“Yes,” she admitted. “What happened was my mistake, mostly. A few weeks ago, I was trying to protect him, and . . . I ended up hurting him instead.”
“Tricky, but I have an idea. When I fall asleep, go find him and apologize.” He winked at her. “Mostly.”
Aria smiled. She liked that idea a lot.
6
PEREGRINE
Have you chosen your team?” Reef dropped more kindling onto the fire, coaxing the flames to life. “Who are you taking tomorrow?”
Perry rubbed his jaw, watching as the rising firelight brought his friends out of the darkness. The rest of the Six emerged. Molly and Marron, too.
It was late—hours after supper—but he had chosen fresh air over sleep. They followed him outside, one and then two and then eight of them, settling in a circle on the small beach. His closest friends, except Roar and Aria.
Now he saw Reef’s question in all of their eyes. Perry had considered the team he’d take for tomorrow’s mission, and he was sure about his choices, but he expected them to raise some debate.
“Everything here will be fine while you’re away,” Marron said, picking up on his hesitation. “No need to worry.”
“I know,” Perry said. “I know it will be.”
Before he left, he would give the Blood Lord chain around his neck to Marron, entrusting the Tides to his care once again. No one was better suited to look after them.
Perry leaned back, his gaze moving south to a knot of Aether—a storm heading their way. The red flares were mesmerizing. They could have been beautiful.
Looking at Reef, he forced himself to say what needed saying. “You’re staying here.” He found the rest of the Six. “All of you are.”
“Why?” Straggler said, straightening. He was still shorter than Hyde and Hayden, who slouched at his sides. “Did we do something wrong?”
“Shut up, Strag,” Gren called across the fire.
“You shut up,” Straggler shot back. “Perry, no one would fight harder for you than us. Who could be better?”
Hyde smacked his brother on the head. “Be quiet, you idiot. Sorry, Per. Go on. . . . Where did we fail you?”
“You didn’t, but this isn’t a straight fight. We won’t stand a chance if we try to meet Sable and Hess head-on.”
“Then who are you taking?” Strag asked.
Here goes, Perry thought. “Roar,” he said.
Silence fell over the group, amplifying the snap of the fire and the crash of the waves.
Marron spoke first. “Peregrine, I don’t think that’s a good idea, considering the way the two of you have been since he came back. Not to mention the loss you’ve both suffered.”
Perry had never understood that phrase not to mention. It was mentioned. Liv was suddenly there, in the cool ocean air. In the tumbling waves. In the monster waking inside his mind and clawing at the walls of his skull.
He dug his fingers into the sand, squeezing until his knuckles ached. “Roar is the right man for it.”
Silent and lethal, Roar was the closest thing he had to an assassin. He also had the fine, perfect features of a Dweller. He could pass for an Outsider or a Mole, which made him versatile—a good thing, as they’d form a plan of attack once they could assess the Komodo more closely.
“Who else?” asked Reef tightly.
“Brooke.”
Gren’s mouth fell open and Twig made a choking sound, which he camouflaged by clearing his throat. No secrets here; they all knew Perry’s history with Brooke.
As far as appearances went, Brooke had the same advantage as Roar. Men nodded yes first and listened second when she spoke, and that might prove useful. She was as strong a Seer as the brothers, a better shot, and levelheaded in tough situations. A few weeks ago, when the Tide compound had been raided, she hadn’t made a single misstep. They’d been through some bumps, but Perry needed her.
“And Aria?” Marron asked, his voice rising at the end.
“Yes.”
He didn’t miss the stunned looks traded across the flames. Everyone knew she was injured. Everyone knew they’d fought. Or argued. Or whatever that had been. The Battle Room had lived up to its name today.
“I’m taking Soren, too,” he said, forging ahead. “He’s the only one who can fly the Hover. He’s the only one who can get us there quickly. You said we might only have days, Marron. I can’t waste time traveling to the Komodo on foot or horseback.”
Perry saw no way around it. He needed speed. He needed the Hover. As much as he wished otherwise, that meant he needed Soren.
“Just so I don’t mistake you,” said Reef, “these are the people you’re taking with you? You believe these five will come together as a team?”
“That’s right,” Perry said.
“You’re betting our lives on that?” Reef pressed.
Perry nodded. “Sable and Hess have all the brute power. Force won’t work against them. We need to be small and sharp. We’ll have to pierce like a needle to have any chance.”
Quiet settled over the group again, a few anxious glances turning south. Perry listened to the surf as their tempers drifted toward him, carrying disbelief and anxiousness and outrage.
The silent roar of the Tides.
When Perry stepped into his tent, he found Talon still awake.
“What are you doing up, Squeak?” he asked, setting his bow and quiver against the trunks. It had to be well past midnight.
Talon sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I had a nightmare.”
“Hate those.” Perry unbuckled his belt and dropped it aside. “What are you waiting for?” he said, climbing into bed. “Get on over here.”
Talon scrambled to his side. He thrashed around, his knobby knees banging into Perry’s ribs for a few minutes before he finally settled down.
“I miss our house,” he said. “Don’t you?”
“Yes,” Perry said, staring up at the canvas above him. More than anything, he missed the gap in the loft’s timbers. For years he’d been too tall to stretch out fully in that loft, but he hadn’t cared. He’d loved falling asleep with his eyes on a little piece of the sky.
He bumped Talon’s arm playfully. “This isn’t so bad though, is it? You and Willow don’t seem to mind it.”
Talon shrugged. “Yeah. It’s not bad. Willow said that Molly said that you’re leaving tomorrow to get Cinder. Why do you have to go, Uncle Perry?”
There it was. The real reason Talon couldn’t sleep.
“Because Cinder needs me, just like you did when you were in Reverie. And I need a few things from the Dwellers that’ll help us get to the Still Blue.”
“If you don’t come back, I’ll be alone.”
“I’m coming back, Talon.”
“My dad’s gone. My mom and Aunt Liv—”
“Hey.” Perry propped himself on an elbow so he could look at his nephew’s face. He searched for a little of himself or Liv, but all he saw—from Talon’s serious green eyes to his dark curls—was Vale. He couldn’t fault Talon for being afraid. But there was no way he’d fail his nephew. “I’m coming back. All right?”
Talon nodded, the gesture a little dismissive.
“Do you know what happened between me and your father?” The words came out before Perry could stop them. They hadn’t spoken about Vale yet. About how Vale had sold Talon, his own son, to the Dwellers for food. Brooke’s sister, Clara, too. Unforgivable. But then Perry had killed Vale—also unforgivable. He knew that act would haunt him forever.
Talon lifted his small shoulders. “I was sick. He sent me to the Dwellers to get better. When I was, you came to get me back.”
Perry studied his nephew. Talon knew more than he was letting on. Maybe he was saying what Perry wanted to hear, or maybe he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Either way, Perry wasn’t going to push. It wouldn’t get him anywhere. Talon didn’t just look like Vale. He was as hardheaded and tight-lipped too.
Perry lay back down, resting his head on his arm, and flashed on his argument with Aria. Maybe he did have something in common with his nephew after all.
“You think there are places to fish in the Still Blue?” Talon asked.
“Sure. I bet there’s lots of places to fish.”
“Good, because Willow and I found some night crawlers today. Huge ones. Eleven of them. Huge ones. I have them in a jar.”
Perry tried his best to focus as Talon prattled on about bait, but his eyes grew heavy. He’d just closed them when he heard the shift of canvas.
Aria stepped into the tent and froze, squinting to see them in the darkness.
“We’re here,” Perry said. It was the only thing that came to mind. He hadn’t expected her, but a wave of relief swept through him at the sight of her.
“Hi, Aria,” Talon said, all chirky and bright.
“Hi, Talon.” She bit her lip, glancing at the tent flap behind her. “I just came to . . . I was going to . . . I guess I’ll see you later?” Her voice rose at the end, like a question.
Perry didn’t know what to do. Talon lay curled at his side—Aria’s spot for the past few nights. He couldn’t send his nephew away, but he didn’t want her to leave, either.
“You don’t have to go,” Talon said. He hopped over Perry, to his right side. “There’s room.”
“Great,” Aria said, and slid in on Perry’s other side.
For a long second, he couldn’t believe she was right next to him. Then he became intensely aware of everything about her. The weight of her arm resting on his chest. The chill her clothes held from the cave. The violet scent he loved.
“You’re quiet,” she said.
Talon giggled. “Because he likes you. Don’t you, Uncle Squawk?”
“I do.” Perry peered down and found Aria looking at him. She smiled, but concern shadowed her eyes. “Did you know that?”
“Even though I vanished?” she asked, using his word from earlier.
“Yes. Of course . . . I’ll always . . . like you, Aria.” He grinned, because he sounded like a fool. He loved her— down to his soul—and he was going to tell her sometime. But not with Talon’s knee digging into his kidney.
Aria smiled. “I’ll always like you too.”
The way she said it, the way her temper opened up, he knew she’d read his mind and felt the same way. Her lips were close. He pressed a kiss to them, though he wanted more, everything she’d give him.
That sent Talon over the edge. He lost it, his torrential giggles infectious, pulling them all in.
A full hour passed before the tent fell quiet again. Perry was covered in legs and arms and blankets, so hot that sweat dampened his shirt. The shoulder he’d dislocated a month ago ached beneath the weight of Aria’s head, and Talon was snoring right into his ear, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so good.
Being with the two of them reminded him of the first time he ever shot a bow. Like he had discovered something that was new, but that already fit him perfectly.
