Roar frowned. “You’re sparing me?”

“Yes, sparing you. All I’ve got right now is anxious nonsense. I’m exhausted, but I can barely sit still. And I feel like we should keep going.”

“We can travel through the night,” he said.

“No. We need to rest. See? I’m not making any sense.”

Roar watched her for a moment. Then he looked up at the tree branches above them, his expression growing thoughtful. “Have I ever told you about the first time Perry tried Luster?”

“No,” she said. She’d heard stories about Perry, Roar, and Liv all winter, but she’d never heard this one.

“We were on the beach, the three of us. And you know how Luster is, how it sweeps you up. Anyway, Perry got a little carried away. He decided to strip down to nothing and go for a swim. This was right in the middle of the day, by the way.”

Aria smiled. “He did not.”

“He did. While he was out whooping in the waves, Liv took his clothes and decided it was a good time to get all the girls in the tribe to come down to the beach.”

Aria laughed. “Roar, she’s worse than you are!”

“You mean better.”

“I’m scared to see you two together. So what did Perry do?”

“He swam down the coast, and we didn’t see him until the following morning.” Roar scratched his chin, smiling. “He told us he snuck into the compound during the night wearing seaweed.”

“You mean he wore a … a seaweed skirt?” Aria laughed. “I would give anything to have seen that.”

Roar shuddered. “I’m glad I didn’t.”

“I can’t believe you never told me that story before.”

“I was saving it for the right moment.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Roar.” The story had pulled her from her worries for a little while, but they returned too quickly.

Gingerly, she pulled up her sleeve. The skin around the Marking was still red and scabbed, but the swelling had gone down. In some places it looked like ink had been smudged inside her skin. It was a mess.

She reached out and rested her hand on Roar’s forearm. For some reason, this seemed easier. Maybe it took less courage to just let herself think than to speak her worries aloud.

What if this was a sign? Maybe I’m not supposed to be an Outsider.

He surprised her by taking her hand and threading his fingers through hers. “You already are an Outsider. You fit everywhere. You just don’t see it yet.”

She stared at their hands. He’d never done that before.

Roar gave her a droll look. “It’s just odd having you lay your hand on my arm all the time,” he said, responding to her thoughts.