Page 48 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

“There will be consequences.” Her voice was firm, and he felt her hand move away. “There are repercussions, good and bad, for every decision made. Sometimes choices made that have initial negative effects can cause a ripple of good things to happen. That doesn’t mean that the choice was the right one. Regardless, the choice cannot be unmade. Therefore, you must follow to completion the path you have started.

“The question is, are you going to ask for my help? Are you going to accept that how I help is not necessarily the way in which you hoped help would come?”

He nodded his head against his hands where his forehead rested. “Okay,” he whispered. “Okay.” There was peace in surrendering his wrongdoing to the goddess. Though he understood the plans he’d begun couldn’t be stopped, and there would be repercussions for his choices, his heart beat a little less rapidly, and his breathing came a little easier. “Thank you.”

“It will get harder before it gets easier, warrior,” she said. “Call on me. Lean on those who care for you. And be prepared to make sacrifices. This will define your character. Not one choice. But many.”

Ra knew she was gone when the warmth that surrounded him disappeared. He continued to sit with his head bowed and took deep breaths, slowly regaining composure.

He had no idea what Viscious would ask of him, but Ra knew that in order to get Shelly back from the underworld, he had no choice but to comply. Ra pushed to his feet, deciding there was no point in waiting twenty-four hours to give the dark fire king his answer. The sooner Ra agreed, then the sooner he could gain entrance into hell.

He lifted his hand to open a portal, but before the air even shifted, just to his left, another portal appeared. Elias, Tara, Liam, and Gabby came through.

“Told ya he’d be here.” Liam walked over and placed a hand on Ra’s shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. “You can’t hide from us, brother. We know you too well.”

Ra glanced at the others and then looked back at Liam. “How many other places did you check first?”

“That’s not important,” Liam said at the same time that Gabby said, “Five.”

“It took you six tries to find me because you know me so well?” Ra asked dryly.

“The point is, wedidfind you.” Liam said.

“No.” Tara shook her head. “What’s important is that you’re okay.” She took a step toward him, and her lips pressed together. “I’m sorry I slapped you.” She lowered her head and then looked up at him through her lashes. “Shelly wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. It’s just not who she is.”

“I know,” Ra said. “And I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I have some pieces to the puzzle, but not the whole thing.”

Tara nodded. “So,are youokay? Because you jumped into a portal that didn’t give us a clue as to where you’d gone.” She took another step closer. “Shelly will not be pleased if she comes back to find you have done something stupid.”

Ra nearly laughed. If that was the case, then his soul bonded was going to be beyond pissed.

“What?” Elias said quickly. “What was that look?”

Ra schooled his features, surprised he’d shown any emotion. He rarely had a problem keeping his emotions and thoughts from his face when he wanted to be unreadable. But Elias was one of his best friends. He, like his other brothers by choice, had been around long enough that if they’d paid attention, they would see the tiny movements on his face that others missed.

“What are you talking about?” Ra asked.

Elias shook his head. “Don’t do that. You can bullshit other people, Ra, but not us.”

Ra seriously felt like he might throw up. In all the time he’d known them, Ra had never done anything that could cause them harm.

“You might as well tell us.” Gabby folded her arms across her chest. “I mean, I realize you and I don’t know each other real well, but I promise I won’t judge you. This—” She motioned to their group and then to the surrounding area. Gabby whistled when she looked out over the ledge, seeming to realize for the first time that they were on a mountain. “Okay, that is one hell of a drop.”

“Gabby, focus,” Tara admonished. “You were doing good there for a minute.”

“That was before I realized a few steps to my left is a fall that will cause my body to bend in all sorts of unnatural ways if I decide to take a plunge.”

Tara frowned and placed her hands on her hips. “Why on earth would you worry about taking a plunge off of a mountain? It’s not like we would let you walk off.”

“I’m bonded to this guy.” Gabby pointed to Liam. “Sometimes a ledge looks appealing.”

Tara stared at the redhead for a minute, then nodded. “Fair enough. But I won’t let you plunge no matter how annoying your man gets.” She motioned to Ra. “Now, continue with your speech. He was about to break.”

Liam shook his head. “He wasn’t about to break.”

“He was,” Tara argued.

“Sorry, luv,” Elias said. “Ra’s a steel trap when he wants to be.”

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