Under the Never Sky: The Complete Series Collection

by Rossi, Veronica

  Soren waved his hands in a there you go gesture and they fell quiet, listening to the deep rumble of the engine.

  “I don’t think I ever thanked you,” Roar said to her after a little while, “for getting us out of Rim.”

  She saw his handsome face in snatches between moments of darkness, and knew he was remembering that horrible night. Liv thudding onto the stones of the balcony. Their plummet into the Snake River. “You’re welcome.”

  “Tough fall we had.”

  “It was,” Aria said. “But we landed in one piece.”

  Roar stared at her intensely. His eyes welled with tears, and he looked like he was concentrating. Like he was trying to determine if he actually was in one piece.

  She put a hand on his arm. “We did . . . right?”

  Roar blinked. He gave a slight nod. “There are moments I think so.”

  Aria squeezed his arm, smiling. The possibility of wholeness was all she wanted for him.

  Maybe his grief was like her wounded arm. Slowly healing. Gradually becoming less consuming as life delivered other worries and other joys. Other sources of pain and happiness. She wanted that for him. More life. More happiness.

  Roar’s mouth pulled into a smile—a beautiful smile she hadn’t seen in weeks.

  “Beautiful, huh?”

  She drew her hand away, giving him a small push on the shoulder. “Don’t act surprised.”

  “I’m not. Always nice to be reminded, though.”

  “I give up,” Soren said, shaking his head. “Congratulations. You two are the first code I can’t break.”

  “Just trying to see some good in the bad,” Roar said.

  “You want good news?” Soren said. “I’ve got some for you. If the Komodo has a complete breakdown because of this Aether storm and it collapses and cracks open and we don’t die first, we might actually have a chance of escaping.”

  Roar narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “I’d take those odds.”

  Aria swept her hair forward, twisting it around her finger. “So would I.” She wanted the lights to hold steady. She wanted a shower. Coffee. A thick, soft blanket. And Perry, most of all. “If the Komodo has a complete breakdown, then I might too. Wait . . . I already did that.” She smiled at Roar. “My breakdown is out of the way.”

  He lifted his eyebrows, smiling back. “You’re right. That is good news.”

  A sudden bone-jarring jolt sent her flying. Her back smacked into the wall, she cried out in surprise, and Roar’s hand clamped down on her wrist as blackness flooded the chamber.

  28

  PEREGRINE

  As the Komodo shuddered to a halt, Perry sat up on the cot and counted off the seconds in total darkness.

  Five.

  Ten.

  Fifteen.

  That was enough sitting around for him.

  He rose from the cot, his bare feet settling silently on the cold floor. His eyes needed little light in order to see, but there was none—not a single glowing point. Just an impossible blackness, as thick and heavy as iron.

  He found the wall and followed it, feeling his way to the door. He stopped and listened. Muffled sounds came from outside—two men, arguing.

  Guardians or Horns, he couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter.

  He briefly considered trying to find a weapon but abandoned the idea. His chamber contained only a few towels and a cot that was bolted to the floor. He was dressed in loose-fitting pants only; he hadn’t even been given shoes or a shirt for fear he’d turn them into weapons. He might have attempted exactly that if he’d had either, but with nothing at his disposal, he’d just have to improvise.

  Perry’s hands drifted over the control panel set in the wall beside the door. Hess and others had used it to come and go, but with no power, the panel was useless—which meant the locking mechanism might be useless as well.

  He familiarized himself with the release bar for a few seconds. Then he unlatched it and pulled. The door slid open.

  In the corridor, two Guardians were carrying on a panicked exchange. Perry spotted them easily, as both were using the red sighting lasers on their pistols for illumination. One man stood only steps away, his back to Perry; the other stood farther down the corridor. They broke off sharply at the sound of the opening door.

  “What was that?” said the closest Guardian, wheeling around and searching the darkness.

  The thin beam of red light from the other man’s weapon swept toward Perry.

  “Stop! Don’t move!” he yelled.

  No chance of that. Perry drove his legs the few short steps to the nearest Guardian. As he reached the man, he thought better of delivering a punch with swollen knuckles and fingers. He slammed his elbow across the Guardian’s face, pain ripping through his muscles. Then he grabbed the weapon and drove the stock into the man’s stomach.

  The Guardian fell, smacking to the floor.

  Down the hall, the other man opened fire.

  A loud metallic ting exploded behind Perry. He dropped to his knees, shouldering the gun as he aimed for the Guardian’s legs and squeezed the trigger.

  Nothing. The safety switch—something he never had to consider with a bow. He flipped it, pressed the trigger again, and didn’t miss.

  Standing, he flew down the corridor, bursting with the need to take action. To find Cinder, Aria, Roar. With Hess and Sable chin-deep in a crisis, this was their chance of escaping.

  Halfway down the corridor, a high-powered flashlight blinded him. He brought a hand up, shielding his aching eyes, blinking until he saw Hess appear at the far end.

  Half a dozen Guardians stood with him, guns raised, demanding that Perry surrender his weapon.

  Outnumbered and outgunned, Perry let out a curse and tossed the gun to the floor.

  Hess came forward, his gaze flicking to the Guardians Perry had overpowered. “You make yourself very hard to like, Outsider.” The bright light swung to the end of the corridor. “Get them to the infirmary,” Hess commanded the men behind him. Then to Perry, he said, “We have only minutes. Come. Quickly.”

  Having no other option, Perry followed. Guardians fell in behind him as Hess led the way, hurrying through the tunnels of the Komodo. Perry felt like tearing the walls down with his hands. For a few moments there, he’d felt hope, and a taste of freedom.

  Far sooner than he expected, Hess led him into a chamber. He found himself staring at Aria, Roar, and Soren, Hess’s flashlight moving from one stunned face to the other.

  Neither Roar nor Soren hid their shock when they saw the dark welts over Perry’s arms and chest. Shame made his face burn, but Aria moved to his side, weaving her fingers gently through his, her touch bolstering him.

  Hess posted his men outside, and waited until the door closed before he spoke. “This will need to be brief, which means you listen unless I ask you to speak.” He paused and they drew into a tighter circle, waiting for him to continue. Soren was smiling, failing to hide his pride. Hess acknowledged his son with a nod, and then lowered the beam to their feet, creating a pool of light across the floor.

  “If we are to ally ourselves,” Hess said, “if I am to carry your tribe to the Still Blue, Peregrine, Sable will need to be expelled. His men will need to be thrust from this ship and my fleet of Hovers. That will require planning and coordination to execute successfully.”

  Perry felt Aria shift beside him. This was what they’d expected. Sable was taking control. Hess couldn’t ignore it any longer. He was changing sides. “How long do you need, Hess?”

  “Eight hours. We’ll move in the morning.”

  “No. That’s too long.”

  “You’re making demands already, Peregrine?”

  “You’ve already taken a hit. Sable is commanding your men. He’ll take them all if you give him the time.”

  “You think I don’t know that? That is precisely why I need to know how deep he has already struck before we proceed. A coup won’t work unless I can trust those who enact it. In eight hours,
when everything is in place, we’ll leave the Komodo behind and take the Hovers.”

  “Give me a knife,” Roar said. “I’ll end this in ten minutes.”

  “Do you think I haven’t considered that?” Hess said. “What do you think the Horns would do if Sable were slain? Lay down their weapons and surrender?”

  Perry knew they wouldn’t. With their survival at stake, they would stand and fight with or without Sable. In order for the Tides to be in, the Horns needed to be out—all of them. “Two hours, Hess.”

  “Impossible. I need time to coordinate the effort, or he’ll know. He watches everything. He is shrewd, manipulative, and organized. He is a nightmare. A demon that wears a smile as he sinks his fangs into you.”

  “He’s human,” Perry said. “I’ll prove it to you when I cut out his heart.”

  The comment seemed to get through to Hess. His brow furrowed in concentration; his small eyes honed in on Perry. “Four hours. Not a minute less.”

  Perry nodded, accepting the compromise. He glanced at Roar and Aria, wanting to get them out of there now, but Sable couldn’t suspect anything. That meant they needed to stay put.

  “What about this meeting?” Aria asked. “What if he finds out about us?”

  “Right now,” Hess said, “we are experiencing an unfortunate mechanical malfunction caused by an Aether storm. Coincidentally, that has happened while Sable and most of his men happen to be in other units of the Komodo. The few Horns who are in this one are in areas suffering from complete power outages. They’re being watched by my men with night-vision eyewear as they fumble about in the dark.”

  “You staged this entire thing?” Aria asked.

  “Sable is deep on the inside. It was the only way.” Hess turned the flashlight on Perry. “The only thing I didn’t account for was natural night vision among my captives. You could have ruined everything if I hadn’t intercepted you.”

  Perry said nothing. Planning the Komodo’s breakdown so they could meet in secret was a smart move. He only hoped Hess could continue to outmaneuver Sable. “You have to stay away from him. Sable will know if you plan to betray him, just as I’d know.”

  Hess waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “You don’t understand. He will scent your distrust. Your intention to betray him.”

  “I said I will take care of it,” Hess repeated. “Four hours. No one even thinks about leaving until then. And I need an assurance from you, Peregrine. If I do this, you promise me you’ll get Cinder to break through that wall. You make sure he does it, or we have no deal.”

  Perry felt sick, but he held Hess’s gaze. “You have my word.”

  The tension eased from Hess’s face. “Good.”

  Aria inched closer. Perry felt her arm rest against his, but he couldn’t look at her. He didn’t want to see her disappointment—or her approval. Barely a second had passed and he already wanted to unmake his own promise.

  “Is that all?” Hess said.

  “No,” Perry said. “I’m going to need some clothes.” He wanted his own clothes. The reassuring weight and toughness of leather and wool. But he’d settle for anything that would keep the bruises Sable had given him out of sight.

  Hess nodded. “Of course.”

  Emergency lights flickered on, a deep crimson color washing over the small room.

  “Hurry!” Hess said. “We’re out of time. Back to your chamber!”

  Perry pulled Aria to his chest, wrapping his aching arms around her. He caught Roar’s eye. “Keep her safe.”

  Roar nodded. “Of course. With my life.”

  Perry pressed a kiss to the top of Aria’s head; then he plunged back through the corridors until he was imprisoned again.

  29

  ARIA

  How much time is left, Soren?” Roar asked.

  “When you asked me that five minutes ago, I guessed three hours.”

  “What’s your guess now, Soren?”

  “Two hours and fifty-five minutes, Roar.”

  Roar dropped his head, peering at Aria through a fringe of brown hair. “I knew he was going to say that.”

  She forced a smile, feeling restless too. Three more hours until she was free of this room and back with Perry.

  The Komodo was moving again, but at a slower pace. She imagined what the caravan would look like from outside: uncoiled, stretched out like a centipede under a sky full of Aether funnels. Every few minutes, the room shifted without warning and she braced, expecting it to stop, but the Komodo kept grinding along.

  “You know what I want to know?” Soren said from the other bunk. “Why neither one of you is talking about Perry. Is torture normal out here? Is it like, ‘Yeah, I was brutalized today. Kind of boring. What about you—what did you do?’”

  “I told Roar about it earlier,” Aria admitted.

  “Did you keep it from me because of my father? Was he part of it?”

  “No, Sable did it. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you’d care. You always act like you hate Perry.”

  Soren nodded. “True. I do hate him.” He leaned over his legs and shoved his hands into his hair. “What am I thinking? What are any of us thinking?”

  “I’m thinking about getting out of this room,” Aria said.

  Roar pointed between them. “Our thoughts are in harmony.”

  “I’m thinking this,” Soren said. “Sable killed Perry’s sister. Perry killed his own brother. My father and Sable both left thousands of their people to die. I’m dependent on drugs to keep me sane. And we’re the ones who are trying to start over? How are we the best hope for a new world?”

  “Because we’re the only ones left,” Aria said. Then she realized she could do better. “We all have the potential to do terrible things, Soren. But we also have the potential to overcome our mistakes. I need to believe that. What point is there otherwise?”

  She had to believe Hess was capable of redeeming himself. They were depending on him.

  Soren lay back on his cot. He crossed his arms over his head, sighing dramatically. “What point is there indeed.”

  Roar also lay down, resting his head on Aria’s lap. He closed his eyes, a small line of tension forming between his dark eyebrows. That line was new, since Liv’s death.

  Aria wanted to smooth it with her finger, but she didn’t. It wouldn’t make him feel any better, and what she gave to Roar could only come up to a point. No matter how much she loved him, that line of tension wasn’t hers to fix.

  Her thoughts turned to Loran. In hours, she’d be leaving him behind. That didn’t feel right, but as Sable’s closest adviser, he couldn’t know what they planned to do, either. She shook her head at herself. Why did she care? She didn’t owe him anything.

  “If we get to the Still Blue,” Soren said, “we should look at how to make more people like you, Aria.”

  She laughed. “Make more people like me? You mean half-breeds?”

  “No. I mean people who are forgiving and optimistic and things like that.”

  Aria smiled at the irony. Her thoughts about her father hadn’t exactly been forgiving or optimistic. “Thank you, Soren. That is the nicest indirect compliment I’ve ever received.”

  Roar smiled, his eyes still closed. “I’m going to miss these talks.” The line between his eyebrows was almost, almost gone.

  He sat up at the sound of voices out in the corridor.

  The door opened, revealing a pair of Horn soldiers. “Come,” said the shorter man. “We have orders to bring you to Loran.”

  Aria didn’t remember making a decision to follow them. One second she was sitting on the cot next to Roar; the next she was moving through the halls.

  The sound of people running drifted to her ears, echoing from somewhere distant. Were Hess and his men organizing the overthrow? Something didn’t feel right.

  “What does Loran want from me?” she asked.

  “He gives us orders. We follow them,” said the shorter Horn soldier.
A casual answer, but tension laced his voice.

  Up ahead, two Guardians came into view. They paused, doing a double take when they saw her.

  Aria recognized them as the two men who had come to escort her to Hess—the same men whose suspicion Loran had deftly evaded.

  “What are you doing? Where are you taking her?” they asked, voices raised in alarm.

  The Horn soldiers drew their guns before Aria knew what was happening. They fired at the Guardians, the sound sending a stab of pain through Aria’s ears. The Guardians reacted, diving for cover around the bend in the corridor.

  The shorter Horn soldier yelled, “Go! Go! Go!” The two soldiers rushed ahead, pursuing the Guardians.

  Aria bolted in the other direction.

  “Stop!”

  She froze, peering behind her.

  The shorter man stood at the end of the corridor, aiming his gun at her. “Stay right here, and don’t move!”

  As soon as he disappeared, she sprinted away.

  When she’d left them far enough behind, she forced herself to slow down and walk calmly. Footsteps thundered closer. Her heart seized as a pair of Guardians came running with drawn guns. Panic blazed through her, but they shot right past, their frantic exchange pricking to her ears.

  “What was that? Did Hess order an early move?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve got no comm.”

  “Whose orders are we supposed to be following?”

  “I said I don’t know!”

  She backtracked to her chamber, her pulse hammering. Instinct told her that Sable had moved first—just as Perry had predicted. Why else would the Horns have fired at the Dwellers back there? Sable must have learned about Hess’s plan and preempted him.

  The corridors bustled with activity the closer she came to her chamber. Horn soldiers jogged past, shaking the Komodo, so focused they barely gave her a passing glance. By contrast, the Guardians who streamed through the halls looked stunned and confused.

  Her composure returning, she broke her objectives down. Get Roar and Soren. Find Perry and Cinder. Leave the Komodo as far behind as she could.

  She’d almost reached the chamber when Loran appeared at the end of the corridor, rushing her way. His eyes locked sharply with hers, like she’d shouted his name. “I’ll meet you outside,” he told the men accompanying him.