Page 14 of Veiled By Smoke (The Nature Hunters Academy #5)
“It doesn’t matter that once I found out Danni wasn’t my mom. I figured my real parents must be dead. Actually finding out it was the truth still came as a shock. A painful, nauseating thought. Especially when the woman I believed was my mother was their murderer.” ~ Rory
“I f she wasn’t already dead, I would fry her ass,” Rory said as she thought about the woman who’d raised her, claiming her as her daughter and yet treating her no better than a slave. She felt Aston pull her tighter against him and then, because they were touching, his voice filled her mind.
“We will find out more about your family,” he told her. “I promise you this.”
She didn’t doubt him. Even if she hadn’t been able to feel the truth in his words through their soul bond, she knew that Aston would do anything for her. Especially if it meant helping her heal from the emotional wounds Danni had inflicted on her.
“We can totally find her bones and do some Voodoo crap on them,” Gabby suggested.
“Told you there was something wrong with her eyes,” Tara muttered.
“I can feel your distress and anger,” Kimba said through their bond. “I heard you were called to the great hall, but I had some business to deal with. Who do I need to eat?”
“How does bone soup sound for dinner?” Rory asked her.
“I’ve found out where I came from, what I am, and why Danni lied to me and used me.
Take a deep dive into my memories and get the info.
I’m still talking to my uncle.” Rory focused back on the room, letting Kimba have access to her recent memories.
She could feel her dragon’s rage building. She’d have to deal with that later.
“How did they die?” she asked Collin. Rory had mixed feelings as she looked at the man she’d believed to be her uncle.
He’d never been mean to her, but neither had he helped her when she’d needed it.
She’d seen the contempt in his eyes when he’d looked at his sister, but no matter how much he disliked her, he never stood against her.
“In a house fire,” he answered, as his shoulders rolled forward. “I’m sorry, Rory. That doesn’t change anything, I realize that. But I will do anything I can to help you now.”
“A little too late, don’t you think?” Aston asked. Rory felt contempt flow through him, directed at her uncle.
Collin visibly swallowed as he looked from Aston to her. “I won’t make excuses for my lack of action then. I can’t change the past, no matter how badly I wish that I could. But I can make better choices now.”
“What happened after the fire?” Nasima asked.
Rory’s stomach twisted as she waited for his answer.
She tried not to think about how horrible it must have been for them to die in such a way.
Images attempted to force their way into her thoughts, but she shoved them out.
Later she would mourn their deaths and the manner in which they happened, but not here with the eyes of others looking on.
Collin’s jaw clenched as he seemed to wrestle with himself. “I can’t believe she wiped my memory,” he said softly, almost to himself.
“Based on what you’ve said so far about your dear sister,” Gabby said, “it doesn’t really sound like you should be surprised. She sounds like a class A jackass.”
“Wait,” Rory said as she held up her hand. “I was ten years old when Danni took me. I should have memories of my life. If she jacked with your memory, then–”
“She most likely jacked with yours,” Gabby finished for her.
Rory’s stomach twisted up in a knot as she looked at Aston.
Maybe she should be surprised that she immediately looked to him for comfort, but it just seemed natural to lean on him.
He pressed his lips to her forehead, and she felt his concern through their bond.
After giving herself a second to breathe, she turned back to Nasima and Collin.
“How am I supposed to break a spell on myself?”
“You don’t,” Ra said. “We can ask the witch, Penny–the one that helped me at Blackhorn coven.”
Rory’s first instinct was to say, “ell no.” She didn’t want another witch messing with her mind, not after the mind freak Danni had put her through. But she knew that the only way for her to move forward was to get to the bottom of the crap storm her so-called mother had caused.
“What do you want to do?” Aston’s voice filled her mind. “I’ll support whatever decision you make.”
“Is there really a choice?” she asked. “I need to know about my life. I need to remember who my parents were, and who I was.”
“The witch must be brought here,” Sepheron said, the large dragon king’s head now hovering high above them.
Rory tilted her head back to look at him. “What if she won’t come?”
“She will,” Ra assured her.
Shelly smiled, her eyes twinkling as she looked at her mate and then back to Rory. “He can be very persuasive when he needs to be.”
“It’s the black eyes.” Liam motioned towards his friend. “Before his eyes started looking all demonish, he couldn’t intimidate a fly.”
Ra’s face remained blank as he looked at the water elementalist. He didn’t say anything, just stared.
Liam held up his hands and laughed. “Kidding, dude. You totally make people shake in their boots.”
“Babe,” Gabby huffed. “Maybe don’t poke the already irritated pharaoh's buttons. Mm’kay?”
Liam’s shoulders dropped. “But it’s so fun,” he whined.
“It’s all fun and games until Ra kicks your ass,” Elias called out from where he stood with Tara.
“I will get the witch,” Ra offered. “Considering I’ve built a rapport with her.”
“I’ll join you,” Shelly said quickly.
Ra looked torn as he looked at her. Rory saw the struggle on his face. She imagined that, much like Aston, Ra didn’t want to let Shelly out of his sight, but leaving the dragon realm meant putting herself in danger, which her mate would equally dislike.
“Don’t ask me to be separated from you,” Shelly said, her voice soft and vulnerable sounding.
Ra ran his hand down the back of her head, wrapping his fingers around her hair and holding it possessively. “Okay,” he finally answered. The moment was so intimate that Rory had to look away.
“It’s settled,” Nasima said. “Ra and his mate will get the witch. Sepheron, please call for me as soon as she arrives.”
“Of course,” he said, inclining his head at her.
“Umm,” Liam began, his lips pursing, “do dragons have cell phones?”
The air queen smiled. “No, but the wind carries sound. He needs only to speak my name with the intention of contacting me, and I will hear him.” The air queen opened a portal and then looked at Collin. “I need to return to my realm. Are you coming with me?”
Rory looked at her uncle, not my uncle, she corrected her thoughts. She didn’t know what he was to her anymore. She couldn’t really call him a friend, but she couldn’t call him family anymore either.
He returned her stare and then sighed. He must have seen the confusion on her face. “That’s probably best.” Before he followed the air queen through the portal he said, “I don’t know if I can ever make things right between us, but I hope one day you will allow me to try.”
Rory didn’t know what to say because she didn’t know if he could make things right.
She didn’t know if she even wanted him in her life.
He represented a time in her life that wasn’t pleasant.
Would she always look at him and see his sister’s face?
Could she ever move past the fact that he’d turned a blind eye from what Danni had done?
It wasn’t something she wanted to worry about at the moment.
For now, she just needed to figure out what and who she was.
She also needed to see Kimba. That dragon had a lot of explaining to do.
Collin must have realized Rory wasn’t going to answer him because he eventually turned and stepped through the portal.
“Well that was informative,” Gabby said, as she rubbed her hands together. “Now, let’s go get us a witch.”
“Witch hunt!” Liam called out as he threw a fist in the air.
“It’s not a witch hunt considering we know where the witch is,” Ra said dryly.
“Way to rain on my hunting party,” the water elementalist grumbled.
“Only Ra and his female will be retrieving the witch,” Serpheron said. “The rest of you have work to do.”
Aston took Rory’s hand and smiled down at her. “Feel like sparring with me? I promise to go easy on you.”
Rory narrowed her eyes on him. “You do remember that you have to sleep sometime, right?”
“It’s never a good idea to coddle your chick,” Gabby said. “You may be stronger in some ways, but we’re much more vindictive.”
Aston grinned at Rory. “Does that mean you’re going to do wicked things to me?”
“Good grief,” Tara muttered. “Finding his soul bonded has turned him into Liam.”
“Not okay, mate,” Elias said as he looked at Aston. “Do better.”