16 #2
“You want us to lead the Storm Guard?” I ask.
“No,” she says. “I mean, perhaps in time. But for now, I need you to learn from me. To understand how to become the node point when the storms arrive. Funnel energy into the network, work with the Breakers, and power New Manhattan.”
Rook and I glance at each other. “What’s the catch?” I ask.
“Marks and Orsen can’t know what you are, nor why you’re different.
The moment they do, they’ll kill you. I need you to return to New Manhattan and resume your places at the academy.
Pretend nothing is amiss, and we will work together in secret to teach you everything I know.
Once I’m gone, they’ll have no choice but to accept you. ”
“They think I’m a Keeper,” I say. “Trinity exposed me.”
“I understand,” she says. “You’ll return and convince them that her accusations were false.
You’ve already passed the blood test once, and you can do it again.
Their technology doesn’t work on Callers—I’ve made sure of that.
I will vouch for you. Others will speak on your behalf, too.
Many people believe the treatment of Keepers is inhumane and want to protect them. ”
“How am I supposed to do that?” I ask. “Why would they believe me? You know the Extinguishers are all about acting first, asking questions later.”
“You’ll have to trust me,” she says. “I have a plan.”
“Oh, that’s very reassuring,” I say as Rook places a hand on my knee and squeezes. “What about him?” I ask. “They don’t suspect what he is?”
“They all believe he returned to the Wastes and took you with him. Either against your will or as his lover. Either way, it doesn’t matter.
” She sits forward in her seat, leaning closer.
“Poet, I’ve spent my life trying to protect Keepers.
I’ve done everything in my power to stop them from falling into the Extinguishers’ hands, but I am only one person, and the chancellors are working together to thwart me at every turn.
There is a cure to the madness, and they have it. ”
A sharp intake of breath sticks in my windpipe.
Rook was right. There is a cure.
We’re silent as we absorb her words. I can’t stop thinking about my father and what he did to protect me. I wish I could speak with him. I’m not sure I can live with never understanding why.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this when I left for New Manhattan?” Rook asks his father.
“I only learned most of this last night. It’s been many years since General Sol and I last spoke.”
Next, Rook turns to General Sol. “And did you know who I was?”
The general shakes her head. “Not at first. I knew a Solitude had arrived to attend Amery Academy, but it wasn’t until later, when I heard your name, that I put it together. By then, it seemed you were adjusting to your studies, though I had no illusions you planned to remain.”
Rook huffs out a breath. “So, where is this cure?”
At that, Sol shifts in her seat again. “That is a long story.”
He arches a brow and looks around the room. “It seems we have time.”
Sol swallows hard, her gaze turning distant.
“Many decades ago, I found myself working with a group of scientists in New Georgetown, one of the Neo-Cities near the Great Lake. I’d discovered my ability years earlier, and more and more Keepers were starting to appear.
But the madness came on swiftly, exacerbated by regular hits of Spark.
I found my passion in my work. I lived for the research.
My partner, Dr. Philip Mowry, was a brilliant man who worked alongside me. We were so close to finding a cure.”
She stops, pressing her mouth together.
“But I never stopped missing New Manhattan. I hadn’t seen my family in years.
I wanted to return home, and we received regular reports about their struggles with Keeper attacks.
No one cared—they had their own problems to deal with.
But I cared. I argued with Philip over sharing our knowledge, but he hated New Manhattan more than anyone else.
They’d destroyed his home when he was a child, forcing his family to flee.
“We had a . . . falling out. He betrayed me, and I was hurt.” Another pause before she continues. “I’m not proud of what I did next. Something that I have regretted every day since, and that I will regret for the rest of my life.”
Her gaze slides over everyone in the room.
“I decided to steal the research and take it back to the city. I thought it could be my chance to return and make a better life for myself. I wanted to be a part of Society. Living in the Tiera Frais was so hard. We struggled. Every day was a fight, and I wanted to return home a hero. When I left, I destroyed everything in the lab, erasing decades of work, and escaped with as much of the data as I could.”
Throughout her speech, my jaw drops lower and lower.
It’s obvious from Rook’s expression that he didn’t know any of this.
“And then what?” he asks, sitting forward. “What happened when you arrived home?”