Page 67 of Villainous Greed

“You idiot,” Maureen muttered at Barron. “It’s because you opened it for her once already.”

“Fuck.” Barron cursed.

“Don’t look at it,” I instructed Gwendolyn. “The pull to go inside will be harder if you do.”

“It’s already hard,” Gwendolyn cried. “Barron, I don’t want to leave.”

“Stay, okay?” Barron whispered. “Just hang on. Our powers will come back any minute.”

His words could be a lie for all we knew.

“Please, I don’t want to go!” Gwendolyn’s feet left the ground. “I’m scared.”

“Holy shit,” Payne said. “It’s going to pull her in.”

“I can’t shut it!” Nova yelled, lifting her hands toward it. “I’m trying to explode it or crush it, but nothing is working.”

Barron, Joy, Kitty, and Maureen kept trying to grab Gwendolyn, but without our powers, we couldn’t touch a ghost. Tears streaked down Barron’s face, and he was screaming unintelligible things.

My chest felt hollow as I watched it unfold. I didn’t want to see Barron lose Gwendolyn. I knew what kind of torture that was.

The flow of power and essence ripped through me. A collective gasp slipped through the room. Gwendolyn fell to the ground on her belly. Her black cloak replaced the hospital gown as the portal closed. Barron scooped her up, and I couldn’t make sense of what either of them said. We all fell to the ground with them.

As I reached out to pat Gwendolyn’s back, Nova scooted on her knees beside me and gripped my mechanical arm, which I could move again thanks to my returned powers.

While I was relieved Gwendolyn didn’t go through the vortex, I knew our powers would disappear again. And when they did, we would be helpless to stop Gwendolyn’s fate. As my brother crushed his mate to his chest, I believed he realized that too.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nova

I didn’t understand. Harvest and Derrick missed an opportunity to attack. Since my release, Harvest and his dragons hadn’t visited Grim’s woods. Harvest was unaware that the Reapers have lost their powers since he stopped sending his dragons. It should have been reassuring, but the lack of knowledge about Harvest’s plans was unsettling.

Derrick could hide in the woods, watching everything unfold, and waiting for a moment to grab me.He was excellent at hiding, and why Harvest used Derrick’s skills to conceal his hideouts. Derrick could very well be in the room with August and me…

The thought sent a shudder through me. I examined August’s room like the warlock might appear suddenly.Strength didn’t matter in the Underworld. It was easy for anyone to be surprised, especially if they were unaware of what to expect. August plopped on the bed beside me, pulling a blanket over my shoulders. “Cold?” he asked.

“Just unsettled,” I admitted. “The inactivity from Harvest and Derrick bothers me.”

The veins in August’s neck jumped. “Harvest is planning something.”

“He’s always planning something.”

August sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Before I lost you the first time, there were so many places I wanted to take you. I wanted to show you some beaches in the human world. All I could think about was giving you the peace you so desperately deserved with Sofia and the boys.”

A sharp pang hit my chest. I hadn’t reached out to Sofia since I saw her when I needed to. While I had been glad to see her alive, I had been envious of her living with August. She had lived in comfort with August’s protection. I spent so long trying to despise August. No wonder it was so hard to truly hate him. My mate had never been my enemy. And I missed Sofia and needed to learn how to build a friendship with her again.

Seeing Barron nearly lose his mate helped me realize I could lose August, too. He could fade away, and I might die. If that happened, would he know I was grateful? Would he know I loved him back then and didn’t regret putting my trust in him? I only regretted falling for Harvest’s scheme.

“There’s nothing for me to show you anymore,” August went on. “Very little of the human world is left untouched by the end. I could make you a new world—like, how my dad created these woods.I could bring to life whatever you wanted when this is over. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be mine. Now I realize it would be cruel to claim you when you’ve always been bound by another. But it’s a different circumstance. For I’m yours as much as you’re mine.”

He lifted my chin and his dark gaze felt like it was penetrating my soul with his intensity.

“That doesn’t make me the same as our enemies, does it?” he asked.

My body melted from his honest words. “I understand more and more of what I didn’t before.” Shame crept in with what I was about to admit. “You living a life with a harem—”

“Nova…”

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