She felt the knots in her stomach tighten even more. “Yeah, fine. I’m just not used to having company.” She was grateful that this, at least, was not a lie.
“No, I meant, are you feeling all right? The healers said they hadn’t released you yet. They were worried there might still be side effects, or even … I mean, we still don’t know for sure if…”
If Max took all your powers from you. We still don’t know if you’re a prodigy or not.
“I feel fine,” she said, trying to sound convincing. “Completely normal.” She attempted a more enthusiastic smile, eager to prove that everyone was concerned over nothing. “Wide-awake and full of energy!” She gave two encouraging thumbs-up.
Adrian grinned. “Well. If you do start to feel anything … not just tired, but … dizzy or weak or … anything. Just let me know. Or one of the healers.”
“Yeah, sure. Of course.”
He looked again at the card table and she could see him contemplating something. “Would you mind if I…” He took out his marker and motioned toward the table, as if this gesture adequately finished his question.
“If you what?”
Without responding, Adrian bent over the table and started to draw onto its dull gray surface. Nova cocked her head, mesmerized by the quick, confident movements of his hand. There was no hesitation, no uncertainty as to where to place the marker next, where to draw a line or a curve. Soon she saw a round vase emerge, overflowing with an arrangement of roses and lilies.
The moment he brought the flowers to life, their fragrance drifted through the room, pushing back the staleness of the house.
Adrian capped the marker and stepped back, frowning at the arrangement. “I really need to start carrying some more colors.”
Nova laughed. It was true that the monochromatic shades of gray lifted from the table lent a muted aspect to the blooms, but they still brightened the little table, the little kitchen, the little home.
And it was clear, to her, at least, how much they did not belong there.
“Will they die?” she said, reaching forward to feel the soft outer petals of one of the roses.
“Just like real flowers,” he said, though his mouth quirked as he glanced at her again. “But I can always make more.”
That look made warmth spread across Nova’s cheeks and she turned away, picking up the communicator band off the counter and busying herself by putting it back on. Ingrid’s words came back to her. I trust you’ve noticed how he looks at you …
“So, um, I had a thought,” said Adrian.
Nova lifted her eyebrows, but found she wasn’t quite ready to turn back to him fully. “About?”
“Winston Pratt.”
She stilled. Hesitated. Then straightened her spine, preparing for … what? An attack? An accusation?
She told herself she was being ridiculous. If Adrian had come here to cast accusations at her, it wouldn’t have taken this long for him to get around to it. And he certainly wouldn’t have drawn her a vase of flowers first.
“I think,” Adrian continued, “we should look in to Cosmopolis Park.”
One hand still tight around the band on her wrist, Nova forced herself to look at him. But Adrian was adjusting some of the blooms inside the vase.
“What?”
“Just to check it out.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I know Winston was lying about almost everything, but the carnival is one of the few possible clues he gave us. I thought maybe we could go and have a look around. Maybe you could talk to your old boss, see if he’s ever heard anything about a … a girl being abandoned there. Or if he’s ever seen anything suspicious, anything that might tie back to Nightmare or the Anarchists…” Finally, he looked up at her, and Nova couldn’t quite read his expression. The self-assuredness from when he’d been drawing was gone, replaced with something uneasy, but … hopeful?
“You sure do want to find her, don’t you?”
“Nightmare?” said Adrian, surprised. “She is Gatlon’s most wanted. Well … her and the Detonator, I guess.”
“Yeah, but … how did you get so involved with the investigation? Is it because Danna and the others fought her at the parade?”
“That’s part of it,” he said, that small crease forming between his eyebrows. “But also, she attacked the Council. She attacked my dad.”
She looked away. “So why isn’t he looking for her?”