Every word that came out of him felt like an effort. He didn’t want to say any of this. He didn’t want to bring his people underground, to this dark place. To live like the ghostlike creatures from the deep sea.

Reef looked at him for a long moment. “You think it will come to this.”

Perry nodded. “You know the borderlands better than I do. You think I want to take River and Willow out there?”

He pictured it. Three hundred people under an open, roiling sky, surrounded by fires and bands of dispersed. He imagined the Croven—cannibals in black capes and crow masks—surrounding them like they were a herd and picking them off one by one. He wouldn’t let it happen.

Cinder shifted his weight, watching them silently.

“We have to be prepared for the worst,” Perry continued, his voice echoing in the cavern. He wondered how it would be with hundreds of voices in there.

Reef shook his head. “I don’t see how you’re going to do this. It’s … a cave.”

“I’ll find a way.”

“This isn’t a solution, Perry.”

“I know.” It was a last resort. Coming there would be like standing on the prow of a ship as it sank. It wasn’t the answer. The answer would have to come with Roar and Aria. But this would buy time as the waters rose.

“I wore a chain once,” Reef said, after a long moment. “Much like yours.”

Surprise moved through Perry. Reef had been a Blood Lord? He had never said anything, but Perry should’ve seen it. Reef was so determined to teach him, to keep him from failing.

“It was years ago. A different time than this. But I know something of what you’re facing. I’m behind you, Peregrine. I would be, even without having sworn an oath to you. But the tribe will resist this.”

Perry knew that too. It was the reason he’d brought Cinder. “Give us a few minutes,” he told Reef.

Reef nodded. “I’ll be right outside.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Cinder asked when Reef had left them.

“No. You didn’t.”

Cinder’s scowl faded. “Oh.”

“I know you don’t want to talk about yourself,” Perry said. “I understand that. Pretty well, actually. And I wouldn’t ask you unless I had to. But I do have to.” He shifted his weight, wishing he didn’t have to press. “Cinder, I need to know what you can do with the Aether. Can you tell me what to expect? Can you keep it away? I have to know if there’s any alternative—any way at all to avoid this.”