Firewalker (Worldwalker 2)

“What do you think you’re doing?” Rowan asked scathingly from the bottom of the stairs.

“I wanted to eat at the table,” Lily said apologetically.

“You have zero common sense,” Rowan said, stomping up the stairs. “I tell you to stay still, but do you stay still? No. Why? Because you never listen to me,” he mumbled grouchily, having a full-on conversation with himself as he gathered her up and carried her the rest of the way down the stairs.

Lily knew better than to pick a fight. “I am a giant pain in the ass,” she agreed.

“Is that you, Lillian?” Samantha asked expectantly as she wandered into the kitchen.

Lily felt Rowan’s back stiffen. Lily’s mom was the only person who called her by her full name. Lily had never really thought too much about it, but now that name had an entirely different meaning for her, as it did for Rowan.

“Hi, Ma,” Lily said, smiling, as her mother came over to inspect her.

Rowan deposited Lily in a chair at the kitchen table and Samantha fluttered over her. She pushed Lily’s hair back and scanned her face, her eyes threatening tears.

“Will she always have these scars?” Samantha asked.

Lily drew in a shocked breath. She hadn’t seen herself yet and hadn’t given any thought to how she might be permanently maimed from the pyre.

Oh my God, Rowan. Is my face scarred?

“The marks aren’t scars. They’re graft lines,” Rowan said quickly, answering both Samantha’s spoken question and Lily’s mindspeak. “As long as Lily gives the new skin I grew her time to scaffold properly, it will heal evenly and there will be no scars.”

You grew me skin?

You can’t save tissue if the nerves are dead, Lily. You have to start over and grow new nerves.

That’s kinda gross, you know.

Much better than being skinless. I’m extremely fond of your skin, you know, and I have a vested interest in seeing it on your body.

Rowan suddenly bent down and stole a kiss. Startled, Lily looked at her mom and sister. She’d never been intimate with anyone in front of her family before, and she didn’t know how to feel about it. Samantha didn’t even seem to register it, as if she’d seen Rowan kiss Lily thousands of times before. When Lily considered it, she decided Samantha probably had seen them kissing in other worlds. Juliet, however, stared at Lily wide-eyed and Lily just knew she was going to get teased the second she and Juliet were alone.

Does it make you uncomfortable when I kiss you in front of your family, Lily?

I don’t know, Rowan. It’s never happened to me before.

I’ll kiss you in private, then.

Promises, promises.

I’m good at keeping promises.

“Do you want some help, Rowan?” Juliet asked, unknowingly interrupting Rowan and Lily’s telepathic flirting.

“No, you just sit,” he said with a warm smile, and began serving the turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, and green beans.

“Why are we having Christmas in January?” Lily asked, helping herself to only the vegetable part of Rowan’s feast. She was still vegan, and after letting Rowan cut her hair to avoid drinking squirrel blood, she fully intended to stay that way.

Lily ran a hand through her hair, checking the length. It had been short to begin with and more of it had burned off in the pyre. Lily wondered how much she had lost. She ran the strands through her fingers and found it to be longer than expected.

“Because you missed it,” Samantha answered, smothering her mashed potatoes with gravy. Lily forced herself to stop touching her head and tried not to worry too much over her hair.

“And I like turkey,” Rowan said. “Haven’t had wild turkey in years,” he added quietly.

“Wild turkey?” Lily asked.

“Yeah. I went hunting yesterday.”