Witch's Pyre (Worldwalker #3)(36)

A tense silence followed. Lily thought they might ask her questions about the east, but they didn’t. She didn’t know if they were frightened to ask because of the Hive, or if it was simply considered rude in their culture. As she tried to decide if they were waiting for her to offer information about the east or if she should keep her mouth shut, Lily watched the old man grip his bowl of green tea with swollen fingers. Even that small movement was agony for him.

“Let me,” she said, taking his hand. The rose willstone still stashed in her bodice flared, and she heard Toshi gasp.

“No, Lily!” he said, jumping forward to pull her away from his father.

Lily felt a prick at her throat. She waited to feel the whole sting, but the Worker stayed where she was, waiting to see what Lily did next.

“Easy,” Toshi said, struggling to keep his voice calm. “Just put your hands at your sides and relax.”

Lily did as she was told and she felt the Worker remove her stinger from the top layer of skin on Lily’s throat. Toshi slowly released his grip on her as the Worker stood down. Lily’s skin itched under the Worker’s barbed feet as she repositioned herself, but she didn’t dare scratch.

Toshi let out a long-held breath. “You can’t use magic in the restricted zone. I should have been more clear.”

“No, I should have understood that,” Lily said, shaking her head at her own foolishness. “As if you wouldn’t heal your father—and I’m guessing your mother, too—unless something much worse was threatened. With such a dark rose stone, you’re probably a better healer than I am.”

Toshi looked like he wanted to ask her something, but he held back. He waited until they had hastily finished their tea, said goodbye to his family, and were back out on the street. They walked along in pensive silence for a while before Lily finally spoke.

“The Hive doesn’t let people in the city help the people in the restricted zone—not even family—so more aren’t tempted to immigrate,” Lily guessed.

Toshi nodded. “Population is a problem. They usually only allow one child per couple to keep it under control. I proved to have talent when I was seven, so my parents were allowed to have Hana. Apart from that, there are no perks for the people who come here. Just the hope that maybe your child will get out.”

“You wanted to bring me here the first day.”

“I wanted you to see more than the wealth and prosperity of Bower City. I wanted you to be the kind of person who cared more for people than she did for power. You haven’t disappointed me.” His eyes slid to the side as he looked at her and then drifted down to where her rose and golden willstones were hidden in her bodice. “You have more than one,” was all he dared to say.

“You saw that, huh?”

“I felt it. Keep it hidden. It makes you vulnerable.”

“I know.” She thought of Carrick for the first time in weeks. She stopped and turned to Toshi, the memory of what he and Gideon had done to her reawakened. “Can I trust you?”

Toshi took her hands and drew her against him. He lowered his head as he put his arms around her to whisper in her ear. If anyone—or anything—was watching, all they would see were two people embracing in a quiet alley. She felt his warm breath on her neck as he spoke, and the shivers it sent down her back made the Worker at her throat twitch in agitation.

“I’ve waited a long time for you. I know what you want, and I want it, too—but not here. I’ll have to make some arrangements.”

They walked through the restricted zone back to the trolley station in silence. When they went through the turnstile, the Worker lifted off Lily’s neck and she felt her shoulder loosen for the first time since she got there. On the trolley, Lily kept stealing glances at Toshi, reconsidering. His mother was sick, maybe dying. If Lily claimed him, and then left Bower City, he’d have to choose between his witch and his family.

Toshi got her back to her rooms at the villa before the sun went down. He brushed his lips across her cheek before he left her at her door.

“Did you have a nice afternoon?” Rowan asked as she entered the ladies’ sitting room. He sounded unnaturally formal even for their currently estranged dynamic, and as she neared, she saw he wasn’t alone. Ivan Volkov, Bower City’s Head Mechanic, was sitting across from him. He stood when Lily joined them.

“I did,” she said. “I didn’t know we were having guests tonight.” She switched to mindspeak with Rowan. Where is everyone?

Still watching the Hive, he replied. I felt someone disturb the ward I set on our rooms and came back to find Ivan at the door. I don’t know if he was just knocking or if he was trying to break in, but he didn’t look suspicious.

“Good evening, Miss Proctor. I’m so sorry to intrude,” Ivan said.

“Please, call me Lily,” she said, taking a seat across from Ivan. “Were you looking for Toshi? He just left.”

“No, I came here to speak with you—about Toshi, as chance would have it,” Ivan replied.

It was the first time Lily had the opportunity to study Ivan in detail. The straight-backed way he sat, his highly polished shoes, and the careful way he chose his words hinted at an era long past. Lily wondered how old he was and decided that if Toshi was in his sixties and looked twenty, Ivan could potentially be twice as old as Toshi.