Archenemies (Renegades #2)(44)

Nova grunted in agreement. “I suppose we’ve all got weaknesses,” she said. “Even the magnificent Monarch.”





CHAPTER FIFTEEN

IT WAS A LITTLE BIT like being at the Renegade Parade again, with all the costumed kids and the booths full of cheesy memorabilia. The excited children all around her were adorable, even if their faith was misguided. Nova couldn’t help but think of Evie, who would have been only a little younger than Ruby’s brothers. If her family had lived, would she and Evie have been raised to love the Renegades as much as these kids did? Would Evie be among them now, wearing Thunderbird wings or a Dread Warden mask, preparing to run and tumble her way through a series of competitions to prove she could be a superhero … or at least a sidekick?

Or maybe Evie would have turned out to be a prodigy, like Nova and their dad. Like Uncle Ace. She’d shown no sign of powers when she was alive, but she was a baby, and a lot of prodigies didn’t develop abilities until later in life. Nova tried not to dwell on questions that could never be answered, but thinking of it made her heart ache.

“Nova?”

She startled. Adrian was watching her, his brow creased.

“Are you still thinking about that helmet?”

The helmet.

For once—no, she hadn’t been. A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “My sister, actually. I … I think she would have enjoyed something like this.”

Sadness echoed in Adrian’s expression. “I’m sorry. I forget that you had a little sister.”

She didn’t respond, though she knew what she was supposed to say. It’s okay … it was a long time ago …

But she’d never understood why that should make any difference. The loss of Evie still hurt every day.

“I know it’s not the same thing,” said Adrian, “but … I think Max would enjoy something like this too.”

Nova sighed. Adrian was right—Max would have liked the Sidekick Olympics, though the Bandit was far too powerful to be relegated to a mere sidekick role. Having experienced life in the tunnels for so long, she had some idea of how hard it must be for Max to be always inside his quarantine, watching the world pass by outside his prison. He missed out on so much. He missed out on the entire world.

“I wish he could be here,” said Nova. “I wish they both could.”

Their eyes met, mirrors of unfulfilled wishes, and Nova noticed a streak of gray dust on Adrian’s cheek. She frowned and reached up to brush it off. Adrian stilled. “You’re filthy,” she said and, now that she was looking, she spotted cobwebs clinging to his shoulder, and smudges of dirt on his sleeves. “What were you doing today?”

“Eh—nothing worthwhile,” he said. “Just a stroll through some defunct subway tunnels. You know, typical Saturday morning.”

“Subway tunnels?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but … I was given clearance to talk to Winston Pratt after the presentation the other day.”

One of her toes clipped into the trail and Nova stumbled. Adrian reached out to steady her. “You what?”

“I thought maybe I could learn something about the Anarchists. Don’t get excited; he didn’t say anything useful. But he did say that if I could bring him this puppet of his, he would give up some information.”

A puppet of his. Hettie. He had let Nova play with it occasionally when she was little and it had always felt like a great honor.

“So I went looking for the puppet, but of course, everything was gone. All that’s down there now is a bunch of dead bees and some stray trash.”

Nova scowled. She hated to think of the Renegades picking through her home, analyzing and inspecting everything they found.

“Speaking of bees,” said Adrian, his tone lightening, “how’s your uncle’s beekeeping business?”

She laughed at the unexpected absurdity of the question. She’d nearly forgotten about the lie she’d told him in an effort to explain away Honey’s hives in her backyard. “Uh … not great, to be honest. But he’s not the type to give up.”

Adrian grinned. “That must be where you get it from.”

It was obviously a compliment and Nova felt her neck warming. “Oh yeah, stubbornness is definitely a family trait.”

Unbidden, Ace’s words turned through her head, reminding her that this was not a casual weekend outing. She had a mission, and Adrian was a part of it. Earn his trust. Earn his respect. Earn his affection.

It shouldn’t be that hard, she had been telling herself all week. Adrian was handsome, talented, honorable, kind. So why did every nerve in her body rebel at the thought of faking attraction to him? Of flirting with him, merely for the sake of flirting? Of pretending to be interested?

The answer was thrown back in her face, and she fidgeted with her bracelet.

Because maybe it wouldn’t be fake.

And to discover that she actually liked him, against all her better judgment, would cost far too much.

Still, if she was ever going to sneak useful information out of Adrian or use his loyalty to undermine his fathers, she had to get close to him.

She had to …

Her thoughts trailed off as her attention fell on a crop of trees around the north side of the lake. Her feet halted and she glanced around, spotting a small playground not far away. Her breath hitched. “Do you know where we are?”