Page 2 of Stormbreaker

It’s the height of Society fashion to dye one’s hair with a touch of purple in various hues. General Nyxia Sol started the trend with her midnight-black hair, streaked with a single shock of bright purple down one side. It’s also the same shade of the cloud bursts that signal an Empire Storm, named after the color of royalty from the old world.

My own hair is a purple so deep it’s nearly black and peppered with brighter streaks of amethyst.

Only mine is natural, a secret I keep to myself.

“Nah,” I say, focusing on Knox and his groupies. “He invites it. If anyone needs an ass-kicking, it’s him.”

“But—”

I raise my hand. “I don’t care. Let her have him.”

A snort behind me draws our attention to queen-bitches Winter Jenkins and Lacey Turner, both wearing acidic sneers.

“Poor little Poet,” Winter says, twirling a lock of her long chestnut hair. “She just can’t keep the attention of her man.”

She thrusts out her lower lip as Lacey dissolves into giggles.

“Don’t worry,” Winter adds with a wink. “After you’re married, I’ll see that he’s always satisfied.”

“Sounds about right,” I counter. “The only way to get someone to fill that dusty, dried-out hole is to fuck another woman’s husband.”

Trinity snorts so loud I’m surprised she doesn’t blow a nostril. She slaps a hand over her face, trying to contain her laugh. It doesn’t work.

Winter’s mouth drops open, and Lacey’s eyes go wide.

“How dare you!” Winter hisses.

“Get out of my face,” I hiss back.

Winter’s gaze narrows on mine, but I know from experience that she doesn’t have the guts to make a move.

She straightens, huffs, and then takes my suggestion, trying to look dignified as she walks away. Trinity latches onto my arm, gasping for breath. I don’t think she notices how hard I’m trembling.

“Skies, Poet,” she wheezes. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

I smooth down the front of my sparkly black crop top, trying to conceal my shaking hands. I lift one corner of my mouth in a smile that feels like a grimace. “That actually felt pretty good.”

“You’re so badass,” Trinity says as our attention once again drifts to Knox. Winter and Lacey have now found their way over to him, scattering my short-lived flare of satisfaction.

Edward appears behind Trinity, bearing a fresh drink, and notices the direction of our stares. His straight black hair falls over a pair of dark-brown, angled eyes. He gives me a sympathetic look.

“You deserve better than that,” he says so sincerely that my throat tightens.

I roll my shoulders, trying to shake off the fog of Knox’s ever-present shadow. “Well, he’s what I’m stuck with.”

My father is the scion of House Fiama, but leadership is tenuous thanks to infighting between our most powerful families. When Knox and I were born, he formed an alliance with Knox’s father to help strengthen his bid for power. It paved the path to his current reign, and thus, our marriage has been a foregone conclusion ever since.

I’ve made peace with it as much as I can. This is my duty to my city. As members of Society, our union is also part of the greater plan to keep us all safe, fed, and protected from both the threats that surround us and the mistakes of the past.

At least I’ll have three years at the academy before I need to face it.

A flash of light catches my eye. I glance out the window as the wind gusts with a powerful blast, tilting the floor beneath us ever so slightly. My palms start to itch, and I scratch them absently.

New Manhattan boasts dozens of Society-owned apartment towers that stretch into the clouds and are prone to swaying in the high winds, but no one bats an eye.

We’re used to this.

Another flash, and the sky lights up with a shocking flare of ultraviolet light.