Despite the fake annoyance in his voice, he was grinning.
No—he was beaming, lit up from the inside.
He caught her eye, and Nova’s insides clenched. She had been aware that he was handsome from the start, but something about him in that exact moment went far beyond handsome. She told herself it was the lighting in the tent. It was half delirium because she hadn’t eaten any lunch yet. It was … it was just Adrian. With that ease that Nova couldn’t comprehend. A brightness that seemed at odds with everything she’d ever known.
“Here you go!”
A piece of cake appeared in front of Nova’s nose and she gladly diverted her attention, her cheeks burning. Never had she been more grateful for a piece of cake that she didn’t actually want. “Thank you,” she said more effusively than might have been necessary. She took the plate and stuffed a bite of cake into her mouth.
She checked the time on her communicator band. Ingrid would be in position soon.
She glanced back at Adrian, who had looked away from her, and was, of course, drawing a pony onto the tent walls. “Um … we actually have to go,” she said, shooting a smile at the girl, then gobbling down one more bite of cake, which was, in fact, delicious. “Thanks again.”
She rose from the bench and made her way through the cluster of children. Adrian spotted her and paused with the pony half finished.
“First,” said Nova, “you might want to check with the parents before giving any of these kids an actual pony. Second, we should probably move on?”
“First,” said Adrian, “you missed a sprinkle.” He reached out and brushed a thumb across the corner of Nova’s mouth. She froze, the touch sending a quiver through her insides. When he pulled back, a small orange sprinkle was resting on the pad of his thumb, which he popped into his mouth, eyes teasing. “Second, you’re absolutely right.”
He turned away and finished sketching the pony, but when he pulled it from the tent wall, it was not a living creature, but a simple toy horse. “And we’re calling that my big finale, kids,” he said, capping the marker and moving away from the tent walls to a chorus of disappointed groans.
“I know, I know. But heroism awaits!” He paused to wave at the birthday boy and the parents, thanking them for their hospitality, before grabbing Nova’s wrist and pulling her from the tent, laughing.
“You’re welcome,” said Nova, still a little shaken, her cheek tingling where he’d touched her.
He beamed, shaking out his wrist. “Much appreciated. That was fun, though.”
“It’s hard not to have fun when you’re so popular, I expect.”
He scoffed. “Like you wouldn’t know.” He imitated a girly voice as he squealed, “It’s Insomnia! She beat Gargoyle! We love her!”
Rolling her eyes, she smacked Adrian in the arm. “Hey, where’s the Dread Warden?”
“I gave him to the birthday boy. Did you know, he really likes superheroes?”
“Truly? I couldn’t tell.”
He grinned at her, and against all her better judgment, Nova found herself grinning back. When she managed to look away, Nova saw that they’d reached some of the kiddie rides—tiny choo-choo trains and dinosaur-themed roller coasters on each side.
“Somehow,” she said, “I don’t think we’re going to find Nightmare here.”
Ignoring her, Adrian asked, “Which ride did you operate?”
“What? Oh, um. A lot of them. We would rotate.”
“Have you seen anyone today that you used to work with?”
Gulping, Nova glanced at the ride operators. According to her paperwork, she had worked here as recently as a couple months ago. Surely, if that story were real, she should have recognized lots of the employees here.
“Not really,” she stammered. “I, uh … didn’t usually work Thursdays.”
They circled around to the back corner of the carnival, where the old, deteriorating structures of the park could be seen beyond the chain-link fence. Nova’s jaw tensed as she stared at the weedy walkways between carnival games, at the roof of the funhouse looking like it was close to caving in.
“Are you hungry?” said Adrian.
She nodded.
But they had come too far. All the food stands were back toward the more popular areas of the park.
Dragging in a breath, Nova pointed. “There’s a popcorn stand this way. Past the…” She licked her lips. “Past the gallery.”
The gallery was a long wooden tunnel that divided the children’s corner of the park with the faster, more adventurous rides on the other side. The paneled walls of the tunnel were hung with old photos of the carnival’s history, from when it had first been founded nearly seventy years ago. As they entered the tunnel, Nova gravitated toward the first collection of photographs, feigning curiosity as she read the caption beneath a photo that showed a clown posed behind a group of kids. The next photo showed the horse statue at the park’s entrance from back when it was brand-new. The third photo, a woman in a paper hat handing a cone of cotton candy to a man in a suit. It was all very old-fashioned, very quaint. Before the Age of Anarchy. Before the rise of the Renegades. A different place, a different time.
“Amazing it’s lasted this long, isn’t it?” said Adrian, strolling along the opposite wall.
Nova stayed where she was, hoping he would see it. Hoping he would find it on his own …
“Amazing,” she breathed. She continued down the row of photos. Slowly. Expectantly. She was no longer seeing the photos—she’d seen them plenty the night before, anyhow. Happy families boarding the rickety old roller coaster. Happy couples stepping into the gondolas in the Tunnel of Love. Happy children waving from the carousel.
“Nova.”
She knew immediately by the tone of his voice that he’d found it.
She stilled, closing her eyes, and exhaled.
“Nova, look.”