Page 30 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

Movement caught Rory’s attention, and she snapped her eyes over to the ground where Tucker’s ashes lay. “Look.” She pointed with her free hand. The ashes slowly began to absorb into the ground, and the grass beneath them became green and healthy. Then there was a loud groaning and creaking of wood. Rory turned her head, and her mouth dropped open. The house, which had been burning from the magic she’d used, was no longer in flames. It seemed to be knitting itself back together. Within a minute, the house stood, whole and undamaged.

“Is anyone else freaked out? Because I’m freaked out. I mean, I’m freaking the freakity freak out.” Tara’s voice shook as she spoke.

“That’s a lot of freaks,” the guy holding the redhead’s hand said.

“Well—”Tara pointed at the ground and then the house—“what the hell, Liam? Gabby?” She looked at the redhead. “You’re the all-knowing one. What just happened?”

Ra’s head suddenly stuck back through the portal. He glanced at the ground and then the house. “Two problems have been solved. What does it matter the reason? Come.”

Rory knew her face had to look comical because the other two chicks looked downright hilarious with their open and closing mouths and wide eyes.

“Aston, make a note to look this crap up.” Tara made a circular motion with her finger.

“Noted,” Aston said and then looked back at Rory. “You okay?”

“Just another day,” Rory said, her voice a bit high as she tried to cover up her apprehension.

“We’re okay. We’re all going to be okay.” He nodded as if to make his statement true and then led her to the portal. She followed him through and felt the weight of Ra’s stare as she walked past him.

Everyone else followed, and the portal closed behind them. Rory glanced around at their new location. It took her a minute, but when she realized where they were, she gripped Aston’s hand tighter and hissed.Good grief, am I actually hissing like a damn cat?If she had been a cat, her hair would be standing on end, her back arched, and her claws extended. “Why are we in the Cornwall coven?” All thoughts about what they’d just experienced with the disappearing ashes and magically repaired house fled from her mind.

The group all turned and formed a circle. Each of them looked at her, but she saw no judgment in their eyes.Did that mean Aston hadn’t told them what she’d done?She glanced at him and saw that he, too, was looking at her. His eyes were filled with concern and something that looked a lot like adoration, if she even had the ability to recognize such a look in another. But she knew it was adoration because it was the same expression she’d seen on his face the night they’d consummated their bond. Rory’s heart picked up speed as she held his gaze.

“We’re here because I could not find the information I needed at the other coven,” Ra said, drawing her attention from Aston.

“Which coven?” she asked.

“Blackhorn,” Ra answered.

“There are others besides this one and Blackhorn,” Rory pointed out, her voice sharp with irritation. This place held few positive memories.

“Yes,” Ra said.

She waited, but he offered nothing more.Wow, this one is a regular Chatty Cathy.Finally, she asked. “So how did you conclude you should come to this coven rather than any of the others?”

“A grimoire at Blackhorn pointed me in this direction.”

“You were only there for a few hours, Ra,” the female with brown hair said. “And why is no one in this house confronting us about why we’ve just come barging in?”

“Because there is no one left in the Cornwall coven,” Ra answered.

Perhaps his words should have saddened her, but Rory found herself breathing a sigh of relief. Those who’d caused her so much pain here could trouble her no longer.

“Before we go any further, are we going to discuss what the hell just happened back there?” the redheaded female said, “And could we please make a few introductions? Aston’s woman looks a bit confused, and I don’t blame her.”

“I’ve deduced a little,” Rory offered. “You’re Gabby. You’ve been holding Liam’s hand, so I’m gonna go out on a short limb and say that you belong to each other. And that’s Tara and Elias. Aston already indicated they’re soul bonded. So,boom!Intro’s done. Now, back to our not-regularly-scheduled-program because I would never regularly choose to come to any witches’ coven.”

“I like her.” Gabby smiled. “You did good, Aston.”

“I agree with my Firestarter.” Liam nodded. “She’s going to fit in the group nicely. Which is good because otherwise it would get awkward real fast, and we’d have to have the whole ‘it’s not me, it’s you’ discussion.”

“It’s not you, it’s me,” Gabby corrected.

“No.” Liam shook his head. “It wouldn’t be us. It would be her. Because she’d be the awkward newbie making things all weird.”

“Bloody hell.” Elias breathed out and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Don’t mind them.” Tara motioned to Liam and Gabby. “We’re pretty sure Gabby was raised by wolves, and Liam was raised in the circus.”

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