Page 34 of Storm Caller

He lets out a frustrated sound, and I look away, realizing that he also came to Amery to figure out his power. Our power.

A moment later, Rook appears before me, dropping to a knee. He grips the armrests of my chair, and eventually I look up to meet his gaze.

“I want to apologize for lying to you,” he says.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to hear it,” I confess.

“Okay,” he says, exhaling a shaky breath. I appreciate that he isn’t pushing me.

Then I gesture around the room. “Do you think my father knows about all this?”

He nods. “At least some of it. The scions would have to be privy to some of the most essential details to fulfill their roles.”

I stare at a wall, trying to sort through my jumbled thoughts. “How did they keep this all a secret?” I ask, mostly to myself. Sometimes we heard rumors or stories about places beyond the city, and I feel so foolish for never questioning it.

“Memories are short,” Rook says, answering me. “If you repeat something enough times, it becomes the truth.”

“This place is so . . . remarkable.”

“I’d like to show you something,” he says. “If you’ll come with me?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Why?” he asks, tipping his head.

“Because I trusted you. Because I thought I knew who you were, and then you threw all of that into question.”

He opens his mouth, and I lift my hand to stop him.

“I get why you had to do it, but that doesn’t make it any easier. You know everything about me, and I feel like I know nothing about you, and that . . . hurts. It makes me feel like I was standing out there on a crumbling bridge all alone.”

He takes my hands, folding them into his. “Then let me show you just how sorry I am. Let me show you who I am.”

“No secrets this time?”

As he presses my hands against his heart, he shakes his head. “No more secrets. Let me prove that my actions were more important than the truth I couldn’t share. Let me prove to you that I’m worthy of your trust again.” He pauses. “And if I fuck this up again, you can tell everyone that sometimes I’m still afraid of the dark.”

I snort out a laugh. “No one will believe that.”

“Do we have a deal?” he asks, his eyes sparkling.

I offer him a wry smile. “It’s a deal.”

11

Rook instructs me to return to my room, put on some warm clothing, and wait for him.

About twenty minutes later, I’m lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, when a knock comes at the door. He’s added a jacket to his outfit, and the sight of him in his element makes my stomach turn liquid with messy warmth.

“Hi,” I say as he stuffs his hands into his back pockets and cocks his head. We just had a moment in his room. I want to keep my distance, and it occurs to me how much it sucks trying to be angry with someone who’s so physically undeniable.

But it’s more than that. It’s his self-possession. His confidence. And the fact that I’m pretty damn sure he’s genuinely sorry about everything.

“Ready?” he asks.

“Where are we going?”

He gestures with his chin to some distant spot neither one of us can see. “Into the forest.”