Nova
I wake up under Rane.
His head is on my stomach. Face turned in. Hand fisted in the sheet by my hip. He must have slid down sometime in the night because that’s not where he started.
I lift my head an inch.
There are men everywhere. Locke closest to the door, arm over his face. Vaelor next to him, taking up too much space even asleep. Beckett curled at the far edge. Kyron half-up against the headboard like he tried to stay on watch. Trey on my other side.
Six men. And this enormous bed.
I let my head fall back.
Trey wakes the way he always does. Fingers twitching while his breathing changes. His hand finds my hair without him opening his eyes.
“Why is Rane on you,” he says into the pillow.
“I don’t know.”
“Rane.”
Rane mumbles into my stomach.
“You’re on Nova.”
“Comfortable.”
“She has a bruise where your face is.”
Rane lifts his head. Squints at Trey over my body. Looks at my stomach. Looks back at Trey.
He frowns.
“Wait…”
I try to look innocent.
I feel Vaelor stir on the other side of Locke. He’s awake. I bet he’s been awake. I can feel the suppressed shake of him through the mattress.
“Trey?”
“Hmm?”
“On her stomach.”
“Mhm.”
“Last night.”
“Yep.”
“Are you serious?”
“Vaelor cleaned me up,” I say.
Vaelor makes a sound into his pillow that he absolutely tried to keep in.
Trey is shaking harder. I’m biting the inside of my cheek and it isn’t working.
“It’s fine,” I manage.
Rane closes his eyes. Lets his head fall back to my stomach.
“I’ve been here a while,” he mumbles. “I’m not moving.”
Trey loses it. Out loud this time.
I thought they were dead. Now Rane’s lying in… that. On top of me.
“Hey,” I say.
Rane grunts.
“Up. All of you.”
Beckett opens his eyes first. He’s the only one who doesn’t pretend.
“What?”
I look at him. He sees something on my face and sits up. Pushes that pink hair back. He looks at the others, then at me.
“You should know,” he says like he’s being careful. “Laith’s in the bunker.”
I stop breathing.
I sit up too fast. My shoulder protests. I ignore it.
“What?”
“Kyron brought him back the night we got you out. It’s behind the storage building. Kree reinforced the door.”
“Who’s Kree?”
Beckett’s mouth opens. Closes. Looks at Rane.
“Right,” Rane says. “You haven’t—”
“Clockwork,” Vaelor says, into his pillow. “The guys that flew the ship. Three of them. Liam, Declan, Kree.”
“They’re the reason we got you out,” Kyron adds. Too quiet. “Kree’s the engineer. Worse than Rane. You’d like him.”
Maybe it’s better that I didn’t meet him.
A whole rescue I wasn’t conscious for. A crew from Clockwork Order I never met. Reinforcing a door for the asshole I didn’t know was in there.
“Okay… And Laith’s been here the whole time?”
“Yeah.”
“And nobody told me?”
“You were healing.” Locke. Arm finally down from his face. “We were going to tell you this morning.”
“We talked about it last night,” Beckett says. “Didn’t want to do it without you.”
Trey looks at him. Beckett nods.
I look around the bed. Nobody is laughing anymore.
“Has he talked?” I ask.
“No,” Vaelor says. “Nothing. He doesn’t eat. Doesn’t speak. Just sits there.”
“Waiting,” Trey adds.
“For what?”
Nobody answers. Because we all know.
I’m already pushing the blanket back. Swinging my legs over.
“I want to talk to him.”
They’re quiet. Too quiet.
If they try to talk me out of this…
Then Trey, very softly: “See?”
“See what?” Locke says.
“Nothing.”
“Sweetheart.” Locke ignores him. Looks at me. “You don’t have to do this today.”
“I’m ready.”
“Your shoulder—”
“Locke.”
He stops.
“He’s not going to crack on his own. I’m the thing he was after. I need to be the thing in the room.”
Kyron’s mouth twitches.
“What?”
“Sassy…” he says. “I like it.”
I snort and try to hide my grin. “Get used to it.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Beckett is watching me with a small smile. He likes it too.
“She’s right. He’s waiting. The only thing that changes the room is her in it.”
Locke closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them again I can tell he’s about to get…
“If it gets bad—”
“I’ll tell you.”
“If your shoulder—”
“I’ll tell you.”
“If he says—”
“Locke.”
He groans.
“I’ll tell you,” I say. “I promise. I’m not going alone. I’m going with you.”
Vaelor exhales. “Come on man, she’ll be with us.”
“Okay,” Locke says.
Rane catches my elbow before I’m all the way up.
“We’re proud of you.”
“Don’t.”
“Too bad.”
I lean down and press my forehead to his for a second and then push myself up before this gets harder.
“Get the fuck up, guys. Come on, let’s go.” I’m already heading for the door. “I’m jumping in the shower. Five minutes.”
Behind me, Locke laughs.
“Yeah,” he says. “Okay.”
I make it downstairs before any of them are even out of the room.
“Guys! I’m going!”
Someone yells but my hand is already opening the door.
I almost crash into her.
Zoe is standing on the porch with her hand up like she was about to knock.
Her eyes go wide.
“Nova.”
“Hi.” I grin.
“You’re—”
She’s already crying. I’m nodding, already moving. My shoulder protests when she gets her arms around me. I don’t care.
“I missed you so much,” I say into her hair.
She nods against me. Shaking.
“Where are you going,” she says, as she pulls back. Her eyes flick past me to the guys. I can feel them standing behind me.
“To talk to Laith.”
Her eyes go wide and she takes a breath.
“Okay.”
“Walk with us?”
She tucks her hand into my good elbow.
The Hollow is awake but quiet.
I missed this.
It’s just people… living.
There’s a door open across the way. Someone shaking out a rug a few houses down. Two kids running barefoot across the road without a care in the world.
Cal is on a porch, talking to Mara. Darcy walks by carrying her little one.
Cal looks up as we pass.
“Morning, Cal.”
“Morning, Nova. It’s good to have you back.”
I smile, because it is good to be back.
We keep walking.
As we do, I hear her say quietly “See? I told you she was okay.”
I don’t look back.
“This is weird,” Zoe murmurs.
“What is?”
“They’re acting like nothing happened.”
“No,” I say. “They’re acting like I happened. And I did.”
She looks at me and laughs. Bumps my hip with hers.
We’re halfway across the main road when I hear small footsteps coming fast.
A kid comes around the side of the Community Hall like a shot. Brown hair sticking up everywhere. Jam on his face.
He stops in front of me. Eyes wide, breathing hard.
He swallows. “Are you still a phoenix?”
Behind me Rane chokes on something.
I crouch down. Slowly. My shoulder doesn’t love it.
“Yeah. I’m still a phoenix.”
“Can I see?”
A woman is hurrying around the corner. “I’m sorry, sorry. I told him not to —”
“It’s okay,” I say.
“Just the wings,” the kid says. Negotiating and I hold back a smile. “You don’t have to do the fire. My mom said you can.”
I look up at his mom. She’s mouthing sorry.
I grin at the kid.
“I’ve never tried it. Let’s see if I can.”
I straighten up.
He’s grinning like I’m his new favorite person.
I don’t hate it.
I close my eyes.
Just the wings.
Right Nova, like that’s going to work.
The mark warms suddenly. I hold in the gasp that tries to come out. I feel heat in my back. I brace for the rest of it — for the bones, the world going hot — and it doesn’t come.
Just my back.
There’s a pull and the wings come out.
I can see them on either side. Gold and red. Big enough to throw a shadow across the kid and his mom too.
His mouth falls open.
“They’re the coolest!”
I start to smile but something feels different. Something…
The tests…
The feeling of being in that chair…
Of that hum…
I desperately try not to show it.
And then there’s white.
Just light everywhere. My wings iridescent. Glowing.
But then everything seems to just stop. The feeling, the hum. Everything gone and I feel my body relax.
The glow fades slightly reminding me of last night. Trey and Vaelor, because when they touched me…
I look over at my right wing.
It looks like that now.
The kid says “whoa” so quiet I almost don’t hear him.
I’m suddenly too aware of how quiet it is around us.
“Are you still hot?” he says.
“Try.”
He reaches up and runs his fingers against my wing.
He grins.
“Just warm!” he announces.
I laugh, I can’t help it.
“So cool!”
He turns and runs back to his mom.
“Mom!”
“MOM!”
“Did you see?”
“I TOUCHED IT!”
She catches him. Looks at me over his head with her eyes wet.
I let the wings go. They pull back into me and I’m surprised by how natural it feels.
Someone clears their throat.
I turn around.
They’re all looking at me.
“What?”
Locke shakes his head.
“Nothing, sweetheart.”
Zoe is holding back a laugh beside me.
Trey is grinning.
“You love it,” he says.
“Shut up.”
The squawk of the crow startles me enough I jump.
Dammit.
I look across the road.
The Community Hall looks the same as I remember.
But the bunker… It’s time.
I make it five steps before Brent runs up.
“Hey Nova, guys.” He nods. “Zoe.”
He bends at his knees breathing hard.
“I wanted to catch you before…”
He swallows. Stands.
“Minerva wants to see all of us. Now.”