by Quinn Loftis
Ra’s eyes traced her face as if he were trying to see inside of her head. There was no way she was ever letting him know everything that went on inside her twisted brain. He’d run far and fast.
“I’ll let you get away with that for now. But you will tell me more. We have twenty-”—he glanced down at the watch—“-three hours.”
“It’s already been an hour?” She asked. It hadn’t seemed that long.
He nodded. “It’s going to go much too fast,” he said quietly. “I wish I could slow down time.”
“Me, too,” she muttered. She looked at him and smiled. “Your turn.” She was eager to hear his story. He seemed so fascinating to her. She wanted to know everything.
“All right.” He sighed, as if talking about himself was not one of his favorite things. “I am from Egypt. My parents were in love as well. They were very good parents, though misguided in some ways. They died when I was fourteen.”
“I’m so sorry, Ra,” Shelly said and meant it to her core. She remembered when she’d met Tara and how broken her friend had been over the loss of her parents. She hated the idea of Ra enduring that.
“Thank you,” he said. “It was difficult, but I have survived. Two years after they died, I learned about the supernatural world around us. I was summoned by a demon to go to the underworld.”
“Did you think you’d mistakenly added cocaine to your cookies instead of sugar?” Shelly asked.
Ra looked confused and then grinned. “I did think I had gone mad. But I realized quickly that it was real. I met Osiris and then my ancestors. I am a direct descendant of Ramses the Great.”
“The Pharaoh?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never really thought about Pharaoh’s having descendants.”
“No one does anymore, I guess. At least no one outside of the supernatural races. Amongst their ranks, those types of things are still important.”
“Wow. See? I told you that you were special.”
He shrugged. “Not really. I didn’t ask to be born of the Ramses bloodline.”
“But you were. And that’s something very unique.”
“Does it matter?” he asked. “Would you think me less if I was not this?” He motioned to himself.
Shelly frowned. “If you mean, am I attracted to you only because you’re some royal descendant, then no, I’m not. I didn’t know you were Ramses’s descendant when I found myself drooling over you. But it is a part of who you are. Everything about you is what makes you Ra. That’s just the way it is. I can’t tell you how I would feel about you if a single thing was different because it is all the parts that make you the whole.”
Ra stared at her, holding her gaze. “You’re right. That was not a fair question.”
“It seems I’m not the only one with insecurities,” she said softly.
The hand that was still wrapped around her wrist shifted until their fingers were entwined. “I suppose not,” he agreed with a small smile. “When I met my ancestors,” he continued, “I was given all of Ramses memories. It is a part of my heritage. I learned of the fate of my people and my own. I also found out how I could change my destiny.”
“I take it your fate was a little less than desirable or you wouldn’t need to change it?” she asked.
He nodded. “My entire bloodline is destined for the underworld.”
Shelly’s hand tightened on his own. “Not you,” she said fiercely. “I won’t let that happen.”
He looked at her curiously. “You would fight for me? Even though you hardly know me?”
“I would.”
“Why?”
“Because someone willing to come to the underworld to rescue a girl he didn’t know could not be destined for hell. It goes against the laws of the universe or something.” Shelly knew that with everything inside of her.
“Thank you, Shelly. You humble me with your words.”
“Just telling it like I see it. So how do you keep from winding up in this wonderful place?”
He shook his head. “That, I cannot tell you.”
Her face fell.
“Not because I don’t want to,” he quickly continued. “It is part of the rules that go along with how I keep from ending up here.”
“Oh,” she said. “Okay. Got it.” She gave him a thumbs-up because she was a dork. “Please continue. Your story is fascinating.”
“That is how I felt when you were telling me about your life.”
“Well, then you have terrible taste in life stories.”
He shook his head at her as if she was the most ridiculous person. Truthfully, she probably was.
“Once I returned to the overworld—that’s what those in the underworld call it—I learned about the elementals and found out what I was. At seventeen, I went to Crimson Academy. I finished high school early. Since then, I’ve been training, learning how to handle my magic. I met Elias, Aston, and Liam, and we had an instant bond. Brothers, not by blood, but by choice. And now here I am with you.”
“I have a feeling you’re leaving a lot out,” she said.
“Details,” he said. “Those are things we will learn about each other over time.”
“Hmm,” she said as she raised a brow at him. “Fine. What’s your favorite color?”
“Red,” he said without thought.
“Food?”
“Steak.”
“Smell?”
He smiled as he leaned closer and took a deep sniff. “Vanilla,” he whispered.
Shelly felt herself blush. “Pretty much all of my bath products are vanilla,” she admitted.
He shook his head. “It’s deeper than surface scent. It’s a part of you. Maybe that’s why you gravitate toward it. It’s delicious.”
Shelly had never been told she smelled delicious. It was hot. Yep, very hot.
“Thank you,” she told him.
He dipped his head at her in a regal bow that made her think he was born in the wrong century, and then he reached up and ran a finger across her cheek. “Your blush is beautiful.”
This, of course, only made her blush harder. “You’re killing me, Ra.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because with every word you speak and every touch you give, you make me want you more. You make me want the whole destiny thing to be true, and I feel like I will shatter if it isn’t.” It cost Shelly a lot to make that admission. But for some reason, she felt she could be honest with Ra and he wouldn’t judge her.
Ra finally gave in to what he’d been wanting to do and tugged her closer to him. He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. “It’s true,” he said, knowing it with every cell in his body. Shelly was his. The longer she was with him, the surer he was. “You don’t have to shatter, Mery, I’m yours.”
Her breath caught and then she asked, “Why did you call me that?”
“It’s an Egyptian name that means beloved.”
“I’ve never been called that before.” Her words were so soft.
“I’m glad,” he admitted. Ra didn’t want another male calling her something so precious. He liked that he was giving her these firsts. He loved it that he was the one giving her these feelings and that she was the one giving him the same in return.
Ra lifted his hand and ran his fingers through her hair. It was like silk against his flesh. He should probably stop touching her, but no amount of him telling himself to pull his hand away caused him to do it. Instead, Ra continued to caress her hair, loving the way she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
He watched her face and noticed the instant something changed. Her relaxed features turned into a frown. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Do you want me to stop?” Even as he asked it, he didn’t know if he could do it if she said yes. The pull he felt toward her was nothing he’d ever experienced before. It was growing stronger with every second in her presence.
She shook her head. “No. Don’t stop. It feels nice.”
His gut unclenched, than
kful she hadn’t said yes. “Why are you frowning?”
“Because I had a thought and I don’t like it, but now that I’ve had it, I can’t un-have it.”
When she didn’t continue, he said, “Would you share the thought with me?”
“What? Oh, sorry,” she said as if she’d forgotten she’d been talking. “I just wondered if this is true and we are somehow meant for each other.”
“We are,” he said, the doubt he heard in her voice making him uneasy.
“If it’s true,” she continued without acknowledging that he’d interrupted her. “Then I just wonder how we would have met if Tara hadn’t been what she is and Elias had never come to our school. I would have had no reason to know anything about the elementals. We would have never come into contact.”
“We would have found a way to meet each other,” he told her. “I believe that two people bound for one another will eventually find each other no matter their circumstances. But the fact of the matter is, Tara is what she is, and Elias did come to your town, and you learned about the world I’m a part of, and, in doing so, we met. It doesn’t matter that we don’t understand how we would have met in other circumstances. What matters is that we are together now.”
Her eyes had opened while he’d been speaking, and she was staring at him with a curious look. “How has some chick not snatched you up by now?”
“Because none of them were you.”
“You say that as if it’s an absolute, like the laws of gravity or the tide coming in.” She sat up straighter, and, in doing so, pulled far enough away that her hair slipped from his hand. Ra flexed his fingers as he rested his arm on his leg, already missing the feel of her.
“Why does it bother you so much?” he asked.
“Because this isn’t normal,” she huffed out. “This connection, these feelings. It’s not. I mean, it can’t be real. Can it? We’ve known each other for less than a couple of hours. How can I feel like the oxygen would be ripped from my body if I never saw you again?”
It was Ra’s turn to frown. It frustrated him that she couldn’t explain what was happening between them. But something was off. Shelly didn’t seem to be herself. At least, as best he could judge from the brief time he’d known her. She wasn’t the same girl she’d been when she’d awoken, spitting mad and ready to fight a demon. Now she was this worried, scared girl, and the change didn’t make sense. It was as if the girl who’d faced down the ruler of the underworld had been replaced by a timid clone.
“Does the why behind it really matter?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered instantly and then added, “no. Hell, I don’t know.” She stood and began to pace as she rubbed her forehead. “I just don’t want to be wrong. I don’t want to let this grow into something powerful, only to later find out some other chick is your destiny and then have to give you up.”
Ra stood and waited until she paced back toward him. When she was within arm’s reach, he snagged her around the waist and pulled her to him. She hit his chest with a soft huff and quickly pressed her forehead against his body. Again, he found it frustrating she wouldn’t look at him. He knew it was because she was embarrassed, but he wished she wasn’t.
“I know you don’t know me well enough to trust me. But I went through the seven levels of hell to get to you. I made a deal with the devil to keep you and get you out of the underworld. I promised your best friend I would get you back, no matter the cost. Can you trust those things?”
She was quiet for a moment and then nodded her head.
“If I’m willing to make those decisions and see them through, isn’t it logical that if I make the decision that you are my soul mate, then I will see that through as well?”
This time she shook her head no.
He couldn’t help but laugh a little.
She started to speak, but Ra stopped her with a little squeeze. “I will ignore you if you do not look at me when you speak to me.”
Shelly moved slowly as she lifted her head and glared up at him. The fear was gone, replaced by irritation and indignation. He liked it.
“And if I call you an ass while I’m looking at you?”
Ra used one hand to brush her hair from her face. “I would have to be honest with you and tell you the fire in your eyes when you’re angry is … how did you put it? Ah, yes, hella hot.”
She snorted. “Did breathing the sulfurous fumes of hell do something to your brain?”
He shook his head. “I’ve always been this way.”
“A bossy dictator?”
“I like to be in control. If I am in control, then I know things will get done the right way, the first time. And if they don’t, I only have myself to blame.”
“They have therapy for that,” she said with a small smirk.
He narrowed his eyes on her and then released her so he could cup her face with both hands. He watched as her breathing quickened, and her face suddenly flushed. “Are you all right now?”
She licked her lips, and Ra had to force himself to look away from her glistening mouth.
“I think so,” she said. “Sometimes, I just need a good freak-out. It cleanses the soul.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“Probably because you never have to freak out, Mr. Always-In-Control.”
It was his turn to smirk. “Probably.” He dropped his hands and stepped back because he knew if he stood that close to her much longer, he was going to kiss her. He didn’t want her to have another freak-out moment so close to the previous one.
She blew out a breath that caused her cheeks to puff and then shuffled her feet side-to-side. “So, sex is off the table, and I’m not sure where we go from the whole declaration of soul mates thing. What do we do now?” She looked around as if an answer was just going to suddenly appear.
“We could explore this place,” Ra suggested as he noticed a hallway and some doors.
“What do you think it is? Are there motels in hell? It doesn’t seem like a place anyone would come for a vacation, and those who do come here aren’t exactly here for the scenery. Right?”
Ra began to follow her as she wandered toward the hallway. He didn’t know if she expected an answer. He hoped not because the sway of her hips distracted him so much he wasn’t sure he could put enough words together to make a coherent sentence.
“Do you think this is Ol’ Devil dude’s house?” she continued. “Would he have a house? Or does he just sit on that creepy throne and listen to the wailing and moans?” She shrugged as if the answers didn’t really matter and then marched further down the hall. “Let’s just start at the end and work our way back.”
Ra continued to follow, completely content to watch her walk ahead of him. He hoped it was a long hallway.
11
Tara paced Elias’s room while Liam lounged in a chair like a huge, languid cat. Aston typed away on a laptop, probably hacking into some dark elemental database of villains or something. Elias was propped up on his bed staring at Tara. She knew he was likely hoping to will her to come closer to him so he could snatch her and force her to be still. Fat chance. She made sure not to look at him because all he had to do to cause her wayward feet to move his direction was give her those bedroom eyes and crook his finger at her. Damn soul-bonded hormones.
“Okay, I need to know stuff,” she said suddenly as she stopped pacing and faced the three guys. She kept her eyes on Liam and Aston and bit her lip to keep from grinning when she heard Elias growl like a freaking animal.
“Finally,” Liam said as he rubbed his palms together. “I tried to have this talk with Elias, but he wouldn’t listen. I’m glad you’ve realized you guys need help. Now”—he breathed out and then swung his legs around, put both feet on the floor, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees—“I think the first thing that went wrong was Elias’s understanding of the female form. If the male doesn’t adequately understand his way around the female anatomy, then there’s no freaking way he’s going to
get it right. And judging by your questions the other day, the dude definitely did not get it right.”
Tara’s mouth dropped open the instant she realized what Liam was talking about. Did he think she was asking about stuff, stuff … like … Elias’s stuff, stuff?
“I mean, women have it easy,” Liam continued. “Our junk is self-explanatory. There’s no mystery, but you, lovely Tara, have layers, like a flower with beautiful, soft petals that must be allowed to bloom, open themselves up to the sunshine, and—”
Tara’s horror reached a new level as she realized he was talking about her petals. What. The. Actual. Hell? She was about to rip Liam a new one when Elias suddenly launched himself across the room. Before she could stifle it, a stupid, girly shriek erupted from her mouth as Elias’s fist plowed into Liam’s face like a sledgehammer. How Liam was still conscious was a mystery to her. Not only was he not knocked out, but he was also laughing as he attempted to fend off Elias's continued attack. She glanced over at Aston to see if he was going to do anything, but the nerd hadn’t even glanced up from his computer screen. Maybe he wasn’t hacking evil-villain databases. Maybe he was looking at blooming petals. What else would keep a dude distracted from a fistfight happening ten feet from him?
Out of nowhere, a huge gust of wind sent Liam and Elias flying apart, and both of them landed flush against opposite walls as if invisible arms held them in place. Liam still laughed like a damn hyena.
“Elias, you don’t want to kill Liam. When he’s not being an ass, you actually like him,” Aston said, still looking at his computer screen. “And Liam, please, get the hell over Tara’s petals and find your own damn flower.”
Elias snarled. “I swear to Mother Gaia if you talk about her like that one more time, I am going to rip your tongue from your mouth and feed it to you.”
“Mother Gaia doesn’t like it when you swear,” said Aston.