Windburn(31)

His body combusted as it fell, bright orange flames the exact shade as his skin curling up in the doorway, completely blocking it. The flames were so hot, I had to back up as they reached for the ceiling.

Worm shit. I refused to ask Cactus for help. Which only left the window option. Peta nosed the book on the floor that had the least amount of troll shit on it. “I think this actually might help us.”

I scooped the book up and tucked it into the back of my pants under my belt.

“Peta, you ready?” I tapped my shoulder. She shifted and leapt into my arms. I put her onto my shoulder and went to the window.

“I can stop the flames, Lark,” Cactus said, his voice contrite.

“No, please don’t bother yourself. I’d rather climb than put you out again.” I kept my voice as neutral as I could make it.

“Don’t be like that.”

I spun and jabbed a finger into his chest. “Be like what? Expect you to be a team player? To know your strengths and mine? To think you would be there to help me when I did need your help? Pardon me for thinking you were adult enough to actually be a help and not a hindrance.”

I turned away from him and pulled myself into the window. Anger fueled me, which made it easy to manipulate the stone the tower was built of—at least that was what I was banking on. I knocked the last of the glass out of the window and then eased out so I hung by my hands.

I placed one hand on the stone wall a foot down from the window ledge. The rock eased around my fingers like soft clay before firming up.

“Tell me again why I shouldn’t be able to do this?” I asked Peta as I made my way down the wall, handhold by handhold as I created them. The last thing I wanted was a lecture from her about being nicer to Cactus.

“From what I understand, what you are doing is manipulating the material down to its most basic matter. As a Terraling, you can move sand the way sand moves, you can encourage plants to grow, you can communicate with animals. But taking a hard stone and softening it to the point of reforming it is something not done since the beginning of Terralings. It is an ability thought to be lost.”

I dropped to the cobblestone at the same time Cactus stepped out of the main doors. He wouldn’t look at me, and I was glad. I strode toward the side wall of the courtyard and flicked my hands at it. The stone blew apart and I walked through, ignoring the humans staring at me as I strode out.

“He’s making it easier on you to choose Ash,” Peta said.

“That he is.” I stared straight ahead.

“I hate to be the voice of reason, because I do not think Cactus is the right one for you . . . but does it seem like him to pout? To put you in danger?” Her words were soft, and they gave me pause.

“Why would he do it, then? Why would he put me in danger?”

“I can only think of one reason.”

I glanced back to see him trailing behind us, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his head lowered. “What reason?”

“He knows he’s already lost you to Ash, and so he is going to make it easy on you.”

I came to a complete and total stop. My heart thumped wildly against my chest. No, no, no. I did not want to believe she was right, but . . . it was something Cactus would do. He’d taken pain for me before, when we were children and had gotten in trouble together. The strap had fallen on him, not me.

I closed my eyes and tried to slow the beating of my heart. Cactus stopped a few feet behind me. I slowly turned to him.

“Are you trying to make me angry with you? Trying to drive me away?”

His eyes never left mine. “I want you to be happy, Lark. I love you enough to lose you if it means you will be happy.”

Damn him. My lower jaw trembled. “I cannot focus on this while we are trying to save my father. We can discuss this later, but I need to know if I can depend on you or not.”

He stepped forward and took one of my hands, raising it so he could kiss the underside of my wrist. “I am always here for you. I’m sorry, I . . . I could see the guilt in you, and I didn’t want to make it worse.”

I let him pull me into his arms. Slowly I dropped my head to his shoulder. “I can’t choose, Cactus. Don’t make me.”

“One day you’ll have to.” He kissed the side of my head.

“Enough. We have to go,” Peta said, her voice sharp.

I stepped away, my hands lingering in his. “You almost got me killed.”

“Nah, you handled it fine. I knew you would.” He patted at a few charred spots on my vest as he winked at me. I could admit I was relieved even while I was exasperated.

He reached around me and tapped the hard-backed book I’d taken. “Let’s see what we’ve got, then.”