was supposed to be a weapon, what if her father had been making it for Ace, to be used against the Renegades? The Renegades had promised to protect her family from the Roaches, but a part of her had always wondered why her parents hadn’t gone to Ace and the Anarchists for protection instead. Maybe, even back then, her family knew that the Renegades couldn’t be trusted. Perhaps her father had made a weapon that was even stronger than the helmet.
A weapon that was strong enough to defeat even the invincible Captain Chromium.
CHAPTER THIRTY
ADRIAN HAD BARELY seen Nova since she’d been released from Cragmoor. His guilt over not believing her grew stronger every day, mingling with the fear that he might have ruined everything. He wanted things to go back to the way they’d been the night she fell asleep at his house. They had been comfortable in each other’s presence. He felt like he could tell her anything, and like he’d earned the same trust from her. He’d begun to think that he might even be falling in love with her.
But things had changed, and he knew it was his fault.
Nova hadn’t joined them for patrol duties the past few nights, and he couldn’t blame her after what they’d put her through. They crossed paths a couple of times at headquarters, but their conversations were stilted and awkward. Adrian had more daydreams of telling her about the Sentinel than he could count, wondering whether maybe sharing his greatest secret might show her, in some way, how much he really did trust her.
But then he recalled the loathing with which she spoke the Sentinel’s name and knew the time wasn’t right.
There hadn’t been any more sightings of Nightmare since she’d taken his drawings, which added to Adrian’s anxiety. He was sure she was plotting her next strike.
With Ace Anarchy’s execution only hours away, he suspected that strike would come sooner than later. He wanted to believe Nightmare wouldn’t be arrogant enough to attack an event in which almost every Renegade in the city would be present, but then, she’d never shied from taking big risks before.
Adrian made his way down the concrete stands of the arena, the same venue where the trials were held every year. The seats weren’t nearly as crowded now. Members of the media had been invited to witness the reveal of the Renegades’ new weapon, as well as the execution of Ace Anarchy, but these proceedings would not be open to the general public.
Adrian had never been in the stands of the arena, only down on the field. It was a completely different perspective—the buzz of energy from the crowd making the hair on his arms stand on end, the elevated view of the field making him feel more like a bystander than a participant. Which, he supposed, he was.
He was a Renegade, but he had no role to play in the reveal of Agent N. The neutralization of dozens of known villains. The execution of Ace Anarchy.
His fathers, on the other hand, would be in the spotlight, as always. He saw Simon on the field already, standing alongside Tsunami as they talked to a crowd of journalists.
Spotting Oscar and Danna in the front row, Adrian hurried down the rest of the steps to join them. “Hey,” he said, claiming a seat. “Ruby’s not here yet?”
“Not yet,” said Oscar. He glanced back up into the stands, as if searching for her, then leaned conspiratorially toward Adrian. “Before she gets here, can I ask your opinion on something?”
“What, my opinion wasn’t good enough?” said Danna, stretching her arms and lacing her fingers behind her head.
Oscar shrugged. “I’m just trying to be thorough.”
“It’s not poetry, is it?” asked Adrian.
“Even better. Check it out.” Oscar made pistols of his hands, aiming toward the empty air beyond the edge of the stands. A stream of smoke shot from his left finger, forming a pale gray heart a few feet in front of them. It was followed by a cupid’s arrow from his right finger that shot straight through the heart. The image lasted only a few seconds before the smoke began to dissipate into the air.
“Then I thought I could follow it up with words, something like—Hey, Ruby … I really like you! Like, so much that even thinking of doing this makes me want to spew my breakfast tacos all over these seats.”
“Inspired,” Danna muttered as the Renegades in the next row cast Oscar concerned looks.