Page 37 of Storm Caller

“You all ready?” asks the girl as she saunters into the room. She stops when she sees me, pausing mid-stride, mouth open, almost like a cartoon character.

“Poet, this is my baby sister, Navy,” he says. “Navy, my friend Poet.”

Navy looks between us before she folds her arms and cocks a hip. She’s dressed like Rook, her dark eyes also lined with black, and her hair is cut to her chin. “So this is the stray you brought home?”

I can’t tell from her tone if she means that as an insult, but then she breaks into a grin, bouncing over to throw her arms around me. “Hi! Let’s be friends.”

“Navy, give her some space,” Rook says, and she pulls back, holding up her hands in surrender.

“I’m just being nice!”

Rook rubs a hand across his face. “I know,” he answers, and though he sounds a little exasperated, I hear the obvious affection in his tone.

Navy smiles and drops onto the end of the bed, crossing a leg over her knee. “Tell me everything about the city. I’ve always wanted to go. What is Amery like? How did Rook do around the other students? I bet he glared at everyone a lot.”

Suddenly, my chest aches. She reminds me so much of Journey and her boundless energy that a deep loneliness for the life I left behind throbs beneath my ribs.

“Sorry about her,” says the second visitor, holding out a hand. He bears a strong resemblance to Rook and their father, although he’s a little shorter and stockier. His black hair is longer, brushing the tops of his shoulders, with half of it tied up.

“I’m Justin,” he says. “The youngest of the Athira siblings.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand.

“How are you doing? It must be tough leaving home for the first time.”

There’s such kindness in his expression that my eyes burn as I nod. “A little.”

“I hear you got into trouble,” Navy says. “Dad’s been fuming ever since we got the news about the Whisper.”

“I fucked up,” Rook says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Reacted too quickly. Didn’t de-escalate, but the storm was so close, and I was worried about remaining aboveground any longer.”

His brother and sister share a knowing look, and I guess I’m not surprised that they know his secret.

Storm Caller.

I’ve been inundated with such an onslaught of new information in the past twenty-four hours that I haven’t really had a chance to sit with this particular revelation, nor consider what it means for my future. When Rook and I hatched our plan to break into The Shield’s office, it was with the notion that we could prove we were something else to escape the Extinguishers’ hands.

If I can prove I’m not a Keeper, could I go home? Do I want to? If General Sol is also a Caller, would she protect me? The high commander made it clear I’m not welcome in the Veil, so I might not have a choice.

“Well, we should get going!” Navy says with a sharp clap of her hands. “They’re all waiting for the show!”

“What exactly is about to happen?” I ask.

“Ooh, you didn’t tell her?” Navy asks, her eyes spreading wide. She tugs me up from my chair and loops an arm through mine. “You’re about to watch my big, tough brother get the snot kicked out of him.”

A few minutes later, we enter a massive cavern carved into the mountain, with a fighting ring at its center. Along one side are rows of stands already filled with people. They’re chattering and laughing, many of them clutching bottles with what Navy tells me is fruit brandy. At Rook’s entrance, a chorus of cheers and whoops swells through the crowd. He glances up with a grim look and then turns back to me.

“Sit with Navy and Justin,” he says. “And . . . if you need to look away, I won’t blame you.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, but he’s already walking off.

“C’mon, Rook’s girlfriend,” Navy says, tugging me by the hand and dragging me to a seat in the front row.

“Don’t call me that,” I say with a frown.

“Aren’t you? Why else did he risk his ass bringing you here?”

“Language, Nav,” Justin says, sitting on my other side.