“Marron says he’ll have the files and the link working by tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” she said.
The word hung in the quiet of the room. Perry drew a slow breath, working up the courage to say what he’d wanted to for days. Everything could change when they fixed the Smarteye. This could be his last chance to tell her.
“Aria . . . everyone feels lost and low. It’s how a person acts that makes them different. These last days you kept going despite those feet. Despite not knowing your way . . . Despite me.”
“I can’t tell if that was a compliment or an apology.”
He peered at her. “Both. I could’ve been kinder to you.”
“You could have at least said a little more.”
He smiled. “I don’t know about that.”
She laughed, and then her eyes turned serious. “I could have been kinder too.”
She scooted herself back against the headboard. Her dark hair fell straight to her shoulders, framing her small chin. Her pink lips turned up in a soft smile.
“I’ll forgive you on two conditions.”
Perry leaned back on his good arm and stole a look at her. Her body belonged in tight clothes, not in camos. He felt guilty looking, but he couldn’t help it. “Yeah? What are they?”
“First, tell me what your temper is like right now.”
He covered his surprised gasp with a cough. “My temper?” No way this was a good idea. He searched for a gentle way to say no. “I could try,” he said after a moment, and then pushed a hand through his hair, shocked at what he’d just agreed to do.
“All right. . . .” He fiddled with the edge of his cast. “Scents, the way I get them, are more than smells. They have weights and temperatures sometimes. Colors, too. I don’t think it’s like that for others. My bloodline on my father’s side is strong. Probably the strongest line of Scires.” He stopped himself, not wanting to sound boastful. He realized his thighs were flexed tight. “So, my temper right now is probably cool. And heavy. That’s what sorrow is like. Dark and thick, like stone. Like the scent coming off a wet rock.”
He glanced at her. She didn’t look like she wanted to laugh so he kept going. “There’d be more. Most of the time, a lot of times . . . there are a few scents in a temper. Nervous tempers are sharp scents. Like laurel leaves? Something bright and tingling like that? Nervous tempers are hard to ignore. So there’d be some of that probably.”
“Why are you nervous?”
Perry smiled down at his cast. “That question makes me nervous.” He made himself look at her. Looking at her wasn’t working either, so he pinned his gaze on the lamp. “I can’t do this, Aria.”
“Now you have an idea how it feels. How exposed I feel around you.”
Perry laughed. “That was tricky of you. You want to know what I’m nervous about now? That you have a second condition.”
“It’s not a condition. It’s more of a request.”
Every part of him was locked tight, waiting for what she’d say next.
Aria pulled the covers over her, hugging them close. “Will you stay? I think I’d sleep better if you stayed here tonight. Then we could miss them together.”
His impulse was to agree. She was beautiful sitting against the headboard, her skin looking smoother, softer than the sheets pulled up around her. But Perry hesitated.
Sleeping was the most dangerous thing a Scire could do with another person. Tempers mixed in the harmony of sleep. They tangled up, forming their own bonds. Scires became rendered that way, as had happened with him and Talon.
He didn’t know why he thought of this only now, but he didn’t need to worry. Scires seldom rendered to anyone outside their Sense. And she was a Dweller. The furthest thing from being a Scire. Besides, he’d been sleeping within feet of her for more than a week. What difference would another day make?
Perry’s eyes flicked to the soft carpet, then back to Aria. “I’ll be right here.”
Chapter 26
ARIA
Marron had a running countdown to when they could safely power up her Smarteye. He showed it to Aria in the morning, when he took her down to the Navel.
Seven hours, forty-three minutes, and twelve seconds.
It was an estimate, but Aria knew enough about Marron to take the numbers for their worth. The room was spare and cold compared to the rest of Delphi. A collection of computer equipment. A desk and a couch. It had a sacred air. She had the impression no one came down there except Marron. Aria noticed a vase of roses sitting on a little coffee table.
“You liked the other one so,” Marron said, beaming, then he quietly set to work on her Smarteye at his desk.
Aria sat on the couch, her stomach rolling with nerves. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the numbers on the wallscreen. Was the recording of Ag 6 still in the Eye? Was the “Songbird” file? Would she be able to find Lumina and Talon? Only an hour had passed when Marron invited her on a walk outside. She agreed right away. Her feet were still sore, but she’d go crazy down here all alone. Time had never moved more slowly.
She searched for Perry as they moved through Delphi’s halls. She’d stayed awake listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing during the night. But when she’d woken that morning, he hadn’t been there.
Aria immediately noticed a change in the courtyard as she stepped outside with Marron. Only a few people were moving about, compared with the bustle she’d seen when she stormed in with Cinder.
“Where is everyone?” Aria glanced at the sky. She’d seen much worse than the veinlike flows above.