Page 50 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

The glint of desire in his eyes made her shiver, but not in the same way that Ra’s voice did. It was more like the kind of shiver that happened when she found a spider crawling on her arm. Definitely not cool or yummy.

“Enough of this nonsense,” Osiris said. “The choice you have to make is who you want to be with.”

“Be with?” she asked. “Be withhow? You mean, like, on their team? Because I will never be Team Hell. Not buying the shirt, not making up a cheer, and not wearing a button.”

Ra pinched the bridge of his nose, and Shelly got the distinct feeling he wanted to chuckle. Butterflies were doing a line dance in her stomach because she suspected Ra didn’t laugh much, and she liked the idea thatshecould make him laugh.

“You have to choose your mate,” Osiris said, completely undeterred by her statement.

Shelly’s heart seemed to stutter in her chest. She’d heard that term before, and it wasn’t just onTwilight. Hadn’t Elias said something about being Tara’s mate? Or someone had said it. Maybe that Zuri chick? Mate? That was serious. Like, marriage-lasts-for-a-lifetime, serious. “Um, why?” she asked.

Osiris looked confused. “Why? What do you mean why?”

“Why do I have to choose a mate?”

“Because I want you to,” he replied.

“And why should that matter to me? Dude, you may be the lord of the underworld, but that doesn’t make you important to me. My loyalty only lies with the people I love. Sorry, Lucifer, but you haven’t made that list.”

“That’s not my name,” he said as he stepped closer to her. “unless you want it to be.”

Shelly sputtered. “I’m sorry. What?”

“I could be on that loyalty list. You could love me.”

Her mouth dropped open, and she glanced over at Ra, who stood still as a statue. His jaw was clenched tightly. It was obvious he did not like the garbage Osiris was spouting.

“Pretty sure I couldn’t,” she said as she slowly turned back to Osiris. “You see, no offense, but I don’t get off on evil. That’s not my thing. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Harley Quinn is a badass, and her love/hate thing going on with Joker is sexy as hell, but that’s just a movie. I can live that out through fantasy, but I don’t want it in my real life. You get me?”

Osiris looked so confused she nearly laughed but somehow remembered just in time that he could probably smite her with a snap of his fingers.

“Who is Harley Quinn?” he asked.

Shelly shook her head. “No one. I realize now that pop-culture references will be lost on you. That sort of defeats the purpose of using them.”

“Just because I’m the lord of the underworld doesn’t mean I can’t be good to you,” he said, and she could tell, to some degree, he meant it.

“Who’s my other choice?” Shelly asked. “You said I had to choose? If you’re in the running, then there must be a competitor.”

Osiris nodded toward the silent hunk of hotness standing next to her. Shelly’s mouth suddenly went dry, and her tongue felt so large she couldn’t make it move. She could feel her eyes bulging as she turned her head to look at Ra.

He was staring at her now. His face had softened a bit, and she was completely shocked to see vulnerability staring back at her. He seemed so formidable and confident she couldn’t imagine him being unsure of anything.

“You?” She finally got her mouth to work.

He gave her a single nod.

“Why?”

Ra licked his lips and stood up a little straighter. But before he could speak, Osiris did.

“He’s agreed to bargain for your freedom. If you choose him as your mate, then you will be allowed to leave the underworld, for a small price. But if you choose me as your mate, then you will stay with me, and I will give you anything your heart desires.”

She wasn’t a fool. Shelly knew the “everything your heart desires” bit came with so many strings attached it could be a marionette. Then a thought occurred to her. “How can you possibly give me what my heart desires when you don’t have a heart? You can’t possibly understand the desires of a heart if you’ve never had one.” She expected him to be angry with her assessment. Instead, he smiled slowly. It was creepy as all get-out.

“You, my dear, are a diamond in the pits of hell.”

Deciding not to touch that one at all, she added, “I don’t know either of you. How am I supposed to choose one of you to spend my life with? I'm assuming that would be the bargain?”

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