SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania Read Free

you.”
    “Didn’t see you coming. Interesting.” The curiosity in his gaze sent the hairs on my arms standing straight up. When I didn’t reply, he shrugged and came towards me, laid a cold, leather-gloved hand on my face. I gritted my teeth to keep from shaking while he examined me. “You’re a pretty thing. Sure you don’t want to come with me?”
    “I’m not going anywhere.” It sounded more like a plea than a statement. My panic couldn’t be ignored much longer. My knees quaked.  
    “It would certainly upset your father and this city,” he mused. My entire body froze up as I saw he was now seriously considering it.
    “Don’t take her!” Starling shrieked. She jumped out from behind me and shoved Fortune with all her nine-year-old might. “You can’t have her. You’re a bad man! ”
    “You’re right. This message is better.” Fortune tucked his gun away and my knees wobbled a little in relief. He was going to let us go. He met my gaze and when he spoke, his tone couldn’t be more plain. “You will not tell anyone about me or I will kill the rest of your family.”
    “The rest — ? ”  
    Then Fortune’s hand went up and thin, bright blue lines of light shot from his palm with a crackle. Heat sizzled my arm closest to Starling, who fell to the ground in a heap; I hadn’t even had time to react. A split second later, the neon flash was gone and only Fortune remained.  
    Someone was screaming. Several moments passed before I realized it was me. I dropped to the ground and listened for Starling’s heartbeat, finding none. Before I could question my sanity, I looked in shock at her shirt, at the palm-sized burn mark over her stopped heart. Fortune sighed as I cradled her tiny body in my arms.
    “Silly little girl,” he said. “Reminds me of someone I knew once."
    I looked up in time to see him slip out the door. A terrible wailing filled the small room, clanged in my head like a siren. My mother later told me it took four officers to tear Starling from my arms.  

6 MONTHS LATER…

    I stared blankly at my dinner plate, unable to bring the fork to my mouth. Mom’s homemade macaroni and cheese had been one of my and Star’s favorite dishes. Now I didn’t even want to look at it. Food could taste like sandpaper now and I wouldn’t know the difference.  
    “Your father should be home in a few minutes, but we can go ahead and eat,” my mother told me. She mistook my lack of appetite for manners. I nudged a few noodles around and took a bite for her sake.
    “Are you excited for senior year to start next week?” Mom asked. I bit back a sigh and met her expectant glance.
    “Sure,” I said, giving her a tight smile. “I’m all caught up with summer reading at least.”
    “Honey, you’ll be fine. Have you thought about doing any activities?”
    We both knew my choices were always limited when it came to extracurriculars. No sports for this girl, even if I wanted to play. “We’ll see. Amber and I usually pick the same committees.”  
    “That’s great to hear. It would do you some good to get out, be with your friends again.” A long pause came between us before she spoke again. “Are you going to be all right at school? Getting back into a normal routine?”
    “I’ll be fine, Mom. School’s not my concern. I just…” I trailed off, unsure if I should say my thoughts aloud.  
    None of us had really talked about Starling’s death, not even right after it happened. Sometimes we accidentally said her name and we all froze, then changed topics. A couple months ago, my mother, out of habit, set a place at the dinner table for Starling. I didn’t leave my room for two days. The family therapist we saw wasted no time in putting me on medication and I dreaded having to wean myself off of it soon. Facing my emotions where Starling was concerned was bound to break my heart into a million pieces. As if Fortune hadn’t done that for me already.  
    Mom set her silverware down,