Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky, #3)(14)

A few of the Tides had come to send them off. Willow stood with her grandfather, Old Will, while Flea trotted around, sniffing busily. Reef and a couple of the Six were there, along with others she didn’t know, but so far she was the only member of the team to show.

Despite having slept against Perry all night, she still felt their argument weighing on her. He wouldn’t talk about how she’d hurt him, and he wouldn’t talk about Roar or Liv.

It felt like a lot. A lot to go unsaid.

“They’re just a little tardy,” said Caleb. “They’ll be here.”

“They’d better hurry.”

With a thick layer of fog cloaking the coast, she couldn’t see the red flares that had everyone worried, but she heard the storm they’d been anticipating. The distant shriek of the funnels sent a shiver through her.

Five miles away, she guessed. They needed to leave soon.

“See?” Caleb said. “Here comes Soren . . . and Jupiter?”

Soren crested the switchback path that climbed up from the beach, his closest friend at his side. Jupiter walked with an amble that matched his leisurely personality. Today he appeared mellower than usual, having just emerged from days of fever. Like Soren, he carried a bag over his shoulder.

“What is this?” Reef grumbled. “Someone explain to me why there’s another one of them now?”

Aria felt Caleb tense at her side. He was one of “them” too.

Soren stopped in front of Reef and lifted his chin. “This is our second-in-command, Jupiter,” he said importantly.

Jupiter flipped his shaggy hair out of his eyes. It felt strange to see him outside the Realms. Even stranger to see him without drums and his bandmates. “Hey, Aria and Caleb. And, uh . . . hello, Outsiders.”

“No,” Reef said. “Not hello. You can leave, Dweller. You’re not part of the team.”

Jupiter’s eyes went wide, but Soren held his ground.

He crossed his arms. “If Jupiter goes, I go.”

“Done,” said Reef. “Good-bye to you both.”

“Can any of you fly a Hover?” Soren asked, looking around him. “I didn’t think so. We can. Isn’t that what we need? A way out of here? And I want equal representation on this pathetic team.”

“Equal?” Reef said. “There are forty Dwellers in that cave. You are one tenth our count.”

“We speak technology, which makes our tenth a hundred times more valuable.”

A few paces away, Twig turned to Gren. “So are they more valuable or are we?”

“I don’t know,” Gren answered. “I’m lost.”

“Get in there, Jupiter,” Aria said, gesturing to the Belswan.

A dozen heads whipped to look at her. No one stared more intently than Reef.

“Soren has a point,” she said. “It’s smart to bring someone else who can fly the Hover. We should have an alternate pilot in case something incapacitates him during the mission.”

Soren’s expression went from smug to shocked as he realized what she’d said.

Reef’s face underwent the same transformation, in reverse. He broke into a wide grin, tipping his head at her in a gesture of respect.

“Don’t just stand there,” he said to Soren and Jupiter. “Your first-in-command just gave an order. Load up.”

Aria hugged Caleb, promising she’d see him soon, and boarded with them.

The bay doors opened to the cargo hold, a wide, bare space that stretched across the middle of the Hover. She moved to the cockpit at the front with Soren and Jupiter, who dropped into the two seats and immediately began to argue about which button controlled what.

It didn’t inspire confidence.

Leaning against the threshold, she watched them while keeping her ears tuned for Perry and Roar.

She wasn’t worried about bringing Jupiter. He was harmless, and she liked the idea of having another Dweller on the team. The more they could integrate, the better. But Soren was another matter.

Could she trust him? He had come through for her with Talon. But then he’d also attacked her in Ag 6. And she’d trusted his father, Hess, and look where that had gotten her. Then there was Soren’s attitude and his history with Perry. The only thing he really contributed were his piloting skills, and those were shaky.

Soren sensed her watching him and broke off with Jupiter. “What?”

“Are you ready?” she asked.

His lip curled up—a dead giveaway that he was nervous. “What kind of question is that? Is there a way to prepare for this that I’m unaware of?”

“You’ll do fine. You’ve flown it already. Just don’t crash.”

She caught him by surprise. His smirk softened into a more natural smile. “I’ll try not to.”

Aria heard Perry walk up behind her. His hand settled on the small of her back.

“Get this ship moving, Soren,” he said, over her shoulder. “Put us ahead of that storm.”

Through the windshield she saw that the fog had begun to burn off, revealing a patch of sky to the south. There, the Aether wheeled in spirals, a sight both terrifying and familiar. The red flares were brighter than she’d expected, shocking as fresh blood. Seeing them stole her breath away.

“I was just waiting for you to show up, Outsider,” Soren said.