following the line of prisoners that were being led out from what had once been the arena’s locker rooms, where Nova had waited for her turn at the trials. The prisoners all wore the glaring black-and-white jumpsuits from Cragmoor prison. Their ankles were bound in shackles, each shackle chained to the next prisoner in line. Their hands were fully enclosed in chromium cuffs. A number of armed guards walked beside them, most of whom Nova recognized from Cragmoor, their weapons targeted at the more dangerous of the prodigies in the line.
Ace came last, and even from so high above, Nova could sense the buzz in the crowd as he appeared. His complexion was ghastly white, with deep purple bruises beneath his eyes. The skin hung from his bones as though it could slough off at any moment. He was broken and defeated, his back bent and his head heavy as he was led in on the chain of prisoners. A mockery of the prodigy he had once been. He was not a threat. He was not to be feared, not anymore.
Nova’s teeth ground, hating to see him reduced to this.
“Everyone at their stations,” she said, tightening the straps on her backpack. She abandoned the saw on the rooftop, not wanting the added weight. Bracing her arms on either side of the hole, she slipped her legs inside, dangled for a moment, then dropped.
She landed with a thud behind the lighting operator. The woman startled, but before she could turn, Nova’s fingers were on the back of her neck and she collapsed into Nova’s arms. Nova laid her down on the platform. “I’m in.”
She checked that the spotlight was still positioned on the stage. It was one of four such spotlights, each one currently targeting Captain Chromium, who was at the podium again while the inmates stood shoulder to shoulder down the length of the field.
Knowing that the other three operators would likely be the first to notice their absent peer, Nova ducked back toward the scaffolding that connected the platforms around the perimeter of the roofline and started making her way toward the next operator.
She mostly ignored the Captain’s droning voice, but a handful of words still filtered into Nova’s consciousness as she crept through the shadows.
Villains … neutralized … execution.
She reached the second operator and felled him as easily as the first. Two down …
Below, the Captain was listing Ace’s many crimes against humanity, justifying their choice to end his life in this public manner. “Before we proceed,” he said, “I would extend a dignity that this villain never offered to any of his victims. Please, escort Ace Anarchy to the stage.”
At the end of the line, Ace’s shackles were unlocked from his neighbor’s. The guards prodded him, urging him toward the steps and onto the platform. He fixed his attention on the Captain, who waited for him at the podium. The loathing between the two men was palpable.
The arena hushed. Nova slowed so that her footsteps would make no sound as she made her way to the third platform with as much stealth as possible.
Once Ace stood before the Council, Captain Chromium spoke again into the microphone. “At this time, I ask my longtime rival, this enemy of humanity, Alec James Artino, if you would like to express any final words.”
He stepped back, offering the microphone to Ace.
Nova swallowed. She wanted to stop and watch, to listen, but she knew there was no time for that.
She reached the third platform, and put to sleep the woman she found there.
One more to go.
Below her, the arena was quiet. Her thoughts shifted to Winston, who was still on the stage, now only feet from Ace. She wondered if the two of them had made eye contact as Ace was brought up to the podium. She wondered if Ace had heard Winston’s story. Would he, like Phobia, see Winston as a traitor, or would he feel the same sympathy that Nova had?
She thought also of Adrian, who she knew was somewhere down in that crowd. She wondered if she would ever see him again, knowing that—if all went according to the plan—the answer would likely be no.
She wondered if she would regret not finding a way to say one last good-bye.
Ace approached the podium. It felt like the whole arena had gone still. Even Nova had to remind herself to keep breathing as she crept along the walkway.
His voice, when he spoke, was brittle and dry from disuse. “As I stand