“What is it? How did you get here if you were trapped in the other world?”

“Aurora discovered during the past few years that the walls between our worlds were growing thin and weak. Some of our magic weavers could create a temporary hole in the barrier. We could send one or two people through, but we weren’t sure they were actually arriving here,” she explained.

“So you came alone?”

“No, there was another,” Cynnia said. She wandered over to a chair and plopped down into the thick cushion. “She was a spell weaver, a powerful one. I trusted her. I thought she was going to find a way to help me, but it was all a lie. She dumped me with those naturi you found me with. She told them to kill me.”

“But they didn’t,” Danaus prodded when she seemed to pause.

Cynnia shook her head slowly. “They were afraid to, I think. I am sister to the queen, after all.”

“So they decided to leave the job to me,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. “It’s an interesting theory, but it only explains how you got here. Now what about why you’re here?”

“I think Aurora is wrong,” she whispered, as if afraid one of her own kind was listening in.

“About what?”

“This war.”

“I don’t believe you,” I snarled, taking a step closer to her.

“Mira—” Shelly started, but I held up my hand, halting the comment in her throat.

“It’s too convenient. A naturi that wants to end this war winds up in the hands of the nightwalker that can potentially destroy their hopes of freedom,” I said. “It’s a trap.”

“Are you sure?” Danaus asked, surprising me.

“She gets close because I believe her tale of woe, and she kills me,” I argued, turning my attention to the hunter, who was now standing beside me.

“It can’t be a trap because their plan has already failed,” Cynnia said. “You were supposed to kill me back on the island when you rescued your friend.”

“There’s still time,” I reminded her, which only made her smile at me.

“Yes, but if you kill me, I can’t help you.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Other than the fact that I believe there is a better way to end this war than killing everyone?” she asked, arching one thin eyebrow at me. “I think that my sister is trying to kill me.”

“And I’m to be your protector?” I asked, my voice jumping in shock.

“Of course, you’re the Fire Starter. She can’t beat you.”

I looked over at Danaus, who seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face, not that I could blame him. It all sounded pretty ridiculous, but it was all I had to go on for now.

Frowning, I was suddenly unsure of what to do with the naturi. I didn’t believe her, but there was this nagging question in the back of my mind. What if? What if it was the truth, and I had the power to destroy the naturi nation with this young naturi and her idealistic hopes for something other than war?

“If I’m going to help you, I’m going to need your cooperation,” I said slowly.

“I’m not going to help you kill my kind. I’m not a traitor.”

I smiled and took a step toward her. “We can avoid killing them if we can avoid them completely. How many naturi are in my city?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, lifting her wrists. The iron manacles were blocking her ability to sense her own kind.

“They’re not coming off, and you’re becoming less valuable to me by the minute.”

Cynnia released a heavy sigh before she stepped around me and walked into the yard. Sitting on the ground, she pulled off her worn brown boots and placed her bare feet in the grass. Her green eyes fell shut as her smooth brow furrowed in concentration.

“There aren’t any close by,” she murmured after a minute. “Not for a great distance—in the west and to the deep, deep south, across an ocean.”

“Danaus?” I prompted, turning to the hunter in hopes of getting some confirmation.

“My reach isn’t as strong as hers,” he hedged, his deep voice close to a low growl.

Yet, before he finished talking, I felt him reach out with his powers, sending the warm wave of energy crashing through me. The touch was soothing, easing away some of the tension humming through my taut frame.

“There are no naturi within the immediate area,” he said at last.

“So what do you hope I will be able to do for you?” I asked Cynnia, standing over her as she continued to sit in the grass. “Let me guess. You want me to allow the door to open so I can kill your sister.” It was a story I had already heard before from another set of naturi, as well as from Macaire, one of the three Elders on the Coven.

“No! Absolutely not!” Cynnia awkwardly pushed back to her feet and took a step closer to me. “I want the door to stay shut. If she is forced to stay in her own realm, then she can’t wage a war here.”

“So Aurora will be stuck in her world and you’ll be stuck here,” I said, raising one eyebrow at her.

“Assuming that you let me live.”

“Not likely,” Danaus interjected before I could speak.

A smile haunted my lips as I wandered back into the yard and sat down in the grass not far from where Cynnia had sat only moments ago. I threaded my fingers through the cool grass, an interesting thought rolling around in my head. I could feel Danaus’s censure before I even spoke my first word. The plan definitely had a few flaws to it.

“You’ve charged me with a difficult task,” I drawled. “Not only must I stop Rowe and his plan to free your sister and the naturi horde, but I must also protect you from Rowe and Aurora because you have some grand idea of bringing a peaceful end to this fight. I’m the Fire Starter, not a god. You’re expecting the impossible.”

“Can’t you raise an army?”

“An army will be raised to defeat Rowe. They will not do anything to protect your hide.”

“Then what? What do you want from me?” she cried, extending both her hands to me, palms out and open. “I’m offering you a chance for peace. Why are you fighting me?”

“I’m not. I’m being realistic. I’ve fought Rowe twice now and barely survived both encounters. I need an edge.”

Cynnia took a step backward, the chains on her manacles jangling slightly as she raised one delicate hand to her throat. Her wide green eyes never wavered from my face. “What do you want?”

“Teach me how to use earth magic,” I said with a grin.

The naturi gave a soft little laugh and dropped her hands back down to dangle before her. “That’s impossible. Nightwalkers can’t use earth magic.”

I rose bonelessly to my feet, standing only a couple feet away from her. With a thought, a ball of fire blossomed between us. It slowly circled around Cynnia then came back to loop around me, forming a perfect figure eight—drawing us together. “I shouldn’t be able to manipulate fire, but I can. I can lock the naturi away in a separate world. And just a few weeks ago I discovered that the well of energy from the earth can push itself into me like lightning through a conduit.” I stepped closer, so the fireball now circled around us, keeping the others at a distance. “I heard the great earth mother roaring in my head, angry and powerful.”

Cynnia tried to step back, but the ball of flames circling around us kept her close. She stared up at me, her mouth forming a perfect O.

“I can access the power of the earth when I am at one of the swells, but I have no control over it. If I don’t learn to control this soon, I’m going to kill everyone around me, regardless of whether we are on the same side or not.”

“And controlling it will give you the edge you’re looking for to defeat Rowe?” Cynnia softly asked, a frown marring her sweet young face.

“Rowe wants Aurora free. He will do whatever it takes to see that accomplished. From what I’ve seen, he’s already mastered blood magic to find a means to his end. I have no doubt that he will kill everyone that stands in his way—human, nightwalker, and naturi alike.”