Page 88 of Storm Caller

“I’m sorry,” he says.

I peer up and shake my head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You’re right. I know you don’t belong here.”

“I thought I understood my purpose when I arrived in the city,” he says. “Those first few weeks were so easy. Everyone was scared of me. Everyone kept their distance, as I hoped they would. I was free to do what I needed to do.”

“And then?”

He chuckles softly, leaning in as his warm breath pulls up goose bumps across my skin. “And then some defiant princess came along to fuck that all up.”

I laugh and slap him playfully on the arm. “I’m not defiant,” I say, and he laughs.

“Sure. You’re very obedient.” He reaches up to cup my cheek. “I don’t know what the future holds, Poet. But I do know that from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you’d be important to me.”

I study his face, admiring the soft crinkles in the corners of his eyes, the smattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose, and the copper flecks in the green and gold of his irises. I love his face so much.

“Did you really?”

He nods. “It was like . . . my soul had always known you.”

“I think I felt the same. When you looked at me, my stomach did this weird thing.”

“Because I’m so incredibly good-looking?” he asks.

I smile. “You know you are.”

He laughs, and it lights up his face.

“I thought it was fear,” I say. “I thought I was supposed to hate you. I’d been taught my entire life that you were the bad guy.”

“I am the bad guy, Poet. Don’t forget that.”

He really believes that, even after everything he’s shown me.

We approach the ladder back to the surface, and I step onto the first rung before I look back at him. I don’t know what the future holds, either, but I’m sure that mine includes him, too. I’m just not sure what that looks like yet.

“If you’re the bad guy, Rook Athira . . . then I guess that makes two of us.”

30

The next day, we decide to tackle the problem of Trinity. I’ve spent most of my life pretending and keeping a secret that could get me killed, but now it’s time to put on the performance of my life.

Rook and I head for the cafeteria for lunch, hoping to find her. Sort of. Part of me hopes that she disappeared off the face of the earth so I never have to see her again.

We enter to find the room buzzing with conversation. A few looks are directed our way, but for once, we go mostly unnoticed. I scan the room, finding the E-squad in the corner with their heads all bent together. My back stiffens at the sight of those bloodred shirts. I think about those men chasing me through the plaza and pinning me down while I screamed and screamed before they so cruelly knocked me out.

I’ve stopped walking, and Rook takes my hand.

“You okay?”

“Not really.”

He squeezes my fingers but says nothing, giving me space to talk myself into doing this.

I search for her among the group, finding her bright-red hair in the middle of the huddle. The sight makes my heart feel like it’s being ground up by a woodchipper. But I need to pretend to fix this. We can never go back. What she did was unforgivable, but I now have a bigger purpose.

For a moment, I hesitate, noticing a few people glancing over and elbowing one another. They probably think I’m here to chew Trinity out, and they’re ready for the show.

A moment later, one of the E-squad spots me. I remember Ruby from last year. Tall and fierce. A bit of a leader among the group. Conversation at the table cuts off as they notice her staring at me, until every one of the E-squad turns our way.