15
PEREGRINE
Perry, wake up!”
Perry’s eyes flew open. He was in Vale’s room. He’d never spent a night there in his life. Aria slept soundly, pressed against his chest. He tightened his arms around her as the scents of sweat and blood brought last night crashing back.
Roar stood at the door. “You better come outside. Now. ”
Taking care not to wake her, Perry slipped from the bed and followed Roar outside.
He found the entire tribe in the clearing—a crowd of hundreds. People were crying, yelling insults at each other. On the roof of the cookhouse he saw Hyde and Hayden with their bows nocked, ready to fire. Reef appeared at Perry’s side with his knife drawn, Twig a second later.
“What’s going on?” Cinder asked.
Perry didn’t know. Didn’t understand until Gray came through the crowd.
His face was so swollen it was nearly unrecognizable. He carried a heavy bag over his shoulder. “You chose wrong,” he said simply, and then walked out of the compound. His two sons followed, crying, wiping at their faces.
Then Wylan came forward with his own bag across his back. “You killed Vale for dealing with the Dwellers. How’s that any different from what you did?”
Perry shook his head. “Talon and Clara are gone because of what Vale did. He betrayed the tribe. I’ll never do that. ”
“What was last night? I swear those were your fists on Gray’s face. You’re a fool, Peregrine. But we were bigger fools to think you could lead us. ”
He spat in Perry’s direction and strode off. Wylan’s mother followed after him, staring straight ahead, her gait slow and uneven. Perry wanted to stop her. With a lame leg, she wouldn’t survive the borderlands for long.
Then Wylan’s cousin came through the crowd. A strong Aud of fourteen who Perry liked. One of Wylan’s uncles followed. And then the rest of his family.
They kept leaving, one after another. Ten, then twenty, and still more. So many that Perry began to imagine himself standing in an empty clearing. The idea filled him with giddy relief, gone in an instant. He was meant to be there. He was meant to lead the Tides.
When they finally stopped leaving and the clearing settled, he looked around, waiting a few moments to be sure he hadn’t imagined what had just happened. The crowd looked thinner, like it’d been pruned.
At least a quarter of his tribe was gone.
He looked at the faces of all the people loyal to him, who had stayed. Among them he saw Molly, Bear, and Brooke. Rowan and Old Will. He searched for the right words, wishing for Vale’s ease with speeches, but failed to find them.
He’d look weak if he thanked them for their loyalty, though he was grateful. And he wouldn’t apologize for what he’d done. This was his land. It was his duty to protect everyone there: Dweller, Outsider, or anything in between.
When the tribe—what was left of it—settled into their regular work, Perry met with Bear and Reef in the cookhouse. They sat at the table closest to the door and listed the names of everyone who had dispersed and the tasks they’d handled for the tribe. Bear wrote slowly—the pen looking like a piece of straw in his massive hands as he moved it over the page. Every name felt like a fresh betrayal.
Perry didn’t know how he’d gone wrong. Was it diving in after Old Will during the storm? Fighting Gray last night? Was it his plan to go north to find the Still Blue with Aria? Everything felt justified. Right. He didn’t understand how he’d failed them.
When they finished the tally, they sat in silence. Bear had written the names of sixty-two people, but the number didn’t tell the whole truth. As Perry had suspected, a large share were Marked. Even the Unmarked who’d dispersed were able-bodied, trained fighters. The young, old, and weak seldom left by choice.
Reef sighed, crossing his arms. “We culled the dissidents. I’m damned glad to be rid of a few of them. It’ll make us stronger in the long run. ”
Bear set down the pen and ran a hand over his beard. “It’s the short run I’m worried about. ”
Perry looked at him. What could he say? It was the truth. “We’ll be more open to attack once news of this spreads. Shade’s probably out there now, telling whoever he comes across what happened. ”
“We should double the night watch,” Reef said.
Perry nodded. “Do it. ” He looked across the hall. In two days, the Tides had seen a rogue Aether storm, an attempt on Aria’s life, and a rebellion. Was a raid next? He knew it would happen. Double the night guard or not, they were too vulnerable. It wouldn’t surprise him to see Wylan return to make a play for the compound.
The clearing felt too quiet and empty as Perry returned home. He was anxious to check on Aria. Was she well enough to go north? Reef’s words from last night echoed in his mind. The Tides need you here. How could he leave them now? How could he stay, when the answer to their safety might be out there?
He entered his house and found Gren and Twig yelling at each other in front of Vale’s bedroom. They quieted when they saw him.