“How will you find me?” she asked as she slid into the boxy car.

I gave her a grin. “I’m an Ender, that’s what we do.”

She smiled in return. “Be careful, Lark. Please be careful.”

The sound of a high pitched whistle, like that of distant screaming tornado was drawing close, and with it flashing lights of red and blue. “I will. And you too, Fern.”

The car started up and I saw Fern’s eyes widen as they pulled away from the scene. I slipped back into the forest, leaving behind me the human’s highway.

Now I just had to figure out how to keep Fern safe, and prove that Cassava was a murdering bitch.

No problemo, as the human had said.

Right.

Chapter 13

The disappearance of Fern went relatively unnoticed. Most people thought she ran away in disgrace when my father refused to marry her—a rumor I started—and it seemed to be working in our favor. I’d mentioned it to one of the Edge guards in passing; they were all as gossipy as Coal.

As far as I knew, Granite hadn’t noticed the missing money, either. Of course, why would anyone steal human money? We didn’t use anything of the sort here, and it would only be good for starting a fire.

Three days after Fern “ran away,” it was my turn to spar with Granite, one-on-one and no audience. He used his abilities with the earth, and I was to try and use only my weapons. Like I had any choice. I still couldn’t reach that spinning green orb of power I could so easily see if I closed my eyes. No, the pain dropped me every time, and yes, I tried regularly enough to know.

The upside of not having my own power was the more I looked for the telltale sign that Granite was tapping into the earth, the easier it got for me not only to see the sign, but pinpoint what he was going to do. Like when the green glow deepened, I knew he was going to shake the earth, and when it brightened and danced, rocks flew hard and fast. So while I couldn’t fight him in some ways, I could outthink him, and dodge what he sent my way.

“Damn it, how are you doing this?” Granite growled, wiping off a spot of blood where I’d caught a rock on the shaft of my spear like a baseball and fired it back at him.

“I think I’ll keep that secret to myself.” I smiled and offered him a hand up. He shooed me away.

“I’m not so feeble I can’t get to my feet on my own.” He stood, wobbled, and I put a hand on his shoulder.

“Sure about that?”

“Bah, see how steady you are after you get a rock smashed into your brain cup.”

Smiling, I crinkled up my nose. “Brain cup?”

He waved me off again. “Go get something to eat. We’ll go again in an hour.”

With a twist, I split my spear in two, the halves easily carried on the belt at my side, blade pointing down. The spear hung as if it were a part of my body, never getting in my way as I moved and fought, yet always right there when I needed it. I wrapped my fingers around the two pieces, wondering how often my mother had worked with the weapon. Of course, her spear was back in my room, waiting for me to become proficient enough to use it.

Granite, seemed to read my mind. “She wasn’t as good as you are with it. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, so she hesitated; it made her vulnerable to being attacked.”

His eyes met mine and I thought maybe he was going to say something. Maybe he knew something more since the last time we’d spoken about my mother. The tension between us rose, questions unanswered, fears hidden in the dark coming to light.

I opened my mouth to ask him, to demand he tell me what he knew. “Granite, my mother—”

Three Enders ran in, carrying one of their—our—own. The face was pale, but I recognized Oakley bouncing along in their arms. “What happened?” Granite barked, running to them.

Oakley coughed twice, blood burbling out of his mouth. “On a job in the east.” As if that somehow explained things. The Enders shared a glance that swept over me. Apparently, I wasn’t supposed to know about whatever it was Oakley had been doing.

I moved to help them and Granite put an arm out, stopping me.

“Don’t come any closer, Lark.” His face paled, almost to that of Oakley’s color.

“What’s wrong?”

“Lung burrowers.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Already?”

Granite’s eyes shot to mine, narrowed. “You see too much. But yes, the eastern front is being overwhelmed with them. At the rate they’re being pushed, it won’t be long before they’re here, a day or two at the most.”

They swept Oakley to the healers’ rooms, leaving me standing in the middle of the training ground. My father had gone to the eastern front.

A cold chill of premonition curled around me. If something happened to him, the one left ruling would be Cassava, with no one to rein her in.

The thought had no more hit the front of my brain and I bolted for the doors, running to the Spiral. The doors were locked shut, a bar across them. Snap, one of the queen’s personal Ender’s stood to one side.

“You aren’t allowed in, Cuckoo.”

“Shut your hole, Snapdragon,” I barked at him and his eyes widened in surprised. I pushed into his space. “Is my father back?”

He tried to push me back, but I held my ground. A snarl curled over his lips. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

I wanted to grab him and shake him ‘til the truth fell from his stupid face. I backed off a few steps, and glared at him, unable to think what I could do. My father was strong, but even he could fall to a disease. I snapped my fingers and bolted off to the north, running through the forest. Coal would know, he always knew the rumors before they reached the center.