Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky, #3)(64)

“I’m tired.”

Perry waited, knowing there was more.

“And I’m scared,” Cinder said. “Are we going to the Still Blue?”

“I don’t know . . . maybe.”

“If we do, I’ll have to get us through.”

Reef’s words echoed in Perry’s mind. There is no way forward that isn’t through pain. He shook his head, pushing them away.

“Whatever happens, Cinder, I swear to you, I won’t leave your side.”

[page]Cinder didn’t say anything, but Perry scented the easing of anxiety from his temper. That seemed to be all he needed to surrender to sleep. In seconds, Cinder’s eyes fluttered closed.

Perry stayed a moment longer, soaking in the quiet. Flea began to whimper, his legs twitching as he dreamed about chasing something. Perry wondered if it was the Still Blue.

He stood, moving to the trunks containing the remnants of his family’s belongings. Talon’s falcon carvings. Vale’s ledger. One of Mila’s painted bowls, which he and Liv had cracked while wrestling and then fixed unsuccessfully. These things might never go anywhere, he realized now.

He stepped out of his boots and was unbuckling his belt when Aria slipped into the tent. “Hey,” he said, going still.

“Hi.” She glanced at Cinder and Talon, smiling when she saw Flea, but her temper brimmed with anxiousness. He felt it coil inside his chest, stealing away the peaceful, tired feeling he’d felt a second ago.

He didn’t know what to do next. He didn’t know whether to pull off his belt. It seemed like a bigger decision than it should have been. Belt off was normal for him at the end of the day, but he didn’t want her to think he assumed something would happen between them.

Even though he wanted it to. Badly.

He was being an idiot. She trusted him. He knew that. He’d only make this more awkward by dressing again.

He pulled off his belt and placed it on the trunk. “I went out with Roar,” he said to fill the silence.

“How was it?”

“Really good. Thank you.”

“I’m glad.”

Her smile was genuine, but faint. Something was on her mind. Her gaze flicked to the empty bed and then to the tent flap.

He spoke quickly, worried that she might leave. “It’s a little crowded, but I’m glad you’re here. If you decide you want to stay. I’m glad you’re here even if you don’t want to stay. Either is fine. Anything you want is perfect.”

He scratched his chin, shutting himself up. Perfect? He’d never used that word until she’d appeared in his life. “How are your friends? Caleb and Jupiter?”

“I saw them earlier,” Aria said quietly. “I yelled at them.”

“You . . . yelled at them?”

She nodded. “Maybe it wasn’t yelling. But I raised my voice.”

He finally understood her temper. Her anxiousness wasn’t directed at him; she was worried about her friends. “Did they deserve it?”

“Yes. No. In a way. They’ve been keeping themselves separate. Did you know that?”

“Molly mentioned it.”

“I couldn’t stay with them, so I left. I spent the afternoon in the Battle Room trying to figure out why they’re back there.” She sucked on her bottom lip, the smooth skin between her dark eyebrows wrinkling with worry. “I just expected them to be further along, and I don’t know how to change the way they think. I want to help, but I don’t see how I can.”

A hundred thoughts flooded his mind, but they all came down to one: being a leader wasn’t easy. It had to be earned, and that only happened over time. He’d spent the winter and spring learning that with the Tides. Aria was just beginning to learn it now.

“You know I’m here,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Will you come see them with me tomorrow? Maybe if we talk to them together it’ll help.”

“Done.”

Aria smiled, then her gaze traveled to his waist. “Perry, did you know your pants are falling down?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t have to look; he could feel them sliding down his hips. “I, uh . . . I took my belt off to make you feel comfortable.”

“You took your belt off to make me feel comfortable?”

He nodded, trying to hold back a laugh. “I worked it out in my head that this would be more natural.”

“Your pants falling down is natural?”

He grinned. “Yeah. If they fall any further, it’s going be very natural.”

She laughed, her gray eyes shining as she shook her head. “So nice of you to think of me.”

“Always do.”

A blush crept over her cheeks as they stared at each other, one second giving to another. Her temper filled the small space, beckoning him closer.

“In the Komodo you said you wanted us to have some time alone,” she said.

He snatched his belt off the trunk and took her hand, darting out of the tent before she’d finished speaking.





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HarperCollins Publishers

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