Page 45 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Ra glanced at his surroundings and forced himself not to react to the writhing bodies in the water flowing around the room.

“Finally,” a deep, velvety smooth voice said.

Ra snapped his head around, his body going on full alert at the threat he suddenly felt running through his body like an electric current. When his eyes met the soulless eyes of Osiris, the elementalist wanted to turn and run as fast and as far as he could.

Ra had thought the demons he’d faced had been sinister. He’d felt their darkness, but they were nothing compared to the evil radiating off the lord of the underworld. If he equated them to a flame, Osiris was an uncontrollable wildfire sweeping across cities while the demons were minuscule embers in a small, simmering campfire. They simply didn’t even compete.

“Speechless?” Osiris asked. “I get that a lot.”

Ra held the gaze of the man whom the world knew as Lucifer or Satan. It was difficult because staring into the face of evil could never be called easy. Ra’s own spirit couldn’t stand the darkness looking back at him. It was a feeling he’d never experienced before and never wanted to again. “What do you want from me?” Ra asked.

Osiris laughed. “Want from you? A mere mortal? What do you think you could possibly have that I’d want?”

Ra shrugged. “I wasn’t the one who requested an audience with you. I was told you wanted to see me.”

Osiris’s eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. “I wanted to see you because you are trespassing, and I don’t take kindly to intruders in my territory.”

“I’m not here taking a leisurely afternoon stroll,” Ra said. “But there is something in your realm that doesn’t belong, and I need to retrieve it.”

The lord of the underworld tilted his head, and his eyes took on a reptilian quality. “Something,” he said slowly, “or someone?”

It wasn’t a surprise he knew about Shelly. He was the ruler of hell. Of course, he knew about everyone in hell.

“You already know the answer to that question.”

“She is here uninvited as well. You cannot simply waltz into the underworld and take something without so much as a ‘how do you do,’” Osiris said. “There are protocols, rules.”

“Do you really follow rules?” Ra challenged.

“Unfortunately, there are some rules even I cannot break. Believe me, it’s a bitch, and I loathe to admit it. Now”—he stood up from his throne—“I’m tired of this conversation. Who is the female to you?”

“She’s a human who doesn’t belong in the underworld,” Ra said. “I’ve been sent by the elementals to bring her back.”

“So, she’s an elementalist?” Osiris asked.

Ra didn’t answer right away. He weighed his words as quickly as he could. Which would be worse for Shelly? Did it matter to Osiris if she was or was not an elementalist? He wasn’t sure. “She’s undecided,” Ra finally answered. “But she is under the protection of the royals.”

Osiris began to pace with his hands folded behind his back. Ra took the time to take in the lord of the underworld’s appearance. He wore black slacks, a black button-up shirt, and black shoes. His clothes were perfectly pressed, not a single wrinkle in sight. He looked like the main character in a mobster movie. It made Ra wonder where Osiris developed his sense of fashion. How did the lord of the underworld decide how to adorn himself?

“Thatisa problem,” Osiris said softly, more to himself than to Ra. “She intrigues me. It has been a long time since a mortal female has entered my territory.”

Ra bit the inside of his cheek to keep from showing any emotion. Emotion to one as powerful as Osiris would be considered a weakness. Any sign of weakness and the predator would pounce. But everything inside of him wanted to attack Osiris right then and there. The way he said Shellyintriguedhim was full of romantic insinuation.

“She’s a bit young for you,” Ra said as casually as he could.

“I have been here since the beginning of time. Do you really think I will find a woman who isn’t young compared to me?”

Ra shrugged. “Fair point. Still, she’s barely considered an adult in the overworld.”

“Which means she can be molded into what I want.”

Bile rose in Ra’s throat.

“She really would be the perfect bride,” Osiris continued. “She’s beautiful … and young, which means she will be easily impressionable. I could fashion her into the exact consort I desire.”

Do not attempt to kill the lord of the underworld, Ra.He had to repeat the words over and over again to keep from drawing any of his weapons.

“So, that is your interest in the girl … as a potential … mate?” Ra had to ground out the last word.

---