Page 52 of Veiled By Smoke (The Nature Hunters Academy #5)

“The world thinks darkness is something you fight or flee. But sometimes, it’s something you have to carry—and pray you don’t drop along the way.” ~Ra

R a tried not to flinch as the heavy doors of the dragon king’s hall thundered shut behind them, sealing away the last echoes of war and leaving only the relentless throb of magic in the stones.

Veins of molten gold and crimson fire pulsed through the walls, casting flickering shadows over the faces of his friends—no, his family, the ones still standing, the ones whose fate he could still ruin.

He felt the magic under his boots, ancient and hungry, vibrating up his bones.

Every breath was a battle: the frozen bite of the dragon realm air, the heat of something inside him writhing, twisting, burning for release.

Shadows crept at the edges of his sight, whispering in a language older than memory, promising power, promising oblivion.

He gritted his teeth and clung to Shelly’s arm, the only warmth that didn’t hurt.

Shelly’s grip was fierce, her pulse frantic against his skin. He wondered if she could feel how close he was to snapping—how thin the thread had become. Hope, stubborn as roots, wrapped around his soul. But even roots could be torn out.

The group clustered around a new obsidian table—a table that hadn’t existed last time Ra was here.

Had it grown from the stone, summoned by the king’s will, or was everything just different now because he was?

Kimba, in her human skin, sat at the head, eyes narrowed and lips pressed in a line that said she was working, always, to keep control.

Osiris stood beside her, arms crossed so tight his knuckles shone white, jaw ticking with every breath.

Everyone else—Elias, Tara, Liam, Gabby, Rory, Aston, Aurora, Fern, Penny, Cordelia—sat stiff and silent, as if afraid to make any sudden movements.

Even Gabby’s usual swagger was replaced by a bouncing knee and a too-wide grin.

Aviur and Agni, the fire royals, took their places at the far end, radiant and terrible, the air around them shimmering with heat.

Everywhere, Ra caught glances—furtive, worried, some openly afraid. Aurora clung to Fern’s hand, peeking at him with eyes so big and blue they almost glowed. Aston had his arm around Rory, but his gaze, watchful and protective, never left Ra..

Outside, somewhere far away, the other royals and soul-bonded pairs fought whatever horrors the open gate was unleashing. In here, it was just them and the truth.

No one spoke.

The silence stretched taut as a drawn bow. Ra’s skin crawled. He saw his own reflection in the black glass table—his eyes weren’t just his anymore. They burned with something ancient, something cruel. He looked away, heart pounding so hard he was sure everyone must hear it.

Kimba’s voice shattered the quiet. “Rory, I realize you and your sister have some catching up to do, and much needs to be explained to her. And I promise we will get to that. But, at the moment we have more pressing matters.” She turned her heavy gaze on Ra.

“All right, new dark fire king, care to share with the class what it feels like to be the universe’s answer to the question, ‘How bad could it get?’”

Laughter clawed at Ra’s throat but wouldn’t come. “Like chewing on glass and swallowing fire,” he said, voice raw. “There’s a—pressure. Like gravity keeps getting stronger. Like if I let go, even for a second, something else will take over.”

He heard a stifled gasp—Aurora, clutching Fern’s arm. Shelly’s hand tightened on his. She was trying to be brave for him, but her nails bit crescent moons into his skin.

Aviur leaned forward, red-gold eyes boring into him. “That’s the balance. It isn’t gentle. “Permission is not sought. It demands tribute. It will take what it needs.”

Gabby tried for levity, but her words came out too fast, too brittle. “Well, you’ve definitely leveled up your brooding. Ten out of ten, Ra. Dark circles, haunted stare, existential dread. Primo dark king material.”

Shelly shot Gabby a glare that could have melted stone. Gabby just shrugged, but the joke fell flat, tension thickening in its wake.

“Easy, Shells,” Tara said softly. “That’s just Gabby’s way with not knowing how to deal since she has nothing to kill.”

“What she said.” Gabby pointed at Tara.

Osiris’s voice was gentle, but the words landed like stones. “Magic doesn’t care about comfort. When Viscious was destroyed, the scales tipped. As we said, the universe needed a new anchor, Ra. And you . . . .…” he shook his head, “you were already marked. By your blood.”

A cold shiver raced down Ra’s spine. He stared at Shelly’s hand in his, willing it to be enough. “My ancestors . . .” his voice caught, “they’re part of this?”

A wind swept through the hall, cold and dry, carrying desert sand and the scent of ancient incense.

Torches guttered. Shadows gathered at the far end of the table, pooling and twisting until they took the shape of a man—tall, regal, skin like sun-warmed stone, black hair braided with gold, eyes burning with knowledge and regret.

Ramses.

The pharaoh’s gaze pinned Ra to his chair. For a heartbeat, Ra couldn’t breathe.

“You are my blood,” Ramses intoned, voice echoing in stone and marrow.

“And our line is bound to the underworld. Not by your sins, but by mine. By the bargains struck in darkness, believing we served Osiris, when it was Lucifer who waited in the shadows. For that blindness, our souls paid the price.”

Ra’s heart hammered. Inside, the darkness surged—a thousand voices rising, singing of vengeance, power, freedom. He clung to Shelly’s hand, to the memory of who he’d been before this night. “You’re free now? Because the gate is open?”

Ramses’s face was carved from sorrow. “For now. The open gate has loosened many bonds. But the universe is not merciful, Ra. It remembers every debt. It looks like you are the sacrifice for them.”

Shelly’s voice trembled, but her chin was high, her eyes fierce. “What happens to him now? Will he survive this?”

Ramses met her gaze, and the whole room seemed to lean forward, waiting for his answer. “That depends on the strength of your hearts. The darkness will always hunger. But it is not all he is. Ra, you are more than your blood. More than the mistakes that haunt our line.”

The silence felt suffocating. Ra’s free hand shook. He pressed it to the table to hide it, but Gabby’s gaze caught the movement, her teasing mask slipping for a moment into something raw.

Aviur’s flames guttered, throwing shadows against the wall. “The temptation is to surrender. To let the darkness define you. But the world needs a dark king who remembers the light.”

Ra felt the shadows crawling under his skin, hungry and cold. But Shelly’s warmth against his side was a lifeline–a single, stubborn spark. He pulled her closer, desperate for her light.

Rory cracked through the tension, voice loud and too-bright. “We need to speed thigs up. My sister and I have a decades worth of girls nights to catch up on. So, just to recap: our new dark king is a magical cocktail of ancient curses, fire, and family drama. Nothing to worry about. At all.”

Kimba snorted. “Speak for yourself. I think he’s never looked more powerful.”

Osiris’s voice cut through the banter, grave and low. “Ramses, how do we help him keep his soul?”

The pharaoh looked at Ra, gaze softening.

“Remember who you are—not just whose blood you carry. The line between king and monster is thin, but it is yours to walk. Every day. Every choice. The light in you is not meant to be snuffed by the dark. It is there to temper it. And you, Shelly—” he turned, eyes gentle “—are the shield and tether. Do not let him go.”

Shelly’s jaw set. “I won’t,” she said. Her hand trembled in his, but her grip never loosened.

Gabby forced a laugh. “She’ll punch the darkness out of him if she needs to.”

Tara nudged her. “Or annoy it out. Either way, Shelly’s got this.”

Ra managed a half-smile, but the shadows inside him thrashed as if in defiance to the words being spoken. He looked at Ramses, voice rough. “What about the others of your line? The souls still trapped?”

Ramses’s gaze turned haunted. “Redemption is possible. But only if the balance is restored and the gate sealed again. You must learn to control the darkness that is not fighting for dominance in you, if you want any chance of closing that gate. The world is counting on you.”

A hush fell. For a moment, the only sound was Ra’s ragged breathing and the distant, unending pulse of fire and shadow in the stone.

It was Aurora that finally broke the silence, her voice soft.

“No pressure. Just the fate of the world. You got this, Ra.” Her smile was gentle and kind.

Even in all the confusion and chaos, she looked for hope.

She still hadn’t gotten her answers to what he’d brought her into, and yet she was trying to encourage him. She was a little warrior.

Ra tried to smile, but it felt more like a promise to himself. “One step at a time, little warrior. One step at a time.”

Aurora smiled and met Rory’s proud gaze. Ra knew how anxious the sisters were to spend time together.

He turned to Ramses and pulled his bonded closer to him. Ra felt that he might burn up in the dark flames if Shelly left his side. “What do I do now?”

“You will rest this night,” the ancient pharaoh said, his form seeming to shift like shadows where he stood before solidifying again.

“And then you will need to split your time between King Aviur,” he motioned to the light royal fire king, “Kimba, Osiris, and myself. I can help you leash the darkness, and they will help you expand the light. Being soul-bonded should help. I will return for you in one day’s time, and we will begin.

” He stared at Ra, his gaze boring into him.

“It will not be easy, or painless. You should prepare yourself for that.”