an act, it counts for something. So just … tell us where you hid the helmet and the Vitality Charm. Tell us what you know about the rest of the Anarchists. That’s all you have to do, and you won’t have to die.”
Even though he was bargaining for her life, and even though Nova knew what her next words would be, that slim flicker of hope was persistent. She had come to know Adrian Everhart well enough to know there was more to this offer than the practical explanations he was giving her. The truth was evident behind the dark frames of his glasses, and it made her chest swell to the point of bursting.
At least a teeny, tiny part of Adrian still cared for her.
It changed nothing. And it changed everything.
Staring into the eyes that had mesmerized her for these past months, Nova was happy, so very happy, that she didn’t have to lie to him again.
“Thank you, Adrian,” she whispered. “Thank you for at least … wanting me to have a chance. You don’t know what that means to me. But the truth is, I don’t have any idea where the charm is or the helmet or any of the Anarchists. I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”
His expression fell and, after a long silence, Adrian gave a solemn nod. He started to turn away.
“Adrian?”
He paused, his gaze meeting hers after a short hesitation.
Nova swallowed. “It was real,” she whispered. “I hope you know that.”
He watched her, unflinching, expressionless. Finally, he said, “I wish I could believe that, Nova. But we both know it’s just one more lie.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“WHEN DID YOU start to suspect her?” asked Adrian. His feet were up on Max’s hospital bed, a sketchbook in his lap.
He was working on a new tattoo design. A heart surrounded by the impenetrable turrets of a stone tower.
He hadn’t figured out exactly what powers the tattoo would imbue, but the entire ordeal with Nova—no, Nightmare—had left him shaken and hollowed out and vulnerable. He’d considered transforming into the Sentinel just to feel the security of the armor on his body. The protection of anonymity. A barrier between him and the world.
“I’m not sure,” said Max. He had shredded a tissue to create a nest in the palm of his hand, where Turbo was curled up and sleeping, his tiny breaths wheezing every few seconds. Turbo was sick, and they could both tell. Max seemed to be handling the creature’s slow fading with courage, despite the attachment they’d formed.
As for Max himself, he was stronger every day—healing radically fast, perhaps in part thanks to the concoction of superpowers that filled his slight frame. Color had returned to his cheeks. Brightness to his eyes. His hair was as disheveled as ever. “There was a moment at headquarters, when I was still in the quarantine, watching Nightmare fight against Frostbite and the others. It felt so familiar, like I was watching the trials again. And at one point Nightmare looked up, right at me, and I could have sworn … but then I ignored it because, you know. It’s Nova.”
“It’s Nova,” Adrian murmured. The pencil scratched over the paper as he shaded in the details of stonework. He was tempted to add a few arrow slits along the tower’s side, like a true medieval castle, but no. He wanted this wall to be impenetrable. No weak spots. No way to get in.
“But then, when I woke up and started thinking about everything that happened, I think a part of me knew. I kept wondering, why would Nightmare protect me? The only thing that made sense was … you know, if she was someone I knew. And Nova was the only person…”
When he trailed off, Adrian glanced up. Max’s mouth twisted to one side as he considered Nova’s guilt, Nightmare’s secret. Then he gave his head a shake and reached his free hand for the small carton of chocolate milk that one of the nurses had brought along with his dinner earlier. He took a long drink through a short red straw. Setting the carton back on the tray, he leaned his head against the stack of pillows. “They’re not really going to kill her, are they?”
Adrian winced and returned his focus to the drawing. “I don’t know. Maybe. She won’t confess. She won’t give us any information. And the Council is convinced that this will show everyone that we have the Anarchists under control. It really freaked people out to know that