Page 14 of Villainous Greed

Holding up my hand, I materialized a blanket and piled a variety of food on top. “Are you guys hungry?”

All five of their mouths dropped in sync. Nova closed hers first as the others rushed forward.

“What is this?” Sofia held up the strawberry milkshake as she plopped down on the blanket.

“Try this, Nova!” Finn shouted as he shoved a chicken nugget in his mouth. “It tastes like a chicken.”

“It is chicken,” I informed him, then held my palm out to Nova. “I’ll take my payment now.” Her nose crinkled, so I pointed toward her hair. With a frown, she watched me warily as she reached up and untied her hair. I reveled in the way her black curls slowly fell. Her locks were in a constant state of frizz, and she’d probably never had the luxury of hair products. She had to pull the kinks out before handing me the hair tie. With a grin, I put it on my wrist with the other, thinking of the future. I pictured myself conditioning her hair and figuring out how to tame those curls for her.

“You’re a strange boy, August,” Nova said, as she sat down between Sofia and Cloud. “Be careful. Don’t get any on your clothes.” I frowned at her odd command. There were things I couldn’t help but notice. They wore the same worn and stained attire every day. I noticed Nova tried to keep the kids and their clothes clean by taking them to the river. The knowledge that they washed in the creek still blew my mind. As my chest tightened uncomfortably, I squeezed my fists at my sides.

I should steal them after all. Nova would forgive me in time. She’d understand once I got her out of those strange woods and away from the one that had her so fearful. He had to live around there too, though I saw no sign of life besides those five.

But… Nova said that her powers were trapped.With every encounter, I saw hate in her gaze. She had mistaken me for someone searching for her. I wasn’t the only one after her, and that instilled a certain rage unlike anything I’d felt before inside me. I felt the anger burning through my veins. A possessiveness lurked inside me. She was mine. To show her my caregiving abilities, I’d free her. Taking care of someone was new to me, but Grim had a reputation for adoring his wife. I was right there, front and center, witnessing their love. It’s within my power to give that to her. Showing her my love is something I can do.

That knowledge cooled my anger. Dropping to one knee beside Nova, I said, “Come away with me.”

She spat out the nugget. “What?”

“Come away with me,” I said again.

She flinched, sorrow drowning in her brownie-colored orbs. “You said you weren’t him.”

There she went again, mentioning one of the many that I planned to kill. “Tell me the names of those that are after you and the one that has you shackled,” I said, snatching her wrist where I felt the cold band beneath her long sleeve. “Make the list and I’ll rid of any that have hurt you or seek to harm you.”

“Derrick’s likely decades older than you!” Nova screeched. “That would be foolish.”

“You know nothing about my family; therefore, you know nothing about who I am. As a child of Grim, I’ve never been like others.” Our family had enemies. My siblings and I learnedhow to use a sword and use our powers more than we played. That Nova didn’t believe I could defeat the demon in the woods offended me.

“Why?” She tugged her arm away. I didn’t let her go as she tried yanking from my grip.

I pulled her hand closer. “Because you’re mine and no one touches what’s mine.”

Her top lip curled as she glared. “I belong to no one!”

I saw the glint in her chocolate orbs and knew I only had seconds to soothe her before she exploded one of my body parts. I tried rubbing my thumb over hers. “Being mine is not a bad thing. I can give you everything. Whatever your heart desires, I can give it.”

She stood and yelled, “I wish to belong to no one!”

I saw her lips move, the piercing throb inside my chest, then nothing.

Chapter Six

Nova

Derrick smacked Odin around that morning. His frustration grew each day the kids showed no promise of mastering the spells. He gave us more bread, complaining that we were getting too weak for the spells. That wasn’t the case. The kids nor I had never felt so energized. Derrick didn’t know we had been eating the last few days, and my stomach knotted imagining him finding out.

August was a fool. No one scared me more than Derrick. August didn’t realize who he was dealing with, so he kept coming back.

But… August was the first thing I thought of that morning when we woke. Would he be there that day? As we ventured to the river, I knew I wasn’t the only one thinking of the infuriating boy. Quiet Cloud asked if I thought August would keep coming.

I didn’t know the answer to his question, but Sofia responded, “As long as he has affection for Nova, August will come.” She bounced and laughed as we walked. I was envious of her nature, her cheerfulness, and the way she saw August as some sort of prince, like the ones in their stories. Those fairy tales were all they wanted to talk about at night. I had to scold them for fear ofDerrick overhearing. But they were good kids and listened to me after a stern lecture.

Unlike them, I saw the truth. Villains were the only thing that existed in our world. Someone must have given all the princes to the humans. Besides, I didn’t need anyone. What I needed was to be free. Then I could save all of us. I walked on a tightrope that threatened to break. If Derrick found out that it was me who withheld their powers… Or Hades help me. Derrick found out we were meeting someone at the edge of his boundaries. I shook the terrifying thought away.

August wasn’t in a tree that time. He appeared out of thin air in front of us instead. Sofia stumbled and fell while the boys held up their hands. When August quirked a brow, the four of them lowered their arms and smiled.

“I’m sorry Nova keeps killing you,” Sofia said while dusting off her butt.

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