Page 189 of Stormbreaker

There are dozens more. Breakers and Solitudes are all locked in a violent skirmish. But I can’t take my eyes off my brother. I reach out to touch him, wincing when a shock of static snaps at my fingertip.

Despite his obvious distress, I can’t help but cherish this glimpse. I miss him so much.

More Solitudes swarm into the scene, carrying makeshift weapons, outnumbering the Guards.

And then I see him.

Rook.

A few years younger. Slimmer. Less muscle. His hair a bit shorter, but I have no doubt it’s him. He’s busy fighting with a Breaker, and now I understand why he was already so good on the sparring mat. Why he beat us all in the cadet examination with ease.

Rook Athira was never who he claimed.

I can’t decide where to look.

My gaze pings between Rook and my brother. He was there that night. He was there the night Raine died.

The sky flashes in grayscale cloud bursts as the fighting continues.

I move closer, my nose almost pressed to the curved glass, my chest heaving with the fiery residue of Rook’s lies.

Spark explodes from the heavens, forming several plasma arcs, blitzing half the scene. There’s no sound in the recording, but I imagine their screams. More people enter and exit from the sides. I can barely discern what’s happening through a flowing rush of bodies.

Then Raine is hit.

A bolt of Spark strikes as he’s knocked off his feet by a Solitude.

But they both come out of the plasma arc unscathed. Another Keeper. Raine goes flying, landing on the ground, sparks dancing across his hair and clothing.

It takes me a moment to realize the Solitudes have fled, leaving only a circle of Breakers behind. I watch a Guard stand up and walk over to Raine, where he stares down at my brother’s limp body still glittering with Spark.

They know what he is.

The Guard looks up and starts shouting something.

I wish I could reach into the screen and put myself in this moment.

What happens next?

Raine’s chest rises and falls as the wind tosses his hair.

Nothing happens for several minutes as the Guard stands over Raine with a stun gun pointed at my brother’s head. I slowly piece together what must be happening.

They’ve called for the Extinguishers to collect Raine.

My stomach churns, fear curdling in my gut.

A moment later, the Guard straightens, his posture erect as he salutes someone off camera.

A person enters the frame, but it’s not who I expect.

General Sol approaches on sure steps, standing over Raine’s body.

She toes his boot as he shifts, his eyelids fluttering.

Not dead, just passed out.

“Raine,” I whisper, touching the screen.