Page 77 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Her stomach dropped as she realized the horror he’d endured to rescue her. “I can’t believe you did that, just to come for me. You don’t even know me.”

“It was the right thing to do. But that’s not the only reason I came, as I’ve already told you,” he said gently.

“Besides Tara, I’ve never met anyone that selfless. I mean, maybe my parents, but they have to try and save me because they’re my parents.” She paused and then jumped to her feet. “Holy freaking demon babies! My parents! They’re probably going out of their minds with worry.” How long had she been gone? Shelly hadn’t even considered that they would be waiting for her to come home from the dance. She didn’t want to imagine how her mom reacted when Shelly didn’t show up.

“They’re going to kill me. I mean, not right away. But after they realize I’m okay. If we get out of here, that is.”

“We will get out of here,” Ra said sternly. “And your parents will be all right. I hate that they are probably terrified, but I will make sure you see them again.”

He reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back down to the couch. She sat much closer now, her thigh touching his. His warmth was nice compared to the chill that had filled her at the realization that her parents were probably worried sick.

“There’s nothing you can do right now. There’s no sense fretting over it,” Ra told her.

He was right, but she was an eighteen-year-old girl full of jacked-up hormones. There was no way she wasn’t going to fret. She’d try and at least keep it on the inside. Shelly didn’t want to drive Ra crazy with her crazy. She wasn’t sure she could handle someone else’s crazy. There should be a rule that there could only be one crazy person in any dire situation at any given time. “Okay, if there’s not going to be any fretting, then what do you suggest we do?” she asked.

Ra didn’t speak for a long time. He simply stared at her as if he were completely content to do just that. But then he said, “How are you feeling?”

She took a minute to take stock of herself. “I feel good. Tired, but otherwise good.”

“You don’t have any residual pain from the burning?” he asked as his jaw clenched.

“No, thank heavens. Burning alive sucks. And I couldn’t make any noise or move, which was almost as bad. It was like I was trapped in my own mind while feeling what my body was enduring.”

Ra’s whole body tensed as she spoke, and his eyes glowed with an orange flame. “I am sorry you had to endure that. I wish I could have gotten to you sooner,” he said.

“I’m sure people have endured worse than that,” Shelly assured him. “Like those who’ve actually been burned. I wasn’t really burned.”

“Perceived pain can be just as horrific as pain that causes injury,” Ra said. “Don’t diminish what you went through just because there is no physical evidence of it.”

Shelly could tell it bothered him she’d been hurting and he’d been unable to get to her. She’d never had anyone feel that way about her. “Ra.”

“Yes,” he said as he looked into her eyes.

“I’m glad it’s you,” she said.

His brow drew down in a V. “What do you mean?”

“I mean if we are somehow destined for one another, I’m glad it’s you. With my luck, I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if my destiny had been a guy named Earl with poor teeth-brushing habits and the need to slap my ass every time I walked by him as he yelled at me to get him a beer.”

Ra looked surprised. “Why would that be your destiny?”

“Because I’m from a tiny town in Kentucky. It’s not like we’re breeding a ton of the leaders of the free world. Not that those people are much of a step up from good ol’ Earl. They just have more money.”

“The leaders of America have more money than Earl, who has dirty teeth?” Ra asked. He looked thoroughly lost. Shelly couldn’t blame him. Some of the stuff she said even confused her …ifshe bothered to listen to what came out of her mouth.

“Exactly. But just because they have money doesn’t mean their teeth care is any better than Earl’s. They just have the money to go to the dentist and get new teeth. Haven’t you noticed how white all politician’s teeth are? My dad told me I should never trust a man whose teeth are whiter than his soul.”

“By white, you mean having a pure soul?” Ra asked.

Shelly nodded.

“How do you know if their soul is pure?”

She leaned back and tapped her foot as she thought about it. “I think it’s something you can see in the small areas of a person’s life. For instance, a person who takes time to open the door for another person shows that they value other people. A person who gives money to a person on a street corner demonstrates that money is not what is most important to them. And…” she looked at him with a small smile. “A person who would go to hell for another person shows they consider another person's life more important than their own. I’d bet my life that you have a pure soul.”

Ra shook his head briskly. “Don’t ever bet your life on anything,” he said sternly. “Your life is more valuable than anything.”

Shelly reached out, took his hand, and squeezed it tightly. “And that’s how I know your soul is whiter than your teeth.”

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