Storm Caller By Nisha J. Tuli

Here is a summary with spoilers for Storm Caller By Nisha J. Tuli

Poet Graves and Rook Athira have just escaped New Manhattan, but are in very rough shape. They are captured in the Wastes by a Solitude patrol led by Calliope. Rook is badly wounded from his fight with Knox, and Poet is injured and unable to help him enough to heal him. The soldiers call Poet a Crust and take them to Station Five, commanded by Fisher Sterling, Rook's estranged half-brother. During their first night at the outpost, a storm brings a horde of feral Whispers to the perimeter. When one grabs Poet through the electrified fence, Rook kills it to save her, breaking the Solitudes' rules against killing Keepers. Rook agrees to take Poet to Cloudspire, the hidden mountain fortress where his family lives. They travel blindfolded for hours, and Poet discovers that Rook is a high-ranking officer whose parents lead the Veil, the organized community outside New Manhattan. At Cloudspire, she meets his parents, High Commander Summit Athira and Commander Faroe Athira, along with his younger siblings, Navy and Justin.

At Cloudspire, Poet learns that she and Rook are not ordinary Keepers but Storm Callers, rare people who can draw storms toward themselves and control Spark. Rook must face a public trial for killing the Whisper. His father orders him to fight in the arena as punishment, and Summit defeats his son, whom he has never lost to in combat before. Poet thinks this is barbaric, and crazy that a father would do that to his own son; but everyone around her seems to think this is normal. The fight is interrupted when General Nyxia Sol arrives with Circle Guards from New Manhattan. Everyone is surprised to see her, as she is a General for the other side. Poet especially doesn’t know what to think because according to the footage they recently saw, Sol is one of the last people to see her brother alive. Poet and Rook have a night together for the first time uninterrupted; Poet mentions that she forgives him for everything. The next morning Sol requests to meet with Poet and Rook. Sol reveals that she has secretly communicated with Summit for years and that she is also a Storm Caller. She claims she has approximately sixteen months to live and needs Poet and Rook to return to New Manhattan to replace her as the source of power for the city. In exchange, she promises to help them find a cure for Keepers, which she says the city's leaders, Chancellors Marks and Orsen, have withheld. Sol also tells Poet that her brother, Raine, died during a raid despite Sol's attempt to protect him. Poet and Rook agree to return to New Manhattan, although they remain uncertain whether Sol can be trusted.

Poet and Rook return to New Manhattan after being away for two months. They deliberately allow themselves to be captured so Poet can stand trial for being a Keeper and for breaking into the city's control systems. Poet is imprisoned, and her parents visit her. Her mother is relieved she is alive, while her father wants her to cooperate with the authorities to secure a not-guilty verdict. Poet tells them that Rook saved her life and asks them to treat him fairly. During the trial, Trinity Robins, Poet's former best friend who exposed her as a Keeper at the masquerade, testifies against her, claiming Poet has always behaved strangely. However, the council questions why Trinity waited a week to report what she knew. Other witnesses support Poet, and the evidence from her attempted break-in is considered as part of her punishment. She is ultimately found not guilty and released. Her parents attempt to reconcile with her, but Poet remains hurt that they publicly rejected her. She returns to her room, where Rook has been waiting, and tells him she loves him. They agree to continue their relationship while pretending to return to normal life at Amery Academy.

Poet and Rook begin working with General Sol while concealing their real intentions from the city. Sol demonstrates that Storm Callers can gather Spark into magenta orbs and launch them as explosive weapons. Poet and Rook practice the ability, hoping to understand their powers well enough to help solve the Keeper crisis. Poet also tries to repair her relationship with Trinity because maintaining their former friendship is necessary for their undercover work. Trinity invites them to a party, where Poet encounters Dyer, the Extinguisher involved in her capture. They pretend there is no resentment between them, although Poet remains suspicious of Trinity. She questions Trinity about the mysterious sickness affecting Keepers and realizes that she does not have the symptoms being described. Poet begins to suspect that either she is not affected by the same illness or the authorities are concealing information about the condition. Meanwhile, she and Rook continue searching for Edward Chu, the friend who helped them break into the city's systems and who has since been imprisoned (they assume).

Poet and Rook are invited to Poet’s parents house for a dinner. On arrival, her parents are surprised that she invited Rook, but they let him in, because they just want to be there for her birthday. Which is how Rook finds out it is Poet’s birthday. At one point Poet asks her dad for a talk, she wants to tell him everything that she knows and accuse him for helping; essentially trying to get information out of him. Her dad tells her to be quiet, because you never know who is listening. Poet doesn’t get any answers from her father. She and Rook then leave, and he takes her to a nice spot to enjoy some cake. Their nice moment gets interrupted when Rook gets a message from his family. There was an attack, and Rook wants to leave and go help. As he is collecting his belongings, he gets a call from his dad that tells him to stay put, making rook feel useless.

Poet and Rook organize a party to obtain Captain Garret Dire's key cards, which will allow them to access the restricted areas where Edward is being held. They drug Dire, take his credentials, and use them to enter the Citadel's lower levels. Trinity is absent from the party, but when Poet and Rook locate Edward's cell, Trinity is there to protect the cell and attacks Poet. Poet knew that Trinity was up to something, and was glad They subdue Trinity and restrain her, then free Edward without alerting the authorities to their escape. Edward reveals that he discovered digital evidence of a secret facility connected to Dr. Philip Mowry, a researcher involved in the city's Keeper investigations. The next day, the authorities announce that security is deteriorating and offer people the opportunity to join the military without the usual restrictions, creating panic among the population. Poet helps Edward prepare to leave the city and visits his mother to reassure her that he is alive, without revealing his location. During the visit, she also confronts her father, who acknowledges some of the harm he has caused. Poet makes clear that she wants a relationship with her mother, but forgiveness for her father will take longer.

As Poet and Rook continue investigating, people begin dying mysteriously, and the authorities blame Rook. He is forced to flee without saying goodbye to Poet. During his absence, Poet and the resistance make progress toward finding a cure for Keepers, but she does not know where Rook has gone. She eventually discovers that his family has been attacked and that his brother Beckett has been killed. The Veil prepares to retaliate against New Manhattan. Poet manages to find Rook and tells him what has happened, but he remains in hiding. The next morning, Poet learns that Rook has been captured. Suspecting that General Sol has manipulated them, Poet confronts her at the government offices. Sol calls in her guards, and Poet's father intervenes. Poet is knocked unconscious and wakes with her parents. She finally tells them what she has learned about the world outside New Manhattan, the treatment of Keepers, and the secrets surrounding General Sol. Her father allows her to speak, and her mother learns for the first time that both Poet and Raine (Poet’s brother) were Storm Callers. Poet also warns them of the impending attack, and her father raises the alarm.

Poet assembles a team to rescue Rook, but they do not find him at the expected location. Instead, they discover Dr. Mowry imprisoned in a facility. After being freed, the doctor explains that General Sol is not dying physically; she is losing her mind to a condition called the Silence. Sol has been using the city's power system to sustain herself and conceal her deteriorating condition. The doctor also reveals that Sol's team has been covering up her mistakes to preserve her authority and that bringing Poet and Rook back to New Manhattan was part of a plan to use their powers as replacements for the existing energy source. Sol's cure research has also been manipulated: the Keeper treatment is not simply intended to heal the affected people. The doctor believes that Poet or Rook may be able to cure Sol, which explains why Rook has been taken to a different facility. Poet's father joins the rescue effort and admits that he has been compromised by Sol because she could expose Poet's identity if he spoke against her. He also confirms that Sol’s guards and trusted advisers know of what is going on with her, and they help cover up her mistakes when the disease goes too far and causes Sol to make mistakes.

The group travels to the hidden facility, where they discover hundreds of comatose Keepers suspended in tanks filled with liquid. The doctor explains that Sol and the city's leaders have been draining Spark from these people to power New Manhattan and maintain Sol's condition. When the Keepers are treated with the cure, their bodies release even more energy as they deteriorate, allowing Sol's team to harvest their power repeatedly before they die. They do this process over and over again until there is nothing left of the person. Poet and the others discover Rook in one of the tanks, connected to the same system. They cannot use the access codes because the system has been changed, so they break the glass and attempt to revive him. All of the process of getting Rook out was done during a fight, as Sol arrives and tries to stop them. They manage to hurt Sol, and she goes running off. As they are all exiting Poet decides that all of the bodies floating need to be filmed, so that way the public will believe her when they announce what has been happening. While doing so, Poet then finds Raine in another tank. Her brother is still alive, but he is brain-dead and cannot be rescued. Poet realizes that the footage she saw of Raine's disappearance had shown Sol at the scene, and she finally understands what happened to him. The team obtains the cure data and struggles to get Rook out while Sol arrives with her guards again.

During the confrontation, Sol attacks again, and Poet finally uses her Storm Caller abilities against her. As the Emerald Storm rages, Poet gathers Spark into a magenta orb and blasts Sol, weakening her. However, Sol's attack injures Poet's father, Grady Graves, who dies after telling Poet he loves her and asking her to take care of her mother, Sariah. Poet is devastated, but she has no time to grieve because New Manhattan is descending into chaos. She retrieves her mother from the family penthouse and tries to escape the city as the Veil's forces arrive to retaliate for the recent attacks. Poet and Rook become separated amid the fighting, fires, and destruction around the shattered perimeter wall. Poet leaves her mother briefly to look for Rook, but an unidentified group of armed people ambushes her. They cover her head, bind her hands, and throw her into the back of a moving truck. Poet calls out for Rook and her mother as she is taken away.