* * *
Nate Belen wasn’t a damsel in distress, even if he was currently tied up on top of a bridge waiting for Shadow Star to save him. As he regained consciousness, awareness seeping in, all he felt was pain. He groaned lowly. Everything hurt. His neck. His legs. His right hand.
And his heart.
His heart hurt worst of all.
Because it had been broken into tiny shards.
The words that Shadow Star had growled at him echoed in his head.
I care about you, Nate, but I can’t be with you. Nova City needs a hero. And I have to be that hero. I can’t take the chance of my enemies finding out how much I care about you. They could use you against me. This is over.
A single tear tracked its way down Nate’s face. Not that he was a crier! No, he didn’t cry over anything. He was strong and brave and never cried.
Except when his stupid superhero almost-sort-of boyfriend broke up with him.
“I see you’re awake,” an evil voice said.
Nate opened his eyes.
And gasped.
The wind whipped through his thick hair. He tried to struggle against the binds wrapped around his body, but it was no use. He was trapped.
At the top of one of the spires on McManus Bridge, the biggest bridge in all of Nova City.
Birds flew by. The stars were bright overhead. And in front of him, black cape billowing, was Pyro Storm.
His mask covered his face, leaving only a slit for his mouth. His eyes were covered in red lenses. His costume was tight—black with red piping—and showed off his strong, muscular body. He had an eight-pack. His chest was really strong. His thighs were thick. His boots were killer. On his chest was a symbol that caused the good people of Nova City to cower in fear: a tornado made of fire.
Nate felt his heart start to race, but he would never let Pyro Storm see he was scared. No way. He struggled against the binds that held him. “What do you want with me?” he snapped courageously at the supervillain.
Pyro Storm tilted his head back and laughed. “Oh, Nate. It’s not you I want.”
“Then why am I here?” Nate asked heroically.
Pyro Storm flew a little closer to Nate, eyes narrowing behind his mask, cape billowing. “You know why.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do,” Pyro Storm retorted. “Everyone knows to whom your heart belongs. And since I have captured you with my diabolical scheme, we both know who will come to your rescue. He always does.”
Nate felt a trickle of sweat drip down his forehead. “He doesn’t care about me.”
Pyro Storm shook his head. “You’re wrong about that. You mean everything to him. Even though he could have anyone in the city, man or woman, he has chosen you. You must be something extraordinary for him to have fallen the way he has. And now I know how to strike at him. How to get him to his knees.”
“You’ll never win,” Nate snapped valiantly. “Villains were only made for one thing: to be defeated.”
“Wow,” Pyro Storm said, sounding really impressed. “Did you think of that all on your own?”
Nate nodded. “Yes.”
“That was pretty great. I can see why he likes you as much as he does.”
And then a voice growled, “You shouldn’t have touched him.”
“Shadow Star!” Nate gasped.
Because, yes, it was. Shadow Star had come.
He looked as amazing as he always did. He wasn’t as buff as Pyro Storm, and his costume wasn’t as obscenely tight, but he still was the most handsome Extraordinary that Nate had ever seen, even if he couldn’t actually see his face, given that it was hidden behind a black mask that covered his entire head except for his mouth. His costume glittered like a starry sky, and no matter what the haters said, it absolutely did not look like it was sequined. Instead, it was as if he were covered in tiny jewels.
Shadow Star had once pulled Nate close, and just when Nate was sure he was about to be kissed for the first time in his life, Shadow Star had turned and run, climbing up the side of a skyscraper quicker than Nate could follow.
But he was here, now, hanging off the spire across from Nate by one hand, his other hand a fist as it dangled toward the river hundreds of feet below. Shadows grew around him like they were sentient, thick bands of tentacled darkness that whipped back and forth. Nate wished he knew Shadow Star’s secret identity more than anything else.
“Ah,” Pyro Storm said, turning to face his greatest nemesis. “I see you got my message, Shadow Star.”
“I did,” Shadow Star said, his voice a deep rumble that made Nate shiver. “Though I’m sure the city would appreciate if you sent me a text instead of burning it into the side of the mayor’s office.”
“Had to make sure I’d get your attention,” Pyro Storm said.
“You have it, though I’m not sure you want it.” Shadow Star glanced at Nate. “You all right?”
Nate nodded. “I … I’m fine.”
“I’ll get you down.”
“That’d be nice.”
“I need to talk to you.”
Nate didn’t know if that was good or bad. “O … kay?”
Shadow Star stared intensely at him. Or, at least Nate thought he was staring intensely, given that he couldn’t actually see Shadow Star’s eyes. He wondered if they were blue. He hoped they were. A cerulean blue, like an exotic ocean. They were probably beautiful and hot and full of anguish and pain at the sight of Nate trapped by Pyro Storm.
“Wow,” Pyro Storm said. “You could totally cut the sexual tension out here with a knife. Are you guys soul mates? Because you seem like you’re soul mates.”
Shadow Star turned away, staring off into the distance, full of quiet angst and strength. “I don’t know if I can believe in love. I’ve been … hurt. In the past.”
Pyro Storm nodded. “Oh, I get that. It sucks, right? But sometimes, you have to move on from whatever hurt you in the past. Or whoever.”
“You don’t know what you speak of, villain,” Shadow Star said, clenching his fist. “It’s not as easy as you think it is. Loving someone whether they’re an Extraordinary or not only brings sorrow.”
Oh, the quiet power Shadow Star had. Nate’s stomach twisted painfully. “It’s worth it,” he said. “Because without love, we have nothing.”
Shadow Star glanced at him before looking away. “It’s not you, Nate. You have to know that. I don’t care that you have ADHD that you think makes your brain all screwy, or that you get terrible migraines. Even when you let your dad down last year with bad grades, I know you tried. You try. You try harder than anyone else I’ve ever met. It’s one of things I … I…” He shook his head. “Nate. I have so much to tell you. Things I should have told you long ago. But I’m scared of letting someone in, letting someone get close. To see the man behind the mask.”
“I see you,” Nate said fervently. “All of you, mask or not. Which is why I will do what I must to keep you safe.”
Pyro Storm was distracted as Shadow Star began his hero’s lament, saying that he’d ignored his heart since he’d learned they were made to be broken. Pyro Storm didn’t see that Nate had managed to get one of his arms free. He was up really, really high, but he wasn’t scared. Nothing scared him.