Without a word, the serpent jerked away, her eyes going to the south of us. One snap of her jaws and she dove under the waves.
I put a hand to the smoky diamond and blew hard, scooting the skiff along the water. An hour at a wicked pace took us far enough away that I finally felt I could ease off, and sat down to catch my breath.
Peta put her big head on my lap. “That was unexpected.”
A laugh escaped me. “You said I would bring trouble to us.”
“Yes, but even I didn’t think you would bring a sea serpent. There aren’t many left.”
I nodded and leaned back on the wooden bench. Using the diamond tired me out. Or maybe it was the fact that we’d narrowly escaped death.
Peta butted me with her head. “Finish what you would say about Cassava.”
Damn. I was hoping we’d skip by that.
“She killed my mother and little brother, Bramley. Manipulated my father. Blocked me from my power. Tried to wipe out our family with the lung burrowers. What more reason do you need? She is the cause of our latest problems. I know it.”
Cactus leaned forward as he steered the boat. “It’s not about reason, it’s about facts. Evidence. How do we prove she was the one to do this? That is what you want, isn’t it? To prove she is behind everything wrong in your world.”
I knew he wasn’t being mean or trying to upset me, yet a part of me wanted him to believe me. To say I was right, Cassava was a bitch, and that was all there was to this story.
“Unless she confesses in front of the right people, there is no way to prove it. It’s her word against mine. And we all know she is too smart for that.”
“Why would she take your father?” Peta asked, stretching her back in a perfect arch. She yawned. “Surely your father is stronger than her in his connection to the earth.”
I nodded. “Yes, he is. But his mind . . . it’s so broken, I don’t know how easy he would be to manipulate even without Spirit. If Blackbird is working with her as we think he is, then . . .” I didn’t have to say the rest. All three of us knew Blackbird could control Spirit.
The desire to believe he, my father, was still the man I remembered from my childhood was strong, yet I knew it for what it was. A last desperate hope that he could be saved not only in the physical sense, but from mental deterioration too.
Cactus shook his head. “Why would Blackbird work with her? He carries all five elements; he doesn’t need her.”
Frowning, I stared over the water. “Why was he working with Keeda, then? That makes about as much sense. He doesn’t need anyone . . . yet he was about to set Keeda on the throne in the Pit. That has Cassava written all over it.”
The more I thought about it, the more sure I was that I was right. Cassava was pulling the strings on Blackbird . . . it made a twisted sort of sense. With him working for her, she would be able to attack anyone, control anyone with Spirit, and unlike her usage of the pink diamond, the only way to stop her from using him would be to kill him. Something I knew from experience was more than difficult. Not to mention he was a coward, the slippery little bastard.
“Lark, you have to look at his motivation,” Cactus said, pressing his case. “There is no reason for him to help her.”
“Unless they’re lovers, as we suspect,” Peta said. “That would be enough for him to work with her, to do as she wishes.”
A shudder ran through me. “If she got pregnant with his child, she’d have what she wanted. A second child who carries all five elements. Exactly as she and Requiem were planning.”
A snort escaped Cactus and I really looked at him. He wasn’t buying into the theory, I could see it in his eyes. “What?”
“Why . . . Lark, you need to start asking why. Why would she want your father?”
“How the hell should I know?” I snapped at him.
He stood and stared down at me, his words harsh. “You should know. You’re accusing her of treason, attempted regicide, and genocide.”
I shot to my feet. “Why aren’t you on my side?”
“I am!” he roared. “But you have to think. You can’t assume anymore. We aren’t children, and this isn’t a game of hide and seek. Lives are at stake. Yours. Mine. Peta’s. Your father’s.”
Incredulity whispered along the bond between Peta and me. I had to agree with her; I couldn’t believe Cactus would stand there and yell at me, telling me I needed a reason to believe Cassava was the bitch we all knew she was.
“I know that. Do you think I’m stupid?”
His whole body shivered. I knew because I knew him so well that he wanted to pace. But the size of the boat prevented much more than standing and sitting. “I think you have a one-track mind. You need to ask questions, Lark. You need to see the wider picture, because I don’t think this is about Cassava. It feels . . . like there is more at stake. This is about more players than a single woman who’s lost her mind.”