Liv looked comfortable and in control, hardly the captive Roar had imagined finding. Aria glanced at him and found his face ashen. She’d never seen him look so shaken. A surge of protectiveness moved over her.

Liv ducked to avoid a high, slicing blow from her opponent, but he followed with a forearm that caught her flush across the face. Her head whipped to the side. She recovered in an instant and stepped in where almost anyone would have rolled out, stunning the man with a punch to the gut. When he doubled over, she drove an elbow into the back of his head, unyielding, dropping him to his knees, where he stayed, coughing, reeling from the force she’d put behind the blows.

Smiling, Liv nudged his shoulder with her foot. “Come on, Loran. Stand. That can’t be all you’re good for.”

“I can’t. You cracked a rib. I’m sure of it.” The soldier lifted his head, looking their way. “Talk to her, Sable. She shows no mercy. It’s no way to train.”

Sable laughed—the same smooth, seductive sound Aria had heard in the corridors. “Wrong, Loran. It’s the only way to train.”

Liv turned, spotting Sable. Her smile widened for an instant. Then she saw Roar. Seconds passed, and she didn’t move. Didn’t look away. Unblinking, she reached up, sheathing her sword at her back.

As she walked over, all Aria could do was stare at a girl she’d been hearing about for months. A girl who controlled her best friend’s heart. Who had the same blood as Perry running in her veins.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. The blow she’d taken across the cheek had left a red welt, but the color had drained from the rest of her face. She looked as pale as Roar.

“I could ask you the same.” Roar’s words were cold, but his voice was hoarse with emotion, and the veins at his neck stood out. He was barely holding himself back.

Sable looked from one to the other, and smiled. “Your friends have come for the wedding, Liv.”

Aria’s blood went cold.

Sable saw her surprise. “Didn’t you know?” he asked, his eyebrows lifting. “I sent word to the Tides. You arrived just in time. Liv and I will be married in three days.”

Married. Liv was going to be married. Aria didn’t know why she was so shocked. It was the deal that had been made between Vale and Sable—Liv’s hand in marriage in exchange for food—but something felt terribly wrong.

Then she saw how close Liv and Sable stood. How they stood together.