Page 121 of Stormbreaker

“Poet?” comes the voice again as Domino appears around the corner. “I was worried about you. They’re about to start the ceremony.”

That’s when she notices Rook. Her gaze jumps between us before a knowing smile curves on her lips. I take in Rook’s mussed hair and the bright, wild look in his eyes. Only a fool couldn’t put two and two together.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she says with a smirk. “But they need you both.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything. We were just talking,” I say like a big, huge liar while I attempt to straighten myself out. “We’re coming.”

Domino places a hand on her cocked hip, clearly not buying my shit.

“Okay, but don’t dawdle. Scion Beaufort is almost ready, and she doesn’t look like a lady who waits for anyone.”

I exhale on a sharp, almost delirious laugh. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Domino gives me a careful look, ensuring that she’s read the situation correctly and that I don’t need her help.

“I’m good, I promise,” I assure her.

She nods and returns to the ballroom before I find the courage to meet Rook’s gaze.

“We should probably . . .” I point in the direction Domino went.

“Yeah. You go. I’m coming.”

There’s enough dismissal in his tone that I push myself from the wall, trying not to take it personally.

As I leave, I glance over my shoulder to find Rook with his head tipped back and his eyes closed, wearing a pained look that suggests he just made a very big mistake.

44

I reenter the ballroom in a cloud of uncertainty to find it emptying of students, each being directed toward the exit for their respective ceremonies. The parents leave with drinks in hand, passing through a set of doors at the far end, where they’ll wait for their kids until the pledging is over.

I’m pointed toward the left, where I hover on the edges of the Aria crowd. My lips burn with the memory of Rook’s kiss. My knees have become jelly.

“Where have you been?” Trinity asks, walking over and taking my hand. “I heard what happened with your parents. Well . . . everyone heard. Are you okay?”

“Not really.”

She squeezes my hand and gives me a sympathetic look.

While we wait, I search for Rook, but before I can find him, I’m whisked through a door and into another room, this one smaller and a bit darker but just as grand. A modest, elevated platform sits in the center, illuminated by a spotlight. Our group comprises about fifty people, and we’re instructed to form a wide circle around the perimeter.

Once we’re arranged, we all fall into silence by some kind of tacit agreement. I find myself standing between Trinity and a girl who keeps glancing at me and then quickly looking away. I hold in a sigh, wondering if this will always be my reality.

Hopefully, everyone will soon grow used to me and forget that I don’t belong here.

Of course, I just caused another scene. No matter what Rook said, I’ve been humiliated by my parents’ very public rejection.

I scan the room, finding him on the far side of the circle. I spot Domino about a quarter of the way around and catch her eye. She gives me a little wave just as another door opens.

Surreal Beaufort is as impressive as her name suggests. She’s shorter than I expected, but she gives the impression of being taller with her straight spine, her shoulders thrown back, and her chin tipped up.

Her dark, white-streaked hair is sleek and shiny, cropped into a perfect blunt bob. She wears a three-piece black suit with a waistcoat that flares out from her hips, short black leather boots with impossibly high heels, and carries a long black cane that thunks along the floor as she walks.

Slowly, she approaches, and the circle shuffles apart to allow her through. I wonder what’s happening in the Fiama room. Does my father make this kind of dramatic entrance, too? It doesn’t seem like his style.

I shake my head and try to put him out of my thoughts.

My father, House Fiama, and everything they do is no longer my concern.