Soren sat in one of the two pilot seats, cursing as he swiped at a smooth bank of controls. He must have sensed Perry’s attention, because he glanced back, hatred in his eyes. “I haven’t forgotten, Savage.”
Perry’s gaze went to the scar on Soren’s chin. “Then you remember the outcome.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
A small voice spoke up beside Perry. “Soren, he’s my uncle.”
Soren looked at Talon, his expression softening. Then he turned back to the controls.
Perry glanced at his nephew, surprised at the influence he had over Soren. How had that happened? He stashed the gun on a shelf beside a handful of other weapons, and had Talon and Clara sit against the back wall. Then he crouched, studying his nephew’s face. “You all right?”
Talon nodded, smiling tiredly. Perry saw traces of Vale in his deep green eyes, and noticed his front teeth had grown in. Suddenly he felt all the months they’d lost, and the full weight of his responsibility. Talon was his now.
He straightened as the engines buzzed to life. The panel in front of Soren lit up, the rest of the cabin falling into darkness.
“Hold on!” Soren yelled.
A murmur of alarm came from the people in the main cabin. Aria slipped through the door beside Perry, stepping into the cockpit just as the Hover rose with a lurch. He grabbed her by the waist, catching her as she stumbled. The craft surged forward, pushing Aria’s back against his chest. He locked his arms around her, holding tight as the walls of the hangar blurred past, the Hover gaining speed by the second. They shot outside and plunged into the smoke. Perry couldn’t see anything through the window but noticed that Soren navigated by the screen on the console in front of him.
In seconds they broke into clear air, and he stared in awe at the earth streaking past. He’d taken his name from a falcon, but never in his life had he thought he’d fly. Funnels lashed down across the desert, but they were fewer now. The pale light of dawn spread across the sky, softening the glare of the Aether. He felt Aria’s weight relax against him. Because he could, he rested his chin on top of her head.
As the Hover banked west, adjusting its course, Perry spotted Hess’s fleet, a trail of lights moving across the valley in the distance. He recognized the shape of the immense craft he’d seen earlier. Reverie came into view next, crumbling, consumed by smoke.
Aria watched, silent in his arms. His gaze trailed over the curve of her shoulder, the slope of her cheek. The dark flick of her eyelashes as she blinked. His heart filled with hurt. Hers. His. He understood exactly what she felt. He’d lost his home as well.
“Whenever you’re ready, Aria, maybe you could tell me where I’m going.”
Perry’s hands curled into fists at Soren’s tone. Aria turned and peered up at him in question. The bandage on her arm had bled through. She’d need medical care—and soon.
“The Tides,” he said, not as much suggesting it as saying what felt right. He had plenty of shelter to offer. And after what he’d just seen, he had a feeling the Dwellers would adapt to the cave faster than the tribe.
Aria’s gray eyes sparkled in the dim cabin. “The crates in the back are loaded with supplies. Food. Weapons. Medicine.”
He nodded. It was a simple decision. An obvious alliance. They were stronger together. And this time, he thought, the Dwellers would be welcome. Perry glanced at Soren. Most of them would be, at least.
“Head northwest,” Aria said. “Beyond that range of hills.”
Soren adjusted the steering control, pointing the craft toward the Tide Valley. Perry glanced down, eager to finally bring Talon home to the tribe. His nephew’s eyes were just drifting closed. Beside him, Clara slept.
Aria took his hand, leading him to the open pilot seat. Perry sat and pulled her into his lap. She turned and nestled against him, resting her forehead against his cheek, and for a moment he had everything he needed.
42
ARIA
Are you trying to make me crash?” Soren glanced at her from the other seat. The light of the controls made his face look sharper. Crueler. More like his father’s. Soren’s gaze moved to Perry. “Because that’s disgusting.”
Aria’s arm throbbed with pain, and her eyes burned from smoke and tiredness. She wanted to close them and fade into unconsciousness, but they’d reach the Tides soon. She had to stay focused.
Behind her, she heard the murmuring of the others in the cabin. Caleb was back there. She hadn’t even had a chance to talk to him yet. Rune and Jupiter were also there, and dozens of others—every one of them scared.
They needed her. She’d brought them out of Reverie. She knew how to survive on the outside. They’d need her guidance. It was her responsibility to watch over them now.
Perry brushed her hair over her shoulder and whispered by her ear, “Rest. Ignore him.”
The sound of his voice, deep and unhurried, traveled through her, settling warm in her stomach. She lifted her head. Perry watched her, his face drawn with worry. She brushed her fingers over the soft scruff on his jaw and then buried them in his hair, wanting to feel all the textures of him. “If you don’t like what you see, Soren, then don’t look.”
She saw the flash of Perry’s smile just before their lips met. Their kiss was gentle and slow, and full of meaning. They had hurried through every moment since he’d met her in the woods. While they’d been at the Tides’. On the race to Reverie. Now they finally had a moment together without hiding or rushing. There was so much she wanted to say. So much she wanted him to know.
Perry’s hand settled on her hip, his grip firm. She felt their kiss shift into something deeper as his mouth moved with more urgency over hers. Suddenly there was real heat between them, and she had to force herself to draw away.
When she did, a soft curse slipped through Perry’s lips. His eyes were half-lidded, unfocused. He looked as overcome as she felt.
Aria leaned by his ear. “We’ll pick that up when we’re alone.”
He laughed. “That better be soon.” He took her face in his hands and drew her close so their foreheads touched. Aria’s hair fell forward, making a wall, a space that was just theirs. That close, all she could see were his eyes. They were glossy, shining like coins beneath water.
“You broke me in half when you left,” he whispered.
She knew she had. She’d known then, when she’d done it. “I was trying to protect you.”
“I know.” He exhaled, his breath soft on her face. “I know you were.” He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek. “I want to tell you something.” He smiled, but the look in his eyes was mellow and tempting.
“You do?”
He nodded. “I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while. But I’m going to wait until later. When we’re alone.”
Aria laughed. “That better be soon.” She lay back against his chest and couldn’t remember feeling any safer than she did then.
Outside, the hills blurred past. She was surprised by how far they’d gone. They’d reach the Tides soon.
“I swear that almost made me sick,” Soren muttered.
Aria remembered their last hurried exchange through the Smarteye.
“What?” Soren said, scowling at her. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
“You said you knew where the Still Blue was.” Their connection had been cut off, just before he could tell her.
Soren grinned. “That’s right, I do. I saw everything Sable and my father talked about. But I’m not saying a word in front of the Savage.”
Perry’s arms tensed around her. “Call me that again, Dweller, and it’ll be the last thing you ever say.” He shifted his back, relaxing again. “And you don’t need to tell me anything. I know where it is.”
Aria looked up at Perry. She moved too quickly, and pain shot down her arm. She bit the inside of her lip, waiting for it to subside. “You know where the Still Blue is?”
He nodded. “That fleet was moving dead west. There’s only one thing in that direction.”
The realization struck her before he’d finished speaking. “It’s at sea,” she said.
Perry made a low sound of agreement. “I was never closer to it than when I was home.”
Soren’s mouth twisted in disappointment. “Well, you don’t know everything.”
Aria shook her head, in no mood for Soren’s games. “Just say it, Soren. What did you find out?”
Soren’s lip curled like he was ready to say something snide, but then his expression relaxed. When he replied, his voice was even, and lacked its usual bitterness. “Sable says he has to go through a solid wall of Aether before he reaches open sky.” He made a dismissive sound, low in his throat. “He says he can do it, but it’s a lie. No ship can do that.”
No ship could, Aria thought, but there was another way. She spoke at the same time Perry did.
“Cinder.”
43
PEREGRINE
The Hover passed the Tide compound and glided north along the coast. Soren had to take them over the open ocean to reach the protected cove outside the cave, the bluff too steep for the craft to negotiate. Perry noticed that the ride was rougher over water. As Aria dozed in his arms, he looked across to the horizon and felt a surge of hope. They didn’t have Cinder, or the might that Hess and Sable would have together, but the Still Blue was somewhere at sea, and no one knew the sea like the Tides did. The ocean was their territory.
Talon and Clara woke as the Hover put down on the beach. Perry had an explanation ready as to why they’d needed to leave the compound, but seeing the huge smiles on their faces, he decided he’d explain later.
“Tell me I didn’t just land in front of a cave,” Soren said.
Aria stirred in Perry’s arms. Slowly she unfolded her legs and rose from his lap. “We can get rid of him any time.”
“I wish you weren’t joking,” Perry said. He already missed the feeling of her weight against him.
Soren pushed the steering console away and stood. “That’s some kind of gratitude for saving your lives. You’re both welcome, by the way.”
Aria smiled. She held her hand out to help Perry up, her injured arm tucked against her side. “Who said I was joking?”
Perry rose and followed her into the main cabin, ignoring the gasps of the Dwellers huddled there. Resting his hand on Talon’s shoulder, he stood beside Aria as she pressed a control by the door. The hatch opened with a rush of air that carried the sound of the waves, lowering to the sand.
In the morning light, he saw the Tides stream out of the cave, filling in along the beach. They gaped at the ship, caught between disbelief and panic. Behind him, dozens of Dwellers stared at the world outside, their fear palpable, strong enough to scent even with his smoke-blunted nose.
Perry spotted Marron and Reef. Bear and Molly. His gaze moved past the brothers—Hyde, Hayden, and Strag. Past Willow and Brooke. In search of Roar and Twig. Regret hit him as he realized that neither of them was there. He had to find them—and Cinder—but first he and Aria had to settle the Dwellers into their temporary home.