Elias sighed and rubbed his brow.

  Tara reached up and ran a hand across his back. “I’m sorry.” Tara’s frustration over Ra’s suffering and the abduction of Shelly and Aston often made her forget what her soul bonded was enduring. He’d recently lost Jax, who was not only a mentor but a friend. “I don’t mean to add to your stress.” Neither of them was a stranger to death. No one at the Academy was. The death of their parents brought them to the academies in the first place. But losing someone was never easy, no matter how many times it happened.

  Elias shook his head. “Don’t apologize. Jax is gone. Zuri is gone. Nothing can be done about that. Shelly and Aston are not gone. They’re simply on … unintended adventures.”

  She snorted. “Is that what we’re calling it?” As worried as Tara was about her friend, she also knew that Shelly could hold her own. And Tara didn’t think Osiris would hurt Shelly. He wanted her as a mate, not as a whipping post.

  “It’s how I have to think of it,” he said. “I can’t bear the thought of either of them being hurt or in danger. That won’t help bring them home. It will only serve to paralyze us.” He turned to look at her, and the pain in his eyes made her heart ache. “Aston is a brother to me. He completes our group. And Ra…” He sighed. “I didn’t realize how much he needed a soul mate. Shelly changed something inside of him. She gave him hope. His ancestors and their choices have haunted him his whole life.”

  “But he’s had you, Liam, and Aston,” Tara pointed out.

  Elias shook his head. “And we’ve been a stabilizing force for a time. But a man needs more than friends.” He reached up and ran a finger across her cheek, his eyes softening as he looked at her. “A man needs the support of a woman. He needs her gentleness, her ability to love, her hand to hold when he feels like everything’s falling apart. That’s not something a friend or brother can do. It’s a different kind of bond. And that’s what Ra needs. He needs his mate.”

  Tara understood what Elias was saying. Shelly was precious to her, and Gabby had taken a special place in her heart as well. But Elias was more than that. He was essential. He filled a hole in her she hadn’t even realized had been there. Granted, she hadn’t known about the soul bonded, and that her soul needed his to be complete, but it was more than that. Elias complimented her strengths and weaknesses, and she did the same for him.

  “So, what are we going to do?” she asked. “We’ve tried talking to Headmaster Terrick, and he won’t give us any information. Iterra placates us with soft words and reassurances that the elementals are dealing with the situation. How much longer are we going to wait to take action?”

  “What kind of action are we talking about?” Liam plopped down in the chair across from them, setting down two trays of food. Gabby took the seat beside him and nudged him with her shoulder. Tara found it hilarious that Liam always crowded his soul bonded, and Gabby constantly tried to make him give her space. Liam didn’t budge. Instead, he turned to look at Gabby and gave her a wink as he tossed a french fry into his mouth.

  “Are we finally going to kick some ass and get Aston and Shelly back?” Gabby shifted her altered uniform back onto her shoulder. She still had a thing for cutting holes into her clothes. Tara raised a brow at her. Gabby shrugged. “They keep giving me new uniforms, and I keep cutting them. You’d think they know the definition of insanity, but apparently, madness is their thing.”

  Tara chuckled. “If it really bothered them, they’d reprimand you.”

  “True.” Gabby nodded. “But I’m one of their best students. I don’t cause problems, I get outstanding marks in all my classes, and I have the patience to put up with this one”—she motioned to Liam—“which basically qualifies me for sainthood.”

  “It really does,” Tara said.

  “You’re also humble, babe,” Liam offered. “Let’s not forget that one.”

  Gabby stabbed a fork in one of his chicken strips and gave him a bland look.

  “Awe, babe,” he whined. “Don’t punish my food for being honest. You know I like it so much more when you punish me.”

  “Nope.” Elias held up his hand. “You can keep that shite to yourself. Tara and I have no desire to hear about your kinky bedroom sports.”

  Tara tilted her head to look at him and raised her brow. “Bedroom sports? What exactly are bedroom sports?”

  Liam clucked his tongue. “Elias, have you been holding out on your woman? You should know one of the most important parts of a relationship is intimacy, keeping things spicy.”

  “I’m going to burn your ass if you keep talking,” Gabby muttered before taking a bite of the stolen chicken strip.

  “What?” Liam’s voice rose, and his eyes widened innocently. “I’m just giving some friendly advice. I care about them, and I want their relationship to blossom.”

  “He talks like he’s up late at night reading the Kama Sutra, trying to figure out new ways to bring me to heights of ecstasy,” Gabby said dryly and rolled her eyes. “But the dude is just laying over there snoring away.”

  Tara nearly spit out her water.

  Liam growled and cut his eyes at his soul bonded. “You forgot to add the part where I was snoring away because I had spent hours bringing you to those heights of ecstasy, woman.”

  Tara choked down another drink, making a mental note not to take in liquid while in the presence of Gabby and Liam. She swallowed and then blinked several times to clear the water that had pooled in her eyes from coughing. “Wow, I feel like we missed something somewhere. There was dancing between the sheets, snoring, and then the two of you showing up late for lunch.”

  “I fall asleep one time, one time, after a bout of rather intense—” The rest of his words came out garbled as Gabby picked up a roll and crammed it into his mouth.

  “Do not attempt to finish that sentence or, so help me, I will not go easy on you in the sparring ring. And you won’t have to worry about pleasing anyone because you won’t be able to walk.” Gabby went back to her food without looking up at Tara and Elias.

  “Sooooo…” Elias picked up his burger. “I can see the stress of all of this isn’t getting to you two at all.”

  Tara dropped the fry she’d been holding, the levity of moments ago forgotten as another thought of Shelly imprisoned in the underworld came unbidden to her mind. Tara’s appetite had long since disappeared. She simply couldn’t force herself to keep eating, not when she was so worried about whether Shelly and Aston were alive and well. Tara had lost seven pounds over the course of the past two weeks.

  Elias nudged her. “You need to eat. You’re just going to make yourself weak if you keep training without taking in any nutrients.”

  It’s the same thing he’s been saying since things had gone from bad to WTF. She picked up the fry she’d dropped and put it in her mouth. It tasted like cardboard, but she chewed and then forced herself to swallow. Elias watched her until she picked up another, then, appearing content that she would do as he said, he turned back to the couple across from them.

  “So are we, or aren’t we, going to do something about Shelly and Aston?” Gabby asked again.

  “We are,” Tara said at the same time Elias said, “We’re thinking.”

  “We’ve had two weeks to think,” Gabby said before taking a sip of her water and then slamming the cup back down on the table. “The headmasters and headmistresses won’t tell us shit. The elementals aren’t doing shit. Everyone is just going to class and waving their hands around, playing with their magic while Aston is probably being molested by some dragon chick, and Shelly is probably trying to dig her way out of hell with a spoon.”

  “That”—Tara pointed a fry at Gabby—“is on point. Shelly won’t sit around waiting to be rescued.”

  “There is no way out of hell unless Osiris wants to let you out,” Elias said, his voice quiet. Tara got the impression that he was trying to keep his voice from carrying to where Ra sat. “Waiting around to be rescued is her only option.”

  “Shelly won’t accept that,” said Tara. “She’ll create another option.”

  Gabby raised a brow at Elias. “You’re totally dragging down my battle speech. Thanks for that.”

  Gabby held a fork in one hand, and Liam reached over, placing his hand around hers. He lifted the fork to his mouth and took a quick bite of the chicken strip hanging off of it, then darted out of the way. Gabby swung her other hand around to slap him, but she wasn’t quick enough. Liam had obviously learned when to get out of the line of fire. Pun intended.

  “Do you want to be fried in your sleep?” Elias chuckled. He wrapped an arm around Tara and pulled her closer to his side. She got the distinct impression that her man was trying to make a point that he could touch Tara without provoking an attack. Then again, Elias didn’t get turned on by aggravating the crap out of her.

  Liam just grinned his trademark smirk. “The hotter she gets, the better,” he practically purred.

  Gabby snorted. “You are so weird.”

  “And yet you love me,” Liam pointed out. “What does that say about you, babe?”

  “That I was dropped on my head one-too-many times as a child.”

  Elias laughed, and Tara couldn’t help but smile. She also couldn’t help but think about how Shelly would thrive in this kind of conversation. Bantering was her specialty. She loved to push people’s buttons. And she was good at it. In the past, it had very much annoyed Tara. But now, she’d give anything to have Shelly next to her, prodding her about no longer having an impenetrable hymen or some other such ridiculousness.

  “We will get her back,” Elias whispered, leaned down next to her ear. His warm breath caressed Tara’s skin, and she leaned into him, taking comfort in his proximity. “Trust me.”

  “I do,” she whispered back. “But I can’t help worrying. And I know worrying won’t do a damn thing to help. So we’ve got to come up with a plan.”

  Liam rubbed his hands together and leaned across the table until he was about ten inches from their faces. “Now we’re talking.”

  Tara pulled her head away. “You realize that was a private conversation, right? There are such things as boundaries.”

  “He doesn’t understand boundaries,” said Gabby. “He’s like one of those dogs that tries to get right up in your face so it can lick you in the mouth.”

  Tara pulled a face. “Eww. Don’t give me that visual.”

  Liam waved them both off. “If it was a private conversation, you would have taken it somewhere private.”

  “He’s got a point,” Gabby said, her mouth full of chicken.

  Tara frowned. “You don’t get to side with him. It’s in the girl code.”

  Gabby held up her hands. “My bad. I’ve never had girlfriends. I didn’t know there was a code.”

  “There is. Rule number one: Chicks before d—”

  “Eeehhh!” Elias made a sound like a loud buzzer. “That’s quite enough, my love.”

  “Well, you get the picture,” said Tara. “I’ll get you a copy of the code so you can memorize the rules. It’s published and everything.”

  “Forget your code,” said Liam. “Besides, boundaries are for people who have something to hide.”

  “Okay, on that one, he’s definitely wrong.” Gabby nodded toward her bonded. “I have very strong boundaries. I have nothing to hide. I just don’t want everyone’s crap in my yard.”

  “Exactly,” said Tara.

  “Argh,” Liam growled in frustration. “Who cares about your code, your boundaries, your privacy, or whatever? Let’s get back to the planning. How are we busting into hell and then the dragon realm? I vote we find a demon and blackmail them.”

  Ra tried to tune out the voices of his brothers and their women, but every time they said Shelly’s name, his attention snapped back to the group, though his face and body remained completely still. He was desperate for any news of her. When he wasn’t quietly brooding, Ra spent his time knocking down the doors of every headmaster and headmistress in each of the elemental schools. He’d even sought the attention of the royals, Aviur included, despite his desire to strangle the fire king. Ra couldn’t forgive Aviur for shutting down his ability to enter the underworld.

  The other royals hadn’t approved of how he’d gotten their attention. Apparently, setting fire to the elementals under their care wasn’t an appreciated way of communicating. Ra made sure the fire was harmless … mostly. But he was still chastised and informed that scaring the elementals was just as harmful as inflicting physical pain.

  Ra had expected the royals to be more understanding, considering their own mates had also been abducted to the underworld. He’d thought they’d be willing to help, but each time he gained an audience, they turned him away. We need to wait, he’d been told. We will know when it’s time to make a move.

  “How will they know?” Ra muttered to himself as he felt the familiar heat of his power. He’d been asking them and himself that same question over and over, but no one would give him an answer. Ra balled his fists where his hands rested on the table. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins and the fire inside of him burning, begging to be let loose. Suddenly, unable to sit still any longer, he jumped up, shoving his chair back so hard it fell to the floor with a loud clang. The room went silent. He could feel the stares and knew they’d be worried. Ra stormed from the room, refusing to look at anyone, his eyes straight ahead.

  Within minutes, he found himself standing on the sparring field. A few students milled about. They would clear out soon as lunch ended and classes resumed for the afternoon. Ra closed his eyes and took slow breaths. He clenched his jaw and forced himself to hold it together while others were present. Ra didn’t want to hurt anyone. That’s not true, the voice of his soul said in his mind. You want to hurt them all. You want to destroy anyone not willing to assist you, or at least get out of your way so you can find her.

  Ra’s chest spasmed, and his heart skipped several beats. Every day, the pain of their separation became greater. He was sure that a dagger in his chest would be less painful than what he was enduring. Ra knew Shelly would be suffering the same misery. The thought of his Mery in pain filled him with rage, sending fire licking up his arms.

  “You cannot keep doing this.” It was Jeremiah, the Crimson Academy headmaster. “You have got to gain control of your emotions, prince.”

  Ra’s eyes snapped open at the use of his irrelevant title. He swallowed hard, then realized he could feel heat surrounding him, more than was emanating from his arms. Ra raised his eyes and turned in a circle. He saw an enormous ring of fire at least thirty feet in diameter, burning around him. Ra was alone in the ring with Headmaster Jeremiah, though he could make out a few bodies watching on the other side of the flickering flames. Ra turned to the headmaster. The other fire elementalist’s hands glowed with flames as well, but they rested at his sides. Not here to attack then, Ra thought, but to defend if he needs to.

  “Can’t keep doing what?” Ra could hear the menace in his own voice. “Worrying about the woman I love being trapped in hell with the lord of the underworld?”

  “Losing control,” Jeremiah replied. “You’re too powerful to lose control, Ra. You don’t have that luxury. So far, you’ve managed to keep your fire from burning down anything important, but your emotions seem to be escalating. What happens when you become too out of control? What if you burn down a forest or even a school?”

  “Tell me, Headmaster,” he said, taking a step toward the older man, “is Talia your soul-bonded?” Ra knew she wasn’t, and it was a low blow, but he was beyond caring. Everything inside of him hurt. Down to the marrow of his bones, Ra ached for his mate. Every single breath felt like a day’s work.

  The headmaster didn’t fully understand the situation. If he did, Jeremiah would understand just how much control Ra was actually exerting. If he lost control, more than a building or forest would end up ablaze. The flames that would flow out of Ra would consume everything and everyone in their path. The attack would be so swift that those in the fire’s path would be piles of ash before they knew what hit them. Ra knew it. He could feel it. He was holding back an inferno.

  “She is not,” Jeremiah answered. Ra noted the gentleness in the headmaster’s voice. Apparently, the blow had missed. “I cannot say that I understand what you’re feeling entirely because my bond with Talia is not that of a soul-bonded pair. I can tell you that if she was taken from me, I would be devastated. The pain would be unimaginable.”

  Ra took another step toward him. “You have no concept of the pain I feel from my separation from Shelly. Of the pain she is enduring. The bond you have with Talia doesn’t bind you mind, body, and soul. Shelly is… She’s…” Words failed him as he thought about the blonde spitfire who’d rocked his world off its axis.

  “She’s your everything,” Jeremiah said. “She’s your air, your reason for trying to be a better man every day more than the day before. She’s why you walk taller, with pride in your step, because she chose you and not someone else. She’s in every thought you have, every decision you make, every plan for your future. Without her, you are only half a person.”

  Ra both hated and appreciated Jeremiah’s words. Appreciated, because he was right, and that meant that despite Talia not being his soul-bonded, he did understand to an extent what Ra felt. But Ra hated Jeremiah’s words because it proved that despite knowing what he endured, the headmaster had done nothing to help him. “Why haven’t you done anything?” he asked. The surrounding flames grew taller, and Ra could no longer see the faces beyond them. “If you understand I am nothing without her, then why have you not helped me get her back? Why have you prevented me from going after her?” Even though he wore the runes of Aviur that bound him to the human realm, Ra had been down to the basement of the school, in hopes of using the River Styx to enter the Underworld, but it had been magically warded. He had been unable to call the ferryman. That had been when he had lost control, and the basement currently wore the aftermath of his rage on its blackened walls.