Page 74 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Dhara flinched as pain sliced through her. He was calling to the magic in her. She took a step toward him. When she realized what she’d done, she clenched her teeth and forced herself to stand still.

“You know it’s futile to fight me. You are wasting my time. If you don’t come of your—”

Dolion’s words were interrupted by a mighty battle cry as Aviur’s four warriors came charging out of the forest from four different directions. Their swords were ablaze with their fire, and their eyes swirled with orange flames.

Bayde reached the demon first, whipped his sword in a circle around his head, and brought it down in a brutal slash. The blade ran across the demon’s chest. Even as the sword cut, the light elemental fire burned down Dolion’s body.

The demon bellowed and flung out his hand, hitting Bayde with a blast of hellfire. Bayde fell back to the ground but rolled with the force of the blow and sprang back to his feet.

Tekren and Lenox attacked as one, both shooting fire at the demon while also using their swords to block Dolion’s countermeasures.

For an instant, Dhara thought that perhaps the four could best the demon. But then the tables turned as Dolion grew in size. His form doubled and, at nearly twelve feet, he towered over his opponents. He leaned down and swung his head. The demon’s horns caught Tekren and Lenox and sent them flying in opposite directions.

Bayde and the fourth warrior, whom Dhara recognized to be Krinn, attempted to alternate their attacks. They made swipes for the demon’s ankles and knees, no doubt hoping to bring him down. But Dolion moved faster than a being his size should be able to.

In a matter of minutes, all four warriors were on their backs, unconscious.

“I will kill them where they lie if you do not come with me,” Dolion threatened. His black eyes were so full of malice that Dhara couldn’t look directly into them without feeling as though all hope was being ripped from her soul.

The demon held out his hand to where Bayde lay, and she saw the gathering fire.

“Stop! I will go with you.”

“My lady.” She heard Leelin gasp and the murmuring of the others. The beasts roared at her declaration.

She looked over her shoulder at them. “I cannot let him hurt any of you. I am your queen, and it is I who will make such sacrifices. Protect your home. When the warriors wake, tell them to go to their king and tell him what has happened.”

The sadness in their eyes broke her heart, but it was nothing compared to the pain she would feel if the demon hurt or killed even one of them. Dhara turned back to the creature and started walking toward him. She tried to look stronger than she felt, but there was no hiding the trembling in her legs.

Dolion returned to his original size and wrapped a clawed hand around her arm. He opened a portal, and she could feel the heat on the other side. He was taking her to the underworld. They stepped through and she immediately collapsed.

“You might not live long enough to be useful,” Dolion spat. “That would be a waste.”

Dhara refused to spend her final hours of life in hell. She would stay alive. The demon picked her up and carried her into a chamber that appeared to be carved from obsidian. The entire room was black from ceiling to floor. There was a table—that could also be called an altar, but Dhara wasn’t going to entertain that thought—in the center of the room.

She heard a familiar growl and turned her head, much too slowly for her liking, and her eyes widened. “Beaumont?” she asked as she stared into the angry eyes of her mate. Dolion placed her on the table, and the heat from it seared her skin through her clothes. Dhara shivered as coldness seeped into her veins. She didn’t understand why she was cold on the inside but burned on the outside. Next to her mate stood Agni, Aviur’s mate, Beval, Nasima’s mate, and Ecthelion, Kairi’s mate. “You’re all here?”

Beaumont nodded as his eyes swirled a bright green. “Why are you so weak? Did he hurt you?”

“My magic is running through her veins, earth king,” Dolion purred. “How does it feel to know your female has let another male put his power in her?”

Bile rose in Dhara’s throat at the demon’s insinuation. “I did not take your magic from you,” she snapped. “Do not act as if this was some sort of intimacy.”

“Beloved,” Beaumont said in a gentler tone, though the power in his eyes still made it clear that he was raging on the inside. “What has happened?”

Dhara started to speak but had to stop as she felt the inhabitants of her realm pushing magic into her, trying to give her strength. She had no idea how long it would help, but it would keep her alive, if nothing else. As her teeth began to chatter, she fought back nausea because she knew what would happen on earth with her and Beaumont’s absence. “There was a spell I had to remove from Master Alaric,” she said through chattering teeth. “It belonged to Viscious, but Dolion’s power was mixed in with the spell.”

Beaumont tried to take a step toward her, but some sort of invisible boundary kept him from getting close. He snarled like a beast and slammed his hand against the unseen barrier. “Release me,” he growled at Dolion, who simply looked amused.

Dhara shivered again, and this time it was more violent. Her mate’s anger was only going to make things worse in the overworld. As the earth elemental king and queen, they didn’t just wield earth powers. They regulated the temperature of the earth, and not just the earth elemental realm, but of the human realm as well. If they were both gone, the earth’s temperature would drop. The other elementals could use the power of their element—air, fire, and water—but they did not take care of the earth itself. Dhara and Beaumont’s love for the planet and all living things is what kept the earth healthy. If the earth began to die, then the oceans would take over, and a great freeze would set in. The fire king and queen wouldn’t have much to work with if there was no fire left in the core of the earth. The air king and queen wouldn’t be able to create warm breezes if there was no sun to warm the air. Without the earth queen and king’s love, there would be no warmth. The sun was drawn to their power, but with them gone, the heat would diminish, as would the light.

“My love, you must calm yourself,” she said. She watched him take a deep breath. Then he stumbled forward, as whatever had been holding him back disappeared. Dhara looked back to see the demon was gone. Beaumont hurried over to her and lifted her into his arms as he took a seat and rested her in his lap. He pressed his forehead to hers, and she felt him trying to lend her his power, but he was also weak. Being in the underworld had drained him. The hands of the others touched her shoulders. She felt their strength flow into her body. It was enough to give her the stability to sit up on her own and lift her arms so she could touch her mate’s face. “Are you all right?” she asked him.

“Do not worry about me,” he said and pressed his lips to hers. “Focus on keeping the dark magic from mixing with your own.”

“Please, tell us about our mates,” Beval said.

“They are worried,” Dhara said. “But they have much on their plates at the moment.” She told them about the dark elementals and what they’d been up to. She explained how the spell had made them forget about the soul bonded and had driven a wedge between the four kingdoms. When she was done, she was exhausted.

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