This song was softer, quieter than the last one. He couldn’t understand these words either, but the feel of it, he thought, was perfect. A perfect song for a cool night on a roof surrounded by pines.
Roar didn’t blink as he watched her. When she finished, Roar shook his head. “Aria . . . that was . . . I can’t even . . . Perry, you have no idea. ”
Perry forced himself to smile. “She’s good,” he said, but he wondered how her voice would sound to Roar, who heard infinitely more tones.
When they stepped into the close space of the elevator, Aria’s scents flooded into his nose, a combination of violets and sweat and pride and power. He felt it all like a surge of strength inside him. He breathed again and soared with his feet on the ground. Perry couldn’t stop himself from putting his hand on the small of her back. Told himself he’d do this just once. Then he’d stay away.
She looked up at him. Her face was flushed. Strands of her dark hair clung to her sweated neck. Roar was with them, and a good thing, too. He’d never been as tempted by her, by the warm muscle he felt beneath the palm of his hand.
“You did well today. ”
She smiled, fire in her eyes. “I know I did,” she said. “And thanks. ”
Chapter 32
ARIA
Aria spent two days training with Roar as they waited. Knots of Aether threatened in the distance, but the flows above Delphi held in steady streams. Another reason to call it the never sky, she thought. It never did what you wanted.
With every passing hour, her hope of finding Lumina alive dimmed, but she wouldn’t let it go. She couldn’t let herself believe she was alone. She would never stop hoping, and that meant she’d never stop worrying, either. The only way out of the agony was to go to Bliss and find out the truth. Learning the knife became the only source of relief. When she was moving across the cement with Roar, there was no room for worry or hurt or questions. So she practiced with him from morning until night, ending with her payment in song. Aria knew the Croven were still out there, but at least no one heard the ringing of their bells at dusk anymore.
They heard opera.
On the third morning, she stepped out of the elevator to a new sky, shot through with swirls of blue light. The eddies ran calm above her, but turned brighter and faster on the horizon. It was Van Gogh’s Starry Night, right before her eyes.
She had a feeling this was the day they’d leave.
She picked up the wooden knife. Yesterday she’d struck Roar twice. It wasn’t much, especially compared with the hundreds of times he’d struck her, but in a fight, one good hit was all it took. Roar had taught her that.
She had no illusions of becoming a master knife fighter. This wasn’t the Realms, where a thought delivered a result. But she also knew she’d given herself a better chance. And in life, at least in her new life, chances were the best she could hope for. They were like her rocks. Imperfect and surprising and maybe better in the long run than certainties. Chances, she thought, were life.
On the horizon, the mass of Aether began to drop blue flares she recognized as funnels. Aria watched, mesmerized, as something roused deep within her, whirling and heating through her limbs, bringing her strength as fierce as the never sky.
She decided to go through some maneuvers on her own since she’d arrived early. Gusts whipped up over the roof, the sound lulling her, as she lost herself in movement. She didn’t know how long Perry had been standing there when she finally saw him. He rested a hip against the wooden rail, his arms crossed as he stared across the treetops. She was surprised to see him. Perry had come to her training sessions with Roar, but he’d kept a distance. And she’d hardly seen him inside Delphi. She was starting to think he’d changed his mind about taking her to Bliss.
“Is it time?” she asked.
“No. ” He tipped his chin. “But that looks promising. Tonight, I’d say. ” He picked up the other practice knife. “Roar’s still asleep, but I’ll train with you until he gets here. ”
“Oh,” she said, because it was better than blurting You? Like she’d almost done. “All right. ” Aria drew a slow breath, her stomach suddenly buzzing with nerves.
As soon as they squared up, she knew this wouldn’t be the same at all. Perry was much taller and broader than Roar. Fearless and direct. Nothing like Roar’s light-footed grace. And it was Perry.
“Is that the hand you usually fight with?” she asked. He had the knife in his good hand, the bandaged one held out for balance.
He grinned. “Yeah, but I may change my mind if you beat me. ”
Her cheeks caught on fire. She couldn’t look at him but she had to look at him. Be ready. Light on your feet. Watch for the signs. Roar’s lessons flew from her mind. What she thought as she stared into his eyes was how green they were. How strong his shoulders looked. How, really, he was grand. Finally she couldn’t stand her own giddy thoughts anymore. She lunged. He blew past her right side, his movement shifting more air and light than Roar.
Perry smiled as they faced each other again.
“What?” she asked.
“I don’t know. ” He wiped his sleeve over his forehead.
“Are you laughing?”
“I was, yeah. Your fault, but I apologize anyway. ”