open now, Seth. Everything. He sees you for what you truly are. Even I can see the doubt in his eyes. No matter what happens next, he will always remember how you lied to him. How you couldn’t even keep his father safe.”
“Maybe,” Seth said quietly. “Maybe he’ll never want to speak to me again. Maybe everything I ever wanted is gone now. That’s on me. But that doesn’t mean I won’t fight for him until my last breath.”
Owen snorted. “Who says romance is dead? I’m tired of this back and forth. I’ve been waiting for this moment for years, to see that exact look on his face. And now that I have, it’s time for Shadow Star to rise and put an end to the villain Pyro Storm. The people of Nova City will love me for protecting them. And one day, Nick will see the error of his ways, and we’ll move on without you. You’ll be nothing but a bad dream.”
Nick made a face. “That’s probably not going to happen. Owen, I don’t know if you know this, but pretty much everything is terrible right now. Like, I feel super betrayed. And why would we move on without Seth? What’s going to happen to him?”
“He thinks he’s going to kill me,” Seth said.
“Bingo!” Owen said, smiling wildly.
Nick took a step back. “But … you can’t kill people. That’s not what Extraordinaries do. That’s murder!”
“He’s so naïve,” Owen said to Seth. “It would be amusing if it weren’t so depressing.”
Seth looked back at Nick again, eyes glittering in the low light. “I need you to listen to me, Nicky. Can you do that?”
“No,” Nick said, shaking his head. “You’re not—no one’s going to die. That’s not how this works. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”
“I’ll do everything I can, okay? But you have to get out of here. I need you to be safe.”
“Seth,” Nick said, and his voice cracked right down the middle.
Seth’s smile trembled. “It’ll be okay.”
“Bored now,” Owen said, and shadows scurried across the floor.
Seth reached back and shoved Nick toward the elevator. Nick felt a sharp blast of heat as he stumbled backward, a bright bloom of fire bursting in front of him. He stared in awe as the air burned, dispelling the shadows in the light.
“Run!” Seth shouted.
“But—”
“Go, Nick! Please go!”
Nick ran.
He was halfway across the room when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over in time to see a shadow racing along the wall next to him. It was amorphous until it stretched out from the wall, reaching for Nick. He could see the outline of what looked like claws, and let out a strangled gasp as he ducked right as it swiped at him. It missed him by inches. Owen shouted furiously, but Nick didn’t look back.
He hit the panel next to the elevator so hard, he thought he broke it.
It lit up under his hand.
The doors slid open.
He lurched through, slamming his palm on the panel inside the elevator. He turned in time to see—
“Oh my god,” he breathed.
Seth was suspended in midair, arms outstretched, fire leaking from his hands and burning around him. His cape swirled behind him, flaming sparks cascading.
He looked over his shoulder directly at Nick.
He smiled.
And then he exploded.
Nick was knocked back by the concussive blast of air that made it through the elevator doors before they closed. His head hit the wall behind him, and he groaned, covering his face as a wall of fire roared toward—
The doors closed.
The elevator car shook.
But then began to ascend.
* * *
He was running down the hallway following exit signs when he heard shouts coming from somewhere ahead of him, flashlight beams bouncing along the floor. He found an unlocked door and managed to get inside a small office before whoever it was rounded the corner. He didn’t close the door all the way, peering through the crack. A group of security guards ran by, guns drawn.
The alarms blared overhead.
Once he was sure the security guards were gone, Nick opened the door and stepped back out into the hallway. He’d only managed to take a few steps before a hand grabbed his hoodie and jerked him around.
He was face-to-face with Brett.
“You,” Brett said, eyes wide. “What the hell is going on?”
“Shadow Star,” Nick spat. “Pyro Storm. They’re fighting somewhere in the building.”
“Where’s Owen? Why isn’t he with you?”
“We got separated trying to get out of here. I don’t know where he is!”