Page 73 of Stormbreaker

He presses his mouth together and then attacks his plate without another word. I think I’ve won this round, and I hate myself for being grateful to him, but I guess this is what I’ve been reduced to.

Still, I’ll take it.

As I pick up my fork, I notice Trinity on the far side of the cafeteria. She’s sitting across the table from a girl with dark-brown hair, wearing the burgundy shirt of an E-squad recruit. Trin is leaning in while the girl talks, and I frown, wondering what they’re doing together.

“How was your second initiation last night?” Knox asks Sal across the table, turning my attention toward them.

“Fine,” he says as he looks away.

“You passed?”

“Of course I fucking passed,” Sal says. “What do you take me for?”

“What did you have to do?” Jackson asks.

“You know I can’t tell you that,” Sal answers.

He’s right. No one is allowed to disclose the details of their second and third initiations, but that doesn’t mean everyone follows that rule.

“Tell us,” Knox says, digging for more. The second test is designed to expose your weaknesses and fears. What is Knox afraid of?

“No, fuck off,” Sal practically snarls, and it’s obvious Knox is touching a nerve. They’ve been friends forever and have always been loyal, but Knox is very competitive.

Sal constantly rises to Knox’s bait, while Jackson tends to ignore them both when they get this way.

After that, it seems none of us feels much like talking, so we all move on to eating quietly, surrounded by cafeteria noise. Trinity has left, and I don’t see the girl she was talking to anymore. I stare around the room, my gaze lingering on Stevie and the members of House Aria as I consider the upcoming rounds of initiation.

What will my next test be? They can’t ask me to repeat the same test, so they can’t make me fight anyone again. But they could still ask me to hurt someone. If I refused, I’d be without a House. I close my eyes at the thought, wondering if I could bring myself to do it. I’d be cut off from everyone and everything I know.

I could consider Asale or Tera, but I have no clue what kinds of tests they give. It could be something equally bad. Or be something I know absolutely nothing about. What if Asale asked me to design a tool or code a computer program? I’d fail before I even started.

After all, the point of pledging is to prove your worth. That you deserve to be a part of Society. And as Stevie told me the night I ran the tower of fire: they can’t make it too easy.

Suddenly, my lunch sours in my stomach, and I drop my fork with a clatter.

“I gotta go.” I stand up from the table, and without waiting for a response, I leave and head to my room to grab my things. I have my first gym session today, and I’m eager to get there early.

Fifteen minutes later, I walk into the gym to the sound of music blasting through high-set speakers, the low murmur of conversation, and the clink and clang of weights. I inhale the smell of rubber and sweat, weirdly thrilled to be participating in mandated exercise.

Quickly, I scurry to change into my gym attire—purple shorts and a long-sleeved top—before I go to meet my trainer.

I notice a few other people from cadet training, including Rook, who’s talking to Brooklyn, one of the Storm Breakers from our first day of cadet training.

Rook’s gaze finds me briefly before it flicks away, and I try to ignore the weird emptiness his brush-off leaves in my chest. We haven’t spoken since he defended me against Knox, and it seems I owe him yet another thank-you for his help.

“Poet,” comes a voice to my left, and I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of Henry. “I’ll be your trainer today.”

It’s so good to see him, and I offer him the first genuine smile I’ve felt in a while.

Over the next hour, I follow Henry’s instructions as he leads me through a series of exercises to help build muscle and strength. It feels amazing to empty my mind and lose myself in the movements as sweat pours down my forehead. This is exactly what I need. Something to distract me from everything going on.

Throughout my training, I remain aware of Rook on the near side of the room. Brooklyn puts him through his paces, and our eyes meet once or twice. Every time he glances my way, my stomach does this little dip that it really shouldn’t. I’m helpless to control it.

Knox assumed something about Rook and me the other day, and while I dismissed it, the truth is, I do feel something when I’m around him. I know it’s wrong. Nothing could ever happen between us.

I might not want to marry Knox, but Society depends on a man like my father ruling House Fiama. I recall my conversation with General Sol. That a change in leadership wouldn’t benefit any of us.

If he loses his position, it could create instability, and all those terrible things could happen again.