“I’ll head up and make sure everything is set for him,” Molly said, leaving them.
“You ready to go?” Perry asked Cinder. “I’ve got one more trip before I’m coming back for you.”
Cinder licked his lips. “I don’t want to.”
“Willow’s going to be there. She’s been waiting to see you.”
Cinder’s eyes filled with tears. “She knows what I am.”
“You think she cares that you’re different? You saved her life, Cinder. You saved the Tides. Right now I think she likes you better than Flea.”
Cinder blinked. Tears rolled down his face, seeping into the pillow. “She’ll see me this way.”
“I don’t think she gives a damn what you look like. I know I don’t. I won’t force you, but I think you should come. Marron has a special place set up for you, and Willow needs her friend back.” He grinned. “She’s driving everyone crazy.”
Cinder’s mouth twitched in a brief smile. “All right. I’ll go.”
“Good.” Perry rested his hand on Cinder’s hat. “I’m grateful for you. Everyone is.”
Gren waited outside with a horse. “I’ll keep an eye on him,” he said, handing Perry the reins.
The compound was quiet, but across the clearing Perry saw Forest and Lark packing up their own mounts. They looked over, tipping their heads at him.
Since the night of the storm, Kirra had no longer flirted or pushed him. In the span of a week, she’d gone from interested to indifferent, and he was fine with it. He regretted every second he’d spent with her on the beach. He regretted every second he’d ever spent with her.
Perry swung up into the saddle. “I’ll be back in an hour,” he told Gren.
Marron had transformed the cave. Fires cast golden light across the vast space, and the smell of sage floated through the air, softening the dampness and salt. He had organized the sleeping areas with tents for each family around the perimeter, to match the setup of the compound. Lamps lit a few from inside, and the material glowed soft white. The wide space at the center had been left open for gatherings, with the exception of a small wooden platform. In adjacent caverns, there were areas for cooking, washing, and even for keeping livestock and storing food. People wandered from one place to the next, wide-eyed as they oriented themselves in their new home.
It looked a thousand times more inviting than anything Perry had imagined. He could almost forget he was beneath a mountain of rock.
He spotted Marron by the small stage with Reef and Bear, and walked over to join them. Bear leaned on a cane, and both of his eyes were black.
“What do you think?” Marron asked.
Perry rubbed the back of his head. As much as Marron had done, it was still a temporary shelter. Still a cave. “I think I’m lucky to know you,” he said finally.
Marron smiled. “Likewise.”
Bear shifted his weight, peering at him. “I was wrong to doubt you.”
Perry shook his head. “No. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t doubt. And I want to know what you think—especially when you think I’m wrong. But I need your trust. I always want the best for you and Molly. For everyone in the Tides.”
Bear nodded. “I know that, Perry. We all do.” He held out his hand, his grip crushing when Perry took it.
Bear wasn’t the only one in the Tides who had changed toward Perry since the storm. They didn’t argue with him anymore. Now, when he spoke, he sensed them listening and felt the power of their attention. He’d become Blood Lord day by day, through every act, every success, and even through his failures. Not by taking the chain from Vale.
Perry looked around, and a seed of suspicion took root. It was difficult to tell in this new space, but they seemed too few in number. People were missing.
“Where’s Kirra?” he asked. He didn’t see her, or any of her people.
“Didn’t she tell you?” Marron said. “She left this morning. She told me they were going back to Sable.”
“When?” Perry demanded. “When did they leave?”
“Hours ago,” Bear said. “First thing this morning.”
That couldn’t be right. Perry had just seen Lark and Forest. Why would they have stayed behind?
Fear shot through him. He spun, running back to the horse he’d left outside with Twig. Ten minutes later, he thundered up to his house. The front door gaped open. He didn’t see a soul anywhere.
Perry stepped inside, his heart pounding. Gren lay on the floor with his hands and feet bound by rope. Blood streamed from his nose, and his eye was swelling shut.
“They took Cinder,” he said. “I couldn’t stop them.”
Half an hour later, Perry stood on the beach outside the cave with Marron and Reef. He pulled the Blood Lord chain over his head and held it in his fist.
Marron’s blue eyes widened. “Peregrine?”
Nearby, Reef stared at the sea, arms crossed, unmoving.
“I can’t take this with me.” Perry didn’t need to say why. With storms striking so often and the borderlands teeming with dispersed, leaving would be more dangerous than ever. “The Tides trust you,” he continued. “Besides, you like jewels better than I do.”
“I’ll keep it,” Marron said. “But it’s yours. You’ll wear it again.”
Perry tried to smile, but his mouth twitched. He wanted to wear the chain more than ever, he realized. He wasn’t the Blood Lord that Vale or his father had been, but he was still worthy. He was the right leader for the Tides now. And he knew he could carry the weight—his own way.