Trial by Fire

“What happened?” she asked, rushing forward to help.

Lily recognized the woman’s voice from her other trip through the safe house. Mostly, she remembered how possessive the woman had sounded when she’d asked if Rowan had given himself to a new witch. The woman had brown hair and brown eyes, but she wasn’t quite as dark as most of the Outlanders. Lily looked at her willstone and found it uninteresting. Low strength, Lily realized. This woman was not a witch. Lily recalled Nina’s confusion when she’d looked at the rose-colored stone at her neck, and finally understood it. Nina had seen power in Lily that didn’t fit inside the flirty rose-colored stone she wore. Lily snapped herself back into the present moment and tried to smile in a friendly way at the woman who tended the safe house. The smile wasn’t returned.

“City soldiers tried to take Elias into custody,” Tristan replied.

Caleb broke away at the mention of Elias’s name, storming down the hallway. Rowan went after him.

“Elias is dead, and so are four soldiers,” Tristan continued when Caleb was out of earshot. “We need to leave Salem now, Esmeralda.”

“The tunnel’s blocked. There was a cave-in almost a week ago,” Esmeralda replied. “We haven’t been able to clear it because Gideon had his guards put seismic wards all along the perimeter. One little jiggle underground, and the tunnel, the safe house, everything is lost. They’re clamping down, Tristan. Hard.” Esmeralda’s gaze leapt over to Lily. She narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?” she asked in a less-than-friendly way.

“I’m Rowan’s witch,” Lily said bluntly, taking a challenging step toward her.

Esmeralda took a step back, her face blanching. “Lillian,” she whispered fearfully. Too late, Lily remembered that glamours didn’t hold in direct light. She hadn’t meant to scare the woman.

“Not exactly,” Lily replied in a less combative tone. “It’s complicated.”

Lily. Please come.

“Rowan needs me,” Lily said, excusing herself with a polite nod. She left Tristan to explain to Esmeralda as much or as little as he thought prudent, and went after Rowan and Caleb.

She found them in the kitchen. Rowan had Caleb backed into a corner. He was holding out his arms to keep Caleb from running. Caleb’s face was bruised, bleeding, and his eyes wild with grief.

“Lily,” Caleb said. “Claim me.”

“Would you just wait?” Rowan pleaded. Caleb tried to get past him, but Rowan was still coursing with the power Lily had poured into him, and he easily detained the larger man. “You’re not yourself, Caleb.”

“Of course I’m not myself!” Caleb screamed. “And I’ll never be myself again, Ro. Not really. Not without him. You, of all people, should know that.”

Rowan sighed and dropped his arms. “Yes. I know it.”

“I wasn’t strong enough. Now I’ve got nothing.” He broke off, and his chest fluttered with the tears that he managed to choke down. “It’s my decision. I’m ready to be a witch’s fist.” Caleb’s swollen eyes locked with Lily’s. “Claim me.”

Lily looked down at Caleb’s willstone. It didn’t call to her the way Rowan’s had, but it was still beautiful and she wanted it badly. Caleb had power—not as much as Tristan, and nowhere near as much as Rowan, but he was still strong. Lily wondered why he wasn’t some other witch’s mechanic.

Lily. Don’t. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.

Just because you hate that you gave yourself to me doesn’t mean he will.

What are you talking about?

Lily opened her memory to Rowan. She showed him himself, telling Tristan that he regretted giving himself to her.

Is that why you were so cruel to me, Lily?

You think I was the one who was cruel?

She let him feel how much he’d hurt her. How much she’d learned to care about him and how all of that was ruined when she found out he didn’t feel the same.

He looked stunned.