“A-hem,” Breakfast said, fake-clearing his throat to interrupt. “Rowan? Did you send the three of us out to scout around so you could get some nookie?”
They had no idea Lily had used them like spy-cams while they were trekking through the woods. For a moment she felt bad. She only managed to let go of her guilt by promising herself she would never use that skill again.
“Actually, I’m teaching Lily something,” Rowan said, moving away from her. He was blushing a little, which Lily found quite amusing.
“Uh-huh,” Una said, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow. “I bet you got a lot to teach her, teacher-man.”
“He is a fountain of knowledge,” Lily said, grinning.
“He must be taking pointers from me,” Breakfast said, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. Una gave Breakfast a skeptical look. “I’m just getting warmed up with you, numero Uno,” he told her confidently. “I got mad skills coming your way.”
“Okay, okay,” Rowan said, smothering his grin and trying to get serious. “What did you three find?”
“There’s a stream on the other side of the forest and a path,” Tristan replied briskly. He was the only one who hadn’t joined in on the laugh, and he seemed to be looking anywhere but at Lily.
“Good,” Rowan said, all business now. “Lily? Can you feel Caleb and Tristan?”
Lily concentrated on them and made contact. She felt a spark of recognition and then relief from both of them. A dozen questions flooded her way—not clearly enough so that Lily could discern actual words, but she got the gist of what they wanted to know and answered back in kind. She sent images of Rowan standing next to her, and one of the outside of the walls of Salem so that they knew she was in the woods near the city.
“Yes. They’re still really far,” she mumbled to Rowan.
“Where?” he asked.
“Someplace warm. Warmer than here, anyway,” Lily answered. “I see a huge wall. They’re outside another city?” Lily answered uncertainly when the images ended.
“What color are the walls?” Rowan asked urgently. “The rock—what color is it?”
“Kind of a blue-gray,” she said. “They’re paler than the rocks in Salem, but I could still see quartz glinting in them.”
“Virginia,” he said. “They’re outside Richmond.”
Tristan, Una, and Breakfast shared worried looks.
“Can we make it that far on foot?” Una asked.
“No,” Rowan replied. “But we won’t have to.” He looked at Lily. “Summon them. Have Caleb and the other Tristan start riding north with extra horses.” Lily nodded and called to them, adding a feeling of urgency. She wanted them to hurry.
Breakfast raised his hand. “Ah, Rowan? You mentioned horses,” he said through a nervous laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real horse, let alone ridden one.”
“You’ll learn,” Rowan said confidently, and started back to the cliff. “Let’s get our gear and head out,” he called over his shoulder.
“Horses bite, don’t they?” Breakfast whispered to Tristan.
“Constantly,” Tristan replied, just to mess with him. He clapped Breakfast on the shoulder and then followed Rowan.
“You’re such a comfort to me in these uncertain times,” Breakfast called testily after Tristan.
They had their gear packed and the fire extinguished in minutes. Rowan led them south and pushed the pace all day. No one argued or complained. In the first few hours they passed what Rowan identified as Woven tracks several times, and no one wanted to linger even a moment to rest if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. By dusk, they were all slumping with exhaustion. They came to a small copse of trees that offered a little protection from the wind.
“Alright. This is as good a spot as any,” Rowan said, sliding the straps of his pack off his shoulders and dropping it to the snow.
“I thought you said we weren’t going to walk to Richmond,” Una joked.
“We’re not,” Rowan replied seriously. “We’re going to Providence.”