Page 10 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

“Regardless,” Dhara said as she looked at Terrick, “it is a matter we are dealing with, but you need to be aware that it will affect our power. Now, why is it you have called us?”

“Pardon,” Aviur said. “Before we get started, I can’t help but notice that we have students from each of the academies except Crimson.” His voice dropped even deeper, almost threatening, as he asked, “Why?”

“Ra, the fire elementalist who accompanied the scouting group and would have been your representative, has gone into the Underworld.”

Elias leaned down and pressed his mouth close to Tara’s ear. “That’s Jeremiah, the Crimson Academy headmaster, and the woman next to him is Talia, his mate and headmistress.”

“Ahh,” Tara mouthed silently and nodded. Her mind was still reeling over the fact that, apparently, some very powerful royal elementals were missing. It was nice that Elias wanted to make sure she knew who all the players were in the room, but there was no way she’d remember even half of them.

The fire king elemental did not look thrilled at the information. “You sent a student into the underworld?”

“Not just any student,” Jeremiah said. “Ra has certain protections in the underworld that even other fire elementals don’t have.”

Aviur seemed to consider this and then said, “I am familiar with his ancestors. But why was he sent into the Underworld?”

“He was not sent,” replied the headmaster. “He chose to go. Would not be dissuaded, in fact.”

“And why would he do this?”

“To save my best friend,” Tara spoke up. Elias’s hand tightened on hers. She figured it was some sort of warning, but if the fire king could help save Shelly then she wasn’t about to stay silent, not even out of fear.

Aviur’s attention turned to her, those eyes filled with flames burning into hers. She forced herself to stay still and not take a step back. Predators like to chase things that run from them. At least that was what the Discovery Channel said.

“And is your best friend attuned to the elements?” he asked.

Tara shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“So, how did a mere human come to be in the Underworld?”

Before Tara could answer, Jax spoke up. He quickly explained what had happened to Tara over the past few weeks. Tara was glad to no longer have the intense gaze of the fire king upon her.

“It seems our dark elementals are quite busy these days,” Aviur murmured as he glanced at Dhara. “Tossing humans into hell. Possibly abducting our mates. Maybe they are weary of being alive and wish us to put them out of their misery.”

A woman dressed in blue silken robes said, “Now that we know why there is a missing student from Crimson Academy, can we please hear the full report of what was discovered during the scouting?”

“That is Serena, headmistress of Hydro Academy, and her mate and headmaster next to her, Marcus,” Elias said and then quickly continued. “And the two next to them are the headmaster and mistress of Tempest Academy, Callum and Ellena.”

“Got it,” Tara whispered, though she totally didn’t have it.

“Professor Fernis of Crimson Academy, Professor Warren of Hydro Academy, and Professor Hart of Tempest Academy accompanied me and four students on this mission,” Jax said. “Our goal was to determine if other dark acolytes were working together as they were doing in Buffalo, Kentucky, where Tara lived.”

“And what did you discover?” Talia, the Crimson Academy headmistress, asked.

“We traveled to twenty-five different countries and observed over a hundred Marks,” Jax answered. “We checked the Marks of every academy. Every single one of them was being shadowed by more than one dark acolyte of different elements.” A quiet muttering came from the group, including several muted curses.

“Did you engage any?” Marcus, the Hydro Academy headmaster, asked.

“Not the acolytes themselves,” Jax answered. “However, a dark water elemental and a dark earth elemental decided they didn’t like us hanging around.”

“I trust they were dispatched without impunity,” said Jeremiah.

Jax ground his teeth.

“We weren’t able to finish them,” Liam answered for the instructor, his voice evidencing his disappointment. “But we injured them enough that they ran off with their tails tucked between their legs.”

“This is truly a troubling development. What do you think has brought about this change in behavior from the dark ones?” Jeremiah asked.

Dhara stepped forward, her dress rustling as she walked. “I suspect I know the answer to that question.” All heads turned in her direction. “These two.” The earth goddess pointed at Tara and Elias.

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