Into the Still Blue (28 page)

“Thank you,” Perry said, pulling it on. The weight of the metal around his neck was more familiar than comfortable. He wondered if it would ever be both.

Marron and Reef exchanged a look, and then Reef drew a noisy breath, pushing back his braids. “You brought us both into the Tides, Perry. Neither one of us would be here if you hadn’t let us into your tribe.”

“That’s right,” Marron said. “You offered us shelter when we needed it most. When you couldn’t afford to, you helped us.”

Perry had never felt like he’d done either of them a favor. It had always felt the other way around.

“Between my group from Delphi and Reef’s Six, we’re fifty-three people,” said Marron. “Fifty-three who’ll willingly stay behind. We won’t take the place of your tribe on those Hovers.”

Reef nodded. “There’s no way forward that isn’t through pain and hardship, Peregrine. You must see that. It’s your task as Blood Lord to do what’s best for the whole—for as many of your tribe as you can help—not what’s easiest.”

“We’d like you to just consider what we’re saying,” Marron said. “That’s all we ask.”

Perry pretended to think for a few seconds. “It’s a noble offer. . . . Did either of you think I’d accept it?”

Reef and Marron exchanged a look, the answer plain on their faces.

Perry grinned. “Well, you were right.” Clapping them on the shoulders, he bid them good night.

In his tent, Perry found Cinder asleep next to Talon. Flea was rolled into a ball under Cinder’s arm.

Perry knelt and scratched his coarse fur. The dog angled his head up, his tail padding against the blankets. He loved to be scratched in the soft slope between his wide-set eyes.

Perry’s gaze moved to Talon and Cinder. The boys had fallen in together like they’d known each other since birth. He owed that to Willow.

“And you too, fleabag,” he said.

Cinder’s eyes blinked open. Perry smiled, too happy to see him there to feel sorry for waking him. “How’d you get him away from Willow?” he asked, nodding to Flea.

Lying on his side, Cinder gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I didn’t do anything. He just came back with me.”

“Willow was fine with that?”

The corner of Cinder’s mouth pulled up. “Sorta. She told Flea he could stay with me this one time only, since I just got back.”

“Generous of her, actually.”

“Yeah,” Cinder said. “I know.” His smile widened. “She’s still cursing. You thought she’d stop when I got here, but she hasn’t.”

“We already knew that Willow is unstoppable.”

“I know,” Cinder said again. “She is.”

As the moment settled between them, Perry looked from Cinder to Talon, and his vision began to blur. These boys—only one of them his blood relative, but both of them family—replenished him. They gave him confidence and purpose. Wearing the chain made sense when he looked at them, when he thought of them with Willow and Clara, whooping as they leaped from a platform into the darkness. They were the future, and they were so good.

Perry pushed a bit of small talk past his lips, buying a moment to compose himself. “So, how are you doing?”

“I’m tired.”

Perry waited, knowing there was more.

“And I’m scared,” Cinder said. “Are we going to the Still Blue?”

“I don’t know . . . maybe.”

“If we do, I’ll have to get us through.”

Reef’s words echoed in Perry’s mind.
There is no way forward that isn’t through pain
. He shook his head, pushing them away.

“Whatever happens, Cinder, I swear to you, I won’t leave your side.”

Cinder didn’t say anything, but Perry scented the easing of anxiety from his temper. That seemed to be all he needed to surrender to sleep. In seconds, Cinder’s eyes fluttered closed.

Perry stayed a moment longer, soaking in the quiet. Flea began to whimper, his legs twitching as he dreamed about chasing something. Perry wondered if it was the Still Blue.

He stood, moving to the trunks containing the remnants of his family’s belongings. Talon’s falcon carvings. Vale’s ledger. One of Mila’s painted bowls, which he and Liv had cracked while wrestling and then fixed unsuccessfully. These things might never go anywhere, he realized now.

He stepped out of his boots and was unbuckling his belt when Aria slipped into the tent. “Hey,” he said, going still.

“Hi.” She glanced at Cinder and Talon, smiling when she saw Flea, but her temper brimmed with anxiousness. He felt it coil inside his chest, stealing away the peaceful, tired feeling he’d felt a second ago.

He didn’t know what to do next. He didn’t know whether to pull off his belt. It seemed like a bigger decision than it should have been. Belt off was normal for him at the end of the day, but he didn’t want her to think he assumed something would happen between them.

Even though he wanted it to. Badly.

He was being an idiot. She trusted him. He knew that. He’d only make this more awkward by dressing again.

He pulled off his belt and placed it on the trunk. “I went out with Roar,” he said to fill the silence.

“How was it?”

“Really good. Thank you.”

“I’m glad.”

Her smile was genuine, but faint. Something was on her mind. Her gaze flicked to the empty bed and then to the tent flap.

He spoke quickly, worried that she might leave. “It’s a little crowded, but I’m glad you’re here. If you decide you want to stay. I’m glad you’re here even if you don’t want to stay. Either is fine. Anything you want is perfect.”

He scratched his chin, shutting himself up.
Perfect?
He’d never used that word until she’d appeared in his life. “How are your friends? Caleb and Jupiter?”

“I saw them earlier,” Aria said quietly. “I yelled at them.”

“You . . .
yelled
at them?”

She nodded. “Maybe it wasn’t yelling. But I raised my voice.”

He finally understood her temper. Her anxiousness wasn’t directed at him; she was worried about her friends. “Did they deserve it?”

“Yes. No. In a way. They’ve been keeping themselves separate. Did you know that?”

“Molly mentioned it.”

“I couldn’t stay with them, so I left. I spent the afternoon in the Battle Room trying to figure out why they’re back there.” She sucked on her bottom lip, the smooth skin between her dark eyebrows wrinkling with worry. “I just expected them to be further along, and I don’t know how to change the way they think. I want to help, but I don’t see how I can.”

A hundred thoughts flooded his mind, but they all came down to one: being a leader wasn’t easy. It had to be earned, and that only happened over time. He’d spent the winter and spring learning that with the Tides. Aria was just beginning to learn it now.

“You know I’m here,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Will you come see them with me tomorrow? Maybe if we talk to them together it’ll help.”

“Done.”

Aria smiled, then her gaze traveled to his waist. “Perry, did you know your pants are falling down?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t have to look; he could feel them sliding down his hips. “I, uh . . . I took my belt off to make you feel comfortable.”

“You took your belt off to make
me
feel comfortable?”

He nodded, trying to hold back a laugh. “I worked it out in my head that this would be more natural.”

“Your pants falling down is natural?”

He grinned. “Yeah. If they fall any further, it’s going be very natural.”

She laughed, her gray eyes shining as she shook her head. “So nice of you to think of me.”

“Always do.”

A blush crept over her cheeks as they stared at each other, one second giving to another. Her temper filled the small space, beckoning him closer.

“In the Komodo you said you wanted us to have some time alone,” she said.

He snatched his belt off the trunk and took her hand, darting out of the tent before she’d finished speaking.

35

P
erry, I can’t see where I’m going.”

Aria jogged to keep up with him as he pulled her through the cave. He was barefoot, buckling his belt with one hand and holding on to her with the other, but she was still lagging behind. She didn’t have his eyes, and at this late hour the cave was nothing but blackness ahead of her, below her, everywhere. Every step she took, she felt as though her foot might never touch the ground.

He tightened his grip on her hand. “It’s even footing and I won’t let you fall,” he said, but she noticed he slowed down.

It was a relief when they left the dark hollowness of the cave. A relief to hear the waves and to have the Aether lighting the way. The reddish glow at the edges of the funnels seemed more vibrant now than just hours ago.

“Are we swimming?” she said as he took her down to the water’s edge. “Because the last time I did that wasn’t very enjoyable.”

She’d been in the ice-cold waters of the Snake River with Roar, fighting desperately to stay alive.

Perry gave her a crooked smile. “Same,” he said, and she remembered how he’d almost drowned trying to save Willow and her grandfather. He put his arm around her shoulders, guiding her closer to the waves. “But it’s the only way, and it’s not far.”

“Only way to what? Not far to where?”

He stopped and pointed down the beach. “There’s a cove on the other side of that point.”

She didn’t see a cove. What she saw were waves pounding against rocks that jutted out of the ocean. “Aren’t we standing in a cove right now?”

“Yes, but the one around that point is magic.”

She laughed, surprised by his choice of words.

He glanced down at her, his eyes narrowing. “Are you telling me you don’t believe in magic?”

“Oh, I do. But the way to the magic cove looks cold. And dangerous . . . and cold.”

Perry’s hand slid to her injured arm. “You can do it,” he said, homing in on the real source of her apprehension.

Aria stared at the point. It was shrouded in darkness, and the tide looked rough, and she had no idea if she had the strength to swim all the way there.

“I’ll be right beside you if you need me, but you won’t. And I can’t do anything about the cold until we get there, but it’ll be worth it. There are no problems in the magic cove. Everything over there is . . .” He paused, smiling almost to himself. “It’s perfect.”

Aria shook her head. How could she say no to that?

They waded out past the waves together. She started shivering when the water reached her shins. Her teeth chattered when it reached her thighs. By the time it rose up over her waist, she decided this was the best idea he’d ever had.

Every wave that crashed past them was exhilarating, sending bolts of adrenaline through her. Her mind cleared and her senses opened to the salt water she tasted. To the sound of Perry’s laugh mixing with hers, and his grip tightening when the water pushed them back. She hadn’t even seen it yet, but the magic cove was already perfect.

“We have to go under the next wave,” Perry said, letting go of her hand. “Dive and then swim out as far as you can before you come up. Ready?”

She didn’t have a chance to answer. The wave came, towering and dark and capped in white. She dove and kicked, pushing until her lungs burned for oxygen.

When she came up, Perry was smiling. “All good?” he said.

She nodded, her teeth already chattering. “Race you,” she said.

They swam past the breakers toward smoother water. Cutting through the waves pushed her beyond thought, turning her into pure action. It took strength and yet it demanded surrender as well. It was both, folded into one. Aria only caught glimpses of Perry when she came up for air, but she knew he was right there.

When they finally waded out onto the beach, she was in desperate need of warmth, but she felt better than she had in weeks. The cold had numbed her arm, allowing her to move freely without guarding herself against pain.

Perry pulled her to his side. “What did you think?” he asked, smiling.

“I think you should look more tired.” He’d moved through the water with the same power and effortlessness with which he did everything.

“Not with you to look forward to. Let’s get a fire going.”

Shivering, Aria hurried to gather driftwood. Nearby, Perry hoisted a large piece over his shoulder. He seemed unbothered by the bruises that still covered his arms and legs. Shaking a strand of seaweed from a branch, she remembered a story Roar had told her.