Page 18 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

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Elias watched as Dhara stood as still as a stone and silent as the grave. Her eyes were closed. It was obvious she was concentrating hard on whatever memories she’d gained from Alaric.

Elias couldn’t believe that royal elementals were missing, and to top it off, the royal elementals had, for lack of a better term,forgottenthe soul bonded and how important they were. How had the dark elementals had the power to remove something so vital from their history? And what had caused the divisions among the light elementals three centuries ago? So many questions, and yet Elias wondered if there would be enough time to find the answers they needed and fight back against the dark ones. One thing was for sure. If they didn’t learn from their past, they were destined to repeat it. Human history had proven that time and time again.

“Do you think Ra is okay?” Tara whispered.

Elias could feel her worry over her friend and her fear that Ra wouldn’t be able to rescue Shelly.

“I have faith in Ra,” he said. “If anyone can get Shelly out of the underworld, it’s him.”

Elias would have gone after Tara’s best friend himself if he could. He would do anything to take Tara’s pain away. The intensity of the bond between them grew every second they were together, and with every touch, he felt himself becoming more a part of her and she of him.

Tara’s hand tightened on his, and he noticed her eyes had moved back to where Dhara stood. When he looked at the elemental queen of earth, her eyes were opened and glowing a vibrant green. The ground beneath their feet began to shake, and thunder rumbled outside the mountain.

“The kings and queens of the light elementals have ruled for too long,” she said, though the voice was not her own. It was deep, dark, and full of malice.

“Don’t destroy all the archives.” She spoke again, only this time her voice was that of Master Alaric. “You’ve taken enough,” she said in Alaric's voice.

“I have not,” the dark voice replied, “and I will not have taken enough until they no longer rule over us as though they were gods. We are tired of being oppressed, hunted, and murdered. We are tired of living in the shadows. It is time the dark elementals had a say in the world of men.

“From this night forward, the royal elementals of light will no longer remember the soul bonded because from this night forward there shall be no more. The knowledge of the soul bonded will be bound to you alone, Alaric. You are oathbound to never speak of it. If you break this oath, you shall lose your soul.”

Dhara paused and then spoke in Alaric’s voice. “How can you do this? How do you possess power over the light?” Her eyes turned black as her head slowly rotated, and she looked at the man who had asked that question three centuries ago. “Didn’t you know? Though the light may pierce the darkness, darkness can snuff out the light. Darkness can be so absolute that not even a sliver of light may show. Gather enough darkness and the light will eventually fade.” The earth queen’s eyes suddenly returned to their usual green and she started to collapse, but the other royals were there to catch her. They carried her over to a long couch that was part of a sitting area to the right of where the group stood. Gently, they sat her down, and she leaned on the arm of the couch, her forehead resting in her hand as she shook.

Iterra unfolded the blanket that had rested on the back of the sofa and wrapped it around Dhara’s shoulder.

“Can you tell us anything more?” Nasima asked.

“I just need a second,” Dhara said. Her voice was weak with exhaustion, as if she’d just climbed a mountain. Her skin had an ashen color to it.

“Is she all right?” Tara asked.

“It is the cost of the magic,” Alaric answered. “It will weaken her. And the more she tells us, the weaker she will become. The fact that her mate is not here is only going to make it harder on her.”

“We need to know who performed the binding spell on Alaric and how they managed to affect all of us,” Aviur said as his lips thinned.

Elias glanced around the room at each of the royals and noted the subtle ticks of cheeks, the narrowing of eyes, and the clenched jaws. They were obviously shaken up over what they’d just heard.How had this happened?Elias had sort of thought the royals were untouchable. But they weren’t gods or a form of deity. They were granted their power by God and Mother Earth, whom He created. Obviously, with half of them missing, they weren’t as untouchable as Elias had believed.

Dhara finally looked up. She seemed to have collected herself, though she still appeared very weary. “The magic used was the combined forces of each dark elemental.”

“So, it’s true,” Kairi whispered. “They really are working together.”

The earth queen nodded. “It was the dark fire king who performed the spell. He was the one who helped the acolytes get in and out of the archives undetected, well, except here at Terra. I don’t think they were expecting Alaric to be there.”

“I worked late that night,” Alaric confirmed. “It wasn’t a usual night for me to stay late and the students in those days knew that.”

“How did the light elementalists get turned to dark acolytes?” Liam asked. “I thought once you made your choice to be one or the other, it was a done deal.”

Nasima shook her head. “There is only one type of elementalist that cannot be swayed to the dark.”

“Let me guess.” Liam smirked. “Does it rhyme with troll conded?”

Elias rolled his eyes. “Conded is not a word, wanker.”

“Says who?”

“Use it in a sentence,” Elias challenged.

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