Or was it something else?

“Not much,” she lied. “Only that Phobia joined the Anarchists not all that long before I did. I wanted to check with you, see if that was true.”

Honey’s gaze was long and searching, before a subtle smile pulled across her glistening lips. “It’s true. And just like you, he’s been an invaluable member ever since.”

She pushed open a large oak door, leading them into the arcade around the cloister. Nova hesitated, sure there was something Honey wasn’t telling her. But the click of Honey’s heels on the pavers quickened, making it clear the conversation was over.

By the time Honey and Nova reached the chapter house, nearly all their allies were already gathered. Beyond the cathedral, they could hear the first sounds of war pummeling against the barrier Ace had erected. The Renegades had arrived and were attacking the wall with a barrage of explosions and weapons. Each impact rattled the ground beneath their feet. So far the barrier was holding, but Nova knew it wouldn’t forever. The Renegades may have been weakened, their numbers reduced, but they still weren’t powerless.

She couldn’t help revisiting the conversation in the bell tower again and again, and wishing that things had gone differently. They could be halfway around the world by now, already working to start their new life. Instead, they were under siege, Adrian was their prisoner, and Nova felt smothered under everyone’s expectations.

Ace expecting her to be the little Nightmare he’d raised her to be.

The Anarchists expecting her to finish the job she’d started and bring down the Renegades once and for all.

And Adrian expecting her to … what? He couldn’t possibly expect her to help him. He must know better by now. She could still feel his stare digging into her. Judging and disgusted.

But then there were times when he seemed almost hopeful.

Always so unnervingly optimistic.

Being in Adrian’s presence had left her feeling about as strong as a slug in a salt bath. Now, with some distance, she tried to focus on the sounds of war outside their protective shell, and the prodigies who were gathered at her side, preparing to win the battle that would give them all a chance at a better life.

She was here, with Ace, and she was ready to fight, as she’d always intended to do. Soon this would be over and she could be at ease again. She could be herself. She could be the Nightmare the world feared.

“I will not wax poetic about our chances for victory,” said Ace, once everyone was present. “I know we will succeed. The Renegades will fall.” He spent some time questioning everyone on their respective roles. Had Cyanide prepared the necessary chemical reactions? Had Locksmith secured the eastern entrances? And on and on until he met Nova’s eyes. At that moment, there was no familial gentleness in his expression, only an intensity that stopped Nova’s heart.

“I will commence negotiations once the Council have revealed themselves. Is our leverage ready?”

She gulped. The leverage was Adrian. He was an asset now, a bargaining chip. Just as Ace had always known he would be. For months he had encouraged Nova to get close to Adrian, knowing he could be used against his fathers.

Somehow, she’d never pictured it coming to this, though she probably should have.

The words caught in her throat, and it was Honey who answered for her. “He’ll be ready.”

Ace held Nova’s gaze another moment, before nodding. “Take your positions and await my signal.”

They dispersed. Nova dreaded going back to Adrian, to again be accosted by those looks of hope sprinkled with loathing. She was relieved when Narcissa jogged up to her in the cloister, clutching a stack of familiar comics.

Relieved for half a second, before Honey called back to her, “I’ll go ahead and check on the prisoner. You take your time, sweetness.”

Bile rose up in Nova’s mouth, thinking of Honey and that stiletto knife. But it wasn’t her concern, she told herself, fighting every instinct to chase after her.

Adrian was no longer her concern.

Burying her apprehension, she turned back to Narcissa. “Glad to see you stayed.”

“Yeah, well…” Narcissa kicked at the stone floor. “I promised the Rejects I’d help them secure a better future for themselves. We haven’t accomplished that yet.”

“You’re right,” said Nova, a little darkly. She wondered if any of them, when they’d been plotting their revolution, had foreseen this.

“You know now, don’t you? About the Sentinel?”

Nova tensed. “Yes,” she said slowly. “You knew already?”

“That’s what I wanted to show you the other day.”

Narcissa started to flip through one of the comics, but a particularly loud explosion above the barrier made her jump and she dropped the stapled pages. They fell at Nova’s feet. When she stooped to pick up the comic, the air caught in her lungs. The pages had opened to the final spread. It showed the main character, the young boy known as Rebel Z, as he transformed into a superhero. The superhero he needed to become in order to seek vengeance on the mad scientist.

In the image, he was donning an armored suit, one that was remarkably like the Sentinel’s.

Nova examined the picture, wondering if this would have changed anything if she’d seen it before the attack on the arena. She wondered if it changed anything now.

“The comics are actually pretty good,” said Narcissa. “It’s a shame he never finished the story.”

Nova swallowed, wondering if it was okay for her to hope that maybe someday he’d get a chance to. “Thanks for showing me this,” she said. “But you were right before. It doesn’t change much at this point.”

Nova started to head back to the chapel where Adrian—kind, righteous Adrian—was shackled to a cold altar, but as she rounded the nearest corner, she crashed into Honey Harper. Without pretense, Honey plucked the comic book out of Nova’s hand.

“Hey!” said Nova, too late to grab it back as Honey spun out of reach and started making her way down the corridor, flipping through the pages.

“So this is what’s caused so much interest between you and the mirror girl?” said Honey, turning the pages this way and that, inspecting the drawings with an air of derision. “What is it, exactly?”

“It’s … nothing,” stammered Nova. “Give it back, Honey.”

“I take it our young artist drew it,” she continued, ignoring Nova. “Must have been a while ago. He’s certainly improved, hasn’t he?” She chuckled. “Not that I can do any better.”

She suddenly stopped walking. She was gripping the comic in both hands, carelessly creasing the brittle pages in her fists. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Doesn’t really matter,” said Nova. “We already knew he was the Sentinel, so…” She trailed off, noticing the page that Honey had landed on. It didn’t show Rebel Z in the Sentinel’s armor. Rather, it showed a shrouded figure with bony fingertips and nothing but shadows where a face should be.

“He … drew that when he was, like, eleven,” said Nova. “He’d probably heard about Phobia, from back during the Age of Anarchy. He could have inspired this … this villain … thing.”

Honey shut the comic, her eyes shimmering with a glee that sent a chill down Nova’s spine.

“You don’t believe that,” said Honey. “I overheard you two talking. There are more drawings, aren’t there? Some not quite so recent?” She didn’t wait for Nova to answer, which was just as well because Nova wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to lie to Honey, but she could already see Honey’s mind calculating what this meant.

Suddenly, Honey let out a barking laugh and clapped one hand over her mouth. “My, my,” she said through her fingers. “That little artiste … and he has no idea, does he?”

“It doesn’t matter. There’s no reason to—”

“Oh, I beg to differ!” she said, pivoting on her heels. “I cannot wait to see this.”

“Honey, no, wait!”

Nova chased after her and grabbed the comic, hoping that would stop Honey, but she hardly seemed to notice as she made her way back through the cathedral’s corridors.

“Honey, please! We need to stay focused. This doesn’t mean anything!”

Honey cast a smirk at her. “Careful, Nightmare. I’m beginning to think you might actually feel bad for the hostage.”

Nova winced and ceased her pleading, but she stayed on Honey’s heels, dread filling her with every step.

* * *

Adrian had never been afraid of bees before. But then, he’d never had the creatures crawling over him like tiny guards with fat, striped abdomens and needle-like stingers that twitched every time he moved. Though one of the villains had put gauze over the deep gashes in his arms, the blood had soaked through in spots, and the bees seemed particularly attracted to it, forming little clusters on the bandages.

He tried to distract himself by thinking of the creatures not as harbingers of venom and pain, but rather of little miracles of nature. He didn’t know how many species Queen Bee had control of, but he’d counted nine different varieties while he’d been sitting here by himself. Some all black and fluffy like a caterpillar. Others that were sleek and metallic blue, with a wingspan as wide as Danna’s butterflies. Black and yellow stripes. Black and red stripes. Long, narrow bodies that looked more like a dragonfly, and thick, shiny-shelled bodies that looked more like a beetle, and everything in between.

He was beginning to think his efforts at distraction might have been misplaced when he heard footsteps in the hall. Queen Bee appeared with a toothy grin that immediately set Adrian on edge again, wondering what new torture she was devising.

It was foolish, he knew, but he couldn’t help but be relieved when Nova came in right behind her. Not that she’d done anything to stop Queen Bee from cutting out his tattoos.