Page 95 of Cleansed By Water (The Nature Hunters Academy 3)

Ra’s chestfelt as though it would rip open at any moment. Even as he stood on the grounds of Crimson Academy with the warriors, students, and the royal elementals to send their fallen comrades off for their journey to the other side, all he could think of was Shelly.

He watched as the royals placed coins over the eyes of each of the dead, payment for the ferryman to take them across the River Styx. He didn’t know what afterlife was true, other than the underworld. If they weren’t bound for Osiris’s realm, did they go to heaven, Valhalla, or the other places where the so-called “good souls” spent eternity? Maybe he should care about the fate of those who’d fought bravely beside him and died for their cause. And if he got his mate back, hewouldcare. But until Shelly was back in his arms, nothing else mattered. Even Aston was just a side thought. Though he was a brother by choice, he was also capable of taking care of himself. Ra felt certain his air elementalist friend would be alright.

“We are joined today”—Aviur’s voice filled the quiet field—“to honor the fallen warriors who gave their lives to protect those who will never know the sacrifice they made.”

Ra’s eyes roamed over the bodies that had been placed on the pyres where they would be burned to ash, their bodies leaving this world and their souls moving on to the next.

“Mother Gaia has honored their sacrifice and offers the growth of the poppies you see spread over this clearing.” Aviur motioned to the field of beautiful red flowers. “These flowers will grow year-round, in any weather, as a reminder of the lives they lived and freely gave up.”

Ra was aware of Liam and Elias standing on either side of him. He could practically feel the pain radiating off Elias. He’d lost his friend and mentor. Ra was thankful, if not jealous, that Elias had Tara. He couldn’t be there for his brother right now, but she could comfort him. Ra couldn’t think about the fact that Tara was probably in nearly as much pain as he was over Shelly’s abduction. As the fires were lit by the arrows of Crimson warriors, Ra closed his eyes. The burning warriors only reminded him of his mate, trapped in the fires of hell. Though she wasn’t burning, that offered him little comfort.

There would be no comfort or peace for him, no ease in the pain his body endured as half his soul had been ripped away. And if Aviur and the royals took too long in going after his mate, Ra was determined to find a way to break the hold the fire king’s runes had over him. No matter the cost, he would save her. After all, he’d already been through the seven levels of hell alone once before. And if he couldn’t do it again, then he’d find a way to raise the pharaoh's armies of old and storm the gates of hell at their head.

The End

Epilogue

Rory stared at the guy she’d abducted from the battlefield. There was no reason to sugarcoat it. She’d straight up kidnapped the dude. In her defense, it was Kimba’s fault. The dragon female had insisted the guy in the human spectacles, specified because surely there were other kinds of spectacles according to Kimba, was Rory’s mate and, therefore, needed to be saved.

So said dragon had swooped down and snatched up spectacle dude. And now, here they sat in the cave Rory called home, staring at one another. It wasn’t awkward at all.

“What is your name?” he asked. He’d been held in the talons of a dragon, taken into the dragon realm, and now looked into the eyes of a dark witch. Yet there wasn’t an ounce of fear.

“Rory,” she answered. She sat on a rock on the other side of the fire. It was winter in the dragon realm, and even during the day, the temperatures could drop into the twenties. The dragons stayed deep beneath the ground during the winter months, not really hibernating, but resting for long periods.

“That’s a beautiful name,” he said, and she could tell he was sincere. He didn’t seem like the type to throw around compliments freely. But he did appear very observant. His eyes roamed over the cave, though they came back to her every few seconds.

“What is yours?” Rory asked.

“Aston Spence.”

“That is odd,” she said, just as honestly.

“Why did you take me?”

“Because we’re mates.”

He didn’t seem surprised by her answer.

“Why do you think we’re mates?”

Rory shrugged. “Because the dragons told me.”

His eyebrows rose. “And why would the dragons know this?”

“You don’t seem surprised that they talk,” Rory pointed out.

“I heard them when you grabbed me. Their ability to speak is less interesting than their ability to discern that we are mates.”

“So you don’t deny it?” she asked, her voice rising in surprise. She thought for sure he would argue with her.

“I felt you,” Aston said, his voice softening. “Like there’s a cord that connects me to you. Even now I feel it. And it hurts. But it seems the closer we are, the less pain I feel.”

“The dragons call it a soul bond,” Rory told him. “Kimba, the dragon I was riding, said that our souls joined. But she said it didn’t happen the way it normally does.”

Aston frowned at her. “It is odd I felt you before I met you. Usually, the soul isn’t shared until the pair have met.”

Rory didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t even know that soul mates was something that happened to humans. She’d been in the dragon realm for quite a while and knew that they soul bonded, but she figured it was a thing only for supernatural creatures.

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