Liv ducked to avoid a high, slicing blow from her opponent, but he followed with a forearm that caught her flush across the face. Her head whipped to the side. She recovered in an instant and stepped in where almost anyone would have rolled out, stunning the man with a punch to the gut. When he doubled over, she drove an elbow into the back of his head, unyielding, dropping him to his knees, where he stayed, coughing, reeling from the force she’d put behind the blows.
Smiling, Liv nudged his shoulder with her foot. “Come on, Loran. Stand. That can’t be all you’re good for.”
“I can’t. You cracked a rib. I’m sure of it.” The soldier lifted his head, looking their way. “Talk to her, Sable. She shows no mercy. It’s no way to train.”
Sable laughed—the same smooth, seductive sound Aria had heard in the corridors. “Wrong, Loran. It’s the only way to train.”
Liv turned, spotting Sable. Her smile widened for an instant. Then she saw Roar. Seconds passed, and she didn’t move. Didn’t look away. Unblinking, she reached up, sheathing her sword at her back.
As she walked over, all Aria could do was stare at a girl she’d been hearing about for months. A girl who controlled her best friend’s heart. Who had the same blood as Perry running in her veins.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. The blow she’d taken across the cheek had left a red welt, but the color had drained from the rest of her face. She looked as pale as Roar.
“I could ask you the same.” Roar’s words were cold, but his voice was hoarse with emotion, and the veins at his neck stood out. He was barely holding himself back.
Sable looked from one to the other, and smiled. “Your friends have come for the wedding, Liv.”
Aria’s blood went cold.
Sable saw her surprise. “Didn’t you know?” he asked, his eyebrows lifting. “I sent word to the Tides. You arrived just in time. Liv and I will be married in three days.”
Married. Liv was going to be married. Aria didn’t know why she was so shocked. It was the deal that had been made between Vale and Sable—Liv’s hand in marriage in exchange for food—but something felt terribly wrong.
Then she saw how close Liv and Sable stood. How they stood together.
Sable reached up and brushed his thumb along the welt on Liv’s cheek. His touch lingered, his fingers sliding down her neck, the gesture slow and sensual. “This will be a perfect shade of purple by then.” He slipped his arm around Liv’s waist. “I’d punish Loran, but you’ve done it for me.”
Liv’s focus hadn’t left Roar. “You didn’t need to come here,” she said, but her meaning was clear: She didn’t want him there. Liv wanted to marry Sable.
Rage coursed through Aria. She bit the inside of her lip and tasted blood. Roar had turned to stone beside her. She needed to get him out of there. “Is there someplace we can rest? It was a long trip.”
Liv blinked, noticing her for the first time. She looked from Aria to Roar, her breathing focused. “Who are you?”
“Excuse my manners,” Sable said. “I thought you knew each other. Liv, this is Aria.” He motioned one of his men over. “Show them to the guest rooms by my quarters,” he said. Then he smiled broadly. “I’ll have supper arranged for the four of us later. Tonight we’ll celebrate.”
Aria’s room was cold and spare: a simple cot and a chair with a curling backrest made of stag horns. The only light came through a dingy beveled-glass window recessed deep in the stone wall.
Roar was given the room adjacent to hers, but he followed her inside. Aria pulled the door shut and wrapped her arms around him. His muscles were tense, trembling.
“I don’t understand. Liv let him touch her.”
She winced at the pain in his voice. “I know. I’m sorry.”
She had no better words to give him. She remembered the conversation they’d had days after leaving the Tides. She’d still felt the poison inside her, and she’d been in knots about leaving Perry. Roar had spoken to her of truth. He’d lost a truth today, just as she had months ago when she’d learned she was half Outsider. Her life had rested on a pillar that had suddenly vanished, and she still hadn’t found her balance. Nothing she said would help him, so she stood with him and held him until he was ready to stand on his own again.
When he drew away, the anger in his brown eyes chilled her. She grasped his hand. Roar, don’t do anything to Sable. He’s expecting it. Don’t give him a reason to hurt you.
He didn’t answer her. For once she wished she could hear his thoughts.
He shook his head. “No. You don’t.” He moved away, sitting against the door.
She sat on the bed and looked around the small room. She didn’t know what to do. For the past two weeks, she’d raced to get here. Now that she was here, she felt trapped.
Roar pulled his knees up, resting his head in his hands. His forearms were flexed, his hands fisted. In hours, they’d have dinner with Liv and Sable. How would it feel to sit across a dinner table from Perry and another girl? To watch him touch her cheek, the way Sable had touched Liv’s? How would Roar bear it? In their plans, she and Roar had never spoken about leaving Rim without Liv. Not once had they imagined she’d want to stay.
Aria pulled her satchel into her lap, feeling the small lump inside the lining. Earlier, she’d wrapped the Smarteye in a cloth, with a handful of pine needles to mask the synthetic scent of the device, in case Sable searched their things. She heard the heavy footfalls of guards moving through the corridors, and the door didn’t have a lock. While she was there, contacting Hess—or Soren—would be too dangerous.
It was said that Sable despised Dwellers. She didn’t want to find out.
She rummaged around until she found the falcon carving. An intense pang of longing hit her as she brought it out. She imagined Perry as he’d been the night of her Marking ceremony, leaning against Vale’s door with his thumbs hanging on his belt. She pictured his narrow hips and wide shoulders, and the small tilt of his head. His focus completely on her. Whenever his eyes were on her, she felt so completely seen.
She held the image in her mind, and pretended she could speak with him through the figurine the same way she spoke with Roar.
We’re here, but it’s a mess, Perry. Your sister … I really wanted to like her, but I can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t. Maybe I was wrong to leave without you. Maybe if you were here, you could talk Liv out of marrying Sable and help us find the Still Blue. But I promise I’ll find a way.
I miss you.
I miss you, I miss you, I miss you.
Be ready, because when I see you, I’ll never let you go again.
23
PEREGRINE
My word, Peregrine,” Marron said. He craned his neck, staring in wonder at the cavern. “What a place.”
Perry had brought him there first thing in the morning, explaining the Tides’ situation along the way, holding Marron’s arm as they climbed down the bluff. Now he concentrated on breathing evenly as he followed Marron’s lead deeper inside.
“It’s not ideal,” Perry said, raising the torch in his hand higher.
“Ideals belong in a world only the wise man can understand,” Marron said quietly.
“That would be you.”
Marron met his gaze and smiled warmly. “That would be Socrates. But you’re also wise, Perry. I had no plan for losing Delphi. I regret that very much.”
They fell into silence. Perry knew Marron was thinking about the home and the people he’d lost. Months ago, Perry had watched Roar and Aria train with knives on the rooftop at Delphi. He’d kissed her for the first time there.
Perry cleared his throat. His thoughts were slipping to a place he didn’t want to go. “I want to bring the tribe here before we’re forced out. We should leave the compound on our terms.”
“Oh, yes,” Marron agreed. “We’ll need to start preparing right away. We’ll need freshwater, light, and ventilation. Heat and storage for food. The access is poor, but we can improve it. I could design a pulley to low
er heavier supplies.”
His list continued. Perry listened, finally recognizing the man he knew: gentle, meticulous, brilliant. He wondered how Marron could ever have thought himself a burden.
When he returned to the compound, Perry called a meeting in the cookhouse to tell the tribe about his plan to move them to the cave. As he’d expected, they reeled under the news.
“I don’t see how we can survive there for any length of time,” Bear said. His face was red, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He was angrier than Perry had ever seen him. “We’ve managed the Aether during the winters,” he continued. “It’s like you’re expecting the worst. Like you’ve given up.”
“I’m not expecting the worst,” Perry said. “The worst is happening. If you want proof, go outside and take a look at the sky, or at the acres that have burned over the past month. And this isn’t like winter. We won’t be able to ride this out. Sooner or later we’ll face another tribe, or another storm, that will level us. We have to make the first move—before that happens. We need to act now, while we still can.”
“You said you were going to take us to the Still Blue,” said Rowan.
“When I know where it is, I will,” Perry said.
Rowan shook his head in frustration. “What if we’re forced out of the cave?”
“Then I’ll figure something else out.”
After an hour of hearing the same complaints, Perry cut off the meeting. He ordered part of Bear’s workforce to help Marron with the cave. Then he watched Bear storm out and the rest of the cookhouse empty. In a daze, Perry crossed the clearing to his home, needing a moment alone to think about his decision.
He went to the window, where Talon’s carvings rested, and braced himself against the sill. There were seven figurines there. Seven, lined up in the same direction. He turned the one at the center the other way, so it faced outside. As Blood Lord, was his responsibility to follow the will of the majority? Or was it to guide them toward what he knew—what he believed to be best for them? He’d chosen the latter. He prayed he was right.
He spent the rest of the afternoon helping at the cave. Marron was organized, efficient, and comfortable handling a large project. Bear didn’t show up, but the people Perry had chosen to work there warmed to Marron quickly. As Perry made the hour-long walk back to the compound, he told Marron so.
“They’ve come around to me because you did first. You’re the one who’s shown them the way.”
Yeah, Perry thought. To a cave.
Their conversation turned to people who’d served Marron at Delphi. Slate and Rose had been held captive. If Perry and Marron could find a way to bring them and any others to the Tides, they would. They talked until Perry spotted Reef rushing toward him on the trail near the compound.
“What’s going on?” Perry asked.
Reef scratched his chin. He looked like he was trying not to smile. “Wait until you see what just showed up,” he said as they fell in step.
Perry’s gaze went immediately across the clearing as they entered the compound. A girl with hair the color of copper stood on the eastern approach. In the last light of day, he saw a caravan of wagons stretching out behind her. Perry estimated roughly forty people either on horseback or on foot. They had the look of warriors—strong and armed with weapons.
“It’s the second half of Sable’s payment for Liv,” Reef said at his side.
Twig jogged over and made a high-pitched sound that was close to a giggle. “Perry, that’s all food!”
Perry’s gaze moved back to the caravan as he walked up. Stunned, he tallied eight horse-drawn carts, ten head of cattle. He heard goats. On a gust he scented herbs, chicken, grain. His mouth began to water as he suddenly felt the full brunt of the hunger he’d grown used to fighting off.
“I’m Kirra,” said the red-haired girl. “I bet you’re happy to see me. Sable sent a message. He’s pleased to honor the agreement he made with Vale for Olivia’s hand in marriage, though he didn’t have to. He didn’t say the last part, but he should have.”
Perry hardly listened to her. His heart raced as he realized that everything he saw was for the Tides.
Marron appeared at his side, his cheeks flushed with excitement. “Oh, my goodness. Peregrine, this will help.”
Bear and Molly walked up with Willow and Old Will. Others were coming out of the cookhouse, gathering around. The air filled with their elated tempers, slashes of vibrant color shimmering at the edges of his vision. The relief was so potent—his own, the tribe’s—that Perry’s throat tightened with emotion.
The girl lifted an eyebrow. Her red hair whipped in the wind, fire in the glow of sunset. “Still time to get a meal together if we unpack now.”
Perry’s gaze fell to the Marking on her arm. He blinked. Blinked again as it sank in. A Scire. She was like him. He looked at her, curious now. Apart from his sister, he’d never known a female Scire. Theirs was the rarest Sense. It was one of the reasons Liv’s marriage had needed to be arranged.
“What was your name?” he asked.
“Kirra. I told you that already.”
“Right … I missed it before.”
She had a full, round face that gave her an innocent look, but the curves of her body erased that impression. So did the teasing glint in her eyes. She looked a few years older than him, he guessed, and her scent was mellow and slightly cool, reminding him of autumn leaves.
“Did you say my sister married Sable?” he asked.
“I’m sure by now.”
Perry turned back to the wagons. Liv had always been his. As the oldest, Vale had been groomed by their father for Blood Lord. But he and Liv had been left to themselves. Perry couldn’t believe it. She belonged to someone else now. Liv, who was quick to laugh, quick to anger, quick to forgive. Liv, who did nothing in part and everything in full, was married.
As much as he’d believed she should do her duty to the Tides by marrying Sable, he’d never expected that she actually would. His sister had always been unpredictable, but this was her greatest surprise of all. She’d run off, disappeared, and then ended up doing what had been asked of her all along.
Perry’s stomach clenched as he thought of Roar. How would he react when he found out?
“Well?” said Kirra, pulling him from his thoughts. “It’s getting late. Should we unpack?”
Perry ran a hand over his jaw, and nodded.
It was done. Liv was married. He couldn’t change it now.
24
ARIA
That night, Aria and Roar were escorted to a wide dining room. Candlelight and silver glimmered on a long dinner table. A centerpiece of twisting willow branches rose out of a huge vase, casting spindly shadows across the ceiling. Along one side of the room, doors opened to a balcony. Rust-colored drapes stirred in the wind, revealing glimpses of the churning Aether sky.
Roar scanned the room. “Where’s Liv?” he asked as they stepped inside.
Sable rose from the table. He wore his Blood Lord chain now, a fantastic, shining collar spotted with sapphires that sparkled against his deep gray shirt. The chain transformed him, enhancing the blue in his eyes and the confidence in his smile. Aria wondered how she’d ever mistaken him for ordinary. He looked comfortable with the chain. At ease with power. She realized she’d never had the same thought about Perry.
“Liv is running late,” Sable said. “She seems to like making me wait.”
“Maybe she’s avoiding you,” Roar said.
Sable’s mouth lifted in a small smile. “I’m happy you’re here. It’ll be good for Liv to have a childhood friend at our wedding.”
“She told you we’re friends?” Roar asked with a smirk. He couldn’t seem to stop himself.
Sable replied smoothly, but his stare was cruel. “I know what you were. That’s what she said you are.”
A gust blew into the room and lifted a corner of the tablecloth, upsetting a pewter goblet. It clattered onto the stone floor. Neither Sable nor Roar moved.
<
br /> Aria stepped between them. “It looks like the storm will break soon,” she said, striding to the balcony. It was a blatant attempt at diversion, but it worked. Sable followed her.
The wind lifted her hair off her shoulders as she stepped past the drapes. She walked to the low stone wall that edged the balcony, hugging herself against the cold. The rugged exterior of the fortress dropped several stories to the Snake River directly below. Aether light shimmered across its dark surface.
Sable appeared beside her. “It’s beautiful from a distance, isn’t it?” he said, staring at the Aether. The flows were taking on a twisting, spooling shape. Soon the funnels would drop. “Very different when you’re right beneath it.” He looked at her. “You’ve been in a storm before?”
“Yes.”
“I thought so. I scent your fear, but I could be wrong. Maybe you fear something else. Are you afraid of heights, Aria? It’s a long way down.”
A shiver ran through her, but her voice was even when she answered. “I’m fine with heights.”
Sable smiled. “That doesn’t surprise me. You said you were from the Tides?”
He was prodding her with questions. Scenting her tempers and seeking her weakness. “I came from there, yes.”
“But you didn’t know Liv before today.”
“No.”
He watched her again, going still, intent. She could see his thoughts turning, his curiosity honing on her. She didn’t think she could stand it any longer when Liv’s voice drew his attention back inside. Sable shifted slightly, but he didn’t go to her.
“Where’s Sable?” Liv asked Roar.
Aria saw her through the gap in the drapes. Liv looked like a different person from the girl she had seen earlier. She wore a Grecian dress in a burnished orange color that enhanced the bronze of her complexion. A green rope looped around her waist, and she’d swept her thick blond mane up off her shoulders.
“What happened to you?” Roar asked her.
“I couldn’t figure out the belt,” Liv answered blithely.
“I wasn’t talking about the dress.”
Under the Never Sky: The Complete Series Collection Page 48
