Talon scrambled to his side. He thrashed around, his knobby knees banging into Perry’s ribs for a few minutes before he finally settled down.

“I miss our house,” he said. “Don’t you?”

“Yes,” Perry said, staring up at the canvas above him. More than anything, he missed the gap in the loft’s timbers. For years he’d been too tall to stretch out fully in that loft, but he hadn’t cared. He’d loved falling asleep with his eyes on a little piece of the sky.

He bumped Talon’s arm playfully. “This isn’t so bad though, is it? You and Willow don’t seem to mind it.”

Talon shrugged. “Yeah. It’s not bad. Willow said that Molly said that you’re leaving tomorrow to get Cinder. Why do you have to go, Uncle Perry?”

There it was. The real reason Talon couldn’t sleep.

“Because Cinder needs me, just like you did when you were in Reverie. And I need a few things from the Dwellers that’ll help us get to the Still Blue.”

“If you don’t come back, I’ll be alone.”

“I’m coming back, Talon.”

“My dad’s gone. My mom and Aunt Liv—”

“Hey.” Perry propped himself on an elbow so he could look at his nephew’s face. He searched for a little of himself or Liv, but all he saw—from Talon’s serious green eyes to his dark curls—was Vale. He couldn’t fault Talon for being afraid. But there was no way he’d fail his nephew. “I’m coming back. All right?”

Talon nodded, the gesture a little dismissive.

“Do you know what happened between me and your father?” The words came out before Perry could stop them. They hadn’t spoken about Vale yet. About how Vale had sold Talon, his own son, to the Dwellers for food. Brooke’s sister, Clara, too. Unforgivable. But then Perry had killed Vale—also unforgivable. He knew that act would haunt him forever.

Talon lifted his small shoulders. “I was sick. He sent me to the Dwellers to get better. When I was, you came to get me back.”

Perry studied his nephew. Talon knew more than he was letting on. Maybe he was saying what Perry wanted to hear, or maybe he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Either way, Perry wasn’t going to push. It wouldn’t get him anywhere. Talon didn’t just look like Vale. He was as hardheaded and tight-lipped too.

Perry lay back down, resting his head on his arm, and flashed on his argument with Aria. Maybe he did have something in common with his nephew after all.

“You think there are places to fish in the Still Blue?” Talon asked.

“Sure. I bet there’s lots of places to fish.”

“Good, because Willow and I found some night crawlers today. Eleven of them. Huge ones. I have them in a jar.”