Witch's Pyre (Worldwalker #3)(74)
“They’re quite pretty,” Tristan said appreciatively.
Lily smiled but didn’t say anything. She touched the one behind her ear that ran in a thin line down the side of her neck. It hurt, but the pain was going away quickly, as was the lingering pain from her burns. She felt stronger, and for the first time in her memory, she actually felt cool.
“Thank you,” she said.
Rowan nodded. “It’s my job,” he said, and then frowned uncertainly.
“It is your job, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Lily said. “You’re my head mechanic. If you want to be.”
Tristan helped Lily stand, but she found that as soon as she was upright, she didn’t need help anymore. She went to the speaking stone and stared at its milky white beauty.
“My army,” she whispered, and her mind whipped through the darkness, into the forest, past hordes of swarming Woven, and into another speaking stone that tinted the world blue. There, it swung over rolling hills until, finally, it settled with the thousands of her claimed still under Alaric’s rule.
Many slept, but those who were awake felt the light touch of her mind—not so much that they would be aware of it, but enough so that a brief thought of her would flutter through their minds like wind across a pond.
“He’s gathered them together to march west,” Lily murmured, her mind half here and half there.
“Do you know where they are?” Rowan asked. “I haven’t been able to reach Alaric. He’s too far.”
“Outside of Richmond.” She snapped out of it and gathered her robe around her against the chill. “That’s our first stop.”
Rowan nodded. “But first, you need to rest for one more night.”
Gavin awoke Lily at dawn more anxious than usual, which pushed him well into frantic territory. She heard him pounding on the door and she stirred in Rowan’s arms, not clear on how she’d gotten there. All she remembered after getting the tattoo was having something to eat with her coven, and then she went right to bed.
Rowan took a sleepy breath and threw the covers over Lily’s bare shoulders. “Come,” he called to Gavin, allowing entry.
“The Citadel is surrounded!” Gavin shouted as he tumbled into Lily’s room. “They came out of nowhere—just popped up from underground—the streets are full of them!”
Rowan was out of bed and sprinting up the hidden staircase with Tristan and Caleb close behind before Lily had even sat up. When she, Una, and Breakfast finally made it up there, Lily could see the tops of the Citadel bristling with the skeleton guard that Lillian had left behind to defend the city. Down below, outside the Citadel gates, the streets of Salem swarmed with people. The ragtag multitude packed every inch of street for at least a dozen blocks back, and possibly farther.
“Oh. Hi, Riley,” Breakfast called down to the young man standing at the entrance to the Citadel gates. Riley saw Breakfast and waved back.
Mary stood next to Riley. When she saw Lily come forward between Rowan and Tristan, she crossed her arms.
“Is this a big enough army for you?” Mary yelled up.
Lily looked at the masses filling the streets, reckoning their numbers in the thousands, and tried to pull her flimsy nightgown more tightly over her. She felt Rowan’s arm wrap around her as he tilted his bare shoulders to cover her from one too many covetous stares. The crowd below was not the most respectable-looking bunch, but there were scores of them, and they looked like they were spoiling for a fight, which was exactly what Lily needed.
“It’s a good start,” she yelled back. Mary actually laughed at that.
“Gavin. Arrange to have the Witch’s guests meet her in the main hall,” Rowan instructed.
After Gavin rushed off, Rowan led the coven back downstairs. He started throwing open the doors to closets and pulling out clothes. He rifled through Lillian’s dresses until he found the one he was looking for and passed it to Lily.
“Here, put this on,” he said absently before crossing to a closet on the other side of the room. This closet was filled with his wardrobe, which he started passing out to the guys. “Una, you might like Juliet’s clothes better,” he suggested while he dug through his things.
“Yeah, these aren’t exactly my style,” Una said, laughing at Lillian’s collection of tiny scraps of gauze that were barely held together by jewels.
Lily looked at what Rowan had chosen for her and decided not to argue. She understood why he wanted her to wear a proper witch’s gown. If she was going to drag these people into a war, they had to see her as a leader. She had to become the Salem Witch in their eyes.
“I guess someone should explain to the new recruits where we’re going and how Lily’s getting us there. Make sure they’re all signed on for this,” Breakfast said.
“I nominate you,” Una said, dropping a peck on his cheek as she passed him on her way to Juliet’s room.
“Any objections?” he asked hopefully, but everyone begged off. “I’ll find Riley,” he said with a sigh, and went off to spread the word.
Lily freshened up in the bathroom before she slid into the black silk dress inlaid with rubies. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw her red hair, which seemed to have grown three more inches overnight, billowing down her shoulders, and her pale skin glowing even whiter against the black silk.