Page 39 (1/2)

Aria uncovered her ears, hope a passing flicker in her eyes "They’re still here," she whispered

He eased back against the board, absorbing the quiet The howl sent a sudden chill down his spine He tensed, listening to a wail unlike anything he’d ever heard Like being rendered, it pulled hi his breath in his throat Other wolves joined in, creating a sound that raised the hair on his arms

After a few , but then the barking and scraping began again The boards shifted beneath hi off her shoulders Perry watched as she stared down at the wolves Then she cupped her hands around her ht it was another wolf howling Even watching her, he couldn’t believe she’dbelow ceased When she finished, her gaze darted to his for a moment Then she let out an even richer,more power, more reach than any of the wolves below

Quiet fell over them when she was done Perry’s heart pounded

He heard a soft whine and a wet sneeze And then, after a ht

With the wolves gone, they sat and shared water Perry’s fear earing off, leaving a heavy fatigue He couldn’t stop looking at Aria He couldn’t stop wondering

"What did you say to them?" he finally asked

"I have no idea I just tried to copy their howls"

Perry took a drink of water "It’s a gift you have"

"A gift?" She looked lost in thought for a while "I never thought so before But maybe it is" She smiled "We’re alike, Perry My voice is called a falcon soprano"

He grinned "Birds of a feather"

With their nerves settling, they ate a quick meal of cheese and dried fruits they’d packed from Marron’s Then they wrapped theainst the planks, listening to the wind stir the branches around theirl in your tribe?" Aria asked

Perry peered at her, his pulse picking up It was just about the last question he wanted to answer "No one important," he said carefully That sounded terrible, but it was the truth

"Why isn’t she i to say Don’t you?"

"Rose told me But I want to hear it from you"

"Mine is the rarest Sense The most powerful It’s even more important for us to keep our bloodline pure than it is for other Marked" He rubbed his tired eyes and sighed "Crossing Senses brings a curse It brings misfortune"

"A curse? That sounds archaic Like soes"

"It’s not," he said, trying to keep the edge out of his voice

She thought for aout "What about you? You have two Senses Was your mother a Scire?"

"No Aria, I don’t want to talk about this"

"Actually, I don’t either"

They fell into silence Perry wanted to reach for her He wanted to feel like he had for the past day, with her hand in his But her teht

Finally she spoke "Perry, ould I scent now if I were a Scire?"

Perry closed his eyes Describing their differences wouldn’t bring her any closer But neither would refusing to answer He inhaled and then he told her what his nose told him "There are traces of the wolves The scents of the tree carrying a winter tone"

"The trees have a winter smell?" she asked

"They do Trees know first what the weather will do"

He already regretted speaking Aria bit her lip "What else?" she said, but he scented how it hit her, all the things he knew that she didn’t

"There’s resin and rust on the iron nails I scent the remnants of a fire, probably months old, but the ash is different from yesterday, with Cinder This is dry and has a taste like fine salt"

"And yesterday?" she asked softly "What did that ash smell like?"

He peered at her "Blue Empty" She nodded like she understood, but she couldn’t "Aria, this isn’t a good idea"

"Please, Perry I want to knohat this is like for you"

He cleared his throat against a sudden tightness "This shack belonged to a fa--"

"What’s a stripling?"

"A boy on the cusp of beconored, if you get what I mean"

She smiled "Would that be your scent?"

He put his hand to his heart, pretending to be stricken "That hurt" Then he grinned "No doubt, yes To another Scire, my appetites hed, dropping her head to the side Her black hair spilled over her shoulder Just like that the night cold vanished