The Elemental: Rootbound Part 25

What now indeed? "I think I have a rather powerful enemy. Worse than Ca.s.sava ever was. Worse than Raven." I rubbed a hand over my face.

"You could be stronger than her," Talan said. I turned on my heel to face him.

"I doubt that. She has all five elements at her disposal. I can't use the stones; she could manipulate me. s.h.i.+t, you could manipulate me."

He nodded. "You have the same ability she does. Did you not hear me? She was a Terraling Spirit walker hybrid. That is a particular brand of elemental."

"Why?"

His dark blue eyes never left mine. "You said it yourself: she is a powerful enemy. One that as soon as her wounds are healed will be hunting you down. She might not be able to hurt you directly, but will Raven fall to her lies again now that you ousted him from the Eyrie? Do you think Ca.s.sava could be twisted again if she was given the pink diamond? Or maybe Viv will find someone new to do her dirty business. Tell them that they are the chosen one. That she believes in them."

His words struck a chord with me I didn't like.

Fear crawled up and down my spine, biting and nipping. And then came the anger. "And, let me guess, your training will help me survive?"

"Yes."

Peta stepped between us, and her anger felt like my own.

"Talan."

His eyes dipped to her. He smiled and crouched. "Will you forgive me?"

She tipped her head. "No. You've been an a.s.s to Lark."

His head lowered. "Nepeta, you don't understand-"

"No, I don't. You weren't an a.s.s when I left you." The word was firm from her. "I wanted to believe Lark was wrong. That you weren't causing problems-"

"It has to be done," he said. "She has to be humble in order for Spirit to truly bind to her. You know that."

"Not like this. You're a fool. You always were when it came to understanding women and what made them tick."

I had to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing. His eyes shot to mine and he gave me the barest of headshakes. Almost like he was trying not to laugh too. Maybe it was the situation, I wasn't sure, but I liked him a little better for that. For being a fool and letting Peta chastise him.

She sat at my feet, her rounded ears flipped partway back. She lifted a paw and pushed it into his chest, shoving him onto his b.u.t.t. "You need lessons yourself. You apologize for being an a.s.s, right now."

Like she was his mother. I bit the inside of my cheeks and focused on breathing slowly, keeping the laughter under control.

"Nepeta, please. This is ridiculous."

Her ears went flat to her head and she bared her teeth at him. "Apologize."

He stood and took a step so she couldn't see his face. And he grinned at me wide enough that I could see the sincerity in it. The fool.

"Peta is right. I've been an a.s.s." His grin never slipped. "Will you come with me? Will you let me help you?"

"You did not apologize. You only said you'd been an a.s.s, which is true, but not an apology." She swatted at him with a big paw and he leapt back.

"Peta, I wasn't finished."

My chest shook with silent laughter. Peta's tail twitched. "Apologize or I will a.s.sume you truly meant her harm and then I will forget you were ever my charge and a.s.sume you are an enemy to us both."

She was serious. And I felt it then through our bond. She was going to attack him if he didn't apologize. The laughter evaporated from me, and along with it the last of the fear that she would choose Talan over me.

She stood, and the fur along her back rose as a low rumble rolled out of her. The mirth on his face slid off.

His jaw ticked and he held up both hands. "Larkspur, will you accept my apology?"

"Fine." I turned my back on him. Peta grabbed my leg and I yelped. "What?"

"When someone apologizes, you accept it properly."

Etiquette lessons from Peta was not something I was expecting. I sighed. "You're forgiven. And no, I don't want to train with you. I'm going home."

I started down the beach once more.

Of course, that wasn't the end of things with Talan.

He called after me.

"Ulani wanted you to train with me, and I promised her I would. I promised her I would watch over you and do all I could to help you learn. To keep you alive."

Ulani . . . my mother. I closed my eyes and pressed the heels of my hands to them. d.a.m.n it, what did I do now?

CHAPTER 22.

e landed in the Rim late the next day. Talan rode behind me on Shazer's back, Peta between us. She purred so much, she drooled in her sleep.

"I was not drooling." She glared at me, even while she licked her lips.

I glanced at Talan, who shrugged. "Good luck convincing her."

It was nice she was so happy. I, on the other hand, was not as impressed with the outcome of things.

Talan would say nothing more about my mother after he'd dropped her name. "I'll tell you when you agree to train with me."

a.s.shole.

And he'd insisted on coming with me.

"Viv could come at you at any time. You need whatever help you can get now." He slid from Shazer's back first. "So stop moping."

My back stiffened. "I was not moping. I'm angry. There is a difference. Or are you struggling with your ability to read women again?"

Peta choked and laughed. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

"That is not the word I'd use," I muttered.

I had one goal in mind: get the pink diamond from Griffin's hut so I would know all five stones were safe from being used against me.

I strode in the direction of his home on the outer edge of the Rim near the ravine. I'd taken only three steps when Griffin appeared, coming from the Spiral. Bella and Flint were to one side of him. Griffin saw me and his normally smiling lips tightened.

s.h.i.+t, I'd knocked his consort on her a.s.s. "Griffin, it was not my fault. I didn't know-"

"You should have told me you stuffed the pink stone in my hut, yeah?" He lifted an eyebrow at me.

"I thought it was better the fewer people who knew. Wait . . . how did you know?"

"Viv had someone steal it from me."

My guts clenched and I closed my eyes. "d.a.m.n."

Bella looked from me to Griffin. "Who is Viv?"

"Long story." I ran a hand over my head and grabbed the back of my neck. I didn't know what to do, where to start. That was a first for me. Always the path ahead of me was laid out, a journey I knew I needed to take.

I glanced at Peta and she shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

Talan cleared his throat. "I do. This is the lull before the storm, Lark. Tell me you don't feel the world tensing?"

I stared at him, weighing his words and letting his meaning truly reach me. Under them was a truth I'd been ignoring. Part of the reason the mother G.o.ddess had convinced me she spoke truly of the world being destroyed was because I'd felt the same truth already. A humming fear deep within the earth that resonated through me. The world was in trouble, and I knew it in every molecule of my flesh and bone.

Child.

I flinched and looked around. Everyone's eyes widened at once. "I'm not the only one hearing this?"

A slow shake of heads sucked the air from my lungs. "Yes?"

Listen to him. He speaks the truth, and you will need his training. The Sylph named you right, Destroyer. But in destruction is new life. Remember that, if you remember nothing else.

The words faded, but the truth remained. I was not done with Talan, no matter how I wished he would just b.u.g.g.e.r off and pester someone else.

"The training?" I made myself ask.

"You will come with me. Leave everything behind."

Peta bristled and Shazer stomped a foot. I lifted an eyebrow. "They will follow."

"Your familiars can come, of course." He smiled. "But no one else."

Bella sucked in a breath, but she remained silent.

Going with Talan, training with him would mean leaving not only my family behind, but Ash too. He was still trapped as a golden eagle, waiting on someone to free him. I was the only one who even knew Ca.s.sava had him as a pet. My heart felt as though it were being torn in two. Training . . . as an Ender I understood the importance. The need to be truly prepared for battle.

I had to believe Ash would understand too. That he would be safe a little while longer.

But he wasn't the only one waiting on me. I closed my eyes. Bramley might be out there too. Alive. Dead. Which one, I wouldn't know until I searched for him, until I found him and brought him home.

"You can help all those you love more if you have the strength and training to protect them," Talan said, his voice soft.

I clenched my hands into fists, fighting the urge to fight him. To deny him even though a part of me knew he was right. To tell him I could do it my way and survive. That was how I'd always done things. I'd fought the way I'd believed was right. It had worked up until now.

But . . . this time I wasn't so sure.

"I will . . . go with you." The words came out far softer than I'd wanted.

Talan nodded. "Then we leave now."

Shazer groaned. "Seriously?"

I touched Bella's hand. "I'll be back."

"I know," she whispered, tears tracking down her cheeks. She caught me around the neck and kissed each of my cheeks. "Do what you must, Lark. I trust you."

I turned to Flint. "Lark." Just my name, and I turned to Talan.

This was for them, to protect those I loved. To save them from Viv and what plans she had.

I mounted Shazer, Peta right behind me. Talan leapt astride, his arms locking around me. Shazer bolted down the length of the Rim and launched into the air with a powerful leap.

We circled and Talan's arms tightened further around me in a vise-like grip.

"You can do nothing. You have to train to help her," he said, his voice firm.

What was he talking about? Peta let out a pain-filled meow and I looked to where she stared.

Bella gazed up at me, her eyes filled with tears, her hand lifted in a wave.

And behind her wavered the image of the mother G.o.ddess. Viv. I lurched forward as if to throw myself from Shazer's back. Talan's arms tightened around my middle, clamping my arms to my sides.

"Forgive me, Lark. This is for the best." Spirit coiled around me, dampening my mind. I slumped into him, exhaustion overcoming me as my eyes slipped shut. "I hate you."

"I know," he whispered from far away. "I know. But you won't one day. One day you'll thank me."

Nothing more and the darkness took me, and in it I heard Viv laughing, heard her words as clearly as if she stood in front of me.

Run while you can, little Larkspur. And while you hide from me, I will destroy your world.