We weren’t close like Peta and I. Maybe that was why I could open up to him. There was no emotional bond, no worry I’d freak him out.
“I’ve always held back, Shazer. Always. Fear, for the most part. But also the expectations of being a good girl. Of being what my father wants. Of what is expected of me.”
“We all have that moment.” He shook his head. “Question is . . . what are you going to do about it?”
“Subtle,” I said.
“I’m all about the finer points of dialogue.”
I looked into the night sky, as if the answers would be written there, clear for me to see. Variables spun out—Bella, my father, Blackbird, and Cassava. But there were only so many things I could do. And only a few of them were essential.
“Cassava needs to die and my father needs to name his heir. Then I can be free of this.”
“Free? Would you not go back to your home?”
I shook my head. Aria’s words from so long ago echoed in my heart. “The Rim is not my home. My home is here, with you and Peta. With Ash and Cactus. That is where I bloom.”
He butted me lightly. “Then you have your answer. I will fly you to wherever you wish. Will it be the Eyrie then, to find a trace of your father? Or to the Rim to confront Cassava?”
I closed my eyes and for a moment I felt as though the oubliette was around me. I reached out and grabbed his mane, leaning into him, breathing the scent of sweet grass and horse sweat into my lungs, allowing it to center me. There was a tug on my soul, like a thread tied to me that I could not deny.
I lifted my head and stared into the jungle. I recognized the touch of her ability as she Tracked me.
A part of me knew I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d sensed she would need me before I was stuffed away from the world.
I faced the section of the jungle she approached from. Shazer lowered his head over my shoulder.
“What is it?”
“An old friend calling in a favor, I think,” I said. Relief flowed through me. I did not have to decide between my father and Cassava. Whatever help Elle needed I would give her, and hopefully it would take me far from my own problems.
The bushes parted and there she was, her dark hair longer than before, the swirling eyes marking her as a Tracker the same. Her mouth also the same.
“It’s about bloody fucking time you showed up on the radar again,” she gasped as she pushed her way through the foliage to me.
My jaw dropped when the firelight touched her. Her belly was swollen, huge with child, but the rest of her was thin, as though food had been a tough thing to find.
Where was the vibrant Tracker I’d first met? What had happened to her in the two years I’d been gone?
“Yeah, I got fat since I saw you last.” She grinned, but it was weak. “I’ve been searching for you the last six months. I knew you weren’t dead. Where the fuck have you been hiding?”
“Oubliette,” I said. “Someone tried to kill me.”
“Looks like we have that in common.” She winced and touched her belly. I took her arm and helped her to the fire. Ash was awake, Peta still passed out in the crook of his lap. In the time I’d been away, they’d clearly drawn close.
Elle raised her eyebrows at me. “Two men? Damn, I need lessons. I tried to handle two, almost killed me.” Her eyes filled with tears. It was only then I realized she was missing something very much attached to her.
“Where’s Bram?” I softened my voice, already knowing the answer would not be good.
“Demons. They’ve been on our asses the last year. I don’t know why, but they’ve decided I’d make a good kill. He . . . got in the way.” Her lips trembled. “You were right, Lark. I can’t fucking well do this on my own. I need your help.”
Cassava and my father waited for me. My family waited for me to save them from Cassava. The only one I cared about was Bella, and for the time being she was safe.
“Ash, go to Bella. Get her ready to come home.” I didn’t look at him. “Cactus, go to the Eyrie and wait for me.”
Neither man said anything. I didn’t know if they were letting me boss them around, or if they truly trusted me. Or if they were ignoring me. I wanted to believe they trusted me.
Peta let out a pitiful mew. “What about me?”
I scooped her up. “Do you really need to ask, cat? You are with me. You and the horse are mine through and through.”
Shazer snorted and fluttered his wings. “I am no horse.”
“Manner of speaking.” I paused and looked at Elle. “You want me to kill the demons?”
“No, only a Slayer can do that. I want you to protect my daughter when she is born. Put her somewhere the demons won’t find her. You can do that, right?”
A dark chill swept through the jungle, dampening the flames and casting an eerie shadow on her face. “Yes, I can do that. But what of you?”
“I will draw them away. I’ve kept far enough from the nasty shits that they don’t know I’m with child. As long as we can keep it that way, the fuckers won’t even know she exists.”