Page 102 of Supernova

When she spotted Ace again, she was startled to see him watching her. He was still bent over his knees, panting. His eyes carried an unfamiliar desperation. A pleading.

“I’m coming,” she whispered, as much to herself as to her uncle. “I won’t fail you. Not this time.”

Nova ducked out of the way of a barbed tail—Stingray?—then launched herself over a suspicious puddle of inky-black goo. Her feet touched the ground again, just in time for an enormous wave to crash into her, knocking her onto her side. The water eddied way, leaving her spluttering as the dirt floor thickened into sticky mud. She cursed Tsunami and climbed back to her feet, preparing to fight, but the Councilwoman was already fending off an attack from one of the freed prisoners.

Arm tingling as sensation returned to her muscles, Nova pushed the sopping-wet bangs back from her face and readjusted the weighted hood over her face. Between the mud and the drenched clothes, it felt like every step toward Ace was becoming more and more of a struggle.

She had just caught her breath when her own name pierced her ears.

“Nova! NO!”

She spun in time to see Winston Pratt throwing himself at her.

Nova reeled back, bracing herself for a fight.

But Winston didn’t attack her. Instead, he gasped and stumbled to one knee, gaping up at her in shock.

It took Nova too long to understand what was happening. It took her too long to notice the stain of red spreading across the front of his shirt. It took her too long to see the clear glass shard jutting from his chest, slicked with blood.

Distantly, she heard someone cursing. She looked past Winston and saw Genissa Clark gripping a crossbow. She dug out another projectile from a small cooler at her feet and loaded it onto the crossbow’s track. Not glass, Nova realized.Ice.

Genissa’s face was red with fury, her teeth gnashing as she lined up the sights with Nova’s heart.

Nova dove to the ground. The icicle whizzed past and shattered on something behind her. Nova pushed herself up and lunged at Genissa. The girl had another icicle in hand, but no time to nock it into the crossbow before Nova tackled her. They fell to the ground. Genissa swung the icicle, trying to stab Nova with the tip, but Nova grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the ground.

Nova’s body was aflame with anger. Her blood pumped with adrenaline as she replayed Winston’s panicked voice shouting her name.

In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to murder Genissa Clark.

Instead, she screamed, as loud as she could, the contempt tearing at her throat—“You are so lucky I don’t have time for this!” Then she pressed a hand to Genissa’s forehead and released her power like a sledgehammer into the girl’s skull. Genissa’s head dropped limply to the dirt, her lips parted, her pale skin coated in dust and muck.

Panting, Nova ripped herself away. Mere seconds had passedsince she heard Winston call her name, and he had not moved. He was still kneeling in the dirt, his back to her, the white shard of ice prominent against the red stain on his clothes.

“Winston.”

She collapsed beside him, a hand on his shoulder. He met her gaze, and she could see him already losing the fight to stay with her. His skin was as pale now as when he had been the Puppeteer. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s okay. I can’t take out the ice just yet, because… the bleeding…” She sniffed and scanned the arena, wondering if there had been any Renegade healers in the audience. She knew none of the Anarchists’ new allies had healing abilities, but if they really saw Winston as one ofthemnow, then maybe the Renegades would take care of him. “I’m going to find someone. Just hang in there—”

“Nightmare,” he said, with a bit of a cough. He sagged, sitting back on his heels, grimacing at the movement. “I’m sorry. I… called you Nova… before.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think anyone’s paying attention. Can you walk? We have to get—”

“Nightmare…” He took her hand, and she realized he was crying. In that moment, she realized that she was, too. “We were friends, weren’t we?” He coughed. A bit of blood sprayed across his bottom lip. “I know I wasn’t always… a good friend… but I… I liked having you around, back then. When you were little. It was nice to be… a kid… again.”

Her breaths started to come in erratic gulps. “Of course. Of course we were friends.”

He smiled, but it was laced with pain. His eyes were losing focus. “I wanted to tell you…” He coughed. The ice in his chest jostled with each movement. “I’m no longer sure… I was meant to be… a villain.” His gaze softened affectionately as he squeezed herhand. She wasn’t sure when he’d started holding it. “I’m not sure you are, either. Maybe… none of us…”

A nearby explosion made Nova jump. She threw her arms wide, as if to protect Winston from the blast. A dozen steps away, a cloud of smoke was spreading outward, sending Rejects and prisoners and Renegades alike scrambling to cover their faces.

“Winston, I need to get to Ace. And then I’ll get you out of here, okay?” She faced him again. “Ace and I will…”

Her words faded away, settling with the smoke and dust.

Winston had slumped forward, barely supported by Nova’s arm and the ice that kept his chest from collapsing on itself.

He was already dead.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

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