Tristan nodded. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah. Less blood on my hands.”
“Don’t say that. I only meant that you’re being honest, and that you’ll weed out the less committed that way.” Tristan turned to her, his face serious. “You’re the best chance these people have ever had for survival, and they know it. Whether they go cross-country, or stay huddled up against the cities, the chances are that most of them are going to die young because of the Woven anyway. At least with you they can take a few hundred down with them.” He suddenly smiled, his blue eyes glinting. “And fighting with a witch inside you is definitely more fun.”
Lily laughed and shook her head. “You’re enjoying this too much—running around the woods, killing things.”
“It has its perks,” he whispered, staring at her mouth.
Lily looked away, and cast around for something else to focus on. Tristan leaned back and let the moment pass so effortlessly that Lily wondered if she’d imagined a tension that wasn’t there. She felt him stiffen and followed his intense gaze out into the brush. Lily saw movement and a streak of pale fur. Tristan leaned forward to stand, but Lily put a hand out to stop him.
“She’s not going to attack,” Lily said quickly.
“She?” Tristan said, every muscle in his body still clenched for action. “You know that Woven?”
“She’s not a threat.” Lily sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. “She led the coyote Woven pack that ambushed us outside of Baltimore, and she’s been following us since then. The thing is, every time she’s had a chance to kill me, she hasn’t. I can’t explain it, but there’s something different about her. She’s a leader somehow, an alpha. I haven’t figured it out yet, but there’s more to the Woven than just mindless killing. At least with a select few.”
Tristan’s eyes widened like he was worried about her. “A select few? Like certain breeds, or certain Woven?”
“I don’t know, Tristan. The more I watch the Woven, the more I think this world has been dealing with them the wrong way. Maybe we shouldn’t be out to destroy them all.” Lily leaned back and purposely clunked her head against the tree trunk. “But I have over thirty braves who are following me because I promised I was heading west to do just that. Do you think I’ve lost my mind?”
“Yeah,” he said casually. “But that pale Woven isn’t attacking. If she doesn’t attack us, why should we attack her?”
Lily grinned. “Don’t let Caleb hear you say that.”
“Right?” Tristan said, smiling back at her. “The Outlanders hate the Woven on, like, an irrational level.”
“Irrational—unless you’ve grown up watching them kill people you love, I guess,” Lily added quietly.
“Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t grow up here,” he said, struck by an idea. “Maybe it’s time someone with fresh eyes looked at the Woven problem. Studied their behavior.”
Lily crossed her arms and leaned back. “Like a science experiment.”
“Why not? Someone should be studying them instead of just killing and burning them,” Tristan said, leaning back against the tree like Lily. “They’re treated like vampires that’ll rise from the dead if you don’t utterly destroy them. It’s bananas.”
“You’re right. We need to start thinking about them scientifically, not superstitiously,” Lily decided. “We shouldn’t be slaughtering every one we see. It’s a waste of energy, anyway. I’m going to tell everyone to only fight the Woven that attack us, and the next time anyone kills one, I’ll have the carcass brought to us so we can study it.”
Tristan sat back up. “Are we finally getting you to dissect?” he teased. “I thought your vegan sensibilities were too refined for that.”
“I was not going to dissect a cat, Tristan,” Lily huffed, angry that he’d bring up a debate she’d had with her physiology teacher nearly two years ago. “And by the way, I did just as well as you on that anatomy exam without dissecting. So there. And this is different, anyway. These are Woven, not cats.”
“Mr. Carn would freaking love this,” Tristan said, still chuckling to himself as he leaned back against Lily’s shoulder.
“It’s good to have you on my side,” Lily said, thinking about Rowan and how he’d fought her on every question she’d posed about the Woven.
“I’m always on your side,” Tristan said as if it were obvious.
And it was. He’d always stuck up for her, always defended her. He was here when she was taking the biggest risk in her life by dragging a bunch of people across a continent to follow a hunch. Rowan wasn’t.
“Well, thanks,” Lily said, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Tristan smiled to himself, staring at the trees. He didn’t need to answer her.
* * *
They reached the trail through the Appalachians with five fewer braves than they’d started with. One had been picked off in the night by the Woven, and the other four had turned back. Lily wasn’t angry. Climbing the mountains wasn’t going to be easy with a large group; and the fewer she had to fuel, the easier it would be on her. As it was, Lily found it hard to resist any of their faint whispers for strength. She wanted to fuel them, maybe a little too much, but it was still energy spent. Her tribe was making great time because of Lily’s strength, but it left her tired all the time. Just looking up at the mountains they had yet to cross was enough to make her want to cry.
She felt Tristan come up behind her as she stared at the looming peaks, which were turning from a golden pink to lavender as dusk descended.