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Marron stepped between Hyde and Twig, joining theood fortune Millions of people lived here once Now there isn’t a soul left That seeht have benefited from some compassion and some help We are so few"

Aria bit her lip to stop herself frory It was those words: We are so few Why had he needed to say that? They weren’t few They were lacking They were rouped, and she felt their velocity slow There was a sudden descent, which she barely felt but which asp and reach for one another Then the Hovers put down on a beach, one after another, a flock of iridescent birds alighting

When their craft landed, Twig said, "We’re here I can’t believe we’re here"

Aria wasn’t She didn’t feel there at all

Reefin Roar’s arether," Reef said, looking fro now"

Watching them? She didn’t understand Roar pursed his lips and nodded, resigned, and it began to make sense He had been after Sable since Liv’s death That was no secret to anyone, least of all Sable And Talon was Perry’s nephew Eight years of age, but a successor nonetheless Aria wasn’t sure why Reef thought she needed to be protected, but then her ht

Reef disappeared and Aria was suddenly looking up at the brothers, at Hyde and Hayden, and then looking away, because they had bows over their shoulders Because they were the saht shade of blond Was she going tofailures and deficiencies everywhere? Wishing everyone waseveryone was him?

Sable was the first to leave the Hover, with a group of his soldiers She only heard hie hold had come to their feet, and with Hyde and Hayden in front of her, all she saere their backs, and arrows poking fro lowered, a faht flooded the Hover, and then a war and the rustle of swaying leaves

The crowd thinned around her as people began to dise

She put her ar herself that she could do this She could take a few steps

As the crowd thinned, she could see further ahead Marron was exiting the ramp, accompanied by some of Sable’s ht a flash of Reef’s braids He was leaving the Hover with Gren and Twig at his sides

Fear shot down her back, sudden and unexplainable, yanking her from her daze

Sable always moved first He never waited Never hesitated to put down a threat before it ever fully materialized

"Reef!" she screaunshots

One Two Three Four

Precise sounds Pre as screa into the Hover Hyde’s back ra her nose She reeled back, her vision going black for an instant

"What’s happening?" Talon cried, jarred awake

"Roar, get back!" Aria yelled, pulling him deeper inside the Hover Fro arrows She caught a gli Then silence caunshots

"Weapons down, all of you," Sable said coolly

She heard the clatter of wood and uns, bows, knives dropped

Sable walked past the Further down the ramp, Aria saw Reef and Gren Deadly still, both

Slowly, Sable’s gaze swept across the Hover and found Aria He stared at her for a long aze moved to Roar

"No!" Aria yelled "No!"

Sable put his hands up "It’s over," he said "I want no more bloodshed" He looked pointedly at Marron, who stood just a few feet away from him, flanked by Horn soldiers "But if any of you are interested in taking Peregrine’s position as Lord of the Tides, be advised that that position no longer exists Any attempt to claim it will receive lethal consideration, as you’ve just seen

"If you still think you can challengeI know your desires and fears before they have even made themselves known to you Yield to aze drifted over the crowd, eliciting a silent wave of tense, held breaths "Have I made myself clear?

"Good," Sable said "This is a new beginning for all of us, but it’s not a time to throay our past Our traditions have worked for centuries If we respect them--our ways, the old ways--then ill flourish here"

Silence Nothing but the sound of Twig’s agonized cries

"All right, then," Sable said "Let’s get started Leave all your belongings in the Hover, step outside, and form into lines"

46

ARIA