Adrian lowered his gaze.
“And I’m not sure you can fake that sort of thing,” Oscar added. “At least, not all of them. Not like that.”
“Huh,” said Nova, and it was clear she remained skeptical. “I guess we’ll find out eventually.”
Adrian scratched his right forearm, where his new tattoo was still sore beneath the bandage.
“Oh, look!” said Ruby, pointing down to the training floor. “There’s Danna.”
Glad for the diversion, Adrian followed the gesture and spotted Danna on one of the training mats below, bracing herself against a padded bench. On the other side of the mat, one of their trainers was holding, of all things, a slingshot.
As they watched, Ballistic, the trainer, aimed straight up and fired, sending a high-drag projectile flapping toward the ceiling.
Danna crouched, flipping her long dreadlocks over one shoulder as she focused on the target. Then she leaped and her body dispersed into a cyclone of butterflies soaring upward. The creatures surrounded the projectile and Danna reformed, grabbing it with one hand and dropping back down to the ground. It was nearly a perfect catch, but as her feet touched the ground again, she let out a pained grunt and collapsed to one knee.
Adrian grimaced.
“Monarch?” said Nova.
“You’ve done your research,” said Oscar. “She’s on our team, too, but she got injured at the parade so she couldn’t come to the trials.”
“Come on,” said Ruby, latching on to Nova’s arm. “We’ll introduce you.”
They made their way to the next staircase. As they approached Danna’s mat, Adrian could hear Ballistic reminding her to stay in swarm formation as she descended, as her body wasn’t ready for such a fall. Danna fisted her hands as she rebuked, “It’s not that easy! Twenty-nine butterflies were burned off. It’d be like you trying to catch the thing with three missing fingers!”
She spotted their group and straightened, swiping her forearm across her damp brow. Her attention turned to Nova.
“They let you out of the med wing!” cried Ruby. Releasing Nova, she swung her arms wide in celebration. Adrian barely recoiled fast enough to avoid another hit to his nose. “That’s faster than they thought, right?”
Danna heaved a sigh, casting a sour look at the trainer. “They said I could start retraining myself to use the swarm. You’d be amazed what a difference it makes when I lose a bunch like that. It’s like learning to control them all over again.”
Adrian’s shoulders knotted. Twenty-nine butterflies were burned off.
“But I need to make it through the obstacle course before they send me out on patrol again,” Danna continued. “It’ll be at least another couple of weeks.”
“After those burns?” said Oscar, nodding at the small lump where there must have been bandages beneath her uniform. “Lucky it wasn’t worse.”
“And that the healers are so great,” added Ruby. Beaming, she gestured at Nova. “You haven’t met our new girl yet.”
Danna faced Nova. “Insomnia, right?” she said, holding out a hand. “I saw the trial. Impressive.”
Nova accepted the handshake, though as soon as Danna released her she quickly pulled her hand back against her side. “Gargoyle’s not as scary as he thinks.”
Danna chuckled. “I won’t lie. It was refreshing to see someone put Frostbite’s team in their place.” She slumped onto the padded bench. “Five-minute break?” she called over to Ballistic, but he had already turned and started working with Flashbolt, a boy who had what looked like glass marbles embedded in his palms.
Danna turned her gaze back up to Nova. “I heard Sketch thinks you’ll be a decent surveillance asset.”
Nova’s eyebrows lifted and she glanced at Adrian.
He scratched the back of his neck. “We haven’t really started to discuss—”
“But there’s a lot more to being a good spy than people think,” Danna interrupted.
Nova’s gaze sharpened. “You don’t say.”
“You were great at the trials, but they don’t really prepare you for reality, you know. In a real situation, especially a surveillance mission, you have to pay attention to the details. And remember them. Put the smallest clues together to make a whole. You never know what’s going to be important, so you can’t discount anything.”
Adrian cleared his throat. “Danna is sort of the team surveillance expert. But obviously, what she can do is a different skill set than what you can do. We don’t expect … we’re grateful to have you both.”
Nova’s lips formed a thin smile. “Thanks for the tip, Monarch. Truly, I think I can handle it.”
“I’m sure you can,” said Danna. “I just want you to stay on your toes. I need to make sure these slackers are in good hands when you’re out there without me.”
“Test me, if you want,” said Nova, with a casual shrug. “See if I pass inspection.”
Adrian glanced at Oscar, and seeing the awkwardness written plain on his face was glad he wasn’t the only one sensing the tension. “This isn’t—”
“No, really,” said Nova. “I don’t mind. It wasn’t fair that she wasn’t at the trials, and I want Danna to feel confident in your choice. Eventually, she and I will be on the team together too, right? So, go ahead. Let’s see how good I am at this surveillance stuff.”
Danna leaned back on her palms, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “Okay. Without looking … how many exits are there out of this hall?”
“Oh, come on,” said Ruby. “This is her first day.”
“Seven,” said Nova, holding Danna’s gaze.
A second passed, before Oscar turned in a circle, counting exits under his breath. When he finished, he gave a mild huh.
Adrian, too, found himself scanning the hall.