Marron’s arm tensed around hers. “This is intolerable under the circumstances. It cannot happen. Who was on that post?” He strode off with Slate, still ranting.
Aria couldn’t believe it. After everything, after carrying him there, Cinder had gone? “Does Perry know?” she asked Rose.
“No, I don’t think so. ” Rose pursed her lips in disapproval. Then she rolled her eyes. “You should try the roof first. That’s where he usually is. ”
“Thank you,” Aria said, and then dashed for Delphi.
Rose called out behind her, teasing. “Your feet look like they’re healing!”
Aria took the elevator to the top of Delphi and stepped onto the roof, a vast stretch of cement with only a wooden rail framing the perimeter. Perry sat against it, gazing up at the Aether, his wounded arm propped onto his knee. He smiled when he saw her and strode over.
When he reached her, his smile fell. “What happened?”
“Cinder’s gone. He left. I’m sorry, Perry. ”
His face tightened, and then he looked away and shrugged. “It’s all right. I didn’t even know him. ” He was quiet for a moment. “Are you sure he’s gone? They looked for him?”
“Yes. The guards saw him leave. ”
They walked to the edge of the roof. Perry propped his arms on the rail, lost in thought as he stared across the trees. Aria took in the long sweep of the wall, curving wide around Delphi. She saw the gate she’d run through just yesterday, and the towers, evenly spaced around the perimeter. Some seventy feet below, animal pens and gardens made neat geometric patterns of the courtyard. She’d just been down there.
“Who told
you I was up here?” Perry asked. The disappointment had faded from his face.
“Rose. ” Aria smiled. “She told me lots of things. ”
He cringed. “She did? What did she say? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. ”
“You really don’t. ”
“Ahh . . . that’s cruel. Now you’re just kicking me while I’m down. ”
She laughed and they fell quiet again. The silence between them felt good.
“Aria,” he said after a while. “I want to wait for the Smarteye with you but I can’t stay in the Navel. Not for long. Makes me skitty being that deep underground. ”
“It makes you skitty?” For a lethal creature, sometimes he used words that struck her as utterly childish.
“Shaky? Like you can’t be still?”
She smiled. “Can I wait with you up here?”
“Yeah,” he said, grinning. “I was hoping for that. ” He threaded his legs beneath the wooden rail, letting them hang over the edge. Aria sat cross-legged beside him.
“This is my favorite place in Delphi. It’s the best spot to read the wind. ”
She closed her eyes as a breeze swept past, searching for what he meant. She smelled smoke and pine on the cool wind. The skin along her arms tightened.
“How are your feet?” he asked.
“They’re still a little sore, but much better,” she said, moved by the simple question. With him, it wasn’t small talk. He was always looking after people. “Talon’s lucky to have an uncle like you,” she said.
He shook his head. “No. It’s my fault he was taken. I’m just trying to fix it. I’ve got no choice. ”
“Why?”
“We’re rendered. There’s a bond between us through our tempers. I feel what he feels. I don’t just scent it. Same for him. ”