Page 266 of Never Kiss a Fae

“Exos,” Sol repeated, his lip curling in annoyance. The ground rumbled, sending a fresh crack up the Spirit Dorm’s columns. He clenched and unclenched his fists as his eyes flashed with building rage.

“What the hell is your problem?” I demanded, already exhausted and we’d barely spent an hour back at the Academy. “It’s like you’re about to implode, and you”—I pointed at Vox—“keep throwing invisible knives around. If one of those nicks me—”

A gust spirited between my legs, causing me to jolt in surprise.Fucking Air Fae.

Vox grinned. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

I gathered a fireball and aimed it at Vox’s carefully prepared meal. “Don’t make me burn it to teach you a lesson.”

Vox readied a stance, seemingly intrigued by the challenge. His eyes took on a flash of silver when I released the attack, yet the fire fizzled out in midair before it had a chance to hit. Only a gentle brush of wind betrayed that Vox had done anything at all.

I sighed. “I liked you better when you were broody.” The bump to his power—and his confidence—that Claire’s influence gave him was getting on my nerves.

Sol slammed his fist against the table, sending it breaking down the middle, as he shot to his feet. “I can’t think straight with the two of you idiots around,” he growled and then shoved past me, sending a painful jolt through my shoulder.

I gave Vox an arched brow.

“Don’t look at me.” He raised his hands in surrender. “Sol’s been in a sour mood all day. He’s probably just hungover.”

“It’s more than that,” I said, turning and following the Earth Fae outside.

Sol stormed to the practice arena as jagged spires of rock shot into the air all around him. The shiver of power that permeated the soil made my hair stand on the back of my neck, but I trailed after him anyway.

Just an angry Earth Fae… I can handle this.

“Sol,” I snapped, hoping to jolt the fae out of whatever funk he was in. “What’s got you so worked up?”

He ground his teeth together and his jaw flexed. Vox took position at the edge of the yard to watch us, his eyes bright with a strong band of silver that said he’d intervene if I needed it.

By the way the ground shook, it was likely.

Sol slammed his foot, and another column of earth shot up, spraying dust and pebbles everywhere. I lifted my hand to shield my face with a column of fire.

“Spirit is dangerous!” Sol roared. “You don’t know. You don’t understand. You weren’t fucking there!” He let loose a guttural scream as he sprinted for me with a balled fist.

I dodged the impact—barely. And I noted the light gust of air that had helped me move out of the way in time. Without it, I might have lost my head.

“Fuck, Sol!” That was way too close. “Did you just try to punch me?” I demanded.

The Earth Fae’s chest heaved with so much pent-up rage that I was surprised he could stand. I’d seen that look before, the one that bespoke of years of repressed anger and grief. It was the kind of expression that often came out in the Powerless Arena.

“Sol,” I tried again as I retrieved the bo staff Claire had given me from our weapons stash. I’d just put the gift here when we arrived this afternoon, hoping I’d get a chance to play with it later. Might as well give it a whirl now. It lit up with an aggressive wave of blue heat as I twirled it in my palm. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

Sol looked between Vox and me as if there were answers just out of reach. “I…” He grabbed his head and groaned. “Claire can’t go there. She can’t experience what I did. She won’t… Shecan’tsurvive.”

“She’s a Spirit Fae,” I reminded him. “She’ll be fine.”

“No, no. You don’t get it. Neither one of you does. You didn’t… They all died. Every single one of themdied.” Sol fell to his knees, denting the earth on his way down. “And it hurt.”

I eyed Vox to see if he could tell me what the hell Sol was talking about.

The expression of horror on the Air Fae’s face told me he did. “Your family,” he breathed.

“All of them,” Sol whispered, the sound broken. “You don’t know what it’s like to have them in your head, in yoursoul, and not know what they did. All you feel is immensepain. And I don’t even know who did it. Who touched me. Who left me with all these scars.”

Oh, shit. I mean, I knew the Earth Fae had some issues with control, and yeah, he was a bit of a grump at times, but I just thought that was part of his misguided charm. But this? Yeah, this wasn’t something I would have guessed.

Sol groaned as if in pain, and the ground shook again, this time forming spiky craters that spiraled down into the earth. “A Spirit Fae ripped us apart from the inside. And the plague, it killed them, but somehow, I survived. And I don’t even know why.”