Underneath me the bridge exploded, stones smashing into me as I flew through the air. Arms outstretched, the heat of the lava licked along the front of my body as I sailed toward land. We hit the edge of the river with a hard thump and I scrambled up the slight incline while the rocks dropped into the lava behind me, splashing and sending out droplets of red death.

Whatever fatigue I had was gone as I sprinted from the lava flow, my ears ringing with what had almost been the end of me. And no one would have known. Cactus and Ash would think I’d just abandoned them.

I finally stopped when Peta bit my ear and growled. “Dirt Girl, you’re running the wrong way.”

Breathing hard, I realized just how terrified I was—the very thought of falling into the lava drove logic from my mind. “I would face the Deep and its monsters a hundred times again before this,” I spit out. The urge to keep running, to bolt until I found a way out of this nightmare labyrinth was overwhelming and I struggled to tamp it down.

“Dirt Girl, you will not go into the lava. I will not allow that to happen.” Peta’s words slowed my racing heart and I nodded.

Only then was I able to take in the scene. Exploding rocks and no warning—only one conclusion could be drawn. “That was no accident.”

“I did not think so either. But who other than yourself can manipulate stone?”

“The smaller cloaked one.” I stared around the cavern, looking for a black figure darting away, but saw nothing. That didn’t mean I was wrong though.

“Cactus is capable. You must also think of him,” Peta said and I hated that she was right.

He was a powerhouse in his own right. He’d broken the archway with such ease to stop the traitor from escaping.

“He could be helping her, and using our old ties to draw close to me.”

I didn’t have to say Fiametta’s name. We both knew whom I meant. Peta bobbed her head. “True, but even though I suggested him, he doesn’t seem the type. Do you truly believe you can’t trust him?”

Getting my legs going again, I tossed the thoughts around in my head. “I don’t know, Peta. That’s the problem. Those who have been closest to me have shown they are rarely what they appear.”

Peta cleared her tiny throat and whispered into my ear. “My first charge, the one who carried Spirit was able to see inside other people’s minds when he touched them. Perhaps you could do that with Cactus so you could be sure of his loyalty?”

I sucked in a slow breath. I’d done something similar when I’d been in the Deep. Though it had been an accident, I’d touched a shape shifter’s head and heard his thoughts and what he planned on doing to me.

We were outside Cactus’s home and I stopped in the doorway. I was totally stalling because I didn’t know what to do, where to take this. I didn’t want to believe Cactus could hurt me, and even as I thought it, the doubts faded. Yet I couldn’t rule him out.

Carefully I took Peta from my shoulder and set her down. She limped through the door.

“You have a choice, depending on how much you trust the half breed.”

She was right. I followed her into Cactus’s home. The plants bent toward me and I brushed my face over the open hibiscus flowers, the soft petals a caress on my skin.

“How did it go with the queen?” Cactus broke the moment, startling me. I jumped, feeling as though my disloyal thoughts were written all over my face. I glanced at him.

“About as well as one could hope. Have you been here waiting the whole time?” I watched his eyes for a flicker, a sign of deception. He nodded and a half grin tipped his lips.

“Yeah, which sucks because Maggie is in the back snoring and farting up a storm. You know, Salamanders spend so much time in the lava that they begin to produce a kind of noxious sulfur of their own?” As he spoke he closed the distance between us, putting his arms around my waist and his chin on my shoulder. He drew in a slow, deep breath.

“And what do I smell like?”

His laugh rumbled across his chest to me. “Spring in the Rim, a little slice of heaven in my arms.” He turned his head and I stepped back so his lips missed my neck.

“I need to speak to Peta, do you have another room away from Maggie?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

His eyebrows climbed. “Don’t tell me you think Maggie and me—”

“You do whatever you want, prick,” Peta snapped. “I need to speak with my charge alone.”

Cactus laughed softly. “Maybe you will make her a good familiar, bad luck cat. At least you’re loyal.”

Peta gave a long low hiss and the fur along her spine stood at attention. I bent and scooped her up even though she’d just asked to be put down. “A room, Cactus.”

He gestured to the left and a doorway I hadn’t noticed before opened. “Lark, you know me. Maggie isn’t my type in the least.”

I nodded, feeling a weight around my heart lift. “I know, Cactus. Still, it looked bad.” Stopping in the doorway, I looked at him and placed a hand on his chest when he would follow me. “Peta, this is your call.”

Her body trembled, but I didn’t look down at her. The seconds ticked by, almost audibly as we waited for her answer. A sigh slipped out of her. “If you trust him, then I will too. He may hear what I have to say.”

And even though I’d doubted for a moment, I did trust Cactus. He was my friend.

Cactus grinned and I turned my back on him, entering the smaller room. I struggled not to gasp at what I saw.