Page 65 of Archenemies

“I’m serious.” Nova gestured at Honey. “Being out of the tunnels has been so good for you, for all of us. Maybe if we could get him out of those catacombs, let himbreatheagain—”

Honey rose from her chair. “He isAce Anarchy.Have you forgotten? If anyone were to see him—”

“We’ll be careful.”

“He would be murdered on sight or locked away in that horrible prison.”

“He’s already in prison!”

“Absolutely not. It isn’t worth the risk.”

Nova huffed and peered out the window again. It was a beautiful day—crisp and breezy, with flashes of sun streaming through the clouds. Sometimes she worried that Ace’s weakness was as much in his mind as his body. To be locked away from the very society he had tried to help…

He never complained. He had Nova and the others, he would say. He had his books and his teapot and that was all he needed.

But Nova knew it wasn’t enough. He was dying. Soon he would be just one more forgotten skeleton beneath those hallowed ruins.

“I understand,” Honey said, her voice gentler now. “I truly do. Ace is like a father to me, too, you know. I hate seeing him this way. But you know how to help him, and it isn’t with a little bit of fresh air.”

Nova pursed her lips.The helmet.“I know,” she whispered. Then a thought occurred to her and she glanced back at Honey. “Aren’t youolderthan Ace?”

Honey gasped in dismay. She snatched a jar from the vanity and tossed it at Nova’s head. Nova ducked and the jar crashed against the wall, exploding in a cloud of talcum powder.

“Never let me hear those words from your mouth again, do you hear me?”

Nova laughed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Clearly I was mistaken.” She stooped and picked up the near-empty jar and returned it to the vanity. Her mouth dried as she scanned the array of cosmetics and perfumes, most of them crawling with curious wasps. “Actually, Honey? I… I could maybe use your help with something.”

Honey crossed her arms, still irate.

“It’s about Adrian.”

Her expression quickly turned to intrigue. “Oh?”

“I’m not sure if he’s… interested in me anymore. At least not like… like that.” At Honey’s skeptical look, Nova attempted to gather what dignity she could in the stiffening of her shoulders. “So, maybe you could help me figure out… how to get him interested. Again.”

An eagerness brightened Honey’s face. “Oh, my sweet girl,” she said, placing her fingers against her chest. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

***

WE ALREADY KNOWone of the Council’s greatest weaknesses… and when the time is right, we will use him to great advantage indeed.

That’s what Ace had said, and he was right. If Captain Chromium and the Dread Warden had a weakness, it was their adopted sons—Adrian and Max. Nova could use Adrian’s trust to her advantage, especially if that trust also came with hisaffection.

But why did earning his affection have to seem so horrifically awkward?

“I can’t do that,” said Nova, arms folded tight over her chest.

“You can, and you will. Here, like this.” Honey crossed one long leg over her knee and scooted a hair closer to Nova on the mattress. Her bare toes nudged Nova’s shin, so tenderly she would have thought she was imagining it, except Honey had just outlined this exact flirtation technique in painful detail. “Then you angle your shoulders, like this.” Honey flipped her hair to one side and shifted her body closer. “Give him your undivided attention. Like there is nothing else in the room half as interesting to you asthisconversation. He needs to believe you are mesmerized by everything he’s saying.” Honey settled an elbow on her knee and her chin on her knuckles. Her smoky eyes locked on to Nova’s. The look was so intense, Nova found herself starting to blush.

“Now, this is the clincher,” said Honey. “Whatever he says next, you laugh. Not too robustly, but just enough to let him know you think he’s charming, and you could listen to him speak all day. Ready?”

“What if he doesn’t say anything funny?”

Honey giggled and tapped Nova on the knee. It was a sweet chirp of a laugh that sent a tingle of pride through Nova’s chest, until she realized that Honey wasn’t laughing because she was amused, but was only trying to demonstrate what she was talking about.

Nova flushed. It was uncanny, the way Honey could pull someone into her orbit. Make them feel so important, so witty, soworthy, all with a few well-timed laughs and the faintest of touches.

She shook her head and stood up, kicking some of Honey’s discarded shoes to the side of the room.

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