“The forest.” Carrick sounded pleased. “She left the city and went into the Outland.”
Gideon stopped momentarily. First Lillian was found wandering around the Citadel, half crazed, and now dependable Juliet was behaving like she’d abandoned all sense. What was going on? Gideon needed Juliet alive—at least, for a little while—to get children out of her. “Did she have her bodyguard with her? A weapon?”
“She stole out the southwest gate with nothing but a cape and a small handbag. I have horses ready,” Carrick said, his wiry shoulders already tilted toward the door.
“Horses,” Gideon said resignedly.
Gideon hated riding the damn things, and growing up in the city like a civilized person he’d rarely had reason to. He much preferred his luxury elepod, or even one of the trains that connected the Thirteen Cities underground, but unfortunately electric vehicles were nearly useless in the woods, and the whole idea of above-ground trains had been abandoned when the Woven were accidentally brought into being. Horses it was, then.
“I have a tracking ward set to the guard captain’s willstone,” Carrick said, his own willstone flaring slightly with the touch of its master’s mind. He raised his eyes and met Gideon’s. “We have to hurry. Juliet is going deep into the Woven Woods.”
Gideon finished pulling on a pair of pretty but stiff riding boots and turned to Carrick. “Lead the way.”
*
Lily felt a hand shaking her awake. She would have jumped at the touch, but she smelled a scent that was as familiar to her as her own.
“Juliet?” Lily called plaintively into the dark.
“Shh. Yes, it’s me,” Juliet replied. She was half in, half out of the tent. Lily sat up and saw that her sister—or, rather, her sister’s longhaired other self—had lifted up the backside of the tent and scooted only part of the way inside. Her luminous eyes were wide and wild. “What happened? Are you injured?”
“No. Well, I was, but not anymore,” Lily replied, still struggling to kick-start her exhausted mind.
“You’re healed?” Juliet asked, her face frozen.
“Yeah.” Lily tried to tug Juliet into the tent with her, but Juliet resisted.
“Come on,” Juliet whispered angrily, tugging back at Lily to draw her out. “We need to go! Anyone could walk by.”
Lily crawled out of the tent wondering if she could trust this woman. She looked like Juliet, but that didn’t mean that she was Juliet. Every instinct in Lily screamed that Juliet would always be on her side, no matter what universe they were in, but Lily didn’t know if she could trust herself anymore. After all, it had been another version of herself that had kidnapped her to begin with.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” Juliet said, her voice quavering with fear, but her delicate jaw set with determination. “You have no idea how dangerous these woods are, even in the middle of an armed camp like this. You’re not safe out here, Lily.” She clasped Lily’s hand in hers and crouched down, making a beeline for the trees.
“How did you know where to find me?” Lily asked, ducking down like her sister did.
“Seriously?” Juliet whispered, glancing back at Lily as though she didn’t believe what she’d been asked. “You were screaming for me to come and get you!”
“In my head, yeah, but…” Lily stopped talking as soon as she saw that look in Juliet’s eyes. It was the same I can’t believe you scared the crap out of me for no reason look that her sister had given her about a million times before, and it confused Lily even more. “Wait. How did you hear that?”
“Close blood relations like sisters can mindspeak without willstones,” Juliet answered automatically.