SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania Read Free Page A

anticipating where I was headed with this conversation. She looked at me, waited for me to pluck up the courage to say it. We’d done it once in therapy three months ago and I’d scared the hell out of her.
    “I didn’t save her. She died because I was a coward.” Mom opened her mouth and I raised a hand to stop her. “I can’t think of it any other way. She jumped out to hit him because she thought he would take me away. She protected me ! I didn’t keep her safe and…”  
    I choked up, tears threatening to spill over into my macaroni and cheese. Mom bit her lip, putting her hand over mine and squeezing tight.  
    “Oh, sweetheart, this is not your fault. That vicious man knew what he planned to do the moment he saw you. He wanted to hurt you.”
    “He definitely won there.” I swallowed down the tears and cleared my throat. “Mom, I’m so sorry I couldn’t save her. It’s my fault she died.”  
    Mom’s eyes filled with tears, but she kept her hand over mine. “It’s not your fault. The only one to blame is…that man.” Mom still couldn’t say his name and she rushed through the rest of her speech. “You did everything you could. God wanted her with his angels and now she’s taking care of us from a better place.”
    I looked down at the table to hide the scowl that automatically spread across my face. Mom had made a lot of big speeches like this one since Star died. I knew she believed them, clung to them desperately, and if I’d lost a sister, she’d lost a child. I couldn’t be frustrated with her. So I kept my mouth shut, while inwardly I screamed at the skies and asked why my sweet baby sister was murdered.
    “But I have to believe it’s all happened for a reason,” she continued, and I met her fervent glance again. “Even though she’s gone, you and Starling are still my everything, my entire life. There isn’t a day I won’t weep for her, but I’ll be strong for you and your father will be, too.”
    “I know, Mom. And I’m trying, I swear.”
    She shook her head. “This isn’t easy for any of us, especially for you. To see what you saw…” She took one look at my face and stopped. After a long, awful moment, she continued, “We’re going to get through this, Nova. We’ll find strength again.”
    I grimaced at her choice of words. My strength had been useless against Fortune.  
    She might have kept going, but Dad barged through the front door, slamming it behind him. We heard him throw his briefcase onto the foyer bench and storm through the hallway. Mom looked a tad alarmed, so she didn’t know what the problem was, either. He entered the dining room and tossed a newspaper on the table as he went to the hutch to make a drink.  
    Mom and I pulled the paper towards us. Today’s front-page headline and accompanying photo took my breath away. The picture showed a completely decimated building, apparently a small bank that used to stand in a decaying section of Arcania. The headline read “ Fortune Does Not Favor” across the top.  
    “It’s been six months.” That was all Dad said as he slid into his chair and sipped his scotch with an angry expression.  
    I hissed through my teeth. I’d excelled at ignoring any and all forms of media in the last several months, so it was no wonder I’d missed this yesterday. My eyes flew over the print—according to the article, Fortune not only robbed the branch, but also killed twelve people inside with a well-placed bomb. He left one sole survivor, quoted:  
    “He told us that we were about to die. He dragged me out with him and told me that I was lucky number 13. He spared my life because he wanted…citizens to know Arcania is his city now. He said he dares someone to try and stop him.”  
    The piece continued with details of the bomb, how Fortune was undetected by cameras or guards, and the damage inflicted on the structure. My heart sank at the names of the deceased — a few of my classmates had family working in