“We could accomplish great things together,” he said. “The Dwellers look to you as a leader, and you have the respect of the Tides. We can rebuild here. We can bring them together. Can’t you see it? Can’t you picture what we could be?”

“I can picture all the ways I want to end your life.”

Sable sat back on his heels, letting out a sigh. “You need some time. I understand. I’m in no hurry. You’ve suffered quite a lot.” He stood, pausing, his lips turning up. “I’ll send your father for you later.”

She froze, her heart squeezing in her chest. How long had he known about Loran?

Sable’s smile widened. “No need to worry. He’s a trusted warrior. A man of great character. That should make you very proud. He is very valuable to me. Almost indispensable,” he added with a smile. He moved to the ramp, turning back for one last comment. “Oh, and I’ve been meaning to tell you. Your friends who mysteriously disappeared? Roar and Soren? Not to worry. I’ll find them for you. My people are looking for them.”

Loran arrived to fetch her at dusk.

“He knows,” Aria said as he walked up the ramp.

Loran crouched in front of her. “Yes.”

“You’re in danger because of me.”

“I want to be.”

“You want to be in danger because he knows you’re my father?”

“I’d prefer that he didn’t know, but he does. It was bound to happen. He was bound to scent how I feel. He is like all Scires . . . a master at using leverage to get what he wants. An expert manipulator.”

“Not all Scires are that way,” she said.

“No . . . you’re right. Not all.” With a sigh, Loran sat. “Sable applies pressure on the psyche,” he said, his voice unhurried and soft. “He’s very pleased to have learned that we’re connected. I have the respect of his soldiers, and he is wise enough to know that he needs me to keep order. And now he’s confident that I won’t step out of line. He has found a very big weakness of mine.”

“Would you have stepped out of line?”

“Never before,” he answered quickly. “But recently . . . recently someone I met has me asking questions about integrity and what it’s worth.”

“What is it worth?”

“A great deal.”

“So now you’re questioning him, but he has a means of controlling you . . . and that’s me?”

Loran shook his head. “You misunderstood. I’m not questioning him. I’ve always known who he is. What I’m questioning, thanks to a girl with a tooth-rattling kick, is who I am.”

She hugged her knees, unsure what to say. She’d hoped that finding her father would lead to her knowing herself better. She’d never considered it might also happen the other way around. “So . . . who are you?”