Page 89 of Stormbreaker

I blink. “What?”

“I said no.” Her tone snaps tight. “I’ll take care of it.”

“But—”

“I said I’ll take care of it. I know you think I’m helpless, but I do know how to talk to him.”

“Mom, what are you—”

She disconnects the call before I can ask any more questions.

What did she just mean? Relief balloons in my chest that I may get out of being the one to share the news. I’m nothing but a coward.

But then I worry about my mother and how he might react. She seemed sure she knew how to talk to him, though. If she really knows, why hasn’t she ever done it before?

Maybe she has?

I slump against the window and watch the city’s lights from my perch. I’m unsure how long I’m sitting there before realizing how late it is.

Slowly, I stand, surprised that my legs hold me up.

With another look around the atrium, I open the door before I head for my room, where I’ll spend my last night in the company of House Fiama.

33

I return to find my room empty.

I text Trinity because we really need to talk more about what happened. Then I clean up the blood on my face and do my best to patch myself up before changing into my PJs.

As I slide under the covers, my knee throbs. I banged it up pretty good today, and it might cause me some trouble during my workout tomorrow, but I’ll push through it.

When Lacey and Winter return, I pretend I’m asleep so I don’t have to talk to anyone. As much as I fear moving into House Aria, I also can’t wait to put some distance between us.

I assume Trinity must have gone to find Edward, and I wonder what her plans are now. Dating across Societies isn’t wholly unprecedented, though it is rare, and a marriage requires both sides of the relationship to cede to the same House.

As I wait for her to return, I drift in and out, trapped in a state of per­petual anxiousness. I toss and turn, replaying the conversation with my mother in my head.

I’ll never forget that look on her face when I broke whatever was between us forever.

Eventually, I must cave to exhaustion because when I blink my eyes open, slivers of early-morning light filter around the edges of the curtains. It feels like I’ve been kicked and dropped and twisted through a vise.

My watch tells me it’s way too early to be awake, but I doubt I’ll be able to sleep anymore. I roll over and look across the room to find Trinity fast asleep, snoring softly. It’s her last night in this room, too, and in spite of everything, I’m relieved we’re doing this together.

My knee aches as I get up and limp to the bathroom for a shower. When I emerge, Trinity is dressed and sitting on the edge of her bed, running her palms over her thighs.

“Hi,” she whispers, aware of Lacey and Winter still asleep.

“Hey,” I say. “We should talk.”

“Maybe not here?” She nods toward our roommates. “I need to meet Stevie before breakfast to receive my new room assignment.”

I exhale a short breath. “Same.”

She blinks, and it takes her a moment to process my words. “Poet, did you really—”

“Not here,” I reply, again gesturing to Winter and Lacey. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

She nods and stuffs a few things into a backpack while I dress and do the same.