.”
I narrowed my gaze at my hotheaded little brother. “Watch yourself.”
“Or what?” He arched an auburn brow that looked exactly like my own. “You’ll challenge me? Oh, wait, you’re out of shape and old. So I guess you’ll just stand there and spew words at me instead.”
I growled, and Exos stepped in between us. “Stop baiting your brother.” Royal power flared around him as he stared my brother down. “And get your ass to the Spirit Quad before I show you how I duel. And it won’t be powerless.”
“I don’t need you to stand up for me,” I muttered, irritated that he’d defused the situation using his Spirit Fae King presence.
That felt like cheating, and I didn’t cheat.
“I’m not standing up for you,” Exos replied, glancing over his shoulder at me. “I’m protecting our objects, which is the whole point of this exercise. If you two blow up in an inferno, it’ll defeat the purpose of this test.”
Well, he had me there.
I dipped my chin in subtle acknowledgment, then looked at Kalt. For whatever reason, this guy decided to be best friends with my moody brother. I’d never understand it. But I caught him giving Lance a look now that told him to cool it. My brother just rolled his eyes and turned toward the Spirit Quad with Mortus, Exos, and Cyrus following.
Vox smiled at Ophelia, then guided her toward the Air Quad, where he had classes to lead today.
Sol nodded at River—a Water Fae and my best mate from the Academy—and led him toward the Earth Quad to go help with some classes.
And I started toward the neutral campus area with Kalt. Only, after a few steps, I realized we’d forgotten an important piece.
No, not just important, but the key piece to all of this.
Our queen.
I turned to find Claire looking off in each direction, nibbling her lip. “Come join us in intramural class, sweetheart,” I said softly. “We can play a game of Fae Ball.”
Her blue eyes lit up at the prospect. “I haven’t played that since our Academy days.”
“Then let’s go relive the experience. Afterward, we can spar a little.”
She wasn’t pregnant yet, which meant playing was absolutely allowed. And the way her face beamed at me said it was the right approach.
I wrapped an arm around her while my other hand cradled the Firebird egg.
This trial would be easy as fae pie.
And soon, Claire would be growing with my child.
I couldn’t fucking wait.
THE BED WAS cold without my mates, making me pleased this series of trials was coming to an end.
“They really are something,” my mom murmured, observing my mates from the kitchen window. They all stood outside discussing their kitchen assignments.
Titus appeared disgruntled over something. Sol looked half-awake. Vox’s expression held a touch of arrogance—as the main chef of our mate-circle, he totally had this task in the bag, and he knew it. Meanwhile, Exos and Cyrus looked just like they did thirty hours ago: handsome, polished, and ready to win.
We were waiting on Lance and Kalt, who had taken the night shift to observe and were napping through the morning hours while my mom, Mortus, and River took over.
The utter devotion to these trials warmed my heart. If I had any reservations about having a baby before, they were gone now. Because I realized how much support I had, not just from my mates but also from our family and friends.
“I’m ready,” I told my mom. “I’m really ready.”
“I know you are,” she replied, smiling softly. “You’re going to be an amazing mom, and those mates of yours are going to make great dads.”
I smiled. “Yeah, they really…” I trailed off as a swirl of flames danced along the field, heading directly for Titus. My elements engaged to throw up a shield, only my fire mate triggered his first, blasting off a wave of power in the direction of the source.
Lance.
“Ah, hell,” I muttered, going to the door to stop the two hotheaded males from battling in the front yard. Again.
The last time this happened, they destroyed two of Sol’s trees and blew out the windows to the house. Vox had been furious about all the glass, while my Earth Fae mate had threatened to bury Lance alive beneath the replacement roots.
Cyrus sighed audibly as I stepped outside, his hand forming a wall of water that protected himself and my other mates.
“That’s not going to stop him,” Titus muttered, a ball of fire ready in his palm.
“What’s his fucking problem?” Exos demanded.
“He values his beauty rest,” Titus drawled.
Cyrus snorted. “Don’t we all?”
Kalt created a door and stepped through the water without getting a drop on him, while Lance sprinted through the tidal wave and directly into Exos.
Who proceeded to drop hi
s mirror.
It shattered all over the ground, destroying his object and eliciting gasps from the group.
Exos stared at it for a moment, shock evident in his expression, then he narrowed his gaze at the cause of the issue. Titus immediately stepped in between his little brother and my Spirit Fae mate. “Apologize,” he demanded, his focus on Lance. “Now.”
“An apology isn’t going to fix my mirror,” Exos muttered, his fury and sadness swirling through our bond. He’d lost the trial and he knew it, which meant he was now disqualified from the results.
All because Titus’s brother had lost his temper over Fae knew what.
Shit.
“I… I’m sorry,” Lance said, sounding more contrite than I’d ever heard him. Likely because he’d just pissed off the Spirit Fae King—a male known for his warrior abilities and no-nonsense attitude. “I just wanted… to fuck with… Titus.”
My fire mate snorted. “Yeah, well, good job.”
“I’m sorry,” Lance repeated. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep, and it seemed like a good way to burn off my mood. I had no idea it would… that I would… that this would…”
“It’s fine,” Exos said, his tone surprisingly soft. “The goal of the exercise was to protect and nurture our items. It’s my failure, not yours. And it’s not going to stop us from finishing this. Let’s go inside. We have meals to prepare.” His sapphire gaze met mine as he turned around, his sorrow echoed in the depths of his eyes. I caught through our bond that it wasn’t so much disappointment of his loss as it was sadness over failing me and his object.
You’re going to be an amazing father, I whispered into his mind. And you just proved that by not losing your temper with Lance.
He didn’t mean to run into me, Exos replied. There’s no sense in being angry with him. It would just make him feel worse and doesn’t solve the problem. The damage is already done.
I know, I agreed, pressing my palm to his cheek and kissing him on the mouth. But that reaction is what will make you a good dad. It shows patience, something your trials didn’t factor in at all.
“Exos still earns points for the nurturing trial,” I decided out loud, making sure everyone knew my stance.
