Page 67 of Supernova

What proof did they really have?

Was it possible they’d been wrong?

Innocent.

If this was true, if they had the wrong Nightmare… then Nova was innocent.

But that also meant they’d failed to capture Nightmare, the real Nightmare.

She was still out there, taunting them, tauntinghim.The mystery wasn’t solved. She remained at large, a danger to society and theorganization and everyone he cared about. This was terrible news. This was a mortifying mistake. This was another black spot on the Renegades’ record.

And yet his chest was expanding with every passing moment.

“How can we know for sure?” he whispered, interrupting an argument between Danna and Oscar that he hadn’t been listening to. “How can we prove that Nova’s not Nightmare, that the real Nightmare is still out there?”

Danna rubbed her forehead. “Let’s not get carried away. I know you want this to be real, all of you do, but—”

“Oh, I forgot to mention one more thing.”

They all jumped at the clip of Nightmare’s voice coming from above them.

“Sweet rot,” muttered Oscar, a phrase he’d almost certainly picked up from Nova, which made Adrian’s heart ache all over again. Pointing his cane, he yelled, “I wish you’d stop doing that!”

Sitting on the railing of the second floor, not far from the escalator, Nightmare ignored him. “Go ahead and execute Ace Anarchy, if you really think it’s going to make a difference, killing a weak, defenseless old man all for the sake of your popularity ratings. You Renegades do what you think is best.” She reached for something tucked behind her and held it up. She was met with a collective gasp from Adrian and his team.

Ace Anarchy’s helmet.

“Oh, you recognize this?” she chirped. “Then you’ll know that we don’t need Ace anymore. We already have everything we need to destroy you.”

With that, she kicked her legs back to the other side of the railing and walked away. It wasn’t long before the drum of her boots was silenced as she vanished into another mirror.

The sound was almost immediately followed by sirens blaring from outside. Adrian was momentarily confused, before he remembered the burglars, the arrest, the extraction crew coming to take the criminals to prison.

He didn’t care about any of that.

Hope and clarity swelled inside him.

Nova was innocent.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

INNOCENT.

She was innocent.

According to the Renegades, Nova Jean McLain was innocent.

Nova’s emotions fluctuated every few seconds, from elation to disbelief to the absolute certainty that this was a trap. No one had told her what had been uncovered. What new evidence had been found to prove her sudden innocence. She racked her brain to think what false evidence the Anarchists might have planted to lead the Renegades to this conclusion, but she could think of nothing that made sense. Not after they’d all been so certain of her guilt. Not with the truth hovering over her head that she was, in fact, guilty.

And yet, here she was, being handed a box with her original clothes and boots and told she was free to leave. The same guard who had first embedded the small tracker between her shoulder blades used an even more painful device to extract it. Nova gritted her teeth and didn’t complain.

They gave her a thick wad of gauze and a mint.

Was this a trick?

This time, she was left alone to change. Exhaling through her nostrils, she pulled on her clothes, then rapped on the door to let them know she was ready.

Two more guards were posted at the exit, though they ignored her as she was led by. She listened to the bolts clank and the gears rumble inside the massive walls. She watched the gate open and the two Cragmoor guards walked her out into the blustering, frigid sea air. The guards were armed, as always, but this was the first time that Nova had been outside her cell without her hands being cuffed. The guards didn’t say much. One of them, a female with inky-black eyes that showed no sign of whites to them, very nearly smiled. “We will escort you all the way to the dock,” she said.

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