Page 48 of Supernova

Sorrow crept over her, wrapping her up like a blanket. Her feelings for him had been real. They were still real.

But… evidently, not real enough.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, almost choking on the words, “but I’m not Nightmare. I don’t know who killed your mother. I’m so sorry, Adrian. I want to help you, but I—”

“Fine,” Adrian snapped, halting her words.

Nova flinched. Tears were gathering again. It was more than she’d cried in years. At this rate, she would end up shedding more tears in this chair than she had since the day her family had been taken from her, but she couldn’t help it. Her walls were crumbling. All her years of building protective forces around her heart were under attack. A siege from every twitch of Adrian’s jaw, every furrow of his brow, every look of revulsion he shot her way.

And then, suddenly, he changed. His emotions hardened into that same neutrality that had cloaked him at the start. His shoulders pulled back. His chin lifted. He nudged his glasses farther up on the bridge of his nose and peered at her with studied indifference.

Nova shuddered.

“I’d hoped you would tell me the truth, but I’m not just here to ask about my mother. I’m here as a representative of the Renegades, and we have an offer to make you.”

Suspicion quickly began to dry up the pools in Nova’s eyes. “An offer?”

“You are aware that all villains currently incarcerated here at Cragmoor will be neutralized as a part of our public reveal of Agent N. However, the Council has decided…” His head dipped, searching for words or maybe steeling himself for what he already knew he had to say. His voice was steady, but hoarse, as he continued, “The public neutralization will also include a public execution.”

Nova’s eyebrows jerked upward. “Excuse me?”

“The villains known as Ace Anarchy and his accomplice, Nightmare, are to be executed in a worldwide broadcast, as a consequence for their crimes against society.”

Capital punishment? From theRenegades? She wasn’t sure why it shocked her as much as it did, and yet it was hard to grasp the reality of it. She was still struggling to imagine having her powers stripped from her, and now they were going to kill her?

Adrian’s face was almost sympathetic with the recitation complete. “Captain Chromium will execute Ace Anarchy.” He hesitated. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Genissa Clark has been assigned the role of executing Nightmare.”

Nova studied him, waiting for his words to make sense.

Then she laughed. She couldn’t help it.

Genissa Clark? Genissa Clark was going toexecuteher? It was so absurd, so unexpected.

But Adrian’s expression turned her abrupt laughter into a stilted cough.

“The Renegades don’t execute criminals,” she stammered, her breaths quickening. “They’ve never—”

“They feel…” Adrian hesitated. “We feel this is a special circumstance. The Council wants to send a message that our citizenswill never again be threatened by Ace Anarchy or his followers.”

Nova’s gaze traced the sheer, glossy black wall beneath the window, how it faded into the oblivion of shadows. It was fitting, she supposed, that Frostbite would volunteer for such a responsibility. No doubt she was eager to seek vengeance for her lost abilities, and she couldn’t very well go after Max.

Nova wasn’t afraid of dying. At least, that’s what she told herself. It might even be less painful than living with the knowledge of howshe’d failed Ace and the others. How she’d betrayed kind, trusting Adrian. How she would never claim vengeance for her parents, for Evie.

She sniffed, once, and lifted her attention back to Adrian. “You said there was an offer?”

Adrian’s hands were fisted at his sides again, any signs of pity already gone. “I told my fathers how you saved Max… or, helped him, at least, after he was stabbed.”

Her lungs expanded. She hadn’t realized that Adrian knew Nightmare had done that. Genissa had been happy to let everyone believe it was Nightmare who had stabbed the boy. How could Adrian have figured out the truth?

Unless…

“Is he awake?” she stammered. “Max, is he okay?”

Adrian’s expression eased, as it always did when he talked about his little brother. “He’s out of the coma. He… he told me everything that happened. How you tried to stop the bleeding. How you forced Genissa to give up her powers to help him.”

She sank against the cold metal chair, overcome with relief.

Then, remembering who she was, who she was supposed to be, she trained her expression to be confused and doubtful again. “Nightmarehelpedhim? I thought she was the one who stabbed him. Why would she do that?”

---