Page 98 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Dude was impatient to have her magic groping his. Noted. She pictured herself opening her hands, releasing the power she felt inside, pushing it into Elias.

His muttered curse made her smile. He liked her groping magic. Her smile fled as she felt his power in her and then felt his desire through the bond. In her mind, she saw two threads begin to wind around one another until she couldn’t tell them apart. They were one, bound so tightly she knew the threads would never be parted. The threads lit up, engulfed in bright white light as Tara felt Elias move over her. She opened her eyes and stared into his aquamarine gaze. Her breathing was uneven.

“I love you,” he said. “Forever.”

His body began to glow, and she could feel the heat on her skin. “Elias.” She tried to suck in air. Tara wasn’t at all concerned their bodies were covered in light. Elias’s hands, mouth, and everything else hijacked any sane thought until all she could do was live in the moment.

Tara had no idea how long they were lost in each other. She didn’t care that she was pretty sure at some point Liam had banged on the door. She wasn’t concerned that the world was freezing. There was just Elias and his love pulsating through the bond that was wrapped tightly around her soul and tethered to his. There was just his breath against her skin, his hands loving her body, and his mouth whispering his desires and asking her to share hers with him.

When exhaustion finally took them, he wrapped her tightly in his arms and pulled the covers over them. Tara realized the tight knot of fear that had been growing inside of her was gone. The certainty that Elias was hers and she was his was settled deep inside of her, and she felt complete.

“Sleep,” Elias said. “I feel your exhaustion.”

“The crazy stuff is gone,” she whispered.

He chuckled and then whispered back, “We better make sure after we’ve rested. Just to be sure the bond is solid. Now go to sleep. You’re going to need it.”

The End

Epilogue

“What is your proposal, Viscious?” Osiris asked from his throne, feeling as bored as ever. Since Shelly had left his realm, he’d been especially melancholy.

“Things have changed a bit,” Viscious said. “This plan has been in motion for a century.”

Osiris didn’t even blink at that. Time was irrelevant to someone who didn’t die.

“I started working with the demon, Dolion.”

Osiris straightened up. Thatdidinterest him. “Working with him how?” Osiris asked.

“He helped me with a spell to cast on the light royals. We took something important from them,” the dark fire king explained.

“What was it?”

“It was the knowledge of their soul bonded. They forgot all about them, and the soul bonded pairs didn’t even remember. They stopped using their combined power and were easy pickings. We’ve been taking them out one pair at a time since then. It has greatly weakened the light elementals.”

“What is the end game?” Osiris asked.

“Destroy the light elementals in exchange for helping Dolion open the gates to the underworld.”

Osiris forced himself not to kill the dark fire king because it was Dolion who deserved his wrath.

“But Dolion has become too powerful,” Viscious said. “He no longer wants to work as a combined force and wants all of us to bow at his feet. Those were literally his words,” Viscious bit out through clenched teeth. “Needless to say, the dark royals have not reacted well to his revelation. He is also able to remain in the human realm without the need for a summons or host.”

The lord of the underworld didn’t let the shock of that revelation show on his face. “What do you want from me?” Osiris asked. He stood up from his throne and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“We still need the gates open and the demons to help destroy the light elementals. Their numbers are impressive. But Dolion cannot be the one to do it. He could claim dominion over the demons who crossed into the human realm and feed off their power.”

The dark fire king was right. Osiris was nearly trembling with rage as he realized that his boredom and distraction with the female had nearly cost him his throne. “I will deal with Dolion,” he told Viscious. “And I will consider what you have told me concerning the dark elementals and opening the gates of the underworld. There are consequences that you do not know about. I am the lord of the underworld, and it will be my decision whether or not to allow such a thing to come to pass.”

Viscious didn’t look pleased with his answer, but there was nothing he could do about it. “Very well,” the dark fire king said. He pulled out a short knife and cut his hand. He walked over to Osiris and held out his arm. “My payment.”

Osiris let the king's blood drop into his hand and absorbed the magic from it. It wouldn’t do anything for Osiris in his own realm, but when he went to the human realm, it would allow him to wield fire as the dark king did, at least for a short time.

“It is enough,” Osiris said and watched as the fire king left through the portal he’d opened.

Osiris forced himself to stand still until he was sure he wouldn’t lose control. Even if he did not choose to work with Viscious and the other dark elementals, Dolion had to be destroyed. If he were so full of dark magic that he was able to remain in the human realm without the help of a host or the summons of a coven, he was a threat to Osiris’s reign.

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