Under the Never Sky: The Complete Series Collection

by Rossi, Veronica

  He nodded, accepting her thanks.

  They fell into silence. The Aether light seeped down into the decrepit house, washing away the shadows. As tired as she was, her senses filled with the chill of the air against her face. With the weight of the rock resting in her hand and the dusty smell he’d brought in with him. Aria heard her own breathing and felt the quiet power of his attention. She felt completely where she was. There with him. With herself.

  She’d never felt anything like it.

  “My people celebrate the first blood,” he said after a moment, his voice soft and deep. “The women in the tribe prepare a feast. They bring gifts to the girl—woman. They stay with her that night, all the women in one house. And . . . I don’t know what happens after that. My sister says they tell stories, but I don’t know what they are. I think they explain the meaning of it . . . of the change you’re going through.”

  Aria’s cheeks went hot. She didn’t want to change. She wanted to go home perfectly preserved. “What meaning can there be? Seems like a horrible thing no matter how you look at it.”

  “You can bear children now.”

  “That’s completely primitive! Children are special where I come from. They’re created carefully, each one. It’s not a random experiment. There’s so much thought that goes into every person. You have no idea.”

  Too late, she remembered that he was trying to rescue a boy. Making her shoes. Murdering three men. Saving her life. The Outsider had done it all for the boy. Obviously children were cherished here as well, but she couldn’t take the words back.

  She wasn’t sure why she cared. He was a killer. Scarred. Covered with signs of violence. What did it matter that she’d been insensitive to a murderer?

  “You’ve killed before, haven’t you?” She already knew the answer. Still, she wanted to hear him tell her no. Tell her something that would take away the queasy feeling she got every time she remembered what he’d done to those three men.

  He didn’t answer. He never answered, and she was tired of it. Sick of his quiet, watchful eyes. “How many men have you killed? Ten? Twenty? Do you keep some sort of count?” Aria had raised her voice to let some of the poison out. He rose and moved to the threshold, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.

  “If you do, you shouldn’t add Soren. You didn’t kill him, though I know you tried. You shattered his jaw. Shattered it! But maybe Bane and Echo and Paisley brought your numbers up.”

  He spoke through a clenched jaw. “Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there that night? And yesterday?”

  She did. And here it was. The fear she’d pressed back. Of those men, who’d seemed friendly but who ate human flesh. Of the terrible hours she’d spent running alone, searching for glimpses of Mount Arrow, hoping she was headed the right way in the dark. She was lashing out recklessly but she knew the true source of her anger. She didn’t trust her own judgment anymore. What did she know out here? Even berries might kill her.

  “So what!” she yelled, scrambling to her feet. “So what if you saved my life! You left! And do you really think it makes you a good person? Saving one person when you kill three others? And bringing these things for me? Saying things, like it’s an honor what’s happening to me? It’s not an honor! This shouldn’t happen. I’m not an animal! I haven’t forgotten what you did to those men. I won’t forget.”

  He laughed bitterly. “If it makes you feel better, I won’t forget either.”

  “You have a conscience? That’s touching. My mistake. I had you figured wrong.”

  He crossed the distance between them in a flash. Aria found herself looking up, right into furious green eyes. “You know nothing about me.”

  She knew his hand was on the knife at his hip. Aria’s heart pounded so hard she could hear it drumming in her ears. “You would’ve already done it. You don’t hurt women.”

  “You’re wrong there, Mole. I have killed a woman before. Keep talking. You might be the second.”

  A choked sob burst through her lips. He was telling the truth.

  He turned his back on her and stood there a moment. “The Croven will retaliate,” he said. “If you’re coming, we travel now. In the dark.”

  After he left, she stood breathing hard for a few moments, absorbing what had just happened. What she’d said, and what he’d admitted to. She didn’t want to think of what cannibals did to retaliate, or of the Outsider taking a woman’s life.

  Aria looked down at the navy blanket. She stared at it as her breath calmed and the urge to scream and cry receded.

  Boots. At least she had boots now.

  Chapter 18

  PEREGRINE

  They kept a good pace despite traveling at night. They needed to. Three slain Croven would bring out their tribesmen in search of revenge. The Croven would surely have a Scire among them who’d latch on to Perry’s scent. It was only a matter of time before they came after him in their black cloaks and masks.

  Perry had committed the greatest possible wrong against the Croven, who believed they brought the spirits of the dead into themselves by eating flesh. By leaving those three men out for scavenging animals, he would be seen as a murderer not of men but of eternal souls. The Croven wouldn’t stop in their quest for vengeance until they found him. He should have burned the bodies or buried them, both of which could’ve bought him time. He glanced at Aria, walking ten paces away from him. He should have done a few things differently.

  She met his eyes for an instant before looking away. Beast, she’d called him. Monster. Her temper told him she felt the same way toward him now. He’d lost his mind, hearing those things. Scenting her reaction to what he’d done. To what he’d had to do, because of her. He didn’t need anyone telling him what he was. He knew. He’d known what he was since the day he was born.

  The air became cool and sharp as they climbed into the mountain. As the pine forest grew thicker, Perry saw the power of his Sense diminish. Pine blasted his nose, shrouding subtler scents and stunting his range. He knew he’d adapt in time but it worried him, not having his ability at its strongest. They were well into the borderlands now. He needed both his Senses at their best to steer clear of the Croven and other dispersed who hid out in these woods.

  Perry spent the morning adjusting to the change and searching for game trails. He’d shared a lean little rabbit he had caught with Aria yesterday, along with some more roots he’d dug up, but his stomach still growled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d filled it.

  Thoughts of Talon grabbed hold of him. What was his nephew doing now? Were his legs bothering him? Did he hate Perry for what had happened? He knew he was avoiding tougher questions. Things too painful to even consider. That maybe Talon hadn’t survived. To think that way would’ve laid him out for good. Nothing would matter if that were so.

  They took a short rest at midday. Aria leaned against a tree. She looked drawn, the skin beneath her eyes pale purple. Even tired she had a face made to be looked at. Finespun. Delicate. Beautiful. Perry shook his head, surprised by his own thoughts.

  Late in the afternoon, they stopped for a drink by a creek that cut a lazy, winding path through a ravine. Perry washed his face and hands, then drank deeply from the icy water. Aria stayed where she’d dropped along the bank.

  “Is it your feet?”

  Her eyes turned to him. “I’m hungry.”

  He nodded. He was hungry too. “I’ll find us something.”

  “I don’t want your food. I don’t want anything else from you.”

  Bitter words but her temper, sluggish and dank, spoke of deep despair. Perry watched her for a moment. He understood. This, at least, wasn’t about him. He wouldn’t want to ask to eat every time his stomach felt empty either.

  They walked on, following the creek up the mountain. This was decent land, kept green by snowmelt. Too hilly for farming, but the hunting would be better than at home. He searched for animal scents, hoping to find anything but the musk of wolves.
With night a few hours off, he knew they’d have to rest soon and eat, too. Just as he was growing frustrated with his pine-fettered nose, he crossed a sweet scent that set his mouth watering.

  “Rest for a bit.” He jogged off a couple of paces. “I’ll be right back.”

  Aria sat right away and shrugged. He waited, expecting her to say something. Wanting her to, but she didn’t say a word.

  He came back a few moments later and knelt in front of her on the gravelly bank. With the pine trees towering over them, it was growing dark already, though night was still a good hour off. Behind him the creek gurgled softly. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the leafy branch in his hand, spotted with dark red berries.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Teaching you so you can find your own food,” he said, looking down at the branch, wondering if she’d laugh at him in the next moment and call him a Savage. “Soon you’ll recognize what’s safe to eat by knowing where things grow, and recognizing the shapes of the leaves. Until then, the first thing is to crush a small piece and smell it.”

  He peered at her. She sat up, looking more alert. Relieved, he plucked a berry and handed it to her. “If it smells nutty and bitter, don’t eat it.”

  Aria broke it open, dipped her head to sniff it. “It doesn’t smell like either.”

  “Good. That’s right.” The blackberry, a lucky find buried in a patch of brambles, smelled sweet and ripe. Perry could scent it perfectly. This close, he also caught Aria’s scent again. Violets. A scent he could never get enough of. And then there was her temper, clear and strong. For the first time today, it wasn’t full of anger or repulsion. The tone that came off of her was bright and alert, like mint.

  “Look at the color next. If the berry’s white or has white inside, it’s safer to toss it.”

  She examined the berry. He could see her mind working, memorizing the information. “This looks dark red.”

  “Yeah. So far, it’s looking good. Next you’d want to rub it on your skin. Tender skin is best.” He went to take her hand and remembered how she hated being touched. “The inside of your arm. Right here.” He showed her where on his own arm.

  She drew the berry over the inside of her wrist. It left a smooth line of juice on her skin. Perry frowned at the stumble in his heartbeat, then made himself not frown.

  “So, you’d want to wait a while. If you didn’t see a rash creeping on, you’d put a bit on your lip.”

  He watched as she pressed the berry to her lower lip. He kept looking at her mouth after she’d done it. He knew he should look away, but he couldn’t. “Right. Good. If there’s no stinging, you’d put it to your tongue.”

  Perry shot to his feet before he finished the words, nearly tripping over himself. He ran a hand over his head, feeling skitty, like he needed to laugh or run or do something. He picked up a stone and tossed it into the creek, trying to get the image of her tasting the berry out of his mind. Trying to keep from pumping her scent into his nose like he wanted to.

  “Is that it?” she asked.

  “What? No.” All he could think about was the way she’d looked the night of the Aether storm. The curves of her bare skin, pressed at his side. “You’d swallow a small amount and wait a few hours, see how it sits. Now you know how to find berries. We need to pull foot.”

  He crossed his arms and stood there, still unsure what to do. He knew he was giving her a strange look. He felt strange. He felt a lot of strange. He hadn’t seen her as a girl before now. He’d seen her as a Mole. Now he couldn’t stop seeing all the girl about her.

  Aria gave him the same look right back—eyebrows drawn down, mouth twisted to the side, a mixy, strained look—mocking him.

  Perry laughed. A ripple ran through his shoulders at the feeling of laughing. When was the last time someone had joked with him? The answer came easily. He’d been with Talon.

  “So is this one good?” she asked, holding up the berry.

  “Yeah. It’s good.”

  She popped it into her mouth and swallowed. Then she smiled, extending the branch out to him.

  “Go ahead,” he said, and set to tightening the string on his bow.

  When she was finished, she looked over and smiled. “Seems easier if I just find them and ask you whether they’re edible or not. Faster than the rubbing and tasting process.”

  “Sure,” he said, feeling like a fool. “That would work too.”

  Chapter 19

  ARIA

  They decided to take turns sleeping, right there by the creek. She was supposed to take her turn first, but when she lay down, she couldn’t keep her eyes closed. Dreams were unsettling things, and she wasn’t up for another one just yet. So she sat, shivering despite her thick coat and the blue blanket wrapped around her. The Aether moved in thin sheets, slow and wispy as the clouds. Gusts rustled through the pine needles, setting branches swaying around her. There were people who lived in trees and cannibals who dressed as crows out here.

  Yesterday she’d seen them both.

  “How far away is Marron’s?” she asked.

  “Three days or so,” Peregrine said. He held the small knife with the carved feathers, twirling it absently. Spinning it once. Catching the handle. Spinning it. Catching it.

  Peregrine or Perry? She didn’t know what to call him. Perry made her shoes from book covers and taught her how to find berries. Peregrine had tattoos and flashing green eyes. He twirled a knife without fear of cutting himself and put arrows through people’s necks. She’d seen him decapitate a man. But then, the man had been a cannibal who’d been after her. Aria sighed, her breath fogging lightly in the cool air. She wasn’t sure what she thought of him anymore.

  “Will we get there in time?” she asked.

  His lips turned up like he’d been expecting the question. “The Croven aren’t close, as far as I can tell.”

  It wasn’t the exact answer she’d wanted, but good to hear nonetheless. “Who is he—Marron?”

  “A friend. A trader. A ruler. A bit of everything.” His eyes dropped to her shaking shoulders. “Can’t have a fire.”

  “Because someone would see the smoke?”

  He nodded. “Or scent it.”

  She looked at his restless hands. “You don’t sit still much, do you?”

  He slid the knife through a leather strap at his boot. “Being still makes me tired.”

  That made no sense, but she wasn’t going to ask and risk upsetting what felt like a fragile truce.

  He crossed his arms and then uncrossed them. “How do you feel?”

  A tingle ran down her back. This was so strange. Him, asking her this. Far more intimate than it should have felt. Because she knew he wanted to know. He didn’t ask empty questions or waste words.

  “I want to go home.”

  It was a weak answer and she knew it, but how could she explain? Her body was changing, and it wasn’t just that she was menstruating. Her senses were filled with the trickle of the creek and the smell of pine in the air. Her whole awareness was shifting. Like every cell in her body was stretching its arms and yawning off sleep. Sure, she ached in her feet. And she still had the headaches and a dull pain low in her stomach. Yet in spite of all her ailments, she didn’t feel like a girl whose life was slipping away.

  Perry stood. Perry, she realized. Not Peregrine. It seemed her subconscious had decided what to make of him. She unwrapped herself from the blanket, her muscles aching and reluctant to move again. They might as well walk, she supposed, if they weren’t going to sleep. Then she noticed the way Perry stared into the darkness.

  “What is it?” she asked, shooting to her feet. “Is it the Croven?”

  He shook his head, still gazing into the woods. Perry cupped his hands around his mouth. “Roar!”

  The sound of his raised voice made her heart stop.

  “Roar, you rancy bastard! I know you’re out there! I can smell you from here!”

  A moment later, a whistle broke into the air, echoing through th
e mountain pass.

  Perry looked down at her, a striking grin on his face. “Our luck just turned.”

  He devoured the hillside in big, loping strides. Aria ran to keep up, her heart racing faster than her feet. At the top, they reached an outcropping of boulders that looked blue in the failing light, like whales breeching from the sea. A dark figure stood there, his arms crossed over his chest as though he’d been waiting. Perry tore over to him. Aria watched as they locked into a fierce embrace, then began to shove at each other playfully.

  She picked her way closer, taking in this new Outsider. Everything about him looked refined under the cool light. His lean build and sharp features. The cut of his dark hair. He wore fitted clothes. Black from head to toe, with no frayed edges or holes that she could see. This was someone she could easily see in the Realms. Polished and too handsome to be real.

  “Who’s this?” he asked, seeing her.

  “I’m Aria,” she answered. “Who are you?”

  “Hello, Aria. I’m Roar. Do you sing?”

  It was a surprising question, but she answered on reflex. “Yes, I do.”

  “Excellent.” Up close, she saw the gleam in Roar’s gaze. He had a prince’s looks but a pirate’s eyes. Roar smiled, an appealing, clever flash. Aria laughed. Definitely more pirate. Roar laughed at her laugh, and she decided on the spot she liked him.

  He looked back at Perry. “Have I gone dull, Per, or is she a Dweller?”

  “Long story.”

  “Perfect.” Roar rubbed his palms together. “We’ll settle into a few bottles of Luster. Long stories are the best sort for cold nights.”

  “How’d you come up with Luster out here?” Perry asked.

  “Swoggled a bottle a couple of days ago, along with enough bread and cheese to keep us from starving. Let’s celebrate. With you here, it won’t be long before we find Liv.”

  Perry’s smile vanished. “Find Liv? She’s not with the Horns?”