f he didn’t find Liv, you know . . . we are both Audiles. Never mind. Roar will never get over Liv. ”
Perry sat up. “What?”
She laughed. “You’re awake now. Did you think I was serious?”
“Yes. No. Aria, there’s truth there. Roar would be better suited for you. ” Perry sighed, shoving his hand into his hair. He peered at her. There was another reason too, and he might as well just tell her since he was getting good at telling her everything. “Liv says . . . she says he’s a feast for the eyes. ” He tried to say it without sounding envious, but doubted it would help. Surely she’d hear the emotion in his voice.
Aria smiled. She took his scarred hand and ran her thumb over his knuckles. “Roar is very handsome. In Reverie most people look like him. Or close. ”
Perry cursed. His fault for bringing it up. “And here you are. Holding hands with a crooked-nosed Savage who’s been burnt and beaten in—how many places did you count?”
“I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you. ”
Perry looked down at their hands. How did she do that? How did she make him feel weak and strong? Thrilled and terrified? He couldn’t find a way to return what she’d given him. He didn’t have the gift she did with words. All he could do was take her hand and kiss it, and bring it to his heart, and wish she could scent his temper. He wished it was all easy between them. At least now she’d come to understand. She was learning the power of a Sense.
He pulled her back into his arms, resting her along his chest. “I can tell you one thing about your father,” he said, because he knew she wondered. “He’s probably from a strong line of Auds for you to be as keen as you are. ”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you. ”
“I mean it. That was no small trick, hearing through dirt that thick. ”
Perry kissed the top of her head as they fell into silence. He knew she was listening. Hearing a new world. But her good mood didn’t pull him along anymore.
For days he’d had a shifty, anxious feeling in his gut. A feeling like the instant after a cut, before the pain came. He knew when the hurt would hit him. Three more days and they’d reach Bliss. And she’d go back to her mother. He didn’t know what he’d do if they didn’t find Lumina. Bring her to the Tides? Take her back to Marron’s? He couldn’t imagine doing either. He tightened his arms around her. Brought in her scent, breathing deep, letting it mellow him. She was here now.
“Perry? Say something. I want to hear your voice again. ”
He didn’t know what to say but he wasn’t going to disappoint her. He cleared his throat. “I’ve been having this dream since we started sleeping together up in the trees. I’m in this grassy plain. And there’s this blue sky stretching out over me. No Aether in it at all. And the breeze is moving the grass in waves, stirring up bugs. And I’m just walking, my bow sort of combing the tall grass behind me. And there’s not a thing I’m worrying about. It’s a good dream. ”
She squeezed him. “Your voice sounds like a midnight fire. All warm and worn in and golden. I could listen to you talk forever. ”
“I could never do that. ”
She laughed at him. He brought his lips to her ear. “Your scent is like violets in early spring,” he whispered. Then he laughed at himself because though it was true, he sounded like the worst kind of fool.
“Was Vale a good Blood Lord?”
Aria was too eager to learn about her Sense to sleep so they walked into the night.
“Very good. Vale is calm. He thinks things through. He’s patient with people. I think . . . I think if it weren’t a time like this . . . he would be the best man to lead the tribe. ”
Maybe that had held him back from making a challenge for Blood Lord, as much as his fear of hurting Talon, Perry realized. He still couldn’t believe his brother had been captured. “He wasn’t going to go after Talon,” he said, remembering the last time they’d been together. “Vale said it meant risking the tribe’s safety. It’s the reason I left. ”
“Why do you think Vale changed his mind?”
“I don’t know,” he said. Vale had never put anything above the good of the tribe before, but Talon was his son.
“They’re together. Will you still try to bring them to the outside?”
He looked at her.
“Talon is being cared for,” she said. “You saw him. He has a chance to live in there. ”
“I’m not giving up. ”
Aria slipped her hand into his. “Even if it’s better for him?”
“Are you saying I should let him go? How could I do that?”