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“Tristan?”
“Yeah,” Rowan replied in a clipped voice. “He came by after the FBI told him you were back.”
“And?”
“I wouldn’t let him see you,” Rowan said carefully. “He has a mechanic’s talent in this world, too. I can feel the potential in him, and I knew if he laid eyes on you, he’d know we were lying. He was really upset when I told him that he’d have to wait.”
“What happened?” Lily asked again, already imagining the worst. She suddenly yawned so hard her jaw cracked.
“Don’t worry.” Rowan smiled down at her, a cocky glint in his dark eyes. “I kept him from doing anything stupid. You should call him.”
Lily yawned again and put her head down in Rowan’s lap. He smelled like dryer sheets and wood smoke.
“You’re going to have to meet with that FBI agent, too,” Rowan added. “She’s been putting a lot of pressure on your mother to see you.”
“Okay.” Lily didn’t want to think about Tristan or Special Agent Simms. She wrapped an arm around Rowan’s hips and let her eyes drift closed.
“Can you hear Tristan or Caleb in my world?” Rowan asked after a long silent spell. Lily stiffened.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
“Try,” he urged. “I want to know if they’re okay.”
Lily concentrated and reached out to her other two mechanics in mindspeak, but heard only faint whispers that she couldn’t decipher. She tried calling to the particular patterns of their willstones and felt something stronger there. Lily could distinctly make out the unique energies that were Tristan and Caleb much more clearly than she could make out their mindspeak. She was still connected to their willstones and she could tell that they could sense her energy in them. It was comforting.
Lily widened her awareness to the thousands she had claimed before the battle. She could feel them. Her army. They were scattered, but their willstones were waiting for her return. They hungered for her strength. Lily shrank away from the enormity of that sensation and nuzzled herself deeper into Rowan’s lap.
“They’re both alive and healthy,” Lily said gratefully. “They can hear me calling them, but it’s a long way. I can almost hear them, though.”
“Don’t push. Try again when you’re healthier.”
“I can’t believe how tired I am,” Lily said apologetically.
“Growing a new layer of skin takes a lot of energy. It’s best if you move as little as possible,” he said, stroking her hair.
Through hazy eyes, Lily glanced at the mug of brew she’d just drunk, resting on her bedside table. “You drugged me, didn’t you?” she asked wryly.
She heard a rumble deep in Rowan’s chest as he laughed, but she couldn’t stay awake long enough to yell at him.
* * *
By that night, Lily realized that she didn’t need to float into the Mist anymore. She wasn’t in pain, but she had questions for Lillian, and as usual, when Lily wanted Lillian even in the slightest way, Lillian knew. They met each other on the raft.
Lillian?
Yes, Lily?
Why can I hear you so clearly, but I can barely hear Tristan and Caleb?
We are the same, Lily. Our bond is much deeper than any other. That’s why I know you are the only one who can ever understand why I outlawed science and why I enforce that law so brutally.
You said once that it all started with Rowan.
Actually, it started with Mom, but I could never blame anything on her. You understand, because your version of Samantha is just like mine was.
What happened?
I still need that promise, Lily.
