Page 3 of Veiled By Smoke (The Nature Hunters Academy #5)

Kimba stood with her large body taking up much of the space, her iridescent scales dusted with snow.

And behind her were eight people. They were grouped in pairs, male and female.

Shelly’s eyes widened as she realized she recognized them.

They were other warriors they’d worked with when they’d all been sent out into the field because of the natural disasters that happened when some of the light royal elementals had gone missing.

And some of them she knew were soul bonded.

“When you said ‘queen,’ were you talking as in a collective royal, like the band?” Rory asked, having sat up again to see what Sepheron had motioned towards. “Because I see a dragon, four pairs of mates. I’m guessing soul-bonded mates considering they’re here.”

“None of them are the queen, little witch,” Kimba said, her voice laced with the humor she often pointed towards Rory. “But I am.”

Shelly watched in shock as the edges of the dragon began to ripple—like wind shivering across a pond–as Kimba’s massive dragon body seemed to blur at the edges, iridescent scales catching the firelight and scattering it in prismatic bursts.

Her wings folded in, the leathery membranes dissolving into mist, while her tail curled inward, shrinking with each heartbeat.

Bones shifted and flowed beneath shimmering hide, the sound like distant thunder muffled by velvet.

A halo of blue-white light enveloped her, pulsing with ancient magic.

Her great head bowed, horns receding and snout shortening, the fierce lines of her muzzle softening.

Scales melted, re-forming into silken skin, and her claws retracted, fingers elongating until they were unmistakably human.

Kimba’s eyes—piercing, glacier-bright—remained unchanged, the only constant as her body contracted, shrinking from awe-inspiring power to elegant strength.

The light faded, swirling away in delicate strands, and where the mighty dragon had stood, a petite woman remained.

Her hair—white as new-fallen snow—spilled down her back, framing sharp cheekbones and a regal jaw.

She straightened, brushing invisible dust from her pale dress, pale blue eyes scanning the room with the same ageless patience and quiet ferocity as before.

In her human form, Kimba was no less commanding—her presence filled the cave, a reminder that sometimes the most extraordinary power comes in small packages.

R ory was on her feet in an instant, her world having just tilted on its axis.

She took a step forward, mouth opening and closing, not sure if she was about to shout, laugh, or faint.

Kimba—her Kimba–stood before her, not a dragon but a woman.

A queen. Rory’s mind ran a loop of “nope, nope, nope” as she tried to reconcile the regal figure in front of her with the scaly best friend who’d carried her through fire and storm.

Behind Kimba, the eight people crowded the cave’s entrance, snow swirling around their boots. Rory didn’t recognize a single one of them which, in light of the moment’s revelation, she could give a rat’s ass.

But all of that was background noise to the main event: Kimba. Human. Queen. Apparently mated to the former king of the underworld.

Gabby was the first to recover, looking at Kimba, then Rory, then back again. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. So you’re telling me our Kimba–”

“ My Kimba,” Rory interrupted as her eyes continued to take in the regal appearance of her now very human dragon.

Gabby ignored her and kept right on talking.

“. . . is not only a queen, but she’s also shacked up, mated, doing the dirty, having a shag fest, whatever, with Osiris?

The same Osiris who tried to mate, have a shag fest, do the dirty, and make Shelly his queen of hell, like, twice?

I’m sorry, but your royal highness, why are you here, and not wherever he is, kicking his royal, hell-ruling ass? ”

Liam’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, when you put it like that, it’s a lot. Like, even for us. And also, you probably won’t have to kick his ass because Ra will happily do it for you.”

Shelly opened her mouth, shut it, then just shook her head. “I vote we set up a whiteboard with yarn and pins. Because my relationship flow chart just exploded.”

“There is only one relationship you need worry about,” Ra said, his voice rumbling in the cave and that unique cadence bringing Rory a tiny sliver of peace.

“Relax, Babe,” Shelly told him. “You’ve got all my attention, all of the time.

Well, except when a huge dragon turns into a small, beautiful, human woman.

I mean, how does that work? Your dragon form is so freaking massive, where does it all go when you’re like that” she motioned with her hand, up and down, indicating Kimba’s whole body.

Kimba quirked a brow at Shelly and smirked. “Magic.”

Rory snorted, folding her arms across her chest, still glaring at her bff.

Aston, pushing his glasses up his nose, looked like he wanted to take notes on the entire situation. “So, Queen Kimba and King Osiris, both forgot their past until now, and—wait, does this mean you rule hell together? Or just, like, the afterlife in general?”

Sepheron, in the corner, gave a deep, rumbling chuckle. “I see that the shock of this has rattled your human brains. You’ve already forgotten what I’ve told you. The soul element rules the balance between all realms. It was always meant to be two—king and queen, bonded by soul, not just element.”

Rory had to blink several times. “That’s all fine and good, Sepheron, but it’s not what’s important. What is significant news is that my dragon bonded is a queen, who’s mated to the guy who tried to kidnap Shelly and start the apocalypse. And nobody thought to mention this before now?”

Gabby groaned, tilting her head back towards the ceiling.

“Is this one of those times that we’re going to have to repeat the same thing over and over simply because your emotional bff ego is butt hurt and you feel the need to rub your dragon’s snout in it?

Because if so, I need some food for this shit show. ”

“Hey,” Rory snapped at the redhead and pointed her finger, “when your reptilian best friend suddenly becomes a completely different species right before your unsuspecting eyes, then you can judge. Otherwise, sit over there quietly and play with your knives.”

“Or she could play with me,” Liam suggested with a wink. “I’m never too shocked for some bedroom games.”

Gabby put a palm on his face and shoved him away as she gave Rory a bored look. A throat clearing regained Rory’s attention, and she looked back at her.

Kimba, still all regal calm, watched Rory with the same blue eyes of her dragon form. “I did not know,” she answered her question. “None of us did.”

Sepheron made a rumbling sound, and all heads slowly turned to his massive dragon form. He shifted on his large feet, claws gripping into the rocky ground.

“I’m sorry,” Rory’s brow rose. “What was that, your Royal Highness?”

“I had my suspicions, and as things evolved, my own memories returned. But as I told you before, it was not my story to tell.”

Kimba continued, and everyone looked back at her. “We didn’t remember until Osiris returned from the underworld. Then the memories, the bond, came back.”

Tara gave a dry chuckle. “Ever since you had Kimba snatch Aston up in her talons on that battlefield, there’s never been a dull moment with you. You and your witchy, dragon-bonded self being the center of the drama, huh?”

Rory shot her a look. “Trust me, I don’t do it on purpose.” She paused. “Usually. I mean, sometimes it sort of happens and I make it worse, but that’s not the point.”

There was an awkward silence when Rory didn’t really know what to do. Her brain just spun, thinking about her relationship with Kimba.

Apparently, no one was going to wait on her to process as Gabby, never one for subtlety, stood up and walked over to the people behind Kimba.

She pulled out one of her daggers and began using it as a pointer.

“Okay, intros are needed for Rory because nothing says awkward or stressful like meeting some strangers at a magical reveal party. This is Riggs and Lark, air elementals.”

Riggs, all sharp edges and restless energy, gave a little salute. “Heard you can ride a dragon bareback through a thunderstorm. Respect.”

Lark offered a small wave, her wild curls and sharp eyes making her look like she ate tornadoes for breakfast. “You’ll get used to us. Eventually.”

Rory managed a faint, “Nice to meet you,” before shooting Kimba another look. “You showed them the whole human-queen thing before you showed me?”

Kimba gave a small smile. “I had to gain their trust. Dragons do tend to make some people nervous because of the whole eating them thing. And time was short. You would have been first, if there had been another way.”

Before Rory could muster a comeback, Gabby pressed on. “Next up: Lawson and Cara, fire elementalists.”

Lawson’s grin was cocky and unapologetic. “So, is this a regular thing in your group? Secret royalty, surprise mates, plot twists? I feel like I’m finally getting to sit with the cool kids.”

Cara’s gaze was cool and steady as she sized Rory up. “We’re just glad to finally meet the famous Rory, mate-snatching extraordinaire. Kimba was very . . . insistent we come.”

“Not one of my finer moments,” she told Cara begrudgingly. Then Rory glared at Kimba, her voice rising. “I mean, I get it, but seriously? Not even a text?”

Rush and Brianna stepped up. Rush tall, arms crossed, and Brianna’s laughter a little too big for the cave. “We’re air, too,” Brianna said. “And, for the record, Kimba’s transformation is the wildest thing I’ve seen since the time Riggs tried to ride a tornado.”

Riggs muttered, “It worked for a few seconds.”

Lark elbowed him. “Until it didn’t.”