Page 27 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

“You really think you can take on the light elementals?”

“You speak as if they are invincible.” Viscious shook his head. “They have grown weak over the past century while we have only grown stronger.” The dark fire king pushed his sunglasses up onto his head, and the flames in his eyes glowed bright red. “I sent the mortal female to the underworld for another reason than just leverage. She is an offering to Osiris. If he joins us in this war, along with the covens, we can open the gates of the underworld. His access to the upworld would no longer be limited.”

Beast raised his eyebrows. The fire king had his full attention. Osiris was powerful as lord of all the underworld, but even he had limited access to the overworld. There were checks and balances. The gate that allowed demons access to the upworld also kept the demons at bay. If it was gone, hell on earth would well and truly reign. That was something Osiris would no doubt be excited about.

“I’ll admit what you’ve proposed is intriguing.”

Vicious scoffed. “It’s more than intriguing. I can practically see you foaming at the mouth. Tell Osiris I will be visiting him very soon. And let him know to prepare himself. The light elementals know about the mortal’s presence in the underworld. I suspect things are about to get messy.”

“There is the matter of payment,” Beast said. “For said female. You know that no one comes to hell for free.”

“We can discuss it when I speak with Osiris.” The dark fire king turned on his heel without another word.

Beast wanted to snarl at the audacity of the elemental, dismissing him as if he were a simple demon and not a demi-lord of the underworld. But Osiris was waiting.

* * *

Aviur settledDhara on a bed of rich soil. To a human, lying on what was essentially a pile of dirt might not be that appealing, but he knew to the queen of the earth elementals, it probably felt like the softest feather bed in the world.

“Have you summoned the woodland fairies?” he asked her.

Dhara nodded as she closed her eyes and rested her hands on her stomach. Her dark skin was ashen, and the usual lustrous shimmer in her hair was gone. Being in the elemental realm would help strengthen her, but her recovery was still going to take time, especially without her mate here to lend his power.

“Leelin will be here soon,” Dhara said, her voice wispy and soft.

“I am going to summon four of my warriors to stand guard. Your consort would gut me if I allowed any harm to come to you,” Aviur told her. “Nasima, Kairi, and I will go pay a visit to each of the three oldest and largest covens.”

The earth queen elemental nodded again, the pained expression on her face showing that simply speaking took too much effort. Aviur let her rest and waited for the warriors he’d summoned to arrive.

A few minutes later, four walls of fire appeared and out stepped four of the strongest fire elementals in Aviur’s kingdom.

“My lord,” Bayde said as he bowed his head. As captain of his army, he was the most formidable of Aviur’s warriors. The king knew he would be leaving Dhara in safe hands.

Tekren, Lenox, and Krinn also bowed and placed a fist over their heart.

Aviur looked at his captain. “I need you four to guard the earth queen.” He motioned to Dhara. Her breathing had slowed and deepened, and he was glad to see her resting peacefully. Fighting off the dark magic she’d taken from Master Alaric was going to require all her power, and she would need every bit of rest she could get. “Her consort is not here to aid her, and it falls on us to make sure she is safe.”

“Is she ill?” Bayde asked.

“In a sense. She removed dark magic from one of the professors at Terra Academy,” he explained. “She’s going to be weak and unable to defend herself.”

“Forgive me, my lord,” Bayde said, “I don’t mean to question your orders but—”

Aviur held up his hand. “I know we aren’t in the habit of guarding other elemental royals, but things are changing. If we had been united before, our mates might not be missing.” Aviur had not allowed himself to dwell on the fact that his mate, Agni, was in harm's way because of his own prejudice. He’d argued against her desire to work with the others when Dhara had contacted them. And now he was paying for his pride. He pushed his worry back because it would not help find her any faster, and he focused on the task at hand.

Bayde nodded. “Change is good.”

The light fire king elemental met his captain’s eyes and was surprised to see the approval in them. “You’re right, Bayde. Change is good and necessary. The light elementals have been stagnant for far too long.” He looked at Tekren, Lenox, and Krinn. “We all need to be ready because the change will be painful before we see the benefits of it.”

The four warriors bowed and then took up posts around the wooded area where the earth queen rested.

When Aviur turned back to Dhara, he saw that three woodland fairies had arrived while he’d been addressing his men.

“I am Leelin, my lord,” a small fairy, maybe half a foot tall with deep red hair, said. She wiped Dhara’s brow with a cloth while two other fairies covered the queen in a blanket made of leaves and vines.

“Kessa and Resha will help me tend to Queen Dhara,” Leelin continued. “She will be well.”

Aviur bowed his head slightly. “Thank you. My warriors will keep you all safe. I and the other royals will be in to check on her. Should you need us, let my men know.”

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