“Stand back, Breakfast,” Lily whispered. If the fire wasn’t large enough by now, it would be too late anyway. Lily took a deep breath, pulling heat into her already-singed skin. A clap of air threw Lily skyward and kept her there, suspended in a pillar of moaning witch wind while she transmuted heat into force and fed it to her mechanics.
Their willstones gorged on the full power of the Gift. Breakfast rooted himself staunchly under Lily’s dangling feet while Rowan, Tristan, and Una swept forward and attacked the Woven in a blur of flashing knives and bloodlust. A part of Lily went out with them. She could feel their bodies moving, leaping, and stretching as if she were wearing their physiques over hers like a cloak. She could feel her strength filling them up and spilling over into an ecstasy of rage. They slashed, tore, and crushed the Woven beneath them in seconds.
And right on the edge of her mind was that creeping temptation to take over her claimed completely—to possess every bit of them, even their dreams.
Rein it in, Lily. You must be strong and control it, or we’ll turn on one another.
Lily’s insides squirmed with guilt.
I will. I’m sorry, Rowan.
I understand—I really do. But you must not let it swallow you whole.
Lily released the loop of power and dropped into Breakfast’s outstretched arms, limp as a rag doll. She was so tired and injured from the pyre that she could barely lift her head. Her mechanics gathered around the fire while Breakfast gently laid her on the ground. Tristan and Una were stark white under the livid streaks of blood painting their nearly naked bodies. They shook with shock over what they had faced, but more so over what they had done.
“Tristan. Una. Start gathering all the body parts and pile them away from the cliffs,” Rowan said gently. “More Woven will come to scavenge the dead.”
Tristan and Una blindly followed Rowan’s order. Rowan turned to Breakfast. “Well done,” he said. “It takes a strong man to resist and stay behind. Not many can do it.”
“I’m a lover, not a fighter,” Breakfast replied, a watery smile tilting his lips.
Rowan laughed under his breath while he rubbed his bloody hands in the snow to clean them. “Climb the cliff and scout out a cave for us to sleep in tonight. Light a fire when you get up there. Watch out for Woven along the way.”
“Breakfast, wait,” Lily said. She transmuted a little more energy for him to take with him on the climb. “Be safe.” He gave her a shaky look, then vaulted up the icy cliff face.
Rowan took his cauldron from his pack and started scooping snow into it. He put the snow-filled cauldron on the fire and stared at it while he rubbed salve onto Lily’s singed skin. Luckily this time she was not too badly burned.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, staring at the melting snow in the cauldron. “You need salt.”
“Not yet,” she whispered, every muscle relaxing under his hands. “Too tired.”
“They did well.”
“They’re scared out of their minds.”
He paused before responding, the fire popping and sending sparks and smoke up into the early morning light. “They should be.”
When Tristan and Una returned, Rowan told them to drink from the cauldron first, and to the use the rest of the water to wash before they put their outer clothes back on. Blood would attract scavengers. They silently obeyed him, relieved to have someone to take charge and tell them what to do. Lily could feel that they were on the edge of losing it, and the last thing they needed was too much time to stop and think. The group struck camp, climbed the cliff, and joined Breakfast in one of the Witch Caves. They piled into one big heap and fell into an exhausted sleep together.
When Lily awoke, she could hear urgent whispers. Tristan and Una were sitting by the fire in the mouth of the cave, talking. Lily could feel that Rowan and Breakfast were not with them.
“They’ve been gone too long,” Una said.
“Rowan knows what he’s doing,” Tristan replied. “He’ll look out for Breakfast while they hunt. I guess we’re all going to need to learn how to hunt and gather now.”