“Snake eyes again. Damn dice,” Straggler said. He lifted the cup to reveal two ones on the table.
Hyde smirked. “Strag, I didn’t think it was possible to be as unlucky as you are.”
“He’s so unlucky it’s almost lucky,” Gren said. “It’s like he has reverse luck.”
“He’s reverse good-looking, too,” said Hyde.
“I’m going to reverse punch you,” Strag said to his brother.
“That was reverse smart, man. It means you’re going to punch yourself.”
Beside Perry, Marron smiled softly as he made notes in Vale’s ledger. He was designing portable furnaces that would provide both heat and light for the cave. It was just one of the things he had thought of that impressed Perry.
Reef sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, eyes heavy. Ignoring the game, Perry told him what Bear had said.
Reef scratched his head, pushing back his braids. “It’s because of Kirra,” he said. “She’s changed things around here.”
It wasn’t just because of Kirra, Perry thought. It was because of Liv. By marrying Sable, she’d given the Tides a chance. He wondered if she knew how much they’d needed it. He felt a sharp pang in his chest, missing his sister. Grateful for her. Sorry for the sacrifice she’d had to make. Liv had a new life now. A new home. When would he see her again? He shook the thoughts from his mind.
“So you agree with Bear?” he asked Reef. “You think we should stay here?”
“I agree with Bear, but I follow you.” Reef tipped his chin at the others around the table. “We all do.”
Perry’s stomach dropped. He had their support, but it was based on fealty. On a promise they’d made to him months ago on bended knee. They followed blindly, without seeing any wisdom in his thinking, and that didn’t feel right either.
“I agree with you,” Marron said quietly. “For what it’s worth.”
Perry nodded in thanks. It was worth a lot just then.
“What about you, Per?” Straggler asked. “You still think we should move?”
“I do,” Perry said, resting his arms on the table. “Kirra’s brought food and fighters, but she hasn’t stopped the Aether. And we have to be ready. For all I know, she could pack up and leave tomorrow.”
Instantly, he regretted his words. The game of dice halted, and an awkward silence fell over the group. He sounded paranoid, like he thought everyone ran off.
He was relieved when Cinder called down from the loft, breaking the silence. “I don’t like Kirra either.”
“Because she patched up the roof?”
Cinder peered over the edge, holding on to his hat to keep it from falling. “No. I just don’t.”
Perry had figured as much. Cinder knew Scires could scent the Aether on him. But with its sting always in the air now, he had nothing to worry about in Kirra.
Twig rolled his eyes and rattled the dice in the cup. “The kid doesn’t like anyone.”
Gren jabbed him with an elbow. “That’s not true. He likes Willow—don’t you, Cinder? And you’re one to talk, frog kisser.”
When the house was filled with sounds of six men—and one boy—croaking at the top of their lungs, Marron closed the ledger. Before he left, he leaned toward Perry and said, “Leaders need to see clearly in darkness, Peregrine. You already do that.”
An hour later, Perry rose from the table and stretched his back. The house was quiet, but outside, the wind had picked up. He heard its low whistle and saw the embers in the hearth glowing, struggling to rekindle.
Looking up to the loft, he searched in vain for the sliver of light that had always been there. Cinder’s foot hung over the edge, twitching in sleep. Perry climbed over Hayden and Straggler, opened the door to Vale’s room, and stepped inside.
It was cooler and darker in there. With the floor in the other room packed, it made no sense to leave this one unused, but he couldn’t do it. He’d never been able to bear being within those walls. His mother had died there, and Mila, too. The room brought only one good memory to mind.
He lay down on the bed, letting out a slow breath, and stared at the wooden beams of the ceiling. He’d gotten used to fighting against the pull, but now he didn’t. Now he let himself remember the way Aria had felt in his arms just before the Marking Ceremony, smiling as she asked if he ever missed anything.
His answer hadn’t changed. The truth was that no matter how hard he tried not to, he did miss her. Always.
28
ARIA
Liv smoothed her hands over the ivory silk of her wedding dress. “What do you think?” she asked. Her hair hung in tangled golden waves around her shoulders, and her eyes were puffy with sleep. “Is it all right?”
They were in Liv’s room, a large chamber with a balcony like last night’s dining room, just a few doors down along the same corridor. A fire crackled in a huge stone hearth to one side, and thick fur rugs covered the wooden floorboards.
Aria sat on the plush bed, watching a stout woman pin the hem of Liv’s dress. She was tired and wished she and Liv had fallen asleep here, instead of on her bed. A crisp morning breeze drifted in from outside, carrying the scent of smoke—a reminder of last night’s storm.
“Much better than all right,” Aria answered. The simple lines of the dress complemented Liv’s long, muscular figure and enhanced her natural beauty. She looked stunning. And nervous. Since she’d put the dress on half an hour earlier, Liv hadn’t stopped drumming her fingers against her legs.
“Hold still or I’ll prick you.” The seamstress spoke with pins pressed between her lips, her voice muffled and irritated.
“That’s not much of a threat, Rena. You’ve pricked me ten times already.”
“’Cause you’re wriggly as a fish. Hold still!”
Liv rolled her eyes. “I’m tossing you into the river once you’re finished.”
Rena huffed. “I may toss myself in well before then, dear.”
Liv was joking, but she looked paler by the second. Aria couldn’t blame her. She was getting married in two days, bound forever to someone she didn’t love. To Sable.
Aria glanced toward the door, her stomach knotted with anxiety. Roar still hadn’t reappeared since he’d left dinner last night.
The sound of voices out in the hall thrummed through the thick wood. She was learning her way around the twisting corridors. Sable’s chamber was nearby. Now that he knew she was after the Still Blue, it would be harder than ever for her to break away and search for information, but she would try later.
“What you said last night about the rebellious bird?” Liv said suddenly. “I agree with you.”
Aria sat up. “You do?”
Liv nodded. “There’s no taming it.... Do you think I’m too late?”
Too late to tell Roar she loved him? Aria almost let out a laugh of pure happiness. “No. I don’t think you could ever be too late.” For the next ten minutes, as the seamstress finished, she fidgeted as much as Liv, fighting to keep the smile from her lips. When Rena left and they were finally alone, she jumped off the bed and rushed to Liv’s side. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. He’s the only thing I’ve always been sure about. Help me get this thing off. I have to find him.” In seconds she changed out of the dress into worn brown pants, leather boots, and a white long-sleeved shirt. She twisted her hair behind her back, and pulled the leather holster with her half-sword across her shoulder.
They checked Roar’s bedroom and then Aria’s, finding both empty. Discreetly, Liv asked a few guards about Roar. No one had seen him.
“Where do you think he is?” Aria asked as Liv led her through the corridors.
Liv smiled. “I have some ideas.”
Aria’s ears tuned to the voices around her as they stepped outside and took to the shadowed city streets. She could gather information while they searched for Roar.
People took notice of Liv as they walked, recognizing her, nodding in greeting. Her height made her hard to miss. In a few days, she’d be a powerful woman—a leader, alongside Sable—and they admired her for it. Aria wondered how that would feel. Would she ever stand beside Perry, strong in her own right and accepted for who she was?
Everyone seemed to be speaking of last night’s storm. The southern fields of Rim still burned, and everyone wondered what action Sable would take. Aria asked herself the same questions. If his land was burning—if he was suffering under the Aether like everyone else—why hadn’t he left yet for the Still Blue? Why was he waiting?
“How big is the Horns tribe?” she asked Liv as they wove through a crowded market.
“Thousands in the city and more in the outer reaches. He has colonies, too. He likes to have the best and the most of everything. That’s why he doesn’t like Dwellers.” She looked at Aria, her shoulders rising in a small apologetic shrug. “He can’t buy your medicines or weapons, and he hates that. He despises anything that he can’t have.”
That made more sense than Wylan’s theory about a centuries-old grudge.
Aria’s mind whirred as she followed Liv. How would Sable move his entire tribe of thousands to the Still Blue? Not just people, but the provisions they’d need, while staying nimble enough to avoid Aether storms? She couldn’t figure out how he’d manage it. Maybe that was why he hadn’t done it yet.
Liv stopped in front of a slanted door with peeling red paint. The din of conversation drifted to Aria’s ears. “If Roar’s anywhere, he’s here.”
As they stepped inside, Aria took in the long tables packed with men and women. The honey-sweet smell of Luster hung in the musty air. “A bar.” She shook her head, but had to admit it was a good place to start. The first time she’d met Roar, he’d had a bottle of Luster in his hand. She’d seen the same thing many times since.
Roar wasn’t there, but they found him just two stops later. He sat at a table in a dark corner, alone. When he saw them, he winced and dropped his head.
He was still slouching as Aria walked up, his hands in fists on the table.
She sat down across from him. “You made me worry,” she said, striving for levity. “I hate worrying.”
He peered up at her with bloodshot eyes and flashed a quick, tired smile. “Sorry.” Then he glared at Liv, who’d taken a seat beside him. “Aren’t you supposed to be getting married?”
Liv could barely keep the smile from her lips. She reached over and rested her hand on top of Roar’s. He jolted, drawing away, but she held him in a tight grip.
Seconds passed. Roar went from staring at her hand to staring into her eyes, his face transforming from lost to found. From broken to whole.
Aria felt her throat tighten, and she couldn’t look at him anymore. Across the dimly lit bar, a man with sallow skin met her eyes, his gaze holding for a moment too long.
“Liv,” she warned quietly. They were being watched.
Liv drew her hand away, but Roar didn’t move. His eyes glossed with tears. He was holding his breath. Holding on to the last of his self-control.