Then the Hell Fae gagged, ruining the moment. “Seriously, this is why our kind have our Hellhounds raise the faelings to toughen them up. Who has time for this shit?”
Cyrus narrowed his eyes. “If you’re done upsetting our mate, we brought you here to discuss the Interrealm Fae Academy plans. You’re a proxy for Lucifer’s vote, correct?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but no. I’m not interested. If he wants to work with you lunatics, he can come up here and vote for himself.” She stormed out of the room. Vox followed her movements with a gust of wind to keep her hellfire from burning any of the festive decorations again.
Exos sighed. “I’ll go after her.”
Cyrus reluctantly guided me into his brother’s arms. “No, it was my job to obtain the Hell Fae vote, and I messed it up. I’ll fix it.” He rested his hand on my stomach, smiling when the faeling kicked again. “You’re doing a great job, Claire. Don’t cry, and don’t stress. I’ll make sure the Hell Fae support the project.”
Sniffling, I nodded. Cyrus gave me a quick kiss before he followed the smell of burned Christmas tree out of the room.
“SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT.” I kept my voice low, not wanting to wake Claire in the other room. Sol had stayed in there with her because he was the loudest of all of us. Which meant we would hear them coming if she decided to wake up.
He knew what we planned to discuss out here.
It was weighing on all our minds—Claire’s refusal to eat and her odd relationship with the elements.
“When was the last time someone saw her use an element?” Exos asked, his arms folded across his broad chest.
We’d all agreed that her reactions in her office with the Hell Fae were all wrong. She’d reacted like a helpless faeling, not a queen. And while we could grant her some leeway because she was pregnant and didn’t want to put the child at risk, we also all felt the disconnect in her inaction.
What happened to our fae who had taken on a dangerous abomination via the spirit realm? A Hell Fae shouldn’t frighten her. I mean, sure, they were terrifying as fuck, but the one in her office had barely lifted a finger, and Claire had wilted like some sort of weeping flower.
Exos thought it was hormones.
Maybe he was right.
But that didn’t explain the other events or how she couldn’t seem to eat anything we gave her.
“It’s been a while,” Vox said slowly. “Around the time of the consummation.”
I nodded. “I’ve spent the most time with her lately while you all have been handling other things. And she’s not used her elements at all. Not even to dry her hair.”
“That could be her Water Fae coming out a little,” Cyrus said, sounding thoughtful, not arrogant. “Most of my kind prefer wet hair for obvious reasons.”
“Okay.” I could give him that. “But she’s been avoiding fire. She claims it’s for safety reasons, but since when has she feared flames?”
“She’s also not been using air at all to stabilize herself when on ladders,” Vox added.
“She shouldn’t be on any ladders,” Cyrus reminded him, his annoyance palpable.
“Yes, yes,” Exos replied, waving him off. “But the more important point is that she’s not using her elements.”
“Or eating,” Vox muttered. “I tried to give her porridge today, and she couldn’t even accept that.” He palmed the back of his neck and blew out a breath. “Sol suggested we fake human food, but I’m thinking we should try real human food. We’ve already missed that Thanks Day holiday since it was this week. I couldn’t find a bird, or whatever it was we needed, and River said I had waited too long for him to gather the ingredients. Besides, I wasn’t even sure she would eat it.”
“A turkey,” Exos corrected. “Which is a type of bird, but Thanksgiving—which is the holiday’s name—is all about the turkey. And we probably should have made her one.”
“Maybe we need to take her home,” Cyrus interjected. “For Christmas.”
My brow furrowed. “Um, she’s already home.” Unless he meant the Water Kingdom? “Is she eating at the palace?”
“No, not an elemental home,” he replied. “Her home. As in the Human Realm.”
“Ohio,” Exos murmured, his expression pensive. “It would take some time to organize, but that might be what she needs. While her fae side is dominant, she is still half-human.”
“Can you put it together?” Cyrus asked.
Exos nodded. “Yeah, most of the fae on my list have already agreed to the academy. The only real outstanding kingdom is the Hell Fae.”