Page 87 of Storm Caller

We watch the cloud of dust kicked up by her truck’s tires.

“Do you think we can trust her?” I ask, and Rook shakes his head.

“I’m not sure.”

“Why were you so shaken up after she showed you what she can do with Spark?”

Rook sighs and runs a hand over his jaw. “She’s just offered a lifeline to my people. If I can learn to wield it, I could be useful to my father.”

“You are useful to him,” I say.

“It’s all felt so futile for so many years. Every time we get ahead, they come in and take it all away.”

“And now?”

“Now, General Sol just offered me something I never thought we’d have.”

“A weapon?”

“Yes.”

“To use against the city?”

He gives me a long look. “Poet, I told you a long time ago who I am. What I am.”

I nod. “I know you did. I just thought . . .”

I trail off as he reaches out and traces the faint scar on my cheekbone, his expression soft. “That I’d forget everything they did? I’m here for the cure, not to help New Manhattan. That has never been my goal. I want to save my brother and sister, and I want to create a stable life for my family and the Veil.”

I inhale a deep breath. “I know that.”

“That includes you, just so we’re clear.”

My breath expels in a shaky rush. “I know you think that, but this is my home.”

“A home that lied to you. That wants to kill you for what you are.”

His words cut deep, slicing through tissue and bone and the truth I’m still reckoning with. I know he’s right, but this is still the place I grew up. Could I just leave and never look back?

“If we find the cure, what then?” I ask, my voice suddenly small and uncertain. “Will you leave?”

“Yes, Poet. My home is out there, not here. I was never meant for this life.”

I swallow against the knot in my throat. “What about us?”

“You can come, too,” he says. “I want you to come.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.”

He searches my face. “Maybe not.”

I look away, staring at the horizon. “We’d better get back.”

Without another word, I descend into the darkness of the tunnel.

A moment later, I hear Rook following.

We walk in silence for a long time before I feel a gentle tug on my wrist. I let him pull me around to face him, though I can’t meet his eyes just yet.