bickering over the Hover’s controls grew louder, breaking the quiet spell that had trapped them.
Roar moved to the cockpit to guide them back to where he’d seen the Komodo. Perry followed, watchful and focused.
Soren lifted the Belswan off the ground with a stomach-dropping lurch.
Across the cargo hold, Brooke scowled. “I thought he could fly this thing.”
“He can fly it,” Aria said. “Landing is the problem.”
Brooke gave her an appraising look. Aria met it evenly, trying not to wonder what Perry had seen in her. What he’d acted like with her. She had no reason to be envious. She didn’t want to be.
“Roar said you met Liv,” Brooke said.
Aria nodded. “I knew her only for a few days, but . . . I liked her. Very much.”
“She was my best friend.” Brooke glanced toward the cockpit. “We were like them.”
Perry and Roar stood inside, leaning against either side of the access opening. From her angle, she could only see half of each of them, and the open space between.
They were so different, inside and out, but they stood exactly the same way. Arms crossed. Ankles crossed. Their posture somehow both relaxed and alert. It was as close as they’d come to each other since Roar’s return.
“Like how they used to be,” Brooke amended.
“Has this ever happened before?”
“Never. And I hate it.”
Incredible. They actually agreed on something.
Aria rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. The Hover hummed along, and the journey had turned smooth, but she knew it wouldn’t last.
A team, Reef had called them earlier. But they weren’t. Not even close.
They were six people with at least a dozen different agendas between them.
It didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter.
They needed to rescue Cinder. They needed a heading, and they needed Hovers to reach the Still Blue.
Her eyes fluttered open, finding Roar.
They needed revenge.
8
PEREGRINE
S oren set the Belswan down in a clearing with a distance of about thirty miles between them and the Komodo. They decided to hike to a vantage point and observe from a safe distance.
Perry asked Roar to watch over the Belswan. Someone needed to guard it, and Perry needed Brooke for her eyes.
Roar agreed with a shrug, and Jupiter offered to stay as well. Perry waited outside, hoping Soren would stay too, but he emerged from the Belswan, jogging down the ramp behind Aria and Brooke.
Soren still wore his pale gray Dweller clothes, which would make him stand out like a whale in the woods, and he had a forty-pound pack taken from the supply room slung over his back.
Perry shook his head. “We’ll be back by tonight. You know that, right?”
Soren shot him a seething look and marched on.
They climbed to a cluster of stone outcroppings at the top of a hill. The spot would give them plenty of cover. Most importantly, it offered a clear view of the valley. The Komodo itself lay hidden behind a small slope in the distance. Hess and Sable would surely have sentinels posted along that ridge, and possibly also a patrol.
Perry sat beside Aria on the same rock, settling in to watch. They planned to assess their options from afar before moving closer.
They’d left the Aether storm behind at the coast, and the Aether flowed more calmly here, rolling in waves instead of turning in eddies. He didn’t see the red sparks, but he had a feeling he would soon. Thick clouds drifted across the sky, casting wide shadowed patches across the plateau, and he smelled rain coming.
“What was it your father used to say about patience?” Aria said after a little while.
Perry smiled. “It’s a hunter’s best weapon,” he said, happy she remembered something he’d told her months ago. Her temper was low and cool, at odds with her lighthearted comment.
“You all right?” he asked.
She hesitated, the shadowed look in her eyes reminding him of their argument. “I’m fine,” she said, a little too brightly. She tipped her head. “But Soren might
Roar moved to the cockpit to guide them back to where he’d seen the Komodo. Perry followed, watchful and focused.
Soren lifted the Belswan off the ground with a stomach-dropping lurch.
Across the cargo hold, Brooke scowled. “I thought he could fly this thing.”
“He can fly it,” Aria said. “Landing is the problem.”
Brooke gave her an appraising look. Aria met it evenly, trying not to wonder what Perry had seen in her. What he’d acted like with her. She had no reason to be envious. She didn’t want to be.
“Roar said you met Liv,” Brooke said.
Aria nodded. “I knew her only for a few days, but . . . I liked her. Very much.”
“She was my best friend.” Brooke glanced toward the cockpit. “We were like them.”
Perry and Roar stood inside, leaning against either side of the access opening. From her angle, she could only see half of each of them, and the open space between.
They were so different, inside and out, but they stood exactly the same way. Arms crossed. Ankles crossed. Their posture somehow both relaxed and alert. It was as close as they’d come to each other since Roar’s return.
“Like how they used to be,” Brooke amended.
“Has this ever happened before?”
“Never. And I hate it.”
Incredible. They actually agreed on something.
Aria rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. The Hover hummed along, and the journey had turned smooth, but she knew it wouldn’t last.
A team, Reef had called them earlier. But they weren’t. Not even close.
They were six people with at least a dozen different agendas between them.
It didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter.
They needed to rescue Cinder. They needed a heading, and they needed Hovers to reach the Still Blue.
Her eyes fluttered open, finding Roar.
They needed revenge.
8
PEREGRINE
S oren set the Belswan down in a clearing with a distance of about thirty miles between them and the Komodo. They decided to hike to a vantage point and observe from a safe distance.
Perry asked Roar to watch over the Belswan. Someone needed to guard it, and Perry needed Brooke for her eyes.
Roar agreed with a shrug, and Jupiter offered to stay as well. Perry waited outside, hoping Soren would stay too, but he emerged from the Belswan, jogging down the ramp behind Aria and Brooke.
Soren still wore his pale gray Dweller clothes, which would make him stand out like a whale in the woods, and he had a forty-pound pack taken from the supply room slung over his back.
Perry shook his head. “We’ll be back by tonight. You know that, right?”
Soren shot him a seething look and marched on.
They climbed to a cluster of stone outcroppings at the top of a hill. The spot would give them plenty of cover. Most importantly, it offered a clear view of the valley. The Komodo itself lay hidden behind a small slope in the distance. Hess and Sable would surely have sentinels posted along that ridge, and possibly also a patrol.
Perry sat beside Aria on the same rock, settling in to watch. They planned to assess their options from afar before moving closer.
They’d left the Aether storm behind at the coast, and the Aether flowed more calmly here, rolling in waves instead of turning in eddies. He didn’t see the red sparks, but he had a feeling he would soon. Thick clouds drifted across the sky, casting wide shadowed patches across the plateau, and he smelled rain coming.
“What was it your father used to say about patience?” Aria said after a little while.
Perry smiled. “It’s a hunter’s best weapon,” he said, happy she remembered something he’d told her months ago. Her temper was low and cool, at odds with her lighthearted comment.
“You all right?” he asked.
She hesitated, the shadowed look in her eyes reminding him of their argument. “I’m fine,” she said, a little too brightly. She tipped her head. “But Soren might
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