Page 140 of Stormbreaker

“We have some time,” Rook says, and I nod as we both settle onto the center rock and stare at the horizon.

“What’s up with the claustrophobia?” Rook asks with one knee tucked up under his arm. “Does it have something to do with what Dr. Perez saw in your X-rays?”

I exhale a deep breath and fold my arms tightly across my chest.

Rook touches my elbow gently. “You don’t need to do that,” he says. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have pried.”

“It’s okay. It’s already a very poorly kept secret. My father . . . has a temper. I’ve spent a lot of time hiding in closets.”

Rook exhales a knife-sharp breath. “That same asshole who came to the pledging ceremony?”

“The one and only.” I hold my breath, wondering how Rook will react.

He scoffs and tosses a pebble onto the ground, where it lands with a soft click. “We spend our lives being told how civilized you all are—how the Societies represent the height of human existence—but you’re all fucking animals, too.”

My gaze flashes to his, and he shakes his head. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No,” I say, reaching over and laying a hand on his wrist. I notice him twitch, but he doesn’t pull away. “You’re right. If that’s what you’re taught, then they’re wrong.”

He selects another pebble, throws it up, and catches it.

“Why did you choose Aria for your pledge?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Honestly, it hardly mattered to me. It seemed like the one I’d have the best chance of succeeding in.”

That makes sense. He definitely has that whole “fit” thing going on.

“You move and fight like you already knew what you were doing when you got here,” I say.

“Yeah,” he agrees, but that word is so weighted with a million sides that I can’t begin to understand what he’s thinking.

“What did they make you do during your initiation?”

I know I’m not supposed to ask, but I can’t seem to help myself.

His jaw hardens before he answers. “They ensured I would start becoming one of you.”

When it doesn’t seem like he wants to elaborate, I don’t push it. It’s none of my business, and he must have his reasons for pledging.

“Why are you here?” I ask with that thought in mind. “Why did you come to Amery?”

He looks at me and then turns toward the sky. “For my family. For my people. For a chance to give them more.”

His people. More and more, I wonder about his life.

“But you won’t ever see them again?” I ask. “Don’t you have to give them up when you enroll at Amery?”

He shrugs. “I know that’s their rule, but I have every intention of finding a way around it.”

He says it so matter-of-factly that I believe he’ll manage it.

“They’re lucky to have you,” I say.

“I’m lucky to have them.”

I give him a smile. “That must be nice.”

Then we both turn toward the sky, where the first flashing cloud bursts are visible in the distance. I scratch the back of my neck and my arms, and I notice the way Rook twitches. He’s pulled out his compass and is flipping the lid open and closed. I think it’s an anxious habit.