Trial by Fire

“You have to leave immediately. I can’t hide you from Lillian’s mind if she seeks you, and I can’t have the camp discovered.”


“She’s asleep,” Juliet said, shaking her head so that he needn’t worry. “She’s sick, actually, but I don’t know what’s wrong with her because we haven’t shared mindspeak in almost a year now.” Juliet seemed almost relieved to be able to tell this to someone, and despite the fact that Rowan was the enemy, Lily got the distinct sense that Juliet still trusted him. “No one knows I’ve left the Citadel, Rowan. I don’t want to get you all killed.”

“I know you don’t, Juliet.” Rowan’s face pinched with a painful thought and his voice softened. “You never want anyone to get hurt, but people do. Every day. Go back to Lillian and keep arguing with her. Try to save as many people as you can.” He turned to the bushes and whistled softly. A painted warrior appeared out of the darkness. “Take two men. Escort Lady Juliet through the woods. Protect her with your lives.”

The guard took Juliet’s arm, pulling her away. She smiled bravely at Lily, which only made Lily more afraid for her.

“Are you going to be okay?” Lily asked.

“Don’t worry about me,” Juliet replied.

Lily watched, her heart climbing up her throat, as her sister’s narrow shoulders disappeared into the clutching branches of the autumn-bare trees.

“She’ll be okay, right?” Lily asked.

Rowan didn’t answer. Instead, he took Lily’s wrist firmly in hand. She wondered if he could feel her loathing for him through her skin. He stopped briefly to give instructions to another warrior, ordering her to inform Caleb and to send out scouts to make sure that Juliet had come alone, and then pulled Lily back to the camp. He led Lily back to her tent, opened the flap, and hauled her inside.

“How did you reach Juliet? You aren’t really her sister,” he said harshly. “Did you touch her willstone?”

Lily glared at him, refusing to answer.

“Juliet isn’t a witch, and she has no fighting skills,” he persisted, his tone accusing. “She isn’t fit for the woods. You could have gotten her killed, coming here. She’s still in danger, even with the guards I sent with her. You understand that, don’t you?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Lily said, frowning with worry.

“Explain.”

Rowan’s dark eyes glittered, and Lily was suddenly aware of how much bigger he was than her. She saw the knife in his belt and took a step back, glancing around the tent for anything she could use to defend herself. Rowan’s expression shifted. He backed off and put his hands on his hips.

“I’m not going to hurt you, okay?” he said, as though regretting scaring her. “But I need to know how many people you contacted, or we’re all in danger, including Tristan. I know you don’t care about the rest of us, but you care about him, don’t you?”

“I don’t want anyone to die—not even you, if you can believe it. I just want to go home,” Lily said, exhausted. “Juliet said that even if I’m from another universe, I’m still her little sister, and sisters don’t need to touch stones, or whatever.”

“Can you mindspeak with Lillian?” Rowan asked calmly.

“I think so. I think I heard her in my head before she kidnapped me.” Lily dragged a hand over her face. “But I thought it was my own voice, like I was talking to myself.”

Rowan nodded, visualizing what it would be like to hear your own voice in your head. “Have you reached out to Lillian in any way since you’ve been at camp?”

“She brought me here. She tricked me,” Lily said, her anger rising swiftly. “I wouldn’t reach out to her if she was the last person on Earth. Any Earth.”

Rowan gave her a puzzled look, his eyes searching hers. Lily looked back at him, feeling the odd sensation again that there was a complicated language the two of them could speak if only she could recall the first few words. He looked away and swallowed hard.