“Sable!”
Roar’s shout broke the silence like a thunderclap. Hundreds of heads turned toward his voice—away from Perry as he grabbed the soldier by the neck, laying a forearm over the man’s mouth to stifle his protests. Perry hauled him into the darkness, back behind the cover of the shrub. Then he took the man’s pistol, lifted the weapon, and delivered a quick strike to the temple. The soldier’s head snapped to the side and he dropped, unconscious. Perry jumped up and sprinted the short distance to the clearing.
Everywhere, people rose to their feet, craning to see Roar, who held Kirra by the throat, using her body as a shield.
Perry dove into the crowd, sinking into his legs to minimize his height. Twig saw him and gasped, opening his mouth to say something. Perry shook his head, holding his finger to his lips.
Twig nodded.
A few more eyes darted Perry’s way. Old Will. Brooke and Clara. A murmur rose up around him but it faded quickly. The message passed through the crowd like a silent ripple: he was there—but he was to be concealed. The Tides understood. They gave no outward sign that he was among them. They kept the surprise from their faces, but he scented their tempers. He knew exactly how overcome they were to see him alive. The force of their emotion added to his resolve.
As he wove past Straggler and Old Will toward the high table at the center, Roar’s voice was the only sound he heard.
“Call them off, Sable! Tell your men to stand down, or I’ll kill her!”
Perry reached the edge of the crowd. The wooden dais stretched before him, Sable only a dozen paces away.
And Aria.
“Call your men off and I’ll let her go!” Roar yelled. “This is between us! It’s about Liv.”
Sable took a pistol from Aria’s father and stood, pushing back from the table. “I can’t say I’m surprised to see you.”
Gasps erupted from across the clearing as the crowd surged back, clearing the field between them.
“You have a debt to pay.” Roar’s voice sounded rough, hoarse with anger. His diversion was working; all eyes remained fixed on him.
Perry lifted the gun and aimed at Sable, searching for a clear shot. He found it. A kill shot, right to the back of his head. Steadying his breath, he exerted steady pressure on the trigger.
Aria shifted, suddenly in the way.
Perry let up, his heart climbing to his throat, but he wasted no time. He crept around the dais in search of another angle, knowing he had only seconds before the Horns spotted him.
“Sable, do something!” Kirra pleaded, struggling against Roar.
“No one else has to get hurt,” Roar yelled. “Only you. You need to pay for what you did!”
Sable raised the pistol in a quick, precise motion. “I disagree,” he said.
Then he fired.
51
ARIA
The gunshot shook the air. An instant later, Roar and Kirra collapsed to the earth.
Aria reacted without thinking, throwing herself into Sable. She rammed into his shoulder and they crashed to the platform. The hard edge of a plank bit into her back, Sable’s weight smashing her down. They rolled off together, onto the grass.
She twisted as they fell, grabbing the pistol in his hand. Her fingers found the trigger and squeezed. She heard the weapon fire just as Sable’s fist struck her across the temple.
Pain burst deep in her skull, a blaze that shot all the way down her spine, and everything went dark. The only thing she knew was that she still gripped the gun.
But then it tore from her fingers as unseen hands closed on her arms and wrenched her upright. They pulled with such force that her neck snapped forward, her chin hitting her breastbone.
Aria lifted her head. She couldn’t see—not the earth beneath her feet or the people around her. She blinked hard, trying to recover her vision. Trying to stay on her feet.
When her eyes cleared, she thought she’d died. That she’d shot herself while trying to kill Sable. It was the only explanation for why Perry stood only ten paces away, on the platform, pointing a gun at Sable.
Perry stepped down to the ground. Shouts exploded around the clearing. A dozen of Sable’s guards aimed their weapons at Perry.
He went still, his gaze flicking to Aria. Then he lowered the gun.
“Wise choice, Peregrine,” Sable said at her side. “If you kill me, my men will kill you, and then, quite probably, the killing will keep going for quite some time. I’m glad you recognize that.”
As he spoke, Aria noticed that he was empty-handed. She had disarmed him. She’d also taken off part of his ear.
Sable paused, wincing as he gave a small shake of his head, like he’d just become aware of the pain. He pressed at the bleeding wound and saw the blood on his fingers, then let out a raw groan of pure anger. “Take his gun, Loran,” he ordered.
Perry never took his eyes off Sable as Loran took the weapon from him.
Aria knew what was coming. She had seen this before. She’d lived this nightmare once already, on a balcony high over the Snake River. She felt like she was falling again. Like in seconds, she’d plunge into frigid black water.
“I have to admit,” he said, letting out a small laugh. “I am surprised to see you, Peregrine. My own fault for not being thorough. Not a mistake I’ll make again.” He glanced over his shoulder, at Loran. “I’ll take that pistol. And then you might consider holding your daughter. I wouldn’t want her to catch a stray shot.”
Loran didn’t move. Aria didn’t understand. Hadn’t he heard the command?
Seconds passed. Finally, Sable looked at him. “Loran, the gun.”
Loran shook his head. “You wanted to keep the old ways alive. You said so yourself when we came here.” He held up the pistol. “We never used these to settle a challenge before. Did the Tides, Peregrine?”
Every eye in the clearing turned to Perry.
He shook his head. “No. Never did.” Then he dove forward, flying at Sable.
52
PEREGRINE
As Perry tackled Sable to the ground, he waged a small debate with himself.
Make Sable suffer, or finish him instantly?
A little of both, he decided.
Sable fought him, pushing against Perry, but he was weaker and slower. Pinning him took no effort.
As Sable fell on his back, Perry punched him across the jaw. Sable’s head rocked to the side, his eyes losing focus as the blow stunned him. Perry grabbed the jeweled Blood Lord chain around his neck and gave the links a hard twist, tightening them.
Sable groaned and sputtered, thrashing beneath him, but Perry held him fast. He’d been in this position before, very nearly, with his brother. That had been harder. Much harder than this.
“You were right, Sable.” Perry twisted tighter, the gemstones cold against his fingers. “We are alike. Neither one of us deserves to wear this.” He twisted again.
Sable’s eyes bulged, and his skin turned blue.
“Perry!”
Perry heard Aria’s yell, just as the glint of steel flashed in the corner of his eye. He shifted away, but felt the blade slice into his side.
A hidden weapon. He should have known.
The knife grazed Perry’s ribs. It was a glancing blow—Sable too weak to put any force behind the strike—the pain that bit into him shallow, nothing compared to what Perry had been through.
“That’s not enough, Sable,” he growled. “You don’t have enough.” He cinched the links tighter and held on.
Sable convulsed, his eyes rolling back, the tone of his skin going from pale blue to white.
Finally, he went still.
Perry released the chain and climbed to his feet. He decided on the spot: This was it. His final act as Blood Lord of the Tides.
He pulled his own chain over his neck and dropped it on Sable’s body.
He spent the next hours defusing the tension in the clearing with Aria, Marron, and Loran. The Horns put down their weapons with little prote
st when they learned they weren’t in danger of retaliation. Aria’s father proved to be key to their disarmament. Perry quickly saw that Loran commanded more loyalty and respect from Sable’s people than Sable ever had.
Then the questions began as discussions turned to next steps. Who would lead? How would they meet basic needs?
Nothing was decided, but one note was heard over and again: the answers would come eventually and peaceably. Dweller. Outsider. Horn or Tide. They were of the same mind. They’d had enough of strife. It was time to shed the skin of the old world and move forward.
Later that night, when most everyone had settled into sleep, Perry caught Roar’s eye and they did what they’d done their entire lives, taking the trail to the beach to grab a few minutes of quiet.
This time was different.
Aria came with them. Talon and Willow, too.
Then Brooke and Soren. Molly and Bear and Marron.
It went on, a small crowd leaving the slumbering camp behind, and migrating down to the wide beach fringed by waves far gentler than those at the Tides.
Hyde and Hayden fetched wood. Jupiter brought down a guitar. Soon there was a fire and laughter. A real celebration.
“I told you we’d do it, Per,” Roar said.
“It was closer than I wanted it to be. I thought you’d really been shot.”
“I thought I’d gotten shot.”
“So did I,” Aria said. “You fell so dramatically.”
Caleb nodded. “He did. He fell with a flourish.”
Roar laughed. “What can I say? I’m just good at most things.”
As their joking continued, Perry’s thoughts turned to Kirra. Roar hadn’t been shot, but she had. It wasn’t right to celebrate her death, but Sable’s . . .
Perry felt no remorse for what he’d done. He wished he could be nobler about it, but he couldn’t be. He knew regret, having slain Vale. Perry would carry that burden for the rest of his life. But Sable’s death brought him nothing but relief.
Looking at the faces around him, he ached to see his sister’s. Liv should have been there, teasing Roar. Laughing louder than anyone at his jokes. Across the fire, Twig and the brothers sat quiet and somber, no doubt feeling the absence of Gren and Reef. They had all been brothers. A circle of Six—now broken, also because of Sable.
Perry’s gaze moved to Willow, who sat between Molly and Bear with Talon. Flea slept curled at her feet, but she looked lonely, and Perry knew who she missed.
They had made it here, but the price had been steep.
Aria’s hand slipped into his. She looked into his eyes, the firelight illuminating her face. “How are you doing?” she asked.
“Me?” Perry ran his fingers over the bruise Sable had left on her forehead. It would fade, and the cut Sable had given him on the ribs would heal. Perry hardly felt it now. What he felt was the girl he loved, tucked to his side. “I’m doing amazing.”
She smiled, recognizing her answer to the same question a few days ago. “Really?”
He nodded. When they found some time alone, he’d tell her about all the triumph and sorrow that stretched at the walls of his heart. For now, he just said, “Really.”
A conversation across the fire caught his attention. Marron was talking to Molly and a few Dwellers about forming a leadership council. They planned to begin recruiting members in the morning.
Perry gave Aria’s shoulder a squeeze, tipping his chin. “You should be part of that council.”
“I want to be,” she said, and then fell quiet for a moment. “Maybe I’ll ask Loran if he wants to be in it, too.”
It was a great idea. Perry couldn’t think of a better way for Aria to build a relationship with her father, and he knew how much she wanted that.
Aria’s gaze went to his neck, where the chain no longer rested. “What about you?”
“You’ll do a better job than I ever did. You already have. And I have important plans for tomorrow.”
“Important plans?”
“That’s right.” He winked at Talon, who was drifting to sleep next to Molly. “I’m going fishing.”
Aria’s gray eyes brightened. “Using what kind of bait? Earthworms? Night crawlers?”
“Are you ever going to forget that?”
“No. Never.”
“Fine.” He leaned in and whispered, “Then I love you, my little Night Crawler.” He kissed her then, because he could. Lingered over her lips, because he couldn’t stop himself.
Aria drew away first, leaving him out of his mind with desire. He’d been about two seconds from whisking her away somewhere, and she seemed to know it. She smiled at him, her eyes full of heat and promises; then she turned to Soren.
“Nothing to say?” she asked him. “No retching noises or snide remarks?”
“What—no.” The words came out together. Soren crossed his arms and lifted his shoulders. “Nothing.”
Beside him, Brooke shook her head. “That’s a first.”
Soren glanced at her, trying—and failing—to hold back a smile. “Can’t I just sit here, relishing the fire?”
“You’re relishing the fire?” Brooke laughed.
Soren frowned, looking confused. “What? Why is that funny?”
Perry noticed they sat a little closer than they needed to, and Brooke seemed happy.
Roar stood unexpectedly and headed into the darkness. Perry wondered if he’d seen the same, the beginnings of a pair, and been reminded of Liv.
But Roar only rounded the fire and grabbed the guitar from Jupiter. He came back and looked at Aria, smiling as he plucked the strings. Perry recognized the opening of the Hunter’s Song.
Aria straightened, rubbing her hands together in exaggerated eagerness. “My favorite.”
“Me too,” said Roar.
Perry grinned. It was his favorite—not theirs.
“Light of dawn in the hunter’s eyes,” Aria sang. “Home unfurls inside his mind.”
Roar joined in, their voices harmonizing perfectly, and it was a good thing—the best thing—hearing the two people who knew him best sing to him. The lyrics told the story of a hunter’s return, and they’d always swept Perry up; he’d hummed them a thousand times while walking the Tide Valley. He would never go back there, but tonight was still a return—to the life he wanted again.
They were safe. He could rest now. He smiled to himself. He could hunt.
“Peregrine,” Molly said sometime later, when the group had fallen quiet. Talon snored softly with his head in her lap. “Sable made an announcement to us earlier. He told us this place was going to be called Cape Rim. I think we can do better.”
“I know we can,” he said. “What would you call it, Molly?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and it seems to me we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Cinder.”
“Oh . . . ,” Marron said. “That’s lovely.”
Aria looked up, her violet scent filling him with steadiness. “What do you think?”
Perry looked down to the waves, and then farther out to the dark horizon, where he saw only stars. “I think it’s a great name.”
53
ARIA
Are you done?” Roar said. “Because that took forever.”
Aria stepped out of the Belswan Hover and jogged down the ramp to join him. “It took an hour, Roar.”
Behind her, the rest of the council members were still talking. Her father argued with Soren—a dynamic that was already familiar—while Marron and Molly interjected calmly from time to time. The meeting had ended, but there was so much to decide. Their discussions never really ended.
“That’s what I said. Forever.” Roar fell into step with her as they headed back to the settlement. “How was your swim?”
“Good. It’s helping.” In the weeks since they’d arrived, she and Perry had been swimming together in the mornings. They left early, before anyone else stirred, and hadn’t missed a day yet. The exercise was helping her arm heal—her hand was almost back t
o normal—but the best part was spending time alone with him.
Yesterday when they’d finished, he’d told her that the water made him feel close to the Tides territory. Aria loved knowing his thoughts. With every one she learned, she fell for him more deeply. It was the best kind of falling, and she wondered if it would ever end.
“I get the feeling you’re not smiling because of my irresistible charm,” Roar said, pulling her out of her daze.
“I think you’re spending too much time with Soren. You’re starting to sound like him.”
Roar smiled. “Well, Soren doesn’t sound like Soren anymore, so someone had to step in.”
Aria laughed. It was true. Between Hess’s death, and whatever was brewing between Soren and Brooke, the edges had been smoothed from his attitude. Now Soren was only occasionally offensive.
She and Roar talked nonsense as they walked the trail, their conversation easy and light as always. As they approached the settlement, Aria heard the pound of hammers and voices calling back and forth. Though she’d grown accustomed to the din over the past weeks, it always filled her with hope. It meant homes being built.
Part of her work on the council was to develop long-term plans for the city of Cinder. Plans for paved roads, a hospital, a gathering hall. Those would all come eventually. For now, they needed shelter. A comfortable place to lay their heads at night.
“I don’t see him,” Roar said, eyes scanning as they arrived.
“I don’t either.” Around them was a symphony of people digging, lifting, erecting walls and roofs, while Flea trotted around like he was supervising. “He took Talon exploring after our swim this morning. I’m sure they’ll be back soon.” It was another part of Perry’s day—time with Talon, hunting, hiking. Whatever they decided.
Aria sat on a half-wall, built with nails poured from the new forge, and with lumber cut from higher elevation and floated downriver. Eventually, the wall would rise to become one side of a house.
This particular house would have a loft with a minor flaw. A crack in the roof that showed just a sliver of the blue sky above. Aria had made plans in secret with Marron. It was going to be a surprise.
Under the Never Sky: The Complete Series Collection Page 89