Viscious stepped back, his posture loose, almost casual, but his fingers twitched with excitement. “Here’s what you’ll do. You’ll find Aurora. You’ll convince her, convince everyone, that you’re helping her, that you’re reuniting her with her sister and the soul bonded. They’ll trust you. They always do, because, as I said, you’re a man of your word, after all. You will bring her to me, Ra. And when you do, I will claim her as my own. I will Mark her, and she will become my acolyte. Darkness will flower in the heart of the dragons, and you will be the one who planted the seed.”

  Every word was a knife. Ra could feel the promise tightening around him, the blood bond coiling like a serpent, squeezing the air from his lungs. “You’re making me betray everyone I love.”

  Viscious tilted his head, feigning sympathy, but his eyes glimmered with triumph. “That’s the price of love, isn’t it? Pain. Sacrifice. You denied my first offer, Ra. Now you must pay your life, or this deal.”

  A muscle ticked in Ra’s jaw, but he stood tall. “I want your word that she won’t be harmed.” He had no idea why he demanded it. Viscious didn’t have to make him any promises. But Ra was sick at the thought of something happening to a child.

  Viscious laughed, a sound like shattering glass. “You’re in no position to bargain, pharaoh. But I give you this: I won’t harm her. Not until she’s mine, and even then, the only harm that will come to her might be the occasional injury as she trains, and of course any injuries when battling your kind. Though I don’t expect the light elementals to be a problem for much longer.”

  It was a lie. Any one of the other acolytes could hurt Aurora. There was no honor in them, but it was all Ra could wring from him. He straightened, letting his own fire rise just enough that the air shimmered around him. “Say it. Seal the command. Let’s be done.”

  Viscious’s eyes burned, red and cruel. He raised a hand, tracing a sigil in the air, and the mountain itself seemed to tremble. “By this oath you swear now, by the old magic and the bones of your ancestors, I command you: Find Aurora. Convince her to come with you, believing she will be reunited with her sister and the soul bonded. Bring her to me, and let her be Marked as my acolyte. So it is spoken. So it is bound.”

  The words slammed into Ra like a physical blow. Magic burned through his veins, molten and merciless, branding the command into his soul. He staggered, just for a heartbeat, before forcing himself upright.

  Viscious stepped back, satisfaction radiating from every line of his body. “There now. Wasn’t that easy? I look forward to seeing what becomes of you and the relationship you have with your friends and your mate. Will they be able to forgive you? Isn’t that what you light elementals are all about? Goodness, forgiveness, and love? Guess that will be truly tested.”

  Ra glared, every muscle quivering with the effort not to strike out. “You may have my obedience. You will never have my loyalty. And even if they hate me for this, I would not return those emotions towards them. Even if they shun me, I will spend the rest of my life making sure they are safe. Fighting against you, and others like you.”

  Viscious’s smile was pure poison. “We’ll see. The line between love and hate is quite thin. You may think you can endure their anger, but eventually it will get to you.”

  With a swirl of his cloak and a flare of his hand, Viscious opened a portal and stepped through without another word, leaving the air colder, the mountain emptier, and Ra more alone than he’d ever been.

  For a long, raw moment, Ra stood rooted in place, the command echoing in his mind, each word a lash. The mountain wind whipped at him, but it couldn’t cool the fire building inside. Rage–hot, wild, and bottomless–rose from his chest, searing away the last shreds of composure.

  He fell to his knees, fists pressed into the rocky ground. His vision blurred as fire erupted from his skin, licking up his arms, across his chest, wreathing him in a corona of blue and gold flame. The mountain shuddered beneath him, stones cracking and blackening where his fire touched.

  He screamed then, a sound torn from the depths of his soul, echoing off the cliffs and into the night. It was the sound of a man betrayed by fate, shackled by promises, forced to destroy the very people who had made him whole. The fire roared higher, searing the air, filling his nostrils with the scent of scorched earth and lost hope.

  Memories flashed; Shelly’s laughter, Elias’s hand on his shoulder, the warmth of belonging, the peace he’d found on this very mountain. All of it tainted now, twisted by Viscious’s touch. His heart pounded, every beat a war drum. He wanted to burn it all down to destroy the mountain, the world, himself, if only it would erase what he’d just been forced to do.

  The fire within him built up, a tidal wave of agony and anger, until it threatened to tear him apart. But even as the flames roared, a single thought pierced the maelstrom: Shelly. Her face, her voice, the promise he’d made to her. I will come back to you.

  With a supreme effort, Ra wrenched the fire back, choking it down until only embers danced on his skin. He fell forward, forehead pressed to the blackened stone, breath coming in ragged gasps.

  The mountain was silent now, save for the distant rumble of thunder and the faint crackle of cooling flames. Ra knelt in the ruins of his sanctuary, the command burning in his blood, the taste of ashes on his tongue.

  He had become the thing he feared most: a weapon turned against those he loved. And as the night closed in around him, Ra knew that the hardest part was yet to come.

  He would have to look his family in the eyes, and lie to them all.

  CHAPTER 17

  “I can see the agony in his eyes. I can feel it in the bond that connects us as if it’s my own. I want to help him, to carry the burden with him. But there’s nothing I can do if he isn’t willing to let me. I am simply a bystander watching the man I love bear the weight of something so dark that he has even closed himself off from me. Something he said he would never do. And I’m helpless. It sucks dragon’s ass.” ~ Shelly

  The mountain air had clung to Ra all the way home. A raw, scorched thing, threaded with regret. He’d sat in the ash and silence long after Viscious vanished, the shock of the deal burned into his skin deeper than any wound. He’d thought if he stayed long enough, the old stones might leech the poison from his soul. But the promise, sealed in fire and darkness, pulsed in him like a bruise that would never heal.

  When he finally opened a portal and stepped back into the dragon realm, the world felt too bright. The air was thick with the mingled scents of breakfast: spiced eggs, bread, and the ever-present hint of magic that lived in these caves. Laughter floated down the stone hall, honest and unbroken, and the sound cut at him sharper than any blade.

  He paused at the edge of the main room, rolling his shoulders back, willing his face into something that wouldn’t betray what he’d done. The warmth of the hearth, the low murmur of voices, the clatter of mugs–these were the things he fought for. And now he was going to ruin them, one lie at a time.

  Elias was the first to see him. He lounged at the far end of the table, courtesy of the earth elemental’s magic, arms folded, a half-eaten roll in his hand, dark eyes sharp and searching. Shelly sat beside him, her hair still damp from a shower, her gaze tracking Ra’s every move. She didn’t smile. Instead, she stood slowly and crossed to him, her hand wrapping around his wrist. Her touch was gentle, but there was steel beneath it.

  “You left without me,” she said, voice low and even. “And you were gone awhile. We were starting to think you’d gone and picked a fight with some demons just for kicks and giggles.”

  Ra tried for a crooked smile, but it felt brittle. “I don’t giggle, Mery.”

  She searched his face, her thumb rubbing slow circles over his pulse. “Was it bad?”

  “Define bad,” he said, keeping his tone light, though it scraped coming out.

  Elias joined them, his British accent dry as ever. “She means, did you leave the bastard in one piece, or do we need to start hiding body parts?”

  Ra shook his head. “There was no fight.” His gaze dropped to the floor, then back up, meeting Elias’s eyes. “Just words. As I told you. He wanted a deal since I didn’t take him up on the first one. Simple.”

  Shelly frowned, her hand tightening. “You’re lying. Not about the fight or favor, but simple? In my brief encounters with Viscious, even I can tell the man is deranged. There’s nothing simple about the favor he’s asked of you. I can feel it.” Her gaze softened, worry shadowing her features. “Something is seriously wrong. What did he ask of you?”

  He wanted to tell her. Gods, he wanted to spill the whole, twisted truth and let her carry it for a while. But the oath hovered at the back of his mind, tightening its grip, squeezing his throat whenever he even thought about defying it. He forced out a shrug, as casual as he could make it.

  “He’s managed to find out about Aurora.”

  “What the ever-loving hell did you just say?” Rory cut in as she pushed up so hard from the table that her chair toppled over backwards. Aston walked over from where he’d been sitting, glued to a computer screen, and wrapped a hand around her neck.

  Rory didn’t let Ra answer; she just kept right on talking. “How on earth did he find out about her when we just found out about her yesterday?” Her head whipped around to Penny.

  The witch held her hands up. “Don’t look at me. I’m on team good guy. Ra knows, I didn’t have any part in what some of my coven did, and I am not in cahoots with the dark elementals. Do not tell your dragon to eat me.”

  Rory shrugged. “I trust everyone else here like family. You’re the newbie, the unknown. And you got in my head and saw my past. How else would he know?”

  “How about a phone call you made to the other soul bonded where you freaking shouted into the phone that you had a sister?” Penny asked. She was standing now, her hands on her hips. “Tara said they were out on a mission. Do you honestly think there weren’t freaking demons around, or acolytes out looking for those very same Marks? Think, Rory. You’re not stupid. Don’t let emotions get in the way of clear thinking.”

  Rory leaned back into Aston and then turned back to Ra, seemingly done with Penny for the moment. “What did he say?”

  “He wants information on her.” He let the words hang, tasting the bitter tang of betrayal on his tongue. “He thinks she could be the key to something. Asked me to help find her.”

  Shelly’s eyes narrowed. “And you said yes?” She held up her hand. “Of course you said yes, you have no choice. Because it’s not really your life you’re protecting, Ra. I know that. It’s mine.”

  Ra met her gaze, willing her to see the lie for what it was–a shield, not a sword. “I said I’d try. Better me than one of his other monsters, right?”

  Elias grunted, but there was a thread of approval in his tone. “You planning to go after her alone?”

  Ra shook his head. “No. We do this as a team. She’s just a kid. If Viscious wants her, then we need to find her first and keep her safe. That’s all that matters.”

  Shelly stepped closer, her forehead pressed to his chest. “You’re hiding something,” she said into his mind. “I know you, Ra. You don’t come back from a meeting like that with your walls up unless it’s bad. Really bad.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. “I’m just tired, Mery. It’s been a long night.” The words tasted like ash. When he looked up, his gaze bounced from Aston, to Liam, to Elias.

  Elias watched him, arms crossed, his gaze unreadable. “You ever decide to tell us the rest, Ra, you know where to find us. We’re not going anywhere.”

  “You know we’ve got your back,” Liam added. “You’re not the only one who would go to hell for one of us. We’d do the same for you.”

  Ra nodded, but inside, the promise he made twisted tighter, its magic pulsing hot and sharp beneath his skin. He felt Shelly’s heartbeat, steady and sure, and tried to match his own to it, to anchor himself in her strength. But guilt gnawed at his insides, a living thing.

  The two other females filtered in, faces bright with plans and purpose.Gabby and Tara bickering good-naturedly over the last muffin, Tara rolling her eyes and tossing an apple from hand to hand. They greeted Ra with easy smiles and teasing jabs, and he answered as best he could, masking the tremor in his hands by taking the coffee Shelly offered and gripping the mug tightly.

  He watched them, these people who’d become his family, and wondered how long it would take for them to see through him. Every word he spoke felt like a crack in the foundation. Every laugh was a lie.

  As the morning wore on, plans formed. Aston had found Aurora’s foster home address after he’d managed to get past the sealed records. He was seriously dangerous with a computer. He’d also found the school she attended and her grades, which were good. Ra volunteered to lead the search, citing his experience, ability to stay calm in tense situations, and anything he could think of that sounded reasonable. Shelly watched him like she was waiting for him to break. Elias let him take point, but there was a promise in his eyes: I’ll be watching you, brother.

  After a moment, Penny’s gaze sharpened, and she caught Ra’s sleeve, her grip gentle but insistent. “Walk with me?” she murmured, already moving toward the quieter passage that led deeper into the caves.

  Ra followed, grateful for the excuse to escape the press of too many watchful eyes.

  The corridor here was lined with old tapestries, and if he wasn’t so focused on the shit show that was his life, he would have been curious as to where they’d come from. But alas, he had friends to betray and an innocent girl to hand over to a villain. Priorities. Penny stopped at a small alcove, her posture tense but her eyes soft. She waited until he was close, then lowered her voice even further, almost conspiratorial.

  “I got a call from Cordelia. She left me a message, and I returned her call this morning. She's one of the witches at Blackhorn. She had a paid visit yesterday–our coven is doing tours of the mansion and sort of Witch History 101. It was Aurora and her foster mother. Cordelia did a reading and . . . it shook her. She said Aurora’s balance is precarious. She’s in danger, obviously, but that wasn’t what she focused on the most on. Cordelia felt something old attached to Aurora, something she couldn’t quite name.” Penny’s brow furrowed as she studied him, searching for something, but he didn’t know what. “She asked me not to tell the group yet. She wants us to approach her carefully. Aurora is very curious about witches and supernatural things, but being thrown into the deep end of the elemental world could be too much. She said the girl seemed fragile. She’s worried about spooking Aurora. I trust Cordelia’s instincts, and I trust yours.”

  He wanted to laugh and tell her not to trust him. He was the last person she should trust. Ra’s heart thudded, a rhythm of guilt and gratitude. “You’re telling me first. Why?”

  Penny offered him a small, sad smile. “Because you have a pure heart, Ra. Even when I met you the first time, with your black eyes and weird runes, I knew you were one of the good guys. I can sense it. You know what it’s like to be lost, to have everyone looking at you like you’re a problem to be solved. Aurora doesn’t need a rescue party storming in. She needs someone who’ll listen to whatever it is that is going on inside of her, and not freak her the hell out. Rory, blessed be, she’s a force to be reckoned with, and while, yes, she is Aurora’s sister, she’s like putting a grenade in the middle of a fire and then adding fireworks to the mix. She likes to go ‘boom.’”

  He let out a slow breath, tension easing just a little. “So, we go quietly. Feel things out. See what’s really going on.”

  “Exactly,” Penny said. “Cordelia said the girl is gentle, selfless, and nothing like her sister. But she’s coming to a fork in the road, and the energy around her is . . . odd. We need to understand what’s happening before we act. I wanted to wait for the right moment to share this, but with Viscious looking, we don’t have the luxury of time. It actually works in our favor that he’s asked you to do it because we won’t be dealing with acolytes getting in the way. But he’s not going to wait forever, and we need to have her hidden away before he’s demanding you produce her.”

  Ra nodded, the oath demanding he take action, but he forced himself to focus on Penny’s trust, on the hope that maybe, just maybe, he could find a way through this without damning them all. “So, how do we get to Blackhorn without raising suspicions?”

  Penny’s lips pressed in thought, then curved in a wry, familiar grin. “We play to our strengths. You’re an elemental, that’s worked with witches. I’m a good witch and a member of Cordelia’s coven. It would make sense for us to talk to Cordelia about Aurora, especially if we explain, in a nonjudgmental way, that having strong personalities like Gabby, Rory, and no offense, but even Shelly, in the mix could be a little off-putting. And, finding out you have a sister, though good news, could also freak Aurora out. That could send her running in the opposite direction. Her world is about to be turned upside down. I think we can get the others to agree, and hopefully keep Rory in check.”

  Ra’s mind raced, latching onto the plan. “It all makes sense, but emotions do cloud judgment. We will need Kimba to be in agreement with us if we want Rory’s cooperation.”

  Penny nodded, approval in her eyes. “Agreed. We’re going in as diplomats, so to speak. And since she’s already been to my coven, inviting her back would also make it feel less invasive than if we just knock on her door or show up at her school like some creepers. We’re checking in, making sure a vulnerable soul doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It’ll get us in the door and keep the rest of the team calm, too.”