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. Then I love you, my little Night Crawler.” He leaned in and kissed her, 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 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 to 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.
Roar sat beside her. “So you want to just wait for them here?”
“Sure.” She bumped his shoulder with her own and smiled. “It’s a good place to wait. This is home.”