“Does it matter?” I had to stall, to buy myself time. I didn’t dare glance at the mother goddess. To think she would intercede on my behalf was stupid.

Blackbird smiled, and I wondered how I’d missed the lies in him. The deception. My desire to be loved had blinded me to the truth.

With a roar he leapt at me, shifting in midair. Of course he was a shifter. Why was I not surprised?

He landed on four large, black paws as an oversized bear. He roared a second time, his blue eyes glittering through the heavy pelt around his face.

He swung at my leg with one thick paw, the claws digging deep into my calf as he hauled me toward him. Truth was he could have killed me easily, stealing my air from my lungs. But he was dragging this out.

Making me suffer.

The claws cut into my muscle and tore through it as easily as if it were a razor blade.

I grabbed at his face, driving my fingers into his eye sockets. He roared and pulled back, shaking his head. Stumbling back a few feet, he put distance between us and shifted once more.

“Now you’re just showing off.” I gasped the words as I fought a sudden wave of nausea followed by a narrowing of my vision. This was not the time to lose consciousness.

Blackbird grinned, blood trickling from his eyes. “Maybe. Maybe I want you to see how puny you are next to me.”

“Enough.” The mother goddess spoke and her power slammed into us both, dropping us flat. I reached for the strength of the earth and got nothing. By the look on Blackbird’s face, he was in the same position.

“Neither of you will fight. I have chosen you both. For different reasons, and while you may never understand fully, I do not expect you to. I expect you to obey me.” Her words grew in strength with each one until her voice hammered my head with its volume and power. Her hair was dark as the night and I knew which side of her personality we were dealing with. Yet why then did she save me? Because that was what happened.

Blackbird would have killed me if she hadn’t stopped him.

“Yes, Mother.” Blackbird bowed his head.

The mother goddess looked at me. I raised an eyebrow. “Get stuffed.”

Her lips twitched. “Blackbird. I forbid you from seeking Lark out. You will not fight with your sister.” She spoke like a mother scolding small children.

He looked from her to me. “You cannot stop her from coming after me. She is the disobedient one.”

I wasn’t going to argue with that.

“Then we will make sure she is kept far from you, my boy.”

She clapped her hands and a wave of power caught me and threw me backward. I tumbled several times, all the way to the edge of the blasted field. Blackbird and the mother goddess were gone, as if they’d never stood there.

“Did you tell Viv to get stuffed?”

I blinked up at Griffin who stared down at me. “Yeah, I think I did.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. She finally met her match, yeah?” He grinned as he held a hand out and helped me to stand. I leaned on him, unable to put weight on my mauled leg. He handed me a piece of paper as I stood. I looked down at it, the familiar writing across the parchment and the blob of ink as my father’s hand had wavered. This was all I needed to prove that my father should not pick Briar or Raven as heir.

The clearing was battered and bruised from the fight, trees at the edges torn up from the roots, the dirt burnt and charred in places.

Across from us, Peta raced across the blasted field, blending into the dirt. Behind her came Ash and Cactus, weapons drawn.

“Stop doing this to me, Lark!” Peta yelled as she leapt for me. I caught her and placed her on my shoulder.

“It isn’t on purpose. Honest.”

Ash and Cactus didn’t look at one another, only me. I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped me.

“Let’s go home.” Cactus thumbed back toward the Rim. Griffin didn’t come with us, but watched us go. I know because I turned twice to see him staring after us. His dark eyes were unfathomable. Yet his stance told me all I needed to know.

The night was not over.

We walked in silence, me leaning on both men, but it was not the silence of comfort. Or of a job well done. The silence tasted of a heavy blow yet to come.

As we approached the Spiral, I was not surprised to see the crowd of people. They parted for us, but not with deference. I did not care. My father stood on the steps of the Spiral. Fern was nowhere to be seen. I put a hand on Ash. “Where is Fern and the baby?”

The words had barely left my lips when I knew. He shook his head and spoke only one word. “Cassava.”

My heart thumped hard against my chest. Poor Fern. Of all the people in our family, she had cared for me in her own way. Had stood up for me against my father.

At least she would be at peace where she was, though it was a small comfort.

The man I called my father raised both hands in the air as we drew close.

“I will name my heir so there will be no dissension in our home.”

He paused, saw me, and his shoulders sagged. “Larkspur, I will deal with you in a moment.”

Bella was there with him, as was Briar. All my father had left were two girls to choose from.

Bella’s eyes met mine and I forced a smile for her. She blinked back tears as she put a hand to her heart. I did the same.

My father spoke. “My people, I have seen the error of my ways. My sons were not worthy of being named heir.”

I clutched the paper in my hand, crinkling it. If he named Briar, I would have to say something. I prayed he would name Bella.