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"There are some differences between the Senses Scires tend to be tall They’re the rarest Marked Seers are the , but before you start wondering, no, I’m not a Seer Just lucky"

Aria smiled despite herself She was surprised by how at ease she felt in his company "What about your kind?"

"Auds?" He flashed a rin at her "We’re said to be sly"

"I could’ve guessed that" She looked down at his bicep, i the tattoo hidden beneath his dark shirt "Hoell can you hear?"

"Better than anyone I know"

"Can you hear ehts when I touch them That’s just me, not all Auds And don’t worry, I won’t touch you Unless you want me to"

She smiled "I’ll let you know" This was unreal There were people who could shts What was next? Aria cupped her hands, bloar heknows everything?"

Roar laughed "Please don’t ever say that in front of hih as it is" He tilted the bottle and drank "Perry and I grew up together, along with his sister When you know so a Scire"

She supposed it was true She’d been sensitive to some of Paisley’s moods Caleb’s too "But it feelsiets to knohat other people are feeling?"

"He’s quiet because he’s scenting tempers Perry doesn’t trust words He’s toldto false words when he can breathe and get right at the truth?"

"Because people arethings"

"Yes, well It’s hard to follow a person’s logic if you don’t kno they feel And you’re wrong Perry does talk Watch him You’ll see he says plenty"

She knew this For days she’d been translating his actions intohoalked in a dozen different ways With utter quiet With barely contained violence With easy anirace

"What about his sister?" she asked

"Olivia," Roar said, and then added more softly, "Liv"

"Is she a Scire also?" Aria didn’t even like the word It sounded like a warped version of scare

"As strong as Perry if not more We never could decide who has the keener nose"

"What happened to her, Roar?"

"She was betrothed to someone else Someone asn’t me"

"Oh" Roar was in love with Perry’s sister She sucked on her botto the sweetness of the Luster She didn’t want to be forward and ask too many questions, but she was curious And Roar didn’t see Scire She’s too valuable" Roar stared at the bottle in his hand like he was searching for the right explanation "Blood is our currency As Marked, we hters We overhear plans for raids and sense shifts in the Aether Blood Lords surround themselves with people like , they choose the strongest of their kind If they don’t, they risk losing the Sense Some say they risk worse"

Aria had a hard tiet two Senses with different parents? Is that what happened with Perry?"

"Yes But it’s rare What Perry isit’s very rare" After a pause, he added, "It’s best you don’t ever mention his parents"

She slipped her hands into the sleeves of her coat, digging her fingers into the fur What had happened to Perry’s parents?

"So as a Scire, Liv has to marry a Scire?" she asked instead

"Yes It’s what’s expected" Roar shifted against the trunk "Seven o, Vale promised her to Sable, the Blood Lord of the Horns They’re a large tribe to the north Ice-cold people, Sable the coldest of the lot Vale was to receive food for the Tides in exchange for her Half of which they o"

"That’s right Liv ran She disappeared the night before we’d have crossed into Horn territory It was exactly what I had wanted us to do together I’d been thinking about it the whole way there She left before I could ask" Roar paused and cleared his throat "I’ve been searching for her since I’ve coo, I heard a couple of traders speaking of a girl who could track game better than any man They’d met her in Lone Tree I’et"

"Why?"

"She’s tall--barely shorter than er That alone is enough to draw attention, but she has this qualityYou watch her because just that will fascinate you"