“So impetuous. I see why he had problems training you.” His mouth dropped to my ear and his whisper was harsh against my skin. “Ash is taking the rap because he couldn’t protect your mother and little brother years ago. He’s paying the penance for their lives, Larkspur. And I’m helping him because he’s my friend and I trust him when he says you are more important than any of us realize.” He eased off me and I slowly turned. His eyes were serious and no longer the lecherous leer he put on before. It had all been an act.

“He said all that?” I put a hand to my head. “Brand, those Enders wanted to kill us. We had to fight or we would have died.”

He nodded, his orange eyes narrowed under lowered brows. “I know. We have a problem in our ranks. Which is the other reason I’m helping you. Come, the first thing is taking care of your arm. Then we can discuss how we’re going to clear out the snakes in our nest.”

Brand waved me ahead of him and I carefully walked where he wanted. The things Brand said swirled in my head and I struggled to think straight around the pain radiating from my shoulder. The rod of Asclepius floated into view. A snake wrapped around a rod embedded into the door: the mark of the healer’s rooms. My vision blurred and the snake seemed to move as I fell under the tightening net of pain that drove deep into my body, and my legs buckled.

CHAPTER 3

I lay flat on my back for the second time that day, staring at the ceiling while Smit, one of the Pit’s healers, worked on my arm. He’d helped me before, when Ash and I had broken into the Pit. His hands were gentle as he manipulated my arm. “I’m going to force it back into the joint, and there are no two ways about this. It’s going to hurt.”

I must have nodded because he looked away from me for a second and then Brand was holding me down. My mind raced with possibilities of how I was going to get both me and Ash out of the Pit. Most pressing was how in the name of the mother goddess was I going to pull Ash out of the fire he’d flung himself into. Smit lifted my hand and I drew in a slow breath. With a twist and a hard push, he forced my shoulder back into joint. There was a click and a slight crunch, then a soft pop as the ball slid back into the socket.

For a split second I thought it wasn’t so bad, but the pain was slow in coming and when it hit I was glad Brand’s hands held me down. I writhed under the pain, the wave of adrenaline, relief, and feeling of sharp knives all jabbed into me and was too much to contain. Biting down on a cry, I slowly relaxed as my body eased to the bed once more.

Brand patted me on my good shoulder. “Now we’re ready to go.”

I sat up and the world spun. I thought I saw a flicker of gray and white fur.

Smit let out a laugh. “What are you doing here, Peta? I thought the queen had you banished.”

Blinking, I stared down at my feet into the bright green eyes of Peta in her house cat form. When she wanted to, she could shift into a snow leopard. As a familiar, she was supposed to protect and watch over the powerful elemental she was assigned to. In her case, the last Salamander she’d protected died in the Deep. Which was where I’d met her.

But she saved my ass twice and I wouldn’t forget that, or show her disrespect in any way. “Hello, Peta.” I slid to the side of my bed leaving room for her to leap up. Her green eyes didn’t blink even once.

“Dirt Girl. I see you’re in trouble again.”

Brand grunted. “Cat, you’re pretty damn mouthy for one on the edge of being booted out.”

Peta let out a sneeze that could have been a snort, and wiped a paw over her face. “Please. Just because I’ve always been assigned to idiots is not my fault.”

I dropped my feet to the floor. “Good luck with your next fire assignment then. I hope they are smarter than your last.”

Brand tipped his head to the left and walked away, I followed. Or would have. A tiny set of claws dug into my lower leg. I stopped and once more looked down. “What do you want, cat?”

Those glittering green eyes narrowed as she let go of me.

“Dirt Girl, I’m going to need that luck. The mother goddess has given me my new assignment already and I don’t like it.”

I threw my one good arm into the air. “Wonderful. Good luck. I have to go, things to do.” With that I strode away. What the hell did the cat want anyway? There was nothing I could do about her assignment no matter how bad it was. Damn, unless she was spying on me for her new master. I looked over my shoulder, but didn’t see her.

Following Brand through the twists and turns of the Pit, I was surprised where he took me. The hallway opened and overlooked a cavern whose ceiling rose hundreds of feet above our heads. From where we stood, I could have jumped to the floor easily. But it wasn’t the height that caught my eye, or even the sheer size of at least thirty acres hidden within the mountain.

Around the edges of the cavern, homes snuggled into the rock walls, and out front in tiny boxed gardens plants struggled to survive. Children played and women laughed as they went about their daily routines. The sounds of music and singing floated in the air. A true village filled with Salamanders carrying on life.

Through the village, a river of lava flowed, gurgling like a brook, heat bubbles erupting here and there. Even at the distance I was, the heat felt unreal. As soon as sweat popped out on my skin, it began to dry.

A child, a little girl with pigtails and pale pink dress, ran for the edge of the lava flow and I couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. She would be burned to a crisp if someone didn’t stop her. I took a step and Brand grabbed me as he chuckled. I whipped my head around to stare at him. “How can you laugh?”