Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

This post contains spoilers!

Characters

Aria - 17 yr. old girl who lives in Reverie; her kind are called Dwellers

Peregrine aka Perry - 18 yr. old boy who lives outside the pods; part of a tribe known as the Tides; he is a Scire - his two exceptional senses are that he's a Seer (night-sighted) and a strong sense of smell; his kind are sometimes called savages

Lumina - Aria's mother

Paisley - Friend of Aria

Soren - Privileged son of Reverie's Director of Security

Counsel Hess - Soren's father; the Director of Security at Reverie

Bane - Friend of Soren

Echo - Friend of Soren

Vale - Older brother of Perry and the Blood Lord (leader) of the Tides

Talon - 7 yr. old son of Vale; very close to Perry

Mila - Wife of Vale/Mother of Talon; she has just recently died

Olivia aka Liv - Sister to Perry and Vale

Roar - Best friend of Perry; in love with Liv; he is an Aud (exceptional hearing)

Cinder - a young boy found in the forests; his body is in sync with the Aether and he can burn and incinerate

Marron -  He is the leader at Delphi, a protected, ornate community which provides health care


In Reverie, everyone is genetically enhanced to make them healthy and more perfect; most of their experiences happen virtually. They all wear tech pieces called Smarteyes which allow them into the Realms - virtual worlds where they can go or do just about anything. Aria's mom is an important scientist in Reverie. Her work has taken her to a distant pod called Bliss. There is a power disruption between Bliss and Reverie and Aria has lost all contact with her mother. Hoping to get some information out of Soren, Aria and Paisley agree to accompany him (and Bane and Echo) on an illegal adventure - they plan on sneaking into a non-functioning section of Reverie by disabling the security and their Smarteyes. Once they get there, Soren, Bane, and Echo seem to lose themselves and have a hard time distinguishing the real from the not-real. They start a fire which soon gets out of control. Aria tries to reactivate her Smarteye and get help but is only able to make it record what is happening. When Aria and Paisley try to escape, they are attacked by the boys. Suddenly a stranger appears on the scene, a savage. He fights off the boys and carries a barely conscious Aria to safety, then disappears (taking Aria's Smarteye with him). Only Aria and Soren survive the escapade.

The stranger was Perry. He was attempting to sneak into the pods to steal medication for his nephew, Talon, who is sick. Perry is at odds with his brother Vale over how the Tides are being led. Perry does not think that Vale is doing enough to protect and provide for the tribe. But, because Perry loves his nephew so much, he does not outwardly challenge his brother.

Back in Reverie, Aria is questioned about the events leading up to the fire. Without her Smarteye, she has no proof that Soren was responsible. Soren's father assures her that all will be investigated and that he is sending her to Bliss to be with her mother. But, he is secretly trying to protect his son and cover up the incident. Aria is put into a hover in what she thinks is a trip to Bliss. Instead, she is dumped out into the outside, left to fend for herself. Meanwhile, the guards who dumped Aria come upon Perry and Talon while they are out hunting. They abduct Talon and fly away with him. Perry is left thinking that they took Talon in retribution for him taking the Smarteye (which is non-functioning now). When Vale learns about this, he and Perry fight but in the end, Perry runs away. He vows to himself that he will get Talon back on his own.

Aria and Perry meet up again in the outer world. While they do not trust each other at all, they agree to help one another. They will travel to Delphi and ask Marron to repair the Smarteye. Then they will get back to Reverie where Aria will have proof of Soren's crimes and Perry will be able to rescue Talon.

During their journey, they encounter danger. They survive Aether storms and then Aria's carelessness causes Perry to have to take the lives of three member of the Croven (cannibal tribe). They continue traveling toward Delphi, meeting Roar along the way. Roar has news of Perry's sister, Liv. She was recently betrothed to another tribal Blood Lord by Vale. The arrangement was that she would marry the rival Blood Lord in exchange for food supplies for the Tides. Half of the supplies were sent, but Liv ran away without completing her end of the bargain. Roar, has been searching the outer lands for Liv. He agrees to travel with Perry and Aria. Along the way, they meet a young wild boy in the forest, Cinder. They soon learned that he has some special power connected to the Aether and can ignite and burn things at will. During a scuffle, he accidentally burns Perry's hand badly. With the Croven hot on their trail, the group finally makes it to the safety of Delphi.

While receiving medical care and awaiting the repair of the Smarteye, Aria and Perry begin to realize they have strong feelings for one another. But, because Perry is a Scire, they know that they cannot be together in the end. When the work is completed on the Smarteye, Aria finds that she is blocked and unable to connect with her mother, Bliss, or Reverie. She and Marron guide Perry through the Realms via her Smarteye. There, he makes contact with Talon who reports that he is being treated well and likes it there. He also tells Perry that his father, Vale, is with him in Reverie. Soon, Aria, Perry, and Roar attempt to leave Delphi. The Croven are still waiting to make their attack and they are forced to return to Delphi.

Finally, Aria and Perry leave Delphi on their own. Perry agrees to escort Aria to Bliss so that she can find out whether her mother is really alive or not. Then, they will part ways and Perry will return to his tribe to assume leadership as Blood Lord (since Vale is now in Reverie.)

When Aria reaches Bliss, she sneaks in and learns that her mother has died. She is soon discovered and captured. Counsel Hess tells Aria that the worsening Aether storms are a threat to all of Reverie and their way of life. He will not allow her to return to Reverie and threatens her with this - unless she agrees to go to the outside and find information about the safe area known as The Still Blue, they will harm Talon and Perry. She agrees.

Perry leaves Aria behind at Bliss, not knowing what has transpired inside or that her mother is really dead. He is very despondent over parting from her. In the forest, he comes across a band of men and end up in a brawl. One of the men, a Scire named Braids, admires Perry for not forcing him to pledge his allegiance after winning the fight. The band of men decide to follow Perry back to the Tides and serve him there. When they reach the Tides, Perry is surprised to discover Vale is actually there, not at Reverie. He figures out that Vale set up Talon's abduction (much in the same way that he "sold" their sister, doing what he thought was for the good of the tribe) and that he wanted Perry killed by the Reverie guards. Perry and Vale fight it out and in the end, Vale dies and Perry becomes Blood Lord. The people of the tribe now know the truth about Vale and are willing to follow Perry.

Aria makes her way back to Delphi and awaits spring's arrival with Roar. Then she will set out to find the Still Blue and Roar will journey back to the Tides. Aria gives Roar a violet, asking him to give it to Perry. Once she is on her way, she and Perry reunite in the outside.