Page 55 of Renegades

Adrian’s jaw dropped.

Beside him, Oscar started to choke on his drink. “Is she nuts?”

On the field, Nova turned her hand over and curled her finger, gesturing for the beast to come closer. “I’ll fight the Gargoyle.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

EVERHART.

Frostbite had called him Everhart, and in the span of a single heartbeat Nova realized why he had seemed so familiar to her at the parade.

He was Adrian Everhart. Son of Lady Indomitable, one of the original Renegades, and adopted son of none other than Captain Chromium and the Dread Warden. She felt like an idiot for not having realized it sooner. She had certainly seen his face on a fair number of tabloid covers, splattered across newsstands throughout the city, and even though she would sooner burn those periodicals than read one, she should have known. Even if she’d been too young to care when the adoption had made front-page news. Even if she believed that the public’s ongoing idolization of their family was one of the major problems facing society that day, and she outright refused to partake in the media’s obsession with them.

He was the son of her sworn enemies, and she should have known.

She would make up for her ignorance now, though. She hadbeen accepted by a Renegade team. Byhisteam, and if there were ever an opportunity for her to infiltrate their ranks and learn more about the Council and their weaknesses, surely this was it.

But… first things first.

The audience was in hysterics as Gargoyle lumbered onto the field, but they were muffled in Nova’s ears. In her head, she could still hear Honey’s screams as the Gargoyle tore apart her hives. She could still see the way he smiled as he did it.

Gargoyle was systematically flexing his biceps as he approached, each one thicker than Nova’s head. The patches of stone on his exposed skin shifted and undulated, moving along with his flexing muscles.

A hint of a smile twitched at the corners of her lips.

She was going to enjoy this.

The rules were explained over the loud speakers. Nova did not have to knock him down or leave him unconscious, which was good, as there was no way she’d be revealing her true power and linking herself to Nightmare while in Renegade territory. Luckily, she didn’t need skin-to-skin contact to defeat him. All she had to do was get him to touch the ground outside of the ring.

And try not to get crushed by the behemoth in the meantime.

“Do the contestants understand their objectives?” Blacklight asked, though the screaming from the stands was so deafening Nova almost couldn’t hear him.

She lifted a hand into the air. “Can I have a weapon?”

The question echoed through the arena, momentarily quieting the crowd. She dropped her hand again. “We weren’t allowed to bring non-prodigy weaponry with us today, but as my claim of being skilled with a multitude of weaponry is a part of what’s being challenged, it seems fair that I have something to defend myself with.”

Blacklight glanced back at the rest of the Council. This must not have been a question that had come up before. Turning back to the microphone, he cleared his throat. “Gargoyle, as her opponent, you may choose to accept or deny this request.”

Gargoyle held his hands wide. His arm span was as long as a car. “Why not? It ain’t gonna make a difference.”

“What do you want?” yelled Frostbite. “I’ll make it myself.”

Nova rolled her shoulders, then her wrists, working out the pops in her joints. “A knife.”

Frostbite smirked. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Pinching her fingers in the air, Frostbite drew them downward. A crystal-clear dagger appeared, eight inches long, handle and blade cut from glistening ice. She laughed as she tossed it at Nova, who caught it without flinching. The ice was so cold it burned. Nova tossed it from hand to hand, giving her skin time to adjust.

“That was a poor choice,” said Frostbite, lowering herself into her seat between her teammates and throwing her feet up onto the table. “It won’t even penetrate his skin.”

Nova returned the smile and twirled the blade in her fingers as she went to take her place. Opposite her, Gargoyle was intimidating as hell, muscles continuously turning into rock and rock turning back into muscles. Even his teeth, when he grinned, seemed to be cut from jagged gray stone.

The horn blared, thundering over the din of the crowd.

Gargoyle charged forward. The ground beneath him split and cracked from the pressure of his steps and clouds of dust stirred in his wake. He pulled one arm back and Nova watched as his elbow down to his fat knuckles hardened into black-speckled stone.

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