Page 52 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

“This Ra must be a powerful wielder of fire,” Sepheron said. “Why, then, does he request the aid of the dragons?”

Rory hesitated. “He is prevented from entering the underworld, my Lord,” Aston answered. “Aviur, the king of fire, has bound Ra to the human realm. Though Ra is powerful, the lord of the underworld is certainly his equal, if not more so. As you know, a strong ruler entrenched in his own territory isn’t easily bested. Aviur was worried Ra would get himself killed attempting to rescue Shelly.”

“Fools in love,” Sepheron murmured. “But Aviur was wise in his actions. Assaulting Osiris without an army at your back would be akin to suicide. I can only assume Ra does not fare well with his soul mate missing.” The dragon king’s eyes turned to Kimba. “Soul bonded that are separated from their mates never handle it well.”

Aston cleared his throat. “You are not wrong, King. Ra is suffering. He’s desperate to get her back.”

Sepheron went quiet again, and his eyes appeared to become unfocused. Rory noticed the longer the silence stretched, the stronger her desire to fidget became. She glanced at Aston but couldn’t read any expression on his face. She was too nervous to try any mental communication. And she was only vaguely aware of a chorus of rumblings and mutterings coming from the throats of the dragons surrounding her.

Finally, the king nodded his colossal head, and the steam issuing from his snout billowed when he let out a deep sigh. “Osiris,” he said, drawing out the name. “I wondered when the day would come.” Still, the dragon remained unfocused, and Rory realized he was thinking out loud. She turned to look at Kimba, but her friend, too, was staring into the distance. Rory couldn’t figure out what was happening, but a sinking feeling grew in her stomach.

“Kimba?” Rory reached out a hand and placed it on the dragon’s leg. “Are you all right?”

Kimba shook her head and blinked, then turned her golden eyes on Rory. “Yes. Absolutely. Of course.” The dragon looked at her king. “I will go in after the girl.”

Rory’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. To this point, she hadn’t entirely considered the details of their plan. Rory hadn’t thought much past the issue ofgetting the dragons’ help. She certainly hadn’t considered who would actually be leading the charge into hell on Shelly’s behalf. Even if she had, Rory sure as heck hadn’t picturedherdragon as the one going toe-to-toe with the lord of the underworld. She started to speak. “That’s not … um … I mean…” Rory growled, then bit out her friend’s name. “Kimba, no!”

“Sorry, little witch,” Kimba said. “My ass writes my own paychecks.”

“What the… That’s not… That doesn’t even make sense.” Rory hissed. “You can’t even hold a pen, much less write a check.”

“You know what I mean.” Kimba’s eyes were still on Sepheron.

“I don’t care what you meant.” Rory stomped her foot. Childish? Perhaps, but then she was desperate to make her best friend understand how bad of an idea this was. “You can’t. Mainly because I can’t go with you. I’m your rider, Kimba. I’m your bonded BFF, dammit. You don’t get to put yourself in danger without me there to save your scaly ass.”

“Okay, first, there’s no need for pointing out how scaly my ass is. It’s a hazard of my kind. I don’t go around pointing out how funny looking your ears are.” Kimba turned her full attention to Rory. “Second, little witch, it is not your job to protect me. I amyourprotector. You are much more fragile than me. I will never allow you to put yourself in danger whereIdo not believe I can keep you from harm, not the other way around.”

Rory’s chest tightened. Kimba was the first friend she’d ever had. This was the only relationship she’d ever experienced where the other person expected nothing from her. Kimba only wanted to be there for Rory. If anything happened to the dragon, Rory would not be okay. She would never be the same. Aston released her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his body. She felt his concern and pain for her through their bond.

“Sepheron”—Rory still looked at Kimba—“please don’t let her do this.”

“It is her destiny, dragon rider.” The king’s deep voice was gentle. “This task has been hers long before you two ever met. Kimba must face Osiris.”

Rory’s head whipped around to Sepheron, her lips tight. Rage boiled her blood. “What?” she snapped. Apparently pissed-off-Rory wasn’t concerned the dragon standing before her could smite her where she stood. Or worse, eat her. “What the hell does that mean? Does Kimba have some sort of beef with Osiris? Did she set his devil ass on fire a couple of centuries ago, and he’s still holding a grudge?”

“I don’t think the lord of the underworld’s ass could be burned by any sort of fire, sweets, even Kimba’s,” Aston murmured.

“Not the point,” Rory said through clenched teeth. She fought hard to keep her volatile temper from erupting. Despite Aston’s removal of the darkness within her, Rory clearly still had anger issues.Good to know.“Why does Kimba have to face Osiris?” she asked the dragon king again. Then she looked back at Kimba. “Do you know? What did you do?”

“Everything will be made known in time, Rory,” Sepheron said.

“Uh, look around you. We are literally standing intheKnowing Place,” she practically shouted. “What better place to make this shocking revelation than right here? I mean, what’s the point of this place if secrets are going to be kept? We’re all hanging around here trying to make crap known!”

“Rory, enough,” Kimba said sharply.

“No.” Rory growled. “It is not enough. I’m just getting started. If it means keeping you from getting your smart ass handed to you by a psychotic, narcissistic, woman-stealing, soul-torturing lunatic, then I will keep going as long as I need to. I will not stand by and just let you go—” Rory’s voice wavered as the fear of losing Kimba overwhelmed her. “You wouldn’t allow me to do something crazy like that. Why would you think I could ever be okay with it?”

“You cannot change my destiny, friend.” Kimba lowered her head until she was eye level with Rory. “You cannot stop what must happen. No matter what we want, what weneedmust take precedence. Everything, little witch, happens for a reason. You came to me because you were supposed to.” Kimba nudged her gently with her snout. “I didn’t know that something was missing from my life until this spunky, temperamental witch came along and gave me her friendship and trust.”

Rory gave up the battle to hold back her tears. The effort was futile. She loved Kimba. The dragon had become her family. It didn’t matter that they weren’t the same species. The creature before her had become the most important being in her life. At least until Aston. But having him by her side didn’t diminish the feelings Rory felt for her BFF. She leaned down and rested her forehead against the top of Kimba’s snout. The heat radiating from the dragon flowed into Rory, running all the way to her toes.

“All will be revealed, Rory,” Kimba said softly. “Trust that Mother Gaia has a plan for both of us. And if our time in this life is over, we will see each other again in the afterlife.”

Rory shook her head. “No,” she said, just as softly as Kimba spoke. “I will never accept that. Nothing you can say will change how I feel. You’re my ride or die, you damn dragon.”

“As you are mine, little witch.”

Aston’s heartbroke for his soul bonded. He could feel the devastation crushing her inside, and there was nothing he could do to ease her pain. He pulled out the cell phone Elias gave him and picked his brother’s name from the contact list. Placing it to his ear, he kept his eyes on Rory.

---