Page 177 of Stormbreaker

I blink and then blink again.

It’s the same familiar Hollow I’ve seen from the train more than once.

“Hey,” I say and lift my head.

She turns and starts running, and I’m after her before I can think. I chase her through the station, under an archway, and down a flight of stairs.

“Wait!” I shout. “Please wait!”

She spirals down a staircase that levels off into the tunnels.

“Please! Stop running!” I shout. “Who are you?”

She looks back and then stumbles, allowing me to catch up. I snag her by the elbow and push her against the wall.

“Are you following me?”

She shakes her head and tries to yank her arm from my grip. “No, please. I’m not going to hurt you. Just tell me who you are.”

Finally, she stops fighting and sags against the wall, her chest heaving with ragged breaths. She had a head start, but I’m in much better shape. I hear footsteps behind me, and I know it must be Rook, but he hangs back, giving me space.

“You look so much like my old nanny,” I whisper. “But you can’t be her.”

The woman’s eyes shift left and right, hunting for an escape.

“I’m Greta,” she says finally. Wearily. “I’m her daughter.”

I frown. “She didn’t have any children, and you’re older than me. She didn’t have kids,” I insist, as if my certainty will make it true.

“Seven years older than you,” Greta says. “She didn’t tell anyone about me.”

My thoughts grind to a stop. “Why?”

Greta offers me a withering glare now that she’s caught her breath. For some reason, she already hates me. “Take your hands off me, and I’ll answer your questions.”

“You won’t run?”

She shakes her head, and I loosen my grip, ensuring I’m close enough to stop her from bolting again. “Start talking,” I say. “Why did she hide you?”

Greta smooths down the front of her tunic.

“Because of what I am,” she says plainly, but I understand the uncomfortable shift in her eyes.

“A Keeper,” I guess, searching her face, but her hair is light brown, without any hints of purple.

So not exactly like me, but always living in fear regardless.

Greta nods. “She spent every day in the home of one of The Shield’s most loyal families. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to my existence.”

“You mean she spent every day with Raine and me and then went home to you?”

“I barely saw my mother,” Greta answers with a defiant lift of her chin.

I shake my head. “Is that why she left? To spend time with you?”

Greta searches my face, bemusement creasing her brow. “You really don’t know?”

“Know what?”