Page 11 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Tara was shaking her head as if she had a freaking clue what she was objecting to. She didn’t. But she did knowshewasn’t the answer to anything, anywhere, ever.

“How so?” Nasima asked in her windchime voice.

“It has been a very long time since there has been a soul bond between elementalists,” Dhara stated. “In fact, it has been ages since I even thought of them or wondered what happened to them. Even now, trying to think of all that the soul bonded entails feels hazy in my mind.”

“Mine as well,” Aviur agreed.

The other headmasters and mistresses nodded in agreement.

“I have felt the same way since Jax told me of Elias and Tara,” Terrick said.

Jax spoke up. “When I realized that something was happening to Elias when he met Tara, I did some digging. Master Alaric was kind enough to help me with some of our history.”

“You actually got the old man to come out of hiding?” Marcus, the headmaster of Hydro Academy, asked with a small smile.

Jax’s jaw clenched as he spoke. “It seemed difficult for him to answer my questions, but he gave me part of a scroll that had been partially destroyed. He also told me how the scroll had been damaged.” Jax pulled a folded piece of parchment from a pocket of his cargo pants.

“Wait, before you begin,” Terrick said, “give me just a minute.” The headmaster opened a portal in the stone wall as if it were as easy as breathing and stepped through. A minute later, he walked back through with a man by his side.

“This could not have waited until after I finished breaking my fast?” The man grumbled. The man looked to be middle-aged, but something about him spoke of the wisdom of accumulated years. He had a small amount of grey hair at his temples, but the rest of his hair was sandy brown. His chiseled face showed a few lines, and his eyes crinkled a tad at the corners.

“I wouldn’t have bothered you, Master Alaric, if it weren’t of the utmost importance,” Terrick said.

When Alaric finally looked up from brushing off his long robes, his eyes widened and he bowed low. “Your majesties,” he said, the grumpiness of his tone replaced with respect.

“Hello, Master Alaric. I feel we have much to discuss and suspect there is much you need to reveal to us,” Dhara said, though not unkindly.

Alaric straightened and glanced at Jax. “You told them?”

“I was just about to,” he answered. “Maybe you should go ahead and tell us all that you know.”

Alaric’s face paled, and his hands began to fidget with the sides of his blue robes. “What I shared with you was already more than I should have,” he said.

Jax frowned. “You didn’t share much, Master. You simply told me someNatura Venatoristudents who had joined the dark acolytes destroyed some of the scrolls. You were able to stop them from taking out all of the archives.”

Tara took a step closer to Elias when she felt an unseen energy in the room begin to crackle. She glanced at the elemental kings and queens and saw their expressions change. Aviur’s jaw was clenched and his brow drawn low. The flames in his eyes intensified. Nasima appeared to tense, keeping her posture rigid and her lips pursed. Dhara and Kairi leaned toward the master, with their arms folded across their chests. Kairi’s eyes widened a bit, and Tara noticed her foot tapping restlessly on the floor.

“Please explain what you mean by that,” Dhara said.

“I made a deal with the attackers. I was sworn to secrecy. My silence was purchased with an elemental oath. In exchange, the attackers agreed to leave the rest of the archives untouched,” Alaric said through trembling lips. It appeared to take all of his effort to get the words out.

“Only an elemental could have performed such an oath,” Aviur growled.

“It was, though I didn’t recognize the dark elemental who performed the spell,” Alaric said.

Dhara stepped closer to Master Alaric and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her words were soft, but still loud enough for Tara to hear. “How long ago did this happen?”

Alaric looked at the earth queen, and the anguish in his eyes made Tara’s throat constrict. “Three centuries, your majesty.”

“And that was about the time you retired and went into seclusion, right? I assume that wasn’t a coincidence.”

He nodded.

“You broke the elemental oath and told me about the damaged scrolls and turnedNatura Venatori,” Jax said. “That’s no mean feat, Alaric. It must have cost you dearly.”

“That’s not important,” Alaric brushed him off. “I should have said something long ago. It was foolish of me to remain silent.”

“The cost, old one,” Nasima said, her voice making it clear she would settle for nothing less than the truth. “What price did you have to pay to provide Jax the information?”

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