“Aria … I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. There’s no way for me to tell you how sorry I am.”

She shook her head. “Not you. Not your fault.” She couldn’t find the strength to talk. A red bruise spread over one side of his jaw, and his lower lip was swollen. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

It did matter. He was hurt because of her. It mattered.

“What time is it?” She had no idea if an hour had passed. A day. A week. Every time she woke, it was dark in the room. Night outside. That was all she knew.

“Almost dawn.”

“Have you slept?” she asked.

Perry lifted his eyebrows. “Sleep?” He shook his head. “No … haven’t even tried.”

She was too tired. Too weak to say what she wanted. Then she realized it would only take one word. She patted the bed. “You.”

He lay down, gathering her close. Aria slumped against him, turning her ear to his chest. She listened to his heartbeat—a good, solid sound—as the warmth of his body melted into her. She’d been in a fog earlier. Hallucinating and searching for what was real. She found it in him. He was real.

“We’re together now,” he whispered against her forehead. “The way we should be.”

She closed her eyes and relaxed her breathing, seeking calm. He was rendered to her. Maybe he’d feel it too. “Sleep, Perry.”

“I will,” he said. “With you right here, I will.”

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.”