“I know what side I’m on. I know I can handle pressure.”

Perry’s words hung in a beat of silence. He’d gone right to Soren’s weakness, but it was the truth: Soren’s control was brittle, and Perry had proved it.

Soren cursed and lunged forward. “Stupid Savage! I should have killed you. You should be dead!”

Perry shot to his feet, yanking Aria behind him. Roar drew his blade, but Brooke was closer. She stepped in and pulled an arrow from the quiver at her back.

“Go ahead,” she said, pressing the steel tip into Soren’s chest. “Take another step, Dweller. I’m already tempted.”

Soren’s glare shifted away from Perry. He raked his eyes down Brooke’s body and said, “I’m tempted too. Anytime, Laurel. Just say the word.”

For a long moment, no one moved. Perry knew he wasn’t the only one grasping for some clarity on what had just happened.

Then Brooke said, “Who the hell is Laurel?”

Behind him, Aria let out a chirp of laughter, and suddenly Perry understood.

Roar sheathed his knife, glancing at her. “And you call me wicked.”

A scarlet blush crawled up Soren’s neck. “You’re all crazy,” he growled. “Every one of you!”

Aria slipped past Perry. “I want to see what you set up, Soren. Show us?” She headed into the cockpit, denying him the opportunity to brood or argue by pulling him with her.

Nicely done, Perry thought. She had gotten them exactly what they needed, a run-through of the plan, and it would give Soren a chance to recover his confidence by showing them the work he had done.

“Brooke,” Perry said as the others filed into the cockpit. “Thank you.”

She paused, setting her bow and quiver against the wall. “You’d have done the same for me.”

Perry nodded. “I might have drawn blood, though,” he said.

Brooke’s smile was a quick flash, but genuine. She glanced into the cockpit. “I miss her, Perry . . . don’t you?”

Liv. “Yes,” he said.

Brooke waited for him to say something more. What was there to say? What did she and Roar and Aria want from him? He couldn’t change his sister’s death. If he let himself feel it, the crack that ran through his heart would widen. It would break him, and he couldn’t break. Not here. Not now.

“Do you think it’s easy for me and Roar?” Brooke asked.

“No.” He tipped his chin toward the cockpit. “We should get in there.”

Brooke shook her head, disappointed. “Fine,” she said, and stepped into the cockpit.

Perry didn’t follow her. He leaned against the wall of the Hover, pressing his thumbs to his eyes until he saw red spots instead of Liv with a crossbow bolt in her heart.