Talon had helped her sort through the trunks in Perry’s tent, though he had warned her repeatedly that his uncle Perry didn’t really care very much about those old things. She’d known that too. Perry cared about his bow and his knife. He cared about his land and about hunting, and most of all about people. But books? Shirts and socks? Not important to him.

She’d packed a few of her favorite items anyway, taking special care with the collection of falcon figures he’d carved with Talon. Perry’s belongings were more than what she had—which was nothing. If he didn’t want them, she’d claim them herself. His things already felt like they were hers, and his shirts were more than mere shirts. Maybe she was losing her mind, but they meant something to her just because they were his.

Now she carried her leather satchel and his, along with his bow and quiver, the weight of his belongings a poor substitute for him. For the arm she wished were resting across her shoulders instead.

Aria stopped just before leaving the cave. Most everyone was outside already, and only a few people were gathered at the stage. Perry wasn’t one of them.

She was beginning to think he was avoiding her.

She shifted the satchels higher on her shoulders, taking one final look. “Good-bye, cave. I never want to see you again.”

She stepped outside onto the sand and made her way up the switchback trail that climbed the bluff. Roar and Talon walked ahead of her with Willow and Flea. Behind her were Soren and Caleb. All she heard was the wind and their steps, and the crash of the waves growing more faint.

She felt like her head wasn’t attached to the rest of her body. Like she wasn’t attached to the earth or even to the air around her.

They were leaving. It was what she’d wanted. What was necessary. But it felt too sudden. Too wrong, with Sable. And too empty, without Perry.

As she crested the bluff, she saw the Hovers, spread in lines over the rough terrain. Giants perched on the edge of the earth. The fleet was a sight that had amazed her once. Now her eyes moved right past the massive craft, scanning the people milling around in search of a tall figure with blond hair.

Aria spotted him at the same moment he saw her. Perry stood with Cinder and Marron, the three of them huddled close. Roar, Soren, and the others flowed past her, but she couldn’t move.

Perry came to her.

He walked over, and stood before her with swollen, red eyes. He’d been crying. She hated that he had hurt so much and she hadn’t been there.

“You’ve been gone,” she said stupidly.