34
PEREGRINE
So, what happened?” Twig asked. “The Dwellers couldn’t hold on against the Horns?”
Perry sat at the edge of the wooden platform at the center of the main cavern. He’d changed into his own clothes soon after arriving. Then he’d spent a little time with Talon, catching up on the past couple of days. Now Perry was surrounded by his people, who gathered along the platform with him and pressed together at nearby tables.
He felt crowded and mildly panicked, as he always did inside the cave, but like he was exactly where he should be: immersed in the Tides.
Marron was there. Old Will. Molly and Bear, and the Six. Wherever he looked, he saw smiles. Their happiness flooded his nose with bright scents, their tempers bringing him the spring the Aether had taken.
Perry hadn’t realized how scared they’d been until then. The relief he scented was potent; he wondered how many in the tribe had believed he’d never come back from the Komodo.
Nearby, Talon, Willow, and Brooke’s sister, Clara, played a game to see who could jump furthest from the platform. Cinder acted as judge, Flea sitting beside him. Everyone else—everyone over thirteen—waited to hear what happened in the Komodo.
Perry looked at Roar, who was the storyteller between the two of them, but Roar smiled and shook his head.
“This one’s yours, Per,” he said. He tipped back a bottle of Luster, taking a healthy drink, his temper the mellowest Perry had scented since Liv’s death.
Perry started with their breach of the Komodo, and then told the tribe about their imprisonment and escape, leaving out only what Sable had done to him. When he skipped that part, Reef pinned a searing gaze on him. Perry expected questions from him later.
As he talked, bowls of fish soup were passed around, along with huge loaves of bread and thick slices of cheese. A luxury, Perry knew, and he said as much.
“Oh, enjoy it!” Marron offered in a rare show of abandon. “You’re home, Peregrine. You’ve made it back safely, all of you, and we’re so happy.”
He sat next to Roar, who’d insisted that Marron share his bottle of Luster. Marron’s cheeks were flushed, his blue eyes carefree. Seeing him that way made Perry smile.
Reef crossed his arms. “Hess and Sable turned on each other.”
Perry nodded, taking a huge bite of bread. His appetite for real food—not the Dwellers’ plastic-tasting meals—was enormous. The only thing he wanted more at the moment was a bed.
A bed with Aria in it, he amended.
“We should learn from that,” Reef continued. “We should take that as a warning. We’re at risk of the very same thing happening here.”
Perry swallowed. “What are you saying?”
“The Dwellers,” Molly explained. “They’re keeping their distance. They’re scared of us, Perry. That’s all.”
Reef crossed his arms. “Fear is dangerous. It sparks violence much faster than anger. Doesn’t it, Peregrine?”
“It can, yes.”
From the corner of his eye, Perry caught the small shake of Roar’s head. It felt so right, Reef’s lectures and Roar’s annoyance at Reef’s lectures. The moment strengthened him more than a bellyful of food.
“The Dwellers are harmless,” Molly said. “They’ll mix with us now that Aria is back. I’m more concerned about other things. Perry, you said we needed Hovers to reach the Still Blue. . . . We only have two.”
Perry acknowledged the problem and stated his position on the matter. Two Hovers wasn’t enough, but the Tides—and the Dwellers in the back—would stand together. He and Aria had agreed; they wouldn’t make a selection of people to go.
“I support that stance,” said Marron. “I’m behind you.”
“I’m behind you,” said Reef, “but I don’t support that stance. Why should we all perish?”
“Hold on,” Twig said. “Isn’t there another option besides perishing?”
“We could try to locate more Hovers,” said Marron, slurring a little.
“From another Pod?” Reef shook his head. “We don’t have time for that. We don’t know if other Pods even exist anymore.”
They wanted to take action, which Perry understood. It was always his impulse too. But this time, their best course was simply to wait.
Sable needed Cinder. He would come to them—soon. Perry had no doubt in his mind. But that knowledge would only put the tribe in a panic, so he held his tongue. The Tides would know soon enough.
As the debate continued, Perry’s gaze drifted to the children again. They took turns running up and smacking Straggler on the head, trying to get him to chase them. Cinder had moved off. He sat with Bear, looking especially small and frail next to the huge farmer whose life he’d saved.
Cinder’s favorite black cap had found its way back to his head. Molly’s doing, Perry was sure. She’d have had it waiting for him.
Cinder saw Perry watching him and forced a smile, though his eyes were almost closed.
“He’s tired,” Molly said. “I’ll find him a quiet place to sleep soon, but let’s give him a few more minutes. This is doing wonders for his heart.” She smiled, and added, “And mine.” She studied Perry, her brown eyes knowing. “They wanted him for his ability.”
Perry nodded. “He’s the only way to get through the barrier of Aether that surrounds the Still Blue.”
Molly pressed her lips together, falling silent for a moment. “You saw what it cost him to channel the Aether in the compound, Perry. He’s barely recovered at all since then. You know what it would mean for him to use his ability in his condition?”
“I do.” It was all he wanted to say about it now. He shut away his worries about Cinder behind thick walls, with his memories of Liv.
Liv.
His heart began to pound. He looked at Roar, who had the bottle of Luster halfway to his mouth. Roar stopped and made a face, his eyes narrowing in question.
“Walk with me?” Perry said.
Roar’s mouth broke into a grin. “Finish that,” he said, pushing the bottle of Luster at Marron. Then he hopped to his feet and said, “Lead the way, Per.”
Perry walked to the cove outside and kept going, climbing the bluff and then following the trail back to the Tide compound. He hadn’t set out to return home; his feet just carried him there out of habit.
Illuminated by thick Aether flows, the night was as bright as twilight, as all nights were now. Ashes flittered through the air; soft as feathers underfoot. His pulse beat too fast for the easy pace he and Roar made.
They arrived at the compound and walked to the center of the clearing. Perry felt raw, like every step brought him closer to the edge of a cliff. His gaze swept across the homes, hollow and eerily quiet. Bear and Molly’s house stood out, looking like a rotten tooth with its listing walls blackened and leaning at odd angles. He remembered the night Bear had been trapped under those walls.
Perry’s house still stood, though. It didn’t look the same, but it didn’t look different, either. He stared at it for a long time, trying to figure out what had changed. Debating whether he wanted to go inside.
“Remember when I tripped you during the summer festival,” Roar said, “and you fell into Vale’s mug and chipped a tooth?”
Used to his spontaneous stories, Perry answered smoothly. “I remember Vale chasing me down and beating me for spilling Luster all over his lap.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have fallen on him.”
“Right. That was stupid of me.”
“It was. You’ve always been terrible at falling.”
Despite their joking, Perry felt sure now that Roar was seeing all the same memories he was. All the times they’d torn through the compound as kids, barefoot, noisy, safe, no thought in their minds that this place would ever change. That people they loved would vanish.
Or be murdered.
He cleared his throat. It was time. “I’m supposed to talk to you about things. About what’s been going on.”
�
��Really? Why start now?”
“Aria. I promised her.”
Roar’s smile was faint. He crossed his arms and stared at Perry’s house. The house that had also been Liv’s.
Perry caught a sob in the back of his throat and drew a quick breath. The ache he felt for Liv was a monstrous thing, clawing at his chest. He began before he lost his nerve.
“Liv is alive in my peripheral vision. When I’m not thinking about her . . . when she’s just past the point where I can see her, it feels like she’s still there. Thinking of ways to embarrass me. Telling me all the stupid things you said, like I don’t already know. Like I wasn’t there to hear them myself. But when I look right at her, I remember she’s gone and I—” He stared at the sky for a few moments, forcing himself to draw a few breaths before he continued. “I couldn’t let myself feel that kind of anger. That lost. Not with the Tides needing me to be Blood Lord.”
“Why don’t you just tell me the truth, Perry? Why can’t you ever say what you’re really thinking?”
Perry glanced at him, surprised. Roar was still staring at Perry’s house, his jaw clenched. “Why don’t you tell me what you think I’m thinking?”
Roar wheeled and faced him directly. “You blame me! I was there and I couldn’t protect her—”
“No.”
“I told you I’d bring her home and I didn’t. I lost her. I—”
“No, Roar,” he said again. “No one on this earth would have fought harder for her than you—and that includes me. You think I haven’t thought about what I could’ve done to get her back? To have stopped it from happening?”
Roar’s eyes blazed with intensity, but he said nothing.
“I don’t blame you,” Perry said. “Stop acting like I do, because I don’t.”
“When I showed up at the cave, you couldn’t even stand to look at me.”
“That’s in your head.”
“It’s not. You’re hardly subtle.” Roar waved a hand. “About anything.”
“You vain bastard. I wasn’t avoiding you. You just sulk whenever you’re not the center of attention.”
Roar lifted his shoulders. “Maybe that’s true, but you were acting like Liv never existed. I was on my own.”
“Which was a disaster. You’re miserable on your own. And stupid. Turning back in the Komodo was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. Without question.”
Roar smiled. “You’re making this so easy, Perry.” A laugh burbled out of him, but it didn’t taper off. What started as a chuckle gained momentum, growing in volume.
Roar’s laugh was wicked and high-pitched, resembling the cackle of a wild turkey. It was one of the funniest sounds Perry had ever heard; he was powerless against it. Soon they were both howling, standing in the middle of a place that was, and wasn’t, home.
By the time they settled down and took the trail back to the cave, Perry’s ribs ached.
“Why were we laughing?”
Roar gestured to the south, where Aether funnels scored down to the earth. “Because of that. Because the world is ending.”
“That shouldn’t be funny.”
Apparently it was, because it got them started again.
Perry had no idea if he’d expressed half of what he’d intended. He knew he’d been selfish, leaving Roar to deal with Liv’s death alone. He hadn’t let himself accept that she was gone, so he’d failed his friend, and himself, but he meant to change that. He was terrible at falling—Roar was right about that—but nothing ever kept him down.
As they walked back to the cave, a piece of him that had been broken felt whole again. Nothing looked the same or smelled the same, and maybe the world was ending, but he and Roar would walk to that end side by side.
When they arrived, they found the main cavern empty, everyone already gone to sleep. Perry left Roar and headed for his tent, half-asleep himself.
Reef and Marron intercepted him on the way.
“A few words?” Reef said.
“Sure,” Perry said. “A few.” He was so tired; every time he blinked he felt like he dreamed.
“Did you and Roar talk?” Marron asked.
Perry nodded. “Just did.”
Marron smiled. “Good.”
“He’s selfish and arrogant,” said Reef.
“But he’s good for Perry, Reef,” Marron said.
Reef grunted—as enthusiastic as he’d ever sounded about Roar.
Marron reached into a satchel. “I forgot to give this back to you earlier.” He removed the Blood Lord chain, handing it over.
“Thank you,” Perry said, pulling it on. The weight of the metal around his neck was more familiar than comfortable. He wondered if it would ever be both.
Marron and Reef exchanged a look, and then Reef drew a noisy breath, pushing back his braids. “You brought us both into the Tides, Perry. Neither one of us would be here if you hadn’t let us into your tribe.”
“That’s right,” Marron said. “You offered us shelter when we needed it most. When you couldn’t afford to, you helped us.”
Perry had never felt like he’d done either of them a favor. It had always felt the other way around.
“Between my group from Delphi and Reef’s Six, we’re fifty-three people,” said Marron. “Fifty-three who’ll willingly stay behind. We won’t take the place of your tribe on those Hovers.”
Reef nodded. “There’s no way forward that isn’t through pain and hardship, Peregrine. You must see that. It’s your task as Blood Lord to do what’s best for the whole—for as many of your tribe as you can help—not what’s easiest.”
“We’d like you to just consider what we’re saying,” Marron said. “That’s all we ask.”
Perry pretended to think for a few seconds. “It’s a noble offer. . . . Did either of you think I’d accept it?”
Reef and Marron went still, neither one replying, but the answer was plain on their faces.
Perry grinned. “Well, you were right.” Clapping them on the shoulders, he bid them good night.
In his tent, Perry found Cinder asleep next to Talon. Flea was rolled into a ball under Cinder’s arm.
Perry knelt and scratched his coarse fur. The dog angled his head up, his tail padding against the blankets. He loved to be scratched in the soft slope between his wide-set eyes.
Perry’s gaze moved to Talon and Cinder. The boys had fallen in together like they’d known each other since birth. He owed that to Willow.
“And you too, fleabag,” he said.
Cinder’s eyes blinked open. Perry smiled, too happy to see him there to feel sorry for waking him. “How’d you get him away from Willow?” he asked, nodding to Flea.
Lying on his side, Cinder gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I didn’t do anything. He just came back with me.”
“Willow was fine with that?”
The corner of Cinder’s mouth pulled up. “Sorta. She told Flea he could stay with me this one time only, since I just got back.”
“Generous of her, actually.”
“Yeah,” Cinder said. “I know.” His smile widened. “She’s still cursing. You thought she’d stop when I got here, but she hasn’t.”
“We already knew that Willow is unstoppable.”
“I know,” Cinder said again. “She is.”
As the moment settled between them, Perry looked from Cinder to Talon, and his vision began to blur. These boys—only one of them his blood relative, but both of them family—replenished him. They gave him confidence and purpose. Wearing the chain made sense when he looked at them, when he thought of them with Willow and Clara, whooping as they leaped from a platform into the darkness. They were the future, and they were so good.
Perry pushed a bit of small talk past his lips, buying a moment to compose himself. “So, how are you doing?”
“I’m tired.”
Perry waited, knowing there was more.
“And I’m scared,” Cinder said. “Are we going to the Still Blue?”
“I don’t
know . . . maybe.”
“If we do, I’ll have to get us through.”
Reef’s words echoed in Perry’s mind. There is no way forward that isn’t through pain. He shook his head, pushing them away.
“Whatever happens, Cinder, I swear to you, I won’t leave your side.”
Cinder didn’t say anything, but Perry scented the easing of anxiety from his temper. That seemed to be all he needed to surrender to sleep. In seconds, Cinder’s eyes fluttered closed.
Perry stayed a moment longer, soaking in the quiet. Flea began to whimper, his legs twitching as he dreamed about chasing something. Perry wondered if it was the Still Blue.
He stood, moving to the trunks containing the remnants of his family’s belongings. Talon’s falcon carvings. Vale’s ledger. One of Mila’s painted bowls, which he and Liv had cracked while wrestling and then fixed unsuccessfully. These things might never go anywhere, he realized now.
He stepped out of his boots and was unbuckling his belt when Aria slipped into the tent. “Hey,” he said, going still.
“Hi.” She glanced at Cinder and Talon, smiling when she saw Flea, but her temper brimmed with anxiousness. He felt it coil inside his chest, stealing away the peaceful, tired feeling he’d felt a second ago.
He didn’t know what to do next. He didn’t know whether to pull off his belt. It seemed like a bigger decision than it should have been. Belt off was normal for him at the end of the day, but he didn’t want her to think he assumed something would happen between them.
Even though he wanted it to. Badly.
He was being an idiot. She trusted him. He knew that. He’d only make this more awkward by dressing again.
He pulled off his belt and placed it on the trunk. “I went out with Roar,” he said to fill the silence.
“How was it?”
“Really good. Thank you.”
“I’m glad.”
Her smile was genuine, but faint. Something was on her mind. Her gaze flicked to the empty bed and then to the tent flap.
He spoke quickly, worried that she might leave. “It’s a little crowded, but I’m glad you’re here. If you decide you want to stay. I’m glad you’re here even if you don’t want to stay. Either is fine. Anything you want is perfect.”
Under the Never Sky: The Complete Series Collection Page 81