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"Marron says he’ll have the files and the link working by tomorrow"

"To in the quiet of the rooe to say what he’d wanted to for days Everything could change when they fixed the Smarteye This could be his last chance to tell her

"Ariaeveryone feels lost and low It’s how a person acts thatdespite those feet Despite not knowing your wayDespite me"

"I can’t tell if that was a coy"

He peered at her "Both I could’ve been kinder to you"

"You could have at least said a little more"

He shed, and then her eyes turned serious "I could have been kinder too"

She scooted herself back against the headboard Her dark hair fell straight to her shoulders, fra her small chin Her pink lips turned up in a soft sive you on two conditions"

Perry leaned back on his good arht clothes, not in ca, but he couldn’t help it "Yeah? What are they?"

"First, tell ht now"

He covered his surprised gasp with a cough "My teentle way to say no "I could try," he said after a h his hair, shocked at what he’d just agreed to do

"All right" He fiddled with the edge of his cast "Scents, the way I get thehts and temperatures sometimes Colors, too I don’t think it’s like that for others My bloodline on est line of Scires" He stopped hihs were flexed tight "So, ht now is probably cool And heavy That’s what sorrow is like Dark and thick, like stone Like the scent colanced at her She didn’t look like she wanted to laugh so he kept going "There’d be more Most of the time, a lot of timesthere are a few scents in a temper Nervous teht and tingling like that? Nervous tenore So there’d be some of that probably"

"Why are you nervous?"

Perry smiled down at his cast "That questionat her wasn’t working either, so he pinned his gaze on the lamp "I can’t do this, Aria"

"Now you have an idea how it feels How exposed I feel around you"

Perry laughed "That was tricky of you You want to knohat I’m nervous about now? That you have a second condition"

"It’s not a condition It’s more of a request"

Every part of hi for what she’d say next

Aria pulled the covers over her, hugging them close "Will you stay? I think I’d sleep better if you stayed here tonight Then we could ree She was beautiful sitting against the headboard, her skin looking smoother, softer than the sheets pulled up around her But Perry hesitated

Sleeping was thea Scire could do with another person Te their own bonds Scires became rendered that way, as had happened with hiht of this only now, but he didn’t need to worry Scires seldom rendered to anyone outside their Sense And she was a Dweller The furthest thing fro within feet of her for more than a week What difference would another day make?

Perry’s eyes flicked to the soft carpet, then back to Aria "I’ll be right here"

Chapter 26

ARIA

Marron had a running countdown to when they could safely power up her S, when he took her down to the Navel

Seven hours, forty-three minutes, and twelve seconds

It was an estih about Marron to take the numbers for their worth The room was spare and cold compared to the rest of Delphi A collection of computer equipment A desk and a couch It had a sacred air She had the impression no one came down there except Marron Aria noticed a vase of roses sitting on a little coffee table

"You liked the other one so," Marron said, bea, then he quietly set to work on her Smarteye at his desk

Aria sat on the couch, her sto with nerves She couldn’t tear her eyes fro 6 still in the Eye? Was the "Songbird" file? Would she be able to find Lumina and Talon? Only an hour had passed when Marron invited her on a walk outside She agreed right away Her feet were still sore, but she’d go crazy down here all alone Time had never moved more slowly

She searched for Perry as theyto the steady rhythht But when she’d woken that , he hadn’t been there

Aria ie in the courtyard as she stepped outside with Marron Only a few people wereabout, compared with the bustle she’d seen when she storlanced at the sky She’d seen much worse than the veinlike flows above

Marron’s expression sobered He looped her arh his as they continued on the cobblestone path "We had a few arrows over the wall early thisfroht Ai else In that, they were successful I was hoping they’d have relaxed by now, but it appears"