Page 47 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

Aston lowered his head slowly, giving her time to tell him to stop. But his wild Rory lifted up on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down to her. As their lips pressed together, their bodies molding to one another, Aston opened his magic and called upon the elemental power of air. He pictured the swirling air wrapping around them, while at the same time letting it flow into Rory. She gasped as the sensation rushed through her, and he felt her desire grow.

“Picture your power, Rory.” He pulled back from her lips. “Imagine what it looks like. Feel it. Call on it. Then join it with my own.”

She shook her head, and her face pinched tightly as if she in pain. “It’s dark, Aston. So dark. I can’t share that with you.”

Aston pushed more of his magic into her, and then felt his soul rise, a bright light that practically lunged from his chest into hers. Her fingernails dug into the skin on his neck, and she leaned up and bit his bottom lip.

“Trust me,” he reminded Rory as he began to undress her, watching her closely to see if she wanted him to stop. He kept her close, never losing touch with her skin. He kissed her, whispered his devotion and desires, and asked for hers in return.

Finally, she lay naked on the pile of blankets she used for a bed. He took her hands in his, twining their fingers together. Aston looked as deeply as he could into her eyes. He saw darkness, but there were small shimmers of light that flashed as she soaked up the power he continued to pour into her.

“I don’t care how dark it is, my love.” He leaned his head down by her ear. She trembled when his lips brushed against her earlobe. “I have given all I am to you, Rory. Now you will do the same.”

This time, instead of waiting for her to act, he joined their bodies. He nipped at her neck and then kissed the same spot. While she was momentarily distracted , he pictured her soul, a light and dark form in the shape of her body. He wrapped his power around it and pulled it from her.

Rory’s back arched, and her head tilted back. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp. Aston released one of her hands and wrapped his hand around her chin, bringing it down until he could see her face. Light like fireworks exploded across her eyes. The darkness faded, leaving a startling clear grey color. They glowed with joy he’d never seen in them, and then, as he stared at her, they shifted. He could see a smoldering need there, one that matched his own.

“It’s gone.” Her voice was husky.

Aston nodded, not trusting himself to speak. His emotions warred with the need to soothe her, rejoice with her, or feast upon her like a starving man.

“I like the last option.” A mischievous smile brightened her face.

Aston pulled back so he could see all of her face more clearly. “You heard me?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“Well…” he leaned down and kissed her. “That’s going to keep things interesting.”

“Yes, it will.” Rory shifted her body, making him groan. “Now can we get back to the part where you’re the starving man and I’m the feast?”

Air blew around them. Rory rolled their bodies so that she laid on top of him. Her dark locks blew away from her face, revealing her beautiful neck and shoulders that bore the love bites he’d left on her. “My wild Rory,” he rumbled, voice rough with desire. “Your wish is my command.”

ChapterEleven

“I knew at some point in my life I would have to make a promise that might cause me to break my oath. I hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but there are people in my life that mean more to me than any oath. I can only hope that what I have promised to do for evil, Mother Gaia will somehow use for good.” ~Ra

Ra sat on a small ledge that jutted out from the El-Tor Mountain in his native land. The mountain was located in the town where he grew up—El-Tor. He hadn’t been back in over a year. Hadn’t felt the need to until now.

Ra’s thoughts were chaotic, and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t seem to quiet his mind. Though he gazed at the vast landscape displayed before him, his eyes didn’t take it in. Instead, all he could see was Shelly’s face. He could still hear her voice when she’d called out to him through their bond. But now he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it. She’d sounded full of anguish and hopelessness. Her desperation had strengthened his resolve to take Viscious’s deal. Despite what the dark fire king claimed, Ra didn’t truly have a choice. Death was not an option unless it meant saving Shelly. If he didn’t take Viscious’s deal and was killed, then he’d died for nothing.

Ra pulled his legs up, bending them at the knee, and then rested his forearms on them as his head dropped forward. Since Shelly had been taken, breathing was something he worked at, instead of something that came naturally. He was sure his heart would stop beating soon, and he wouldn’t have to worry about the dark fire king taking his life. In such a short amount of time, Shelly had become his entire world. He hadn’t even known he’d been missing anything in his life. Then, like a bright star, she lit up the night sky and brightened the dark world he’d become accustomed to. Ra was only now beginning to understand how accustomed to the darkness he had been.

“Dammit.” He growled and balled his hands into fists. Ra clenched his jaw and tried to focus on the bond that linked them, hoping he could somehow connect with her. He thought if he could just have that—a small piece of her—then he could do what needed to be done without feeling the soul-crushing guilt of betraying not only the light elementals but his best friends as well.

“Ra.” A musical voice caused his head to snap up. Mother Gaia stood before him. She wore a dress that represented all seasons, with green leaves draping down one shoulder, fall leaves on the other, morphing into spring flowers, and then what looked like a layer of snow wrapped around her legs. A train of powder and flakes cascaded off the dress like a frozen waterfall. Her long, white, wavy hair glistened in the fading sunlight that shone behind her, making her appear to glow. Or perhaps, Ra thought, she was simply glowing from within.

Ra immediately bowed his head. “Mother Gaia.” Awe filled him, followed quickly by shame because he knew she would be aware of all that he had done.

“You have been through much, Ra Nasir.” Her voice warmed him in the cold places that had taken up residency inside his soul. “You have choices before you that seem impossible. Conflicts that seem to have no solutions. And still you have not given up.

“I often hear from my children, Why must I endure this?’” She paused, and Ra heard her dress rustling. He looked up and saw she’d moved closer. “I ask in return, ‘Whyshouldn’tyou endure this?’ Why should anything worth having in this life be easy? How much more joy, love, contentment, and peace will you have if you must fight for them?”

Ra swallowed hard. “What if I fail? What if I don’t get what I’ve been fighting for?” His head dropped once more.

“Then you hurt. You weep for what you have lost,” she said gently. “You let yourself mourn and then you use your experience to help others. You take comfort from those who have had time to heal from their own losses. Then, one by one, you rise from the ashes of the fire that burned you down.” He felt a hand on his head, and peace flowed into him. His muscles relaxed, and air filled his lungs. “Ra, this life is filled with so much pain, but it is also filled with an equal measure of joy. There comes a point when you mustchoosethat joy even in themidstof your pain.”

His shoulders shook. All the fear Ra had been attempting to keep in check broke free. He was man enough to admit that sometimes tears were necessary. Tears ran down his face and dropped to the ground. “And”—he took a deep breath, attempting to keep his voice from shaking as he spoke—“what if the choice I have made will bring others pain? What if I am the cause of their loss of joy?” Of all people to learn of his betrayal, it just had to be the earth goddess.

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