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"We leave this land, we die," Vale said, his tone suddenly hard "Try thinking once in a while, little brother It ," Perry said Didn’t anyone else see that?

Several people gasped He could alht, Perry This’ll be good to see

Vale handed the rack to Bear It grew so quiet that Perry heard Bear’s leather vest squeak as heas it did when he hunted He saw only his older brother, who’d defended Perry countless tilanced at Talon He couldn’t do this What if he killed Vale right there?

Talon shot forward "Can we hunt, Father? Can Uncle Perry and I hunt?"

Vale looked down, the darkness in his gaze vanishing "Hunt, Talon? Now?"

"I feel good today" Talon lifted his ser to show h roused a few forced chuckles from the crowd

"Please, Father Just for a while?"

Vale raised his eyebrows at Perry, like he thought it fitting that Talon had stepped in to rescue him That look nearly launched Perry forward

Vale knelt and opened his ar around Vale’s broad neck Covering the Blood Lord chain Stealing it froht," Vale said, easing back He cradled Talon’s face with his hands "I’ll save the best cuts for you" He straightened and motioned Wylan over "Make sure they stay close to the compound"

"We don’t need him," Perry said Did Vale think he couldn’t protect Talon? And he didn’t want Wylan along If the Aud caive Talon the apple "I’ll keep hireen eyes settled on Perry’s swollen cheek "Little brother, if you saw yourself, you’d knohy I don’t believe that"

More laughter, unchecked this time Perry shifted on his feet The Tides saw hio, Uncle Perry Before it gets late"

Perry’s ive his brother his back Talon let go of hi strides

"Coo!"

For Talon, Perry followed

Chapter 9

ARIA

When the coughing fit passed, Aria lay on her side Her ribs hurt Her throat ollen and sore But she’d survived Her skin hadn’t one into shock Maybe the stories rong Or maybe that would coan to walk again She’d accepted that she wouldn’t get anywhere Whatone step after another, she had a chance of finding shelter She convinced herself of this so coh shapes in the distance, she thought she was i as the forrew uneven with debris Broken pieces poked through the soles of her Medsuit, hurting her feet She stopped, scanning a sea of cement Pieces of iron stuck out of the rubble, sculptural, bent and rusted A great city once, she thought Defiant, here in the middle of nowhere Noouldn’t even provide shelter for her She pointed herself in another direction and set off again

She avoided her thoughts as long as possible, but they ca beyond her control Ward had seen her alive Had Hess pressured hi now? What had Lue?

Aria sat down to rest She remembered the last ti Sunday

At eleven o’clock every Sunday of her life, Aria had met her mother in the Paris Opera Realm, a replica of the lavish Palais Garnier Lu with her hands folded neatly in her lap, her back straight in her favorite front row seat She caant black dress, a thin strand of pearls around her slender neck, her dark hair pulled back in a tight, perfect bun

For an hour, on a stage built for four hundred perfor to her She beca about doorand purpose and resilience in the face of death Aria let their stories soar on her dark falcon soprano voice, across gilded coluels She performed every week for Lumina because her mother was there for that hour, and that was ot froh she hated opera She hated everything about it The overblown sense of drama The violence and lewdness No one had ever died of heartbreak in Reverie Betrayal never led to s didn’t happen any without taking risks Now, life was Better than Real

Her last Singing Sunday with Lumina had been different from the start Lumina’s cool hand on Aria’s bare shoulder had jarred her awake

"What is it?" Aria had asked Her S?"

Luray traveling ju the arms, not her usual doctor’s sant "The transport team wants to avoid some weather I need to leave earlier than planned"

Aria sed the tight feeling in her throat She didn’t want to say good-bye They’d planned to meet every day in the Realms, but Lumina would be far They wouldn’t be in the sa to me now?"

"Mom, now?"

"I look forward to this all week," Lumina said "Don’t make me wait until next Sunday"