His words struck a chord with me I didn’t like.

Fear crawled up and down my spine, biting and nipping. And then came the anger. “And, let me guess, your training will help me survive?”

“Yes.”

Peta stepped between us, and her anger felt like my own.

“Talan.”

His eyes dipped to her. He smiled and crouched. “Will you forgive me?”

She tipped her head. “No. You’ve been an ass to Lark.”

His head lowered. “Nepeta, you don’t understand—”

“No, I don’t. You weren’t an ass when I left you.” The word was firm from her. “I wanted to believe Lark was wrong. That you weren’t causing problems—”

“It has to be done,” he said. “She has to be humble in order for Spirit to truly bind to her. You know that.”

“Not like this. You’re a fool. You always were when it came to understanding women and what made them tick.”

I had to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing. His eyes shot to mine and he gave me the barest of headshakes. Almost like he was trying not to laugh too. Maybe it was the situation, I wasn’t sure, but I liked him a little better for that. For being a fool and letting Peta chastise him.

She sat at my feet, her rounded ears flipped partway back. She lifted a paw and pushed it into his chest, shoving him onto his butt. “You need lessons yourself. You apologize for being an ass, right now.”

Like she was his mother. I bit the inside of my cheeks and focused on breathing slowly, keeping the laughter under control.

“Nepeta, please. This is ridiculous.”

Her ears went flat to her head and she bared her teeth at him. “Apologize.”

He stood and took a step so she couldn’t see his face. And he grinned at me wide enough that I could see the sincerity in it. The fool.

“Peta is right. I’ve been an ass.” His grin never slipped. “Will you come with me? Will you let me help you?”

“You did not apologize. You only said you’d been an ass, which is true, but not an apology.” She swatted at him with a big paw and he leapt back.

“Peta, I wasn’t finished.”

My chest shook with silent laughter. Peta’s tail twitched. “Apologize or I will assume you truly meant her harm and then I will forget you were ever my charge and assume you are an enemy to us both.”

She was serious. And I felt it then through our bond. She was going to attack him if he didn’t apologize. The laughter evaporated from me, and along with it the last of the fear that she would choose Talan over me.

She stood, and the fur along her back rose as a low rumble rolled out of her. The mirth on his face slid off.

His jaw ticked and he held up both hands. “Larkspur, will you accept my apology?”

“Fine.” I turned my back on him. Peta grabbed my leg and I yelped. “What?”

“When someone apologizes, you accept it properly.”

Etiquette lessons from Peta was not something I was expecting. I sighed. “You’re forgiven. And no, I don’t want to train with you. I’m going home.”

I started down the beach once more.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of things with Talan.

He called after me.

“Ulani wanted you to train with me, and I promised her I would. I promised her I would watch over you and do all I could to help you learn. To keep you alive.”

Ulani . . . my mother. I closed my eyes and pressed the heels of my hands to them. Damn it, what did I do now?

CHAPTER 22

e landed in the Rim late the next day. Talan rode behind me on Shazer’s back, Peta between us. She purred so much, she drooled in her sleep.

“I was not drooling.” She glared at me, even while she licked her lips.

I glanced at Talan, who shrugged. “Good luck convincing her.”

It was nice she was so happy. I, on the other hand, was not as impressed with the outcome of things.

Talan would say nothing more about my mother after he’d dropped her name. “I’ll tell you when you agree to train with me.”

Asshole.

And he’d insisted on coming with me.

“Viv could come at you at any time. You need whatever help you can get now.” He slid from Shazer’s back first. “So stop moping.”

My back stiffened. “I was not moping. I’m angry. There is a difference. Or are you struggling with your ability to read women again?”

Peta choked and laughed. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

“That is not the word I’d use,” I muttered.

I had one goal in mind: get the pink diamond from Griffin’s hut so I would know all five stones were safe from being used against me.

I strode in the direction of his home on the outer edge of the Rim near the ravine. I’d taken only three steps when Griffin appeared, coming from the Spiral. Bella and Flint were to one side of him. Griffin saw me and his normally smiling lips tightened.

Shit, I’d knocked his consort on her ass. “Griffin, it was not my fault. I didn’t know—”

“You should have told me you stuffed the pink stone in my hut, yeah?” He lifted an eyebrow at me.

“I thought it was better the fewer people who knew. Wait . . . how did you know?”

“Viv had someone steal it from me.”

My guts clenched and I closed my eyes. “Damn.”

Bella looked from me to Griffin. “Who is Viv?”