Trial by Fire

Lily woke in Rowan’s big bed. There was a palpable tension in the air. She got up and wandered toward the sound of voices. She couldn’t make out distinct words just yet, but even so, Rowan’s tone didn’t sound right to her. She still wasn’t sure exactly how to initiate mindspeak, but she reached out to him anxiously, and he sensed it.

Don’t come out here, Lily. I don’t want Gideon to see you.

Lily peeked around the corner and saw Rowan standing at the door, talking to a young man with blond hair and a doughy, pallid face. Gideon. He had just asked Rowan if he could meet her.

“She’s sleeping, Gideon,” Rowan replied. His voice slid down to an insinuating drawl. “And she’s very tired.”

“Really?” Gideon said doubtfully. “You know, I was convinced you’d never give yourself to another witch. She must be quite powerful to claim you.”

“Hey, back up,” Rowan said, laughing. “We just met. Nobody said anything about claiming anyone. I’m just having some fun.”

“I don’t believe that,” Gideon said, shaking his head. “There isn’t a witch in the Thirteen Cities who hasn’t tried to claim you, and you’ve turned them all down. You’d never settle for less than Lillian. So whomever you’ve got in your bed is someone special. Someone powerful.” His voice dropped conspiratorially. “Who is she?”

“I hate to break it to you, but she’s not a witch. She’s just some Outland girl I met.” Rowan shrugged. “It’s been a long time, okay? Would you go more than a year without a woman?”

Gideon smirked at Rowan. “Don’t try to compare us. You’re nothing like me, Rowan. You never have been,” Gideon said, and realizing he’d get nothing out of Rowan, he turned and left.

Stay there, Lily. I have to strengthen the wards.

Rowan closed the door. His willstone sent a pulse of rippling magelight across the room. Every crevice in his apartment was touched by the undulating wave of oily light, and then it faded.

Following the strange string that connected her to him, Lily could sense a trace of Rowan’s awareness lingering on everything that his magelight had touched. She took a moment to consider what he had done and understood that the windows and the walls were as sealed as the storage chest in the cabin had been, just on a much larger scale. Nothing they said or did could be seen or heard by anyone outside Rowan’s ward of protection, and if anyone tried to disturb the barrier, he would know it as certainly as he would know if someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay. You can come out now,” he said out loud. Lily stepped away from the wall and stood facing Rowan. He was biting his lower lip, thinking, while he considered her with worried eyes.

“He was the kid I saw in your memory,” she said. “One of Lillian’s mechanics, along with you and Tristan.”

“Yeah,” he replied, his eyes far away. “He’s her head mechanic now. He was the only one willing to do her dirty work when she came back so changed.”

“He beat that old man to death,” Lily said, shrugging her robe up over her shoulders.

“He’s done worse to others,” Rowan said quietly. “I’ve been inside his mind. Gideon doesn’t feel things the way normal people do.” Rowan shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. “And now he’s after you.”

“Do you think he knows who I am?” Lily asked.

“He might. I don’t know,” Rowan replied.

“So why is he after me? Why does he care?”