“You have a strong sense of smell.” Aria tried to process what this meant. “How strong?”
“Very. I can scent tempers.”
“Tempers?”
“They’re emotions . . . impulses.”
“You can scent people’s feelings?” She could hear her voice rising.
“Yes.”
“How often?” she asked. She’d started to tremble.
“Always, Aria. I can’t avoid it. I can’t stop breathing.”
Aria went cold everywhere. Instantly. Like she’d just taken a plunge in the ocean. She shot through the path Cinder had cleared, diving into the darkened woods. Perry came right behind her, calling her name and asking her to stop. Aria spun.
“You’ve been doing that all this time? You’ve known how I’ve felt? Have I entertained you? Has my misery amused you? Is that why you kept it to yourself?”
He pushed his hands into his hair. “Do you know how many times you’ve called me a Savage? You think I wanted to tell you I can smell better than a wolf?”
Aria’s hand shot up, covering her mouth. He could smell better than a wolf.
She thought of all the horrible feelings she’d had over the past days. Days she spent with that pathetic, sad melody going round and round in her mind. The shame she felt at menstruating. Of being terrified, a stranger in her own skin.
Was he smelling the way she felt right now?
He tipped his head to the side. “Aria, don’t be embarrassed.”
He was. He did know.
She backed away, but his hand closed around her wrist. “Don’t go. It’s not safe. You know what’s out there.”
“Let go of me.”
“Perry,” said a smooth voice. “I’ll stay with her.”
Perry looked down at her, frustration plain on his face. Then he let go of her arm and stalked off, branches snapping in his wake.
“You can cry if you like,” Roar said when Perry was gone. He crossed his arms. In the darkness, she could just make out the glint of the black bottle of Luster propped on his elbow. “I’ll even offer up my shoulder to the cause.”
“No, I don’t want to cry. I want to hurt him.”
Roar laughed softly. “I knew I liked you.”
“He should have told me.”
“Probably, but what he said is true. He can’t help knowing tempers. And would it have changed your agreement?”
Aria shook her head. It wouldn’t. Before long, she knew she’d be back to walking endless miles with him.
She sat against a tree and picked up a pine needle, breaking it into tiny pieces. It seemed obvious once she thought it out. Basic genetics. The population of Outsiders was small. Any shifts had the possibility of running rampant in such a limited pool. A drop of ink in a bucket was more potent than a drop in a lake. And with the Aether accelerating mutations, the Unity had created an environment ripe for genetic jumps.
“I can’t believe this,” she said. “You’re a subspecies. Is there anything else? Are there any other traits that have drifted? Like . . . like your teeth?”
Roar sat beside her against the same large trunk. He wasn’t as tall as Perry, she noticed. Aether light fell across the smooth planes of his profile, all straight lines and perfect proportions. He didn’t have scruff over his jaw like Perry, either.
“No,” Roar said. “Our teeth are all the same. Yours are the ones that are different.”
Aria pressed her lips together on reflex. It hadn’t occurred to her before, but he was right. Before the Unity, teeth had been uneven. Roar smiled and kept talking.
“There are some differences between the Senses. Scires tend to be tall. They’re the rarest Marked. Seers are the most common. Seers are good at looking and good-looking, but before you start wondering, no, I’m not a Seer. Just lucky.”
Aria smiled despite herself. She was surprised by how at ease she felt in his company. “What about your kind?”
“Auds?” He flashed a mischievous grin at her. “We’re said to be sly.”
“I could’ve guessed that.” She looked down at his bicep, imagining the tattoo hidden beneath his dark shirt. “How well can you hear?”
“Better than anyone I know.”
“Can you hear emotions?”
“No. But I can hear a person’s thoughts when I touch them. That’s just me, not all Auds. And don’t worry, I won’t touch you. Unless you want me to.”
She smiled. “I’ll let you know.” This was unreal. There were people who could smell emotion and hear thoughts. What was next? Aria cupped her hands, blowing warmth into them. “How can you be friends with him, knowing he . . . knows everything?”
Roar laughed. “Please don’t ever say that in front of him. He’s cocksure enough as it is.” He tilted the bottle and drank. “Perry and I grew up together, along with his sister. When you know someone that well, it’s something like being a Scire.”
She supposed it was true. She’d been sensitive to some of Paisley’s moods. Caleb’s too. “But it feels . . . imbalanced. He never talks but he gets to know what other people are feeling?”
“He’s quiet because he’s scenting tempers. Perry doesn’t trust words. He’s told me before how often people lie. Why would he bother listening to false words when he can breathe and get right at the truth?”
“Because people are more than emotions. People have thoughts and reasons for doing things.”
“Yes, well. It’s hard to follow a person’s logic if you don’t know how they feel. And you’re wrong. Perry does talk. Watch him. You’ll see he says plenty.”