“Should I expect her to wake up intoxicated? Or did your little mindfuck fix that?”
Exos narrowed his gaze. “Did you prefer the alternative?”
Titus growled. “This isn’t working.”
“I know.”
“Then fucking do something about it, Your Highness.”
Exos sighed and ran his fingers through his light hair. “Sorry, Vox. You’ve caught us in a rather heated moment, one Titus can’t seem to let go.” Those last two words were directed at the Fire Fae.
Titus flipped him off in response.
Okay, then. I’d clearly interrupted something. “I can come back…”
“No,” they both said at once.
“We have to talk about what happened,” Exos added. “About what went wrong.”
“She didn’t kill anyone,” I blurted out, feeling the weight of their stares. “I mean, I felt it. I’m a mentor, and I can sense energies. The energy that created that maelstrom wasn’t Claire’s.”
Exos smiled. “I know. But thank you for confirming my suspicions.”
“Again, that whole communicating thing?” Titus waved between himself and Exos. “Still sucking. Now tell me about these suspicions.”
“Had you given me a moment earlier instead of throwing a fit, I would have.”
“Well, fucking tell me now.”
“Who is the royal here, Titus?” Exos asked, cocking his head to the side. “Me or you?”
“Oh, this again.” Titus threw his hands up in the air. “Claire is passed-out drunk—from something you’ve still not explained, by the way—and you want to play the superiority game instead of telling me what the hell is going on. Typical.”
“What’s typical is you losing your temper over nothing.”
“Nothing?” he repeated, pointing to a door at the end of the room. “That is not nothing.”
“Aerie sent a target shriek of air into Claire’s mind. Specifically, the frontal lobe, causing temporary, well, incapacitation,” I explained, hoping to dispel some of the tension. “It’s a classic Air Fae attack mechanism. Renders your opponent incomprehensible for an hour or two. Essentially, it makes the victim feel very, very intoxicated.”
Titus gaped at me while Exos scratched his chin.
“She’ll be fine,” I added. “Sleeping it off is the best for her.”
“Who do you think manipulated her spiral?” Exos asked, changing the subject.
“I don’t know. But I can help you find out.”
He arched a brow. “How?”
“By tracking the energy source.” It wouldn’t be hard. After trying to dismantle the mael
strom myself, I had a pretty good understanding of what it felt like. “As I said, I have a knack for sensing energy.” It was what allowed me to help Sol with his affinity for earth.
“You’re saying you want to help,” Exos translated.
“I’m saying I can, if you need it.” I wasn’t about to assume a powerful Spirit Fae required my assistance. As he already pointed out, he suspected Claire wasn’t the source of power.
He nodded, then glanced at Titus. “I think we found our Air Fae.”