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As they hurried through the crowded streets, Una kept catching herself staring at everything like a hick. Lily could see her struggling to act casually.
“Yeah, those are weird-looking cars,” Una said under her breath as one of the sleek, futuristic automobiles hummed past.
“They call them elepods. They’re electric cars, basically,” Lily said.
“Okay. I can deal with that,” Una said, keeping it together. “But what the hell is that?”
She pointed up into the sky where a winged creature darted and spun. Lily had seen a few of them in Salem, but they seemed more popular here in Baltimore. They looked like tiny dragons, and Lily knew only rich people could afford them.
“That’s a pet drake,” Rowan said in an offhand way. “The big drakes are grown by the Covens to defend the air space over the Thirteen Cities from flying Woven. They’re useful. But the little ones are just pains in the asses for everyone except their owners. Nasty little biters.”
“Then why do people get them?” Una asked. “Apart from the fact that they’re gorgeous.”
Rowan shrugged. “To prove they can afford to pay for the license the Covens require to own one. Even tame Woven are taken very seriously, and every one is meticulously documented.”
“That makes sense,” Una said, her eyes still glued to the little drakes.
“In Salem they’re considered too flashy by most,” Rowan added distastefully. Lily could tell he didn’t like them. Rowan didn’t trust any of the Woven, not even the supposedly tame ones.
“Where do they grow them?” Una asked, staring at the jewel-like creatures with o
pen envy.
“They’re grown in the Stacks, like all of the bio-assets the Covens provide the cities,” Rowan replied. He suddenly frowned, ending the conversation. They were coming to the city gates, which were surrounded by guards. “Lily. Hide two of your willstones,” he whispered.
Lily did as he said and saw his eyes unfocus in the telltale sign of mindspeak. Lily looked up at the colossal wall surrounding Baltimore, and understood. Once they went through those gates, they wouldn’t be able to contact Tristan and Breakfast.
“They ran into some trouble. Some idiot mistook Breakfast for an Outlander and picked a fight. Of course Tristan jumped right in,” Rowan said, looking very much like he wanted to strangle the both of them.
“They better hurry,” Una said under her breath, picking up on the situation as quickly as Lily did.
They were swept up into the line leaving the city. Unfortunately, it was a short line, and they found themselves facing the guards before Tristan and Breakfast had joined them.
Tristan. Breakfast. It’d be great if you showed up about now.
“That’s some willstone you got there, Outlander.”
One of the guards had singled out Rowan. His eyes flicked over to Lily and Una, inspecting their stones. Una had a medium-size smoke stone. It wasn’t huge, but it was almost black in color. She was obviously strong.
“You.” Another guard approached Lily, looking quizzically at her rose stone. It was medium-size like Una’s, but rich in color and complexity. “I’ve never seen a stone like that.”
“I’m weird,” Lily retorted.
“What happened to your shoulder?” Both the guards were flanking Lily now, drawn to her.
Lily reminded herself that these were soldiers. They’d probably felt the Gift from their witch, most likely the Lady of Baltimore, and they could sense that Lily was even stronger than she was. Their eyes were hungry and their faces hopeful. They were craving the Gift. Lily felt unsafe.
“We ran into some Woven last night. Came into town to buy med supplies for our tribe,” Rowan answered for her. His tone was quiet and he was positioning himself between Lily and the guards. So was Una. Lily could feel too many eyes resting on her. “Our tribe is waiting for us,” Rowan said evenly.
The guards couldn’t keep noncitizens inside the walls. The city guards had plenty of rules about which Outlanders they let in, but they were generally more concerned about getting all the Outlanders out. City law required that all noncitizens be outside the wall by nightfall. They didn’t like it, but unless the guards had a reason to arrest them, they had to let Lily’s group pass.
As soon as they were through the gates, Una let out a gusty breath. “I thought we were going to have to fight our way out,” she said.
“Another minute or two and we might have had to,” Rowan replied.
“What did they want from Lily?”
“Power,” Rowan replied simply. “Think about it, Una. Since Lily claimed you, how often have you craved her strength?”
