Page 5 of House Ignis

"For gods' sake, put her down, Caldar!" Maddison's voice cut through my shrieking.

A moment later, I was unceremoniously plopped back onto solid ground. I staggered, glaring at the smug idiot responsible.

Ryven stood there with that infuriating grin, storm-blue eyes glinting beneath a curtain of shoulder-length black hair.

Jax's best friend since childhood. Practically my brother. And completely, incorrigibly himself.

"Miss me, Pyreson?" he teased.

"You're such an ass."

His grin widened. It was the most normal thing I'd felt all morning.

A blur of blonde hit me next—vanilla, passion fruit, and warmth. Maddison.

I laughed despite myself, squeezing her back.

"I missed you both," I said, and meant it.

After the funeral, I couldn't stay in Zymarra—the halls held too many ghosts—so I'd run straight to Auroria and spent most of winter break getting spectacularly wasted with these two.

Jeremy thought I was on a retreat.

Healing. Reflecting. Close enough.

"Oh my gods, I'm so excited to spend this year with both of you!" Maddy squealed, pulling back with a bright grin.

I already knew the chaos these two were about to unleash—Maddy and Ember were practically the same person, which was either a gift or a disaster depending on the day.

Me? I was the quiet one—the bookworm with a knack for potions and an ever-growing reading list.

"I think you are adequate," Aether chimed in dryly.

"Thanks," I muttered.

A sudden gust swept through the courtyard as Solstice—Ryven's hawk—descended in a graceful arc and landed on his outstretched arm. Beside him, Skye, Maddy's white-winged fox, touched down just as smoothly. Aether prowled at my heels, tail twitching, deeply unimpressed by the reunion.

"Are we ready, ladies?" Maddy chirped, linking her arms through ours like we were about to storm a runway instead of a sorting ceremony.

Behind her, Ryven already had his arm slung around her shoulders, and she was leaning into him like it was the most natural thing in the world.

They'd been like that as long as I could remember—two people who made being in love look effortless.

Gods, I envied it. Because Jeremy was perfect. And perfection had never made my pulse race.

Fae were animalistic by nature. More instinct than restraint. We felt everything harder than humans did—anger, hunger, attraction, love.

Every emotion lived closer to the surface, like our magic had stripped away whatever sensible barrier humans had been blessed with.

And gods, don't even get me started on our sex drives.

Restraint wasn't exactly our strong suit. We fucked like bunnies and somehow still had the audacity to call ourselves the superior species.

Finding your mate only made it worse. That soul-deep recognition, that instinctive pull toward another person? Everything intensified. Desire. Possessiveness. The need to touch, protect, claim. The stories made it sound romantic.

Personally, I thought it sounded fucking exhausting.

Not that I would know.