He blushed, and she ruffled his hair affectionately, turning them around. And though Jaren was mostly grateful to be heading away from the lake and back to the relative safety of his sister and the marketplace, there was a part of him that felt as though they were heading in the wrong direction.

Chapter Fifteen

Tate stood on the lakeshore with the two other incantu children, all looking vulnerable and terrified. Everything about what they were doing felt wrong to Leelo, and while she wouldn’t put up a fight, she also didn’t try to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks. Fiona was beside her, sobbing openly, and even Sage looked a little wilted. Ketty’s eyes were dry, however, as she helped the other council members drag the boat to the water.

Leelo didn’t know what made this boat safe to cross the lake on; surely if it were something natural, the outsiders would have discovered it by now, too. But the boat was as much a secret as the lilies, at least until the year of Watching was over. Otherwise, people like Leelo might be tempted to use it to see their lost family members. She tried not to think about all the parents who knew how the magic worked and yet hadn’t gone in search of their children. There had to be a good reason for it, but every reason she came up with just made her more afraid for Tate.

Like Leelo, Fiona had already said goodbye to him at the cottage, but she started forward as Tate climbed into the boat.

“No, Aunt Fiona,” Sage said, pulling her back. “You know you can’t.”

Fiona shook her off with more force than Leelo thought she was capable of. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.” She managed to make her way down to the boat, and Leelo was relieved when no one else tried to stop her. She watched as her mother embraced her brother, whispering something in his ear, and Tate, though he was visibly trembling, managed a brave nod.

“All right now,” one of the other council members said to Fiona, gesturing for her to rejoin her family. “You know how this works, Fiona.”

The children were given oars to row themselves across the lake, though none of them had ever rowed before. A special rope tied to the rear of the boat would be used to drag it back across after the children disembarked. Long ago, there had been a more permanent ferry, but its existence meant killing any outsider who attempted to use it. The current method involved far less bloodshed.