Page 114 of Storm Caller

“Oh, you’re no fun,” Winter says, then turns to me and eyes me up. “But you’re with the Solitude, aren’t you?” Her eyes sparkle, a clear signal that she’s moved on from trying to induce envy to simply embarrassing me.

“I am,” I say, refusing to be anything but certain about Rook.

“Can you imagine what their wedding would be like?” she asks Silver, tossing her head back with a laugh.

Then I understand.

What she really wants is to remind everyone how far I’ve fallen in the eyes of Society.

She wants to assert herself as queen bee.

So I let her.

This costs me nothing, and I truly don’t care about their hierarchy anymore. Not that I ever really did. If I end up leaving with Rook, none of this will have ever mattered.

My future in New Manhattan may be murky and uncertain.

But Winter’s will remain unchanged.

And maybe I pity her for that.

“Nothing like yours, I’m sure,” I say. “Congrats to you both.”

Then I offer them my most sincere smile. Honestly, I’m happy for them. They deserve each other, and I hope Knox will treat Winter better than he ever treated me. He offers me a look that suggests he doesn’t trust what I’m saying, but I’m so beyond caring what he thinks anymore.

“Class is starting,” I say as Professor McCarthy, our history teacher, enters the room. Knox, Winter, and everyone else are forced to find their seats as the teacher calls for their attention.

Once everyone is settled and facing the front of the room, I blow out a long breath. Just another hour and I can get some sleep.

As Professor McCarthy begins her lecture, Knox turns back to look at me, his brows drawing together. He looks like he wants to say something but doesn’t know what.

It’s like I’ve been caught in a spider’s web my entire life, bound by silk strands that I’ve been slowly snipping, one by one. As I focus on the lesson, I mentally cut away the final threads that once gave Knox Arden power over me.

Now, I’m free of him for good, and I have nothing to say to him ever again.

After a solid night’s sleep, Rook and I head to Storm Guard training, talking in low voices about what to do next. The biggest question is how much we should reveal to the Fog. They might be able to help us, and they’d definitely want to know about a cure. Most pressingly, they might be able to help us find Edward.

We enter the gym to discover Henry hasn’t returned to Amery. He must still be recovering from his night on the Tower. When I catch Brooklyn’s eye, she crosses the room and says in a low voice, “He’ll be back next week.”

Suddenly, I grow dizzy.

It’s a punch to the sternum.

I’m overwhelmed with everything that’s happened over the past two days.

I’ve been alone with this secret for so many years.

Then I found Rook, and everything changed.

The Veil showed me there is another way.

And now, discovering there are people within these city walls trying to help is shifting all of my foundations yet again.

It feels like surfacing from the bottom of a lake and inhaling properly for the very first time.

Rook places a hand on the small of my back. “How are you feeling?”

I sag against him. “I’m not sure.”