Page 138 of Never Kiss a Fae

“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 saydisappeared. 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, iswhy? 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?