Page 44 of Veiled By Smoke (The Nature Hunters Academy #5)

Penny grinned mischievously. “We’re going to make some liquid magic.”

“It’s actually explosive magic,” Cordelia corrected. “Penny and I figured it might be a good idea to have some magical weapons on hand, considering all the crap going on in the world. And since we’re just hanging out, now’s as good a time as any.”

“We’re making magical grenades?” Aurora asked, her eyes widening. “Is that safe?”

“Probably not,” Penny said with a shrug. “But what’s life without a little risk?”

“Oh dear,” Fern muttered as she fidgeted with her hands on the table. “Maybe we could work on that frog spell instead?”

“Alas,” Cordelia sighed dramatically. “Ra most likely can’t be turned into a toad. He’s got some serious ancient mojo around him. Knowing my luck, it would bounce off of him, and I’d be the one hopping around, eating flies.”

Aurora didn’t blame the witch for deciding that making bombs was the lesser evil of the two. More importantly, she was pretty sure Ra wouldn’t find it amusing to be turned, or attempted to be turned, into a toad. Still, it was a funny thought.

R a stalked through the winding halls, barely noticing the flickering candlelight or the distant voices of Penny, Cordelia, Fern, and Aurora.

His mind was a storm of guilt and dread.

He’d promised Viscious. He’d promised to deliver the girl, or spend eternity burning in the underworld with the rest of his cursed bloodline.

He stepped out the backdoor into the yard and sucked in a deep breath.

Ra pressed his fists to his eyes, leaning against the cold stone wall.

How was he supposed to choose? Betray Aurora and damn her to a life she never chose, separating her from the sister she doesn’t even know about?

Or break his word and doom himself—and maybe everyone he cared about?

“You’re soft,” he told himself bitterly. “You were never meant to be a king.”

“You’re not alone in this, boy.”

Ra startled, the voice a familiar rumble in his mind. Ramses—his ancestor, his curse, and sometimes his ally.

“You’re at a crossroads,” Ramses continued, voice gentler than Ra expected.

“ The question isn’t whether or not you are meant to be a king.

That is your birthright. You have to decide what kind of king you want to be.

You can’t serve two masters. But you’re not without allies.

Trust them—even when you can’t trust yourself. ”

Ra’s jaw clenched. “If I screw this up, everyone pays.”

“Or you find another way. There’s always another way. You just have to think outside of the box you think that you are stuck in.”

The words echoed through him as the night deepened. He paced, brooding, the weight of destiny and failure heavy on his shoulders. He no longer had only his own future and destiny to think about. Shelly was a part of him, tied to him.

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed the ripple of magic in the air.

The shadows shifted, and with a soft crackle, a portal opened in the clearing of the yard.

Elias stepped through first, his usual brooding frown firmly in place, followed by Liam, who gave him a cocky grin and a wink, and Aston, who immediately looked concerned when he saw Ra.

Liam grinned, the expression all teeth. “You look like hell, Ra.”

Aston rolled his eyes. “Subtle, Liam.” But his eyes stayed on Ra. “You okay, brother?”

He didn’t hesitate to answer. “No. I’m not.

” These were his brothers, just as Aston had called him.

Maybe not in blood, but by choice, and to Ra, that was even more valuable because it meant they chose him as well.

“How is Shelly?” Ra had spoken with her on the phone but hadn’t been back in two days because he’d needed to stay focused.

“We had to tie her up to keep her from following us here,” Liam said as casually as if he were talking about the weather.

Ra narrowed his eyes on the jokester of their group.

Elias put a hand on Liam’s chest and shoved him back. “He’s kidding. None of the females even know we’re here. They think we’re sparring.”

“How’d you keep Gabby from tagging along?” Ra asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Liam smirked. “I made sure she was too tired.”

“Bloody hell,” Elias grumbled. “You walked into that one.”

“Fair,” Ra nodded.

“Okay,” Liam rubbed his hands together. “Now that you know we didn’t actually tie up your woman–though I don’t know why it’s such a big deal because we all know you probably tie her up–”

“You seriously have a death wish,” Aston sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Ra didn’t respond. It would only feed Liam’s enjoyment of poking the bear.

“We’ve got a plan,” Elias said, taking over the conversation because it was obvious Liam was incapable of not being an ass.

Ra was used to it and appreciated the fact that he could count on Elias. “What kind of plan?” Ra’s heart thudded.

Elias’s eyes gleamed. “One where you keep your promise, Viscious gets exactly what he deserves, and Aurora gets to choose her own fate. We’re going to trick him. Stonehenge.”

Ra blinked. “Stonehenge? What in the world does Stonehenge have to do with any of this?”

Before anyone could answer, Kimba strode through the portal behind the others. She was all purpose and focus, her presence snapping the room to attention. She gave Ra a once-over, her look both reassuring and full of the weight of what was coming.

“Stonehenge isn’t just a pile of rocks, Ra,” Kimba said, her voice gentle but edged with iron.

“It’s a soul-bonded construct—a trap, designed by our ancestors for moments exactly like this, when evil’s too slippery for normal magic.

When we activate it, the wards will contain Viscious.

But it’ll take all of us–all eight soul-bonded pairs, working together.

That’s the only way the magic will hold. ”

Ra’s brow rose. “All of us? Even?—?”

She nodded. “Even the ones who left to return to the field. Osiris is already gathering up Riggs, Lark, Lawson, Cara, Rush, Brianna, Crey and Tinley . . . ” She hesitated, her gaze softening.

“We’ll get everyone there, and Shelly has been training with us.

She’s ready. We all have to be ready, and we have to do it this way.

If we don’t, the trap won’t hold long enough to save Aurora—and Viscious will know it’s a trick.

And once he’s trapped and Aurora’s out, Rory will get to finally meet her sister. ”

Liam’s mouth twitched with a grim smile. “This is going to be fun–I mean, as long as Aurora doesn’t die and Viscious doesn’t somehow get free and attempt to kill us all.”

Aston elbowed him. “How many times have I told you that just because you think it, it doesn’t have to come out of your mouth?”

“Apparently, not enough,” Elias said dryly.

Ra managed a half-smile, the tension in his chest easing just a little. Kimba put a warm hand on his shoulder. “We’re in this together, Ra. No one gets left behind. Not now, not ever.”

Elias nodded, his voice low and steady. “We don’t want to give Viscious any time to attempt research on this. So this is happening now. Contact him. Tell him he’s got fifteen minutes to get where you tell him, if he wants Aurora. You show up, we’ll be ready.”

Ra exhaled, the breath shaky enough to betray just how hard he was working to tamp down the wild flicker of hope clawing up his chest. Could it really be this easy?

He almost snorted at himself. Of course it couldn’t.

Life had never handed him anything on a silver platter—especially not redemption.

There were a thousand ways this could go sideways.

Maybe more. But what was the alternative?

To stand back and do nothing? To let his mistakes fester and decide they were beyond repair?

No. He couldn’t accept that. Not when Aurora and Shelly’s futures were tangled up with his own.

Not when giving up meant letting them down before he even started.

He squared his shoulders, determination settling over him like armor. “All right,” he said, voice steadier than he felt. “Let’s do this.”

Kimba squeezed his shoulder, her eyes fierce and full of promise. “For Aurora. For all of us.”

And in that moment, Ra believed—maybe for the first time—that they really could pull this off.