Rubbing at a cramp in her neck, she watched keepers and guardians go in and out of the trees like ants—only through doors, which wasn’t like ants at all. “I have to sit down,” she said to no one in particular. She plunked down on the deck and rested her forehead on her knees.
Someone laughed at her. Lilette tipped her head back to find Jolin looking down at her. “Wait until you see Haven. Bethel isn’t finished yet, but those cliffs take your breath away.”
“Bethel?”
Jolin’s gaze hardened. “She’s the most famous keeper alive.”
“Are we going to Haven now?” Lilette wasn’t sure she could handle any more shocks today.
Jolin shook her head. “No. You’ll need to report to the Heads. They live on the highest peak in Grove City.” She pointed to a tree that towered above the rest, so high Lilette could see the top even from where she sat surrounded by people.
Lilette stared at the sky, which was slowly being blotted out by trees. “Grove City—the city is an actual grove.”
“Don’t you remember?”
Lilette shook her head. What else had she forgotten? “How is it the wind doesn’t blow them down?”
Jolin gave her an exasperated look.
“Because the witches control the wind,” Lilette said with sudden realization.
To her right, people shifted. She looked through dozens of pairs of legs and saw one in particular moving toward her. She recognized those shin guards. Looking up at Han’s face, all she could think was that she’d kissed him. And she wanted to do it again.
He crouched beside her. “Are you all right?”
“Han, they live in the trees.”
He smiled a little crookedly. “Well, they are witches. Come on. Geth wants your help docking the ship.” Han helped her up and placed his hand on the small of her back. The pleasure of his touch spread through her.
“Creators help us.” Jolin threw her hands in the air.
Once at the bow, Lilette called out orders for the sails and makeshift rudder. By now, the guardians were proficient at working both, so they didn’t need much guidance. The zhou pulled into the docks and was tied off.
Geth called out to a man who came to meet their ship and explained who they were. The man looked the vessel over with a keen eye and said, “Leader Gyn? Keeper Sash?”
Geth shook his head. “Lost. I’m Leader Geth. This is Lilette. She was made Point in Harshen.”
The man looked them over, his gaze lingering curiously on Lilette. “The Heads are waiting for your report. I’ll let them know you’re coming. The rest of you report back to your disciplines.”
Report to the most powerful women in the world? Lilette tried to keep her panic from showing.
Geth studied her before he turned to Jolin. “You best come along and help Lilette become acclimated.”
Lilette cast him a grateful look. With a smile, he ushered them from the ship. Just beyond the docks, she got a true sense of the size of the ramparts surrounding Grove City. Compared to the trees that towered above it, it was rather small, until one considered that it was easily the height of fifty men. Just gazing at the top made Lilette dizzy. She looked closer and couldn’t see seams or bricks. Her jaw dropped. It was all one long, seamless piece of stone.
“How is this possible?” she asked.
“We are well protected,” Jolin said with a touch of pride.
They approached the main gates—a statue of a witch and a guardian, standing as sentinels on either side. Their crossed weapons—a green, growing staff and a sword—formed the gate’s arch and made it look like the entire wall was part of the barrier. The group passed beneath the shadows of the archway. It took Lilette easily thirty steps to reach the other side.
When she stepped into the open air, she couldn’t stop staring at the trees. The tops of the doors and windows were peaked. Some were at ground level, nestled between the buttressed roots. Others sat at the top of long stairs made of the trees’ roots.
It was obviously a city, but not one laid out on a grid. It should have been messy, but there was an overarching pattern in the placement of the trees, which were far enough apart for the sun to pass between them, and the curve of the path like the bends of a river. Lilette wondered how long it would take her just to walk around one tree.
Once her shock at the size of the trees started to wear off, she realized the city didn’t smell like any she’d ever visited. Instead of the sickening smell of human waste mixed with smoke and food, Grove City smelled of flowers, a rich kind of resin, and the mineral tang of the ocean.
People hustled in and out of the trees, a sense of agitation in the way they moved. “Apparently, word has spread about what happened in Harshen,” Jolin said.