Three days alone, but they hadn’t been difficult. He preferred hunting, but he was a fisherman by birth. He’d been fine with the ocean ahead of him, a new sky above. His only real problem had been the lack of water.

Dehydration, he’d realized quickly, was worse than burns or the pound of a mallet. By the time he’d dragged himself and the raft up the beach, into the cover of the trees where Roar and Soren found him, reality had lost its sharpness. He’d thought that maybe he was only imagining that he’d reached land when Roar and Soren showed up.

“It would have been easier on me if you’d taught me how to fly the Hover,” Perry said to Soren now. “Could have saved me a few days.”

Soren grinned. “You keep saying you want to learn, Outsider. I’m ready. I’ll teach you anytime.”

“I’m proud of both of you,” Roar said. “I just have to say that.”

He was joking, but there was a seed of honesty there. Perry was sharing a jug of water with Soren. They were talking easily. Perry had never thought it possible.

He sat up and asked the question that had been on his mind all day. “How is she, Roar?”

Roar met his eyes directly. “How would you be if you thought she was dead?”

Perry couldn’t even stand to imagine it. He found himself biting down into his teeth. “What has Sable done?” he said instead.

Silence.

“Tell him, Roar,” Soren said.

Perry leaned back and shut his eyes. He already knew.

“Reef.”

“Yes,” Roar said. “Gren, too. The moment we got here. Twig was shot, but he was holding on when we left.”

Reef. Perry sucked in a breath and held it there, pushing back on the pressure. In half a year, he’d become so much to Perry. Brother. Father. Friend. Adviser. Perry’s eyes blurred, another gap opening inside him.

“I’m sorry, Per,” Roar said.

Perry nodded, bracing himself. “Marron?”

“He’s fine. At least he was when we left.”

It made sense. Marron was brilliant and respected, but he wasn’t ambitious or aggressive. He’d never challenge Sable for power—he’d reason for it. Reef had represented the only real threat to Sable. He would have picked up the Tides as his own. He’d have done it for Perry.

“Sable has control of everything,” Soren said. “You could feel it even before he set down on the beach. As soon as you left with Cinder, he took control. He’s a madman. Completely psychotic.”

“He’ll be completely dead soon,” Perry said.

For the next hours, he talked with Roar and Soren about the camp Sable had set up. They discussed the basic layout of the settlement, the surrounding geography, and the advantages Sable had—which were many.

When it was late, Roar said, “What are you thinking, Per?”