“’Cause you’re wriggly as a fish. Hold still!”

Liv rolled her eyes. “I’m tossing you into the river once you’re finished.”

Rena huffed. “I may toss myself in well before then, dear.”

Liv was joking, but she looked paler by the second. Aria couldn’t blame her. She was getting married in two days, bound forever to someone she didn’t love. To Sable.

Aria glanced toward the door, her stomach knotted with anxiety. Roar still hadn’t reappeared since he’d left dinner last night.

The sound of voices out in the hall thrummed through the thick wood. She was learning her way around the twisting corridors. Sable’s chamber was nearby. Now that he knew she was after the Still Blue, it would be harder than ever for her to break away and search for information, but she would try later.

“What you said last night about the rebellious bird?” Liv said suddenly. “I agree with you.”

Aria sat up. “You do?”

Liv nodded. “There’s no taming it.... Do you think I’m too late?”

Too late to tell Roar she loved him? Aria almost let out a laugh of pure happiness. “No. I don’t think you could ever be too late.” For the next ten minutes, as the seamstress finished, she fidgeted as much as Liv, fighting to keep the smile from her lips. When Rena left and they were finally alone, she jumped off the bed and rushed to Liv’s side. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. He’s the only thing I’ve always been sure about. Help me get this thing off. I have to find him.” In seconds she changed out of the dress into worn brown pants, leather boots, and a white long-sleeved shirt. She twisted her hair behind her back, and pulled the leather holster with her half-sword across her shoulder.

They checked Roar’s bedroom and then Aria’s, finding both empty. Discreetly, Liv asked a few guards about Roar. No one had seen him.

“Where do you think he is?” Aria asked as Liv led her through the corridors.

Liv smiled. “I have some ideas.”

Aria’s ears tuned to the voices around her as they stepped outside and took to the shadowed city streets. She could gather information while they searched for Roar.

People took notice of Liv as they walked, recognizing her, nodding in greeting. Her height made her hard to miss. In a few days, she’d be a powerful woman—a leader, alongside Sable—and they admired her for it. Aria wondered how that would feel. Would she ever stand beside Perry, strong in her own right and accepted for who she was?