Through the Ever Night (22 page)

Servants brought out platters of roast ham and vegetables. Aria somehow felt both hungry and nauseated. She took a piece of bread.

They ate in uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Aria’s gaze kept returning to Roar’s hand on the knife beside her. Roar and Liv wouldn’t look at each other. Sable watched everything.

“Was Perry happy with the food we sent?” Liv asked finally.

“The other half of the payoff?” Roar said, surprised.

“It’s called a dowry,” Liv said sharply. “You sent it, didn’t you, Sable?”

“The day I promised,” Sable said. “The Tides have received it, I’m sure. It must have arrived after your friends left. I sent forty of my best warriors there as well. They’ll stay and help however your brother needs them.”

Liv looked at him. “You did?”

Sable smiled. “I know you worry about him.”

Aria felt her last trace of hope for Roar fade. The deal was done. Liv belonged to Sable. They just needed the wedding ceremony now. It seemed like a formality.

“Did Perry send a message for me?” Liv asked.

Roar shook his head. “We had to leave quickly, so he didn’t have a chance. Even then, I’m not sure he would have sent word.”

“Why?” Liv said. “Has he lost his tongue?”

“He blames himself for what happened to Vale, Liv.”

She scowled. “I
know
what Vale did. I
know
who my brother was. How hard is it to send a message?”

“That’s a good question,” Roar said. “How hard
is it
to send a message? Perry hasn’t heard from
you
in a year. Maybe he’s afraid he’s lost you. Maybe he thinks you don’t care about him anymore. Do you, Liv?”

Liv and Roar stared at each other, unblinking. Obviously, this was no longer about Perry. Aria felt like she and Sable had disappeared from the room.

“Of course I love him,” Liv said. “He’s my brother. I’d do anything for him.”

“Touching, Liv.” Roar pushed back from the table. “I’m sure Perry will be happy to hear that.” His steps were silent as he left.

Alone with Liv and Sable, Aria suddenly felt like an intruder. The wind had blown out the candles at their end of the table. In the weaker light, Liv’s dress looked cold, like red clay. Everything looked gray and cold.

“I’ll have your brother brought here,” Sable said, reaching for Liv’s hand. “We can hold the wedding until then. Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”

Liv smiled at him, a quick, shaky flash. “I’m sorry … I’m not hungry,” she said, and left the room.

Aria waited for Sable to go after her. He didn’t. He plucked a fig from his plate and ate it, watching her as he chewed.

“I know why Roar is here,” he said. “Why are
you
?”

His words were casual, but the look in his eyes was penetrating. Aria glanced at the door, gauging the distance, instinct telling her to leave
now
.

Sable’s hand shot out and clasped her wrist. With her free hand, Aria snatched a knife from the table. She held it facing down, ready for the strike she’d make at his neck. A killing strike. There would only be one shot against someone like him. But that wouldn’t help her. She needed him to talk.

Sable smiled and gave a slight shake of his head. His eyes were pale as glass at the center, and ringed with dark blue. “You don’t need that. I won’t hurt you unless you give me reason to.”

He slid his hand up her arm, pushing up her sleeve. His thumb ran over her skin, slow and firm, as he studied the ruined half Marking. Chills shot down her spine at the cold feel of his touch.

Sable stared deep into her eyes. “You’re a puzzle, aren’t you?”

Aria’s breath was caught in her throat. Sounds sharpened. The flap of the drapes, and the rush of the Snake River. The approaching footsteps in the hall. Was he seeing her hearing ability? Her life in Reverie and in the Realms, and everything else that she hid?

A guard with stringy blond hair entered. “The storm’s holding on path to Ranger’s Edge.”

Sable paid him no attention. “What do you want from me?” he said, his voice low and menacing.

She couldn’t lie. She couldn’t. “The Still Blue.”

Sable’s grip loosened. He let out a slow exhale and sat back. “And here I thought you so unique,” he said simply. Then he rose from his chair and left.

Aria couldn’t move for long minutes afterward. She hadn’t felt repulsed at being touched in months, since she’d first been cast out of Reverie. Pain woke in her arm. His grasp had been tighter than she’d realized. She set the knife down at last, returning it to its place beside the empty plate, fingers aching from gripping it.

Now what? Sable was suspicious of her. He’d pry until he learned the truth about who she was. Her life was in danger. Her mission was in danger. She drew a breath and stood. She wouldn’t let herself fail.

Aria passed the guards at the door, making her way back to her room. She noted the guards at posts and roaming the halls. Moving unseen would be difficult, but not impossible. She froze when she heard Sable’s voice. He sounded close, but she couldn’t tell for certain. Sounds bounced in strange ways along the meandering corridors. Heart thundering, she listened to him ordering the outskirts of Rim evacuated. Maybe the storm would spur him to discuss the Still Blue tonight.

Later,
she told herself. She’d sneak out and learn what she could.

She wasn’t surprised to find someone waiting when she stepped into her room.

She’d expected Roar, but it was Liv.

T
hat night, Perry sat at the high table, awed by the food passed before him. Ham served with raisins as gold as the sunrise. Walnut bread with warm goat cheese. Carrots cooked in honey and butter. Strawberries. Cherries. A platter with six kinds of cheeses. Wine or Luster, for those who wanted it. The aromas filled the cookhouse. Tomorrow the tribe would return to rations, but tonight they feasted.

He ate until his hunger cramps became the aches of a stuffed stomach. Every bite reminded him of the sacrifice Liv had made for the Tides. When he finished, he sat back and watched the people around him. Marron buttered a piece of bread with the same precision with which he did everything. Bear attacked the mountain of food before him, while Molly bounced River on her knee. Hyde and Gren vied for Brooke’s attention, Twig barely getting in a word between them.

Only hours earlier, he’d been in the same place, listening to them lash at him in anger.

Across the table, Willow elbowed Cinder. “Look. There’s not a single piece of fish anywhere.”

“Thank the skies,” Cinder said. “I thought I was going to grow gills.”

Willow laughed. Then Perry laughed, seeing Cinder’s ears turn red beneath his cap.

At the far end of the hall, Kirra ate with her group. They were a raucous bunch, big in their gestures. Every one of them seemed to have an explosive laugh. Perry’s eyes kept returning to Kirra. He’d set up a meeting with her later to learn of news from the other territories. Coming from the Horns, she might also know something about the Still Blue.

When they finished eating, Kirra’s group pushed aside a few tables, clearing space. Then the music began, guitars and drums playing lively tunes. Their good cheer caught like wildfire. The Tides joined in eagerly, and soon the hall filled with song and dancing.

“Did Cinder tell you about his birthday?” Willow asked.

Cinder shook his head. “Willow, no. I was joking about that.”

“I wasn’t,” Willow said. “Cinder doesn’t know when his birthday is, so it could actually be
any
day. And since it can be
any
day, then why not today? We’re already celebrating.”

Perry crossed his arms and tried not to laugh. “Today seems like the perfect day to me.”

“Maybe you could say something, you know, to make it official?”

“I can do that.” He looked at Cinder. “How old do you want to be?”

Cinder’s eyes went wide. “I don’t know.”

“How about thirteen?” Perry suggested.

“All right.” Cinder shrugged, but his temper warmed with emotion. This meant more to him than he was letting on, and how couldn’t it? He deserved to know his own age. To have a day to measure his life by. Perry was only sorry he hadn’t thought to do something like this sooner.

“As Lord of the Tides, I name this day your birthday. Congratulations.”

A grin spread over Cinder’s face. “Thanks.”

“Now you have to dance,” Willow said. She pulled him up, ignoring his halfhearted objections, and towed him into the crowd.

Perry sat back and scratched Flea under his muzzle, watching everything, relishing the lightness in his heart. Kirra hadn’t just brought food. She’d brought a reminder of better times. This was the hall as it should be. The Tides as he always wanted to see them.

It was late when the tribe disbanded for their homes. No one had wanted the night to end. Reef pulled Perry aside in the darkened clearing. Lamps were lit around them, swinging gently in a cool ocean breeze.

“Twenty-seven men and eleven women,” he said. “Ten Seers and five Auds among them, and you know about Kirra. Every one of them can handle a weapon, as far as I can tell.”

Perry had suspected the same thing. “You worried?”

Reef shook his head. “No. But just the same, I’ll stay back tonight.”

Perry nodded, trusting Reef to keep an eye on the newcomers. He almost ran Molly over as he turned to go. Marron had fallen ill, she told him. Nothing more than indigestion, but he’d be resting for the night. With Reef and Marron out, he’d be meeting with Kirra alone. Perry crossed the clearing to his house, not sure why that made him nervous.

A short while later, she knocked on his door and stepped inside. Perry rose from the chair by the fire. Kirra froze and scanned the empty room. She seemed surprised that no one else was there. “I gave my people the night to themselves. It’s been a long journey.”

Perry moved to the table and poured two cups of Luster, handing one to her. “They’ve earned their rest, I’m sure.”

Taking the drink, Kirra sat across the table, her eyes smiling as she watched him. She wore a tight shirt the color of wheat, the neck unbuttoned lower than it had been during supper. “We showed up at the right time,” she said. “Your tribe was hungry.”

“They were,” Perry agreed. He couldn’t deny that their situation was dire, but he didn’t like it being pointed out by a stranger.

“When will you return to Rim?” he asked. He wanted to send a message to his sister. How was Liv? He had to know that she was all right.

Kirra laughed. “You want to see me go already? I’m hurt,” she said with a small pout. “Sable wants me to stay. We’re here to help out as long as you need us.”

That caught him off guard. He took a drink, giving himself a moment to recover as Luster warmed his throat. Sable was rumored to be ruthless, and this wasn’t a time for generosity. Had Liv pressed him for more aid? He wouldn’t put it past his sister. Liv could be ruthless too.

Perry set down his cup. “Sable might want you to stay, but he doesn’t make decisions around here.”

“Of course not,” Kirra said, “but I don’t see why it’s a problem. We brought our own food, and you have plenty of room to board us. Sable is your brother now. Consider our help a gift from him.”

A gift?
Help?
Perry’s grip tightened on the cup. “Sable’s not my brother.”

Kirra took a sip of Luster, amusement glinting in her eyes. “I can imagine why you wouldn’t feel so, having never met him. Regardless, the advantage should be clear to you. I have the strongest fighters you can find, and my horses are trained to hold steady during storms and raids. We could help protect the compound for you. You won’t have to retreat to a cave.”

She’d heard. Though it was his choice and the best thing for the Tides, shame crept over him, heating his face. Kirra leaned forward and breathed in deeply, her gaze fixed on him. Her eyes were the color of amber—the same fiery color he scented in her temper. She was reading him, just as he was reading her.

“I’ve heard about you,” she said. “They say you broke into the Dweller Pod and that you defeated a tribe of Croven. They say you’re twice Marked—a Seer, but you see in the dark.”

“Talkative, whoever they are. In all this chatter you’ve been hearing, has anyone mentioned the Still Blue? Has my brother Sable told you where it is?”

“The land of sunshine and butterflies?” she said, sitting back again. “Don’t tell me you’re looking for it too. It’s a fool’s hope.”

“Are you calling me a fool, Kirra?”

She smiled. It was the first time he’d called her by name. Because she noticed, he did too. “A hopeful fool.”

Perry smirked. “The worst kind.” He was starting to wonder if
everything
she said would streak him. “You don’t think the Still Blue exists? Don’t you have any desire to live?”

“I
am
living,” she said. “I won’t be chased by the sky.”

They fell silent, watching each other. Her scent bristled with excitement. She didn’t look away, and he realized he couldn’t either.

“You’re in a vulnerable position,” she said, finally. “There’s nothing wrong with accepting a little help.”