Page 11 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

Ra focused solely on Elias and Liam as he walked toward them. He didn’t look around to see how many people had witnessed his outburst. Not because he was concerned about their judgment, but because it didn’t matter what they thought. They were inconsequential in his world. He had tunnel vision, and at the end of that tunnel stood his female, his mate, his Shelly.

“Never a dull moment,” Liam said as Ra reached him. Ra kept walking, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the others fall in line beside him. Once he was at the edge of the sparring grounds, he opened a portal. Ra stepped through into the basement of Crimson Academy.

“I thought this place was warded,” Liam said.

“It is.” Ra walked over to one of the charred walls and turned. He leaned back against it and slowly slid to the stone floor. He rested his forearms on his bent knees and tilted his head back, pressing it into the hard surface behind him.

“So how are you able to get in?” Tara asked.

“Because I am tied to this place through my ancestors,” Ra answered. He didn’t want to talk, but he wouldn’t be rude to his brother’s mate. “They can’t ward me from the room, but they’ve managed to prevent me from being able to use the river to get to the underworld. These damn runes.” Ra ran a hand over his arm. “They feel like ants under my skin. I’ve done some research.” He didn’t add that he had plenty of time to do the research because sleep was no longer a concern. He was pretty sure his friends would find it unstable for his mental health that he couldn’t sleep, so he kept that information to himself. “But I’ve not found anything that can remove runes put in place by a royal.”

“What happened down here?” Gabby asked.

Ra looked up from where he stared at his arm and saw the two couples looking around at the blackened room. He let his eyes roam over the space and tried to see it from their perspective. But all he could see was the moment when he realized there was no way for him to get to his female. There’d been no stopping the rage that had erupted out of him like an active volcano.

Elias walked over and took a seat next to Ra, leaving a foot between them. Ra appreciated the space. “You did this?” Elias asked.

Ra nodded. Remembering the emotions he’d felt that day made his barely controlled ire rise again. “You asked me to trust you.” Ra glanced at Elias and then Liam. “Does that mean you’ve come up with a plan?”

“It’s more like a rough draft.” Liam ran his hand across the dark scorch marks on the stone.

“Liam thinks we should blackmail a demon,” Gabby said quickly. “But I think I have a better idea.”

“You’ve been holding out on us?” Tara asked.

Gabby rolled her eyes. “It’s been all of a half hour since we had lunch. It’s not like I’ve been scheming for the past few weeks and I’ve just now suddenly decided to reveal my master plan.”

Tara crossed her arms in front of her. “Fair enough. Now share. Anything you’ve come up with must be better than Liam’s plan.”

“I’ve been thinking about the girl who took Aston—” Gabby started

“Okay, I stand corrected,” Tara said “Apparently you have come up with something dumber.”

Gabby ignored Tara’s comment. “I’m not sure which one, but she is either a dark acolyte or a witch. And considering she didn’t seem to fight alongside the dark elementals, I’m guessing she’s a witch. If that’s the case, then that means she’s worked with demons.” Gabby paced as she tapped her chin. “If she’s worked with demons, then she probably knows how to summon one. Which opens a portal to hell, correct?” She looked at Elias, then Liam, and finally Ra.

“Technically,” Ra said slowly as he tried to follow her line of thinking.

“Is there a way to go through that portal when the demon is summoned?” Gabby stopped pacing and stared at Ra.

“Possibly,” he answered.

“Your one-word, monotone answers are not inspiring confidence,” Tara muttered. She walked over and sat down across from Elias, crossing her legs as she rested her elbows on her knees.

“Even if it is possible,” Elias said, “we can’t do anything unless we get Aston and the witch.”

“And they’re in the dragon realm,” Liam added. “Which is nearly as impossible to get into as the underworld. And you are just as likely to end up a pile of ashes there as you would in hell. And”—he held up a finger and pointed it at Ra—“you can’t go into hell because of that crap Aviur did to you, even if you could jump through the demon’s portal.”

“I’m telling you,” Tara said, “you guys have got this whole pep talk thing down.”

“That’s sarcasm.” Gabby looked from Ra to Liam. “In case you weren’t sure.”

“Thanks, beautiful.” Liam grinned. “I can always count on you to make sure I know when I‘m being insulted.”

Gabby’s smile was saccharine sweet. “It’s our thing, babe. You say ridiculous crap and make me want to strangle you. And I roast you so that you have a modicum of humility.”

“You’re failing,” Tara said. “Do better.”

Gabby raised a brow. “I’m rethinking this whole ‘having a BFFF’ thing.”

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