Windburn (The Elemental Series #4)(5)

As a wolf shifter, he was not allowed to live within the Rim with us. But he was welcome to the edge, which was where he stayed. I wasn’t sure if I could call him a friend, but he had helped me more than once.

Skidding to a stop at his door, I didn’t hesitate, but let myself into the rounded hut that was his abode. “Griffin, I’m sorry to barge in on you.” I spoke swiftly, recalling all too clearly his method of teaching someone a lesson.

My eyes adjusted to the dim light; I was alone. Maybe this was better. I strode to the center of the room and went to my knees. At my urging, the hard dirt floor opened a hole big enough for the leather bag that held the two diamonds. I paused, thinking about what Peta had said. If she was right, and I needed the extra help but left the smoky diamond behind, I would be furious with myself. And if I didn’t need it, the stone was as safe with me as anywhere else.

I reached into the leather bag and pulled the smoky diamond out. One quick knot on the bag and I dropped it into the hole. Fifteen feet deep and in the middle of Griffin’s home . . . that had to be safe enough. “Mother goddess, keep it safe.”

Smoothing the dirt over, I took a moment and let my curiosity lead me through the room.

Griffin led a sparse life, with little in the way of knickknacks or personal items. The table held a few clay dishes, leftovers of his last meal. A shirt hung over the single chair. What caught my attention, though, was a single book on the bed. The rumpled bed sheets camouflaged it so I almost missed it. The cover was black with no title, no author’s name. Using one finger, I flipped it open.

Images stared up at me, startling me. I stepped back, then forward again.

These were what the humans called . . . photos . . . I’d heard of them, but never seen them. Like a painting, only clearer and crisper. Crouching, I flipped through the book. Some of the pictures were black and white, others were in color. The ones that stopped me were those of Griffin with his arms around a petite blonde woman, a young boy sitting in front of them. The child was maybe ten or so, and was Griffin’s son without a doubt. They could have been duplicates of one another. A child then . . . perhaps he’d lost his family . . . maybe that was why he hid in the woods.

Feeling like I’d seen something intimate I shouldn’t have, I backed away and slipped out the door. Drawing on the power of the earth once more, I raced to the center of the Rim. I wove my way, deliberately backtracking and changing direction several times.

Just in case more than one person was watching me.

I reached the Enders Barracks when the sun hung mid-sky, beating down on my head as it burned off the last of the morning fog.

Stepping inside the building that had so quickly and naturally become my refuge, I took a deep breath. The smell of leather, oil, and sweat permeated the air. My room was through the main exercise area, and near the far end of the sleeping quarters. I hurried there, wanting nothing more than the quiet of my own space. Once inside my room, I leaned against the door and finally let the task ahead of me crash down.

Finding my father would be an arduous process. I had to nail down a Tracker first, and from what I understood, they could be tricky and temperamental on the best of days. Then I had to persuade the Tracker to help me. Then convince my father to come home.

But worst of all . . . once he was home, I needed to make my father see that not only did he need to name an heir . . . for the sake of our family, he needed to step down as king.

The final topper? I was afraid to see him again. To have him tell me once more how useless I was. That I was the mistake he regretted more than any other. I put a hand over my eyes.

A task I had to do out of duty.

A task I dreaded with all my heart and soul.

I leaned my head against the door. “Mother goddess, help me not screw this up.”





CHAPTER 3





knock on my door snapped me out of my half-hearted prayer. I turned and opened the door. Honey gold eyes locked on mine, and my tongue seemed to tangle on his name. “Ash.”

“Lark, we need to talk about you going after your father.” His eyes softened with concern. For me. My heart warmed more than a few degrees.

“Do you have an idea of where he might have gone?” I stepped back so he could come into my tiny room. I could have lain down twice in either direction, which gave me room for a small bed, desk, and chair, and that was it. I sat on the bed.

Ash didn’t sit. He tucked one thumb into the edge of his belt and ran the other hand through his short blond hair. “I don’t think you should be going after him.”

“What?” That was not what I’d expected—at least not from him. Cactus maybe, or even Niah. But not Ash. As an Ender, he had taken vows to protect and obey the king at all costs.

Somehow those vows had slipped by me during my Ender testing, but I tried not to worry too much.

“Your father left of his own accord, Lark. The Rim guards reported he spoke to several of them. Told them he needed to clear his head and think about his next step in dealing with those who would try to steal his throne.”

I gripped the edge of the bed, the mattress creaking. “And did he give names of those he was concerned about usurping him?”

“Your name came up. So did Raven’s and Belladonna’s.”

“So now, of course, this information is all over the Rim because the damn guards gossip like a bunch of old ladies,” I snapped.