Page 102 of Stormbreaker

So I take off, weaving through the wreckage of the arena.

Someone shouts off in the distance, spotting me, but my feet grow wings as I glide over the debris in my path.

He knows.

I think of the Spark winking in his hair like a signal far in the distance.

He knows, and he’s like me.

I’m not alone.

He’s a monster, too.

I slam into the far wall, scoring a point for my team just as the end-game buzzer sounds.

Breathing heavily, I scan the arena, looking for Rook.

What happens now?

I don’t think he can turn me in to the Extinguishers because it would draw too much attention to himself.

He’s a Solitude and a Keeper—he’d be dead before the sun rose tomorrow.

My gaze slides to Lieutenant Dire standing on the platform overlooking the arena. His gaze isn’t on me, and I let out a long, shaky breath. I think we got away with it.

Rook emerges from between two buildings and saunters closer, his eyes narrowing as he scans me from head to toe. It’s another assessing look, like he’s trying to peel me apart to study the clockwork of my bones.

But there’s also something like relief visible in the set of his shoulders.

I think.

All I know is that suddenly, everything has changed.

38

Rook avoids me after our encounter in the simulation. Only part of me is surprised.

He refuses to make eye contact even in biology class, where we’re forced to sit at the same table. He responds only in one-word grunts, and it isn’t that different from our first day, but I hate that he won’t look at me. And I hate that I even care. It shouldn’t bother me this much.

When I close my eyes, I can’t stop seeing his perfect face as he leaned over me, his lips parted softly, inviting me in like a bad decision I really want to make. I’d never admit it out loud, but I’ve fallen asleep to that image every night since.

But that’s secondary to the more pressing issue.

We have to talk about this.

I refuse to ignore the fact that I’m in the presence of another Keeper.

Even if he won’t acknowledge me, I already feel less alone than I have in my entire life.

I’m not the only one. Someone else is like me and trying to hide it.

We could be . . . what? A team? Confidants? Friends?

Probably not, but something.

We have to be something.

While Rook avoids me, I avoid Knox.