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Aria shot up from her chair. Fear flashed in her eyes; he hated seeing it. “Hess!” she yelled. “What did you do?”
“It was a necessary measure. ” Hess rose from his seat and joined Sable. “They’re on sedatives to keep them submissive. We couldn’t control the boy without them. ”
“That’s going to change,” said Sable. He moved along the glass wall until he stood in front of Cinder. “You can hear us, correct?”
“Yes,” Perry growled, answering for Cinder. “We can hear you. ”
Sable smiled, like Perry’s reaction pleased him. “Good. Cinder, as you’ve just heard, you’re the key to our survival. You are the only one who can unlock the door to the Still Blue. We need you. But in order for you to help us, you have to be taken off the suppressants so you can regain your strength and access the full power of your gift. What we can’t have, Cinder, is you using your ability to harm us. ”
He turned his attention to Perry. “That’s where you can help. From what Kirra tells me, Cinder has already risked his life for you. He looks up to you. He’ll listen to you. ”
Perry’s gaze went to Kirra. Two weeks ago, Cinder had driven away the Aether so the Tides could reach the cave in safety. She’d been there and must have told Sable.
“Cinder needs to do for us what he did for you,” Sable continued. “That will require your help. Keep the boy in line as he’s weaned off the suppressants. Encourage him to cooperate. He has the opportunity to save lives. He can become a savior, Peregrine. A martyr. ”
“A martyr?” Cinder whispered beside him, terror making his voice shake.
“He’s just a kid!” The words flew out of Perry’s mouth before he could stop them.
“He’s thirteen,” Kirra scoffed. “That’s hardly a kid. ”
“You have no leverage,” Hess said. “We have it all. ”
They did. They had Roar and Aria—they could pressure him to comply—but he still couldn’t agree.
Cinder began to cry beside him. “I can’t!” He looked at Perry. “You know what will happen to me. ”
Perry knew. The last time Cinder had called the Aether, it had almost killed him. The magnitude of what Sable described would make that certain.
As Blood Lord, he’d needed to put people he cared about in danger to help the tribe, but this . . . a sacrifice? He couldn’t ask that of Cinder.
“He’s not doing anything for either of you,” Perry said, looking from Hess to Sable. “And neither am I. ”
Sable’s voice came through the speakers again. He sounded a little smug as he said to Hess, “We’ll have to take my approach. ” Then he lifted his hand in the air. “Cinder, I want you to think of these four words: Is it worth it?” he said, counting them off.
“If you attempt to escape or use your abilities against us, that’s the question you should ask yourself. Then you should think of Peregrine—of Perry there—and consider how much he means to you. Think about how you’d feel if he suffered because of you. That will happen if you don’t do exactly as I say, and it won’t stop there.
“Aria. Roar. Even the girl at the Tides Kirra tells me you’re so fond of. They’re all within my grasp. And I don’t think you want their pain—or their blood—on your conscience. On the other hand, if you help us, then your friends will stay safe. I’ll bring them all on the journey to the Still Blue, where they’ll live under my protection. Rather clear-cut, in my opinion. Is all of this making sense to you?”
Cinder groaned. “Yes. ”
“Excellent. ” Sable’s eyes glinted with intensity. “Then I’ll ask once again: As you regain your strength, will you do exactly as I tell you? Can I trust you to obey me, Cinder? Will you submit your power to me?”
21
ARIA
No!”
Cinder’s answer was a battle cry. A sound of raw defiance.
The echo of his voice hung in the air as his veins lit with Aether, which covered his face and arms and spread over his bare scalp.
The lights in the room shuddered. Gasps rose up from the Guardians and Horn soldiers. Guns flew from their holsters, all of them pointing at Cinder.
“Stop!” Hess yelled. “Put away your weapons! He can’t harm you!”
Aria turned to Roar, whose face flashed with the strobing lights, thinking now.
Roar pushed back from the table. He grabbed his chair between his bound hands, hurling it at the wall of windows.
It struck with a crack, bouncing off. The glass splintered, spiderwebs splaying across its surface, but it didn’t shatter.
Aria dropped and rolled beneath the table.
She came up on her knees by the door leading to Perry and Cinder’s chamber. Behind her she heard yells, footsteps scattering in panic. She jabbed at the security panel. A red flashing message told her what she’d already known. Only a special access code would get her inside.
“Soren!” she yelled, having no idea if he’d help or if he was in league with Hess now.
The rattle of gunfire exploded around her. She covered her ears, tucking into a ball. Gunshots pocked the door in front of her, and the smell of hot metal seeped into her nose. She braced for the same slap she’d felt in her arm when she’d been shot in Reverie. It didn’t come.
“Stop! Don’t hurt the boy! He cannot be harmed!” Hess shouted over the noise. Aria peered behind her to see him shove a Guardian, who dropped the pistol in his hand. One of the Horns had Roar by the arms, and Soren was belly crawling toward her from the opposite side of the room.
She didn’t see Sable.
“Out! Everyone out!” Hess yelled.
Abruptly, the gunfire ceased and men rushed for the door. Guardians and Horns jammed at the exit, pushing, shoving in their hurry to flee. In the kick and trample, the fallen pistol skittered across the polished floor, stopping a few feet from Aria.
She snatched it up, aiming at the man who was dragging Roar outside. “Let him go!”
The Horn soldier released Roar without a fight, plunging into the corridor. The door slid closed behind him.
Sable and Hess. Guardians and Horns. Everyone had cleared out.
Roar rushed to her side, Soren a second after. A high-pitched alarm exploded through the room’s speakers.
“We have to get out of here,” Soren yelled. “They’re going to gas the chamber. ”
Aria looked up, tuning her ears, listening between the siren’s blares. A faint hiss came through the air vents. It was already happening.
“Find something to cut me loose, Soren,” Roar said.
Aria faced the glassed room. The only thought in her mind was reaching Perry. She adjusted her grip, finding the trigger with her left index finger, and fired at the glass at an angle. The weapon bucked in her hand five, six times, before the window peeled apart and fell in a heavy sheet.
She vaulted through the window frame into the room, rushing to Perry’s side. She set the gun down and began unbuckling the heavy straps. She felt slow and clumsy with her bad hand, but she forced calm into her movements. Panicking wouldn’t help.
She glanced at Perry’s face and found his green eyes fixed on her. “Are you hurt?” she asked.
He looked tired, his skin washed of color. Cinder was almost unconscious. The brief use of his power had bled him dry.
Perry gave her a small, strained smile. “Too angry to feel pain. ”
Roar unfastened Cinder’s bindings. Soren came over and undid the ones on Perry’s feet. Aria saw Soren’s hands pause for a moment as he swayed, balance unsteady. The gas was affecting him.
She felt it too. The alarm sounded further away and deeper in tone, like it was disappearing into a dark tunnel.
As soon as she’d freed Perry’s hands, she shot to the door and found it locked.
“Aria . . . ,” Soren said behind her. “It’s too late. I don’t have time to hack it. . . . The gas isss . . . ,” he slurred.
“It’s not too late!” She backed awa
y from the door and aimed at the locking mechanism. Her head was spinning. The room was spinning. She couldn’t keep her aim steady. A bitter taste like rancid limes slid over her tongue, and her eyes began to burn.
Roar’s hand closed over hers. He took the pistol. She noticed he was breathing raggedly. “It’ll ricochet. . . . Soren’s right. ”
Disappointment washed over her. Crushing her with the feeling that they’d just made their situation worse.
Aria turned. Perry leaned against the bed, his wide shoulders hunched. “Aria,” he said simply.
Soren sat heavily against the wall. Then he slumped onto his side, eyes fluttering closed. The lime taste seared down Aria’s throat and the walls flapped, undulating like sails in the wind. She couldn’t move.
Perry’s head tipped to the side, heavy and resigned. Not the playful tilt she knew. “Come here. ”
His voice drew her forward. She went to him, walking across the tilting floor. Her face smacked into Perry’s chest. He caught her by the arms. She’d only vaguely registered that her bicep didn’t hurt at all when she found herself on the floor, with no memory of sitting down.
Perry pulled her against his side, putting his arm around her. Soren had passed out. Cinder lay still on his bed. Roar sat against the door, glaring into space.
He seemed so far. The room seemed to stretch out and go on forever.
“S’good at least that—” Perry turned to face her, and his knee knocked into her thigh. “Sorry. ”
“Didn’t feel it,” she managed to say through a numb mouth. “What’s good at least?”
“We’re together. ” She saw the flash of a grin just before his eyes slammed shut. He fell forward, his forehead thudding onto her collarbone.
Aria wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as they drifted away.
22
PEREGRINE
That’s good. Come on back. There you are,” Sable said.
Perry opened his eyes, blinking at the brightness. His first thought was of Aria. Then Roar and Cinder.
He was going to demand to see them. To know how they were—where they were. But then he saw the table next to his bed.
A set of tools rested on a tray. A wrench and a hammer. A mallet with a black rubber head. Clamps and knives of all sizes. Finer tools with needle-thin points. Dweller tools that shone like icicles.
He had no doubt in his mind what was about to happen to him. But he was prepared for this. He’d known the instant he’d met Sable that this was possible.
The dark-haired man with the silver horns stood by the door. Kirra and a few Guardians as well.
Hess stood closer, next to Sable, his weight shifting from side to side.
“Do I have to stay?” Kirra asked. Her head was bowed, her red hair shielding part of her face.
“Yes, Kirra,” Sable said. “Until I say you can leave. ”
Sable fixed his blue eyes on Perry, blinking a few times, staring quietly. Scenting Perry’s temper. “You know why we’re here, don’t you? I warned Cinder. I told him what I wanted. He refused me. Unfortunately, the price of that transgression falls on your shoulders. ”