Page 15 of Villainous Greed

“Maybe one day Nova won’t want to.” August patted Sofia’s head while grinning at me. “Nova.”

I stiffened at the odd way his voice deepened when he spoke my name. “What?”

When August held out his hand, I knew what he wanted. With a grumble, I handed him my hair tie. “Why do you keep asking for that?”

“It’s the only thing you own I can take that I know won’t inconvenience you,” August informed me. “You’ve been wearing the same rags for days.”

My face heated. “I—”

“Why do you want to stay here?” August scowled. “Let me take off those disgusting shackles binding you to another person and get youallout of those filthy rags.”

My heart raced as he stepped forward.

“You can’t!” I screamed as he neared. My vision hazed as a memory resurfaced.

“Go on. Try to take them off.” Derrick lifted my arm and grinned at the restraints on my wrists. “I would never allow it to kill you. You’ve sought after death too much in your younger years for me to give you such an opportunity.” I flinched as he slid his finger up my arm. “It will only render you unconscious, but know this, Nova: Anyone who tries to take it off will explode and everyone within a mile radius will keel over from the magic that will pour out from our broken bonds. No one will sever our connection. No one.”

August snatched my wrist, bringing me back to the present, and I jerked free of him quickly. “And why not?”

“The bands have a spell that kills anyone who tries to take them off.”

His dark gaze seemed to twinkle as he smirked. “It’s a good thing I’m immortal, then.”

“That’s great,” I spat, then pointed at the others who watched us warily. “But what about them?”

His brows furrowed. “Boom, what kind of magic do those bands possess?” he asked, his brows furrowing.

I exhaled and dropped my head. “The worst kind. If taken off, it will detonate and kill everything around me.Butme.”

“How far do they need to be away from you?” he asked after a lengthy pause.

I tilted my head. He couldn’t possibly still be considering it, could he? “I’m not sure. Just really, really far.”

“They can hide in the woods. We can come and get them after I free you. Hell, I could fade you somewhere, so we are alone. No one will get hurt.”

A knot grew in the pit of my stomach, but my chest… I couldn’t deny the warmth, the temptation in his words. With those shackles gone, I could protect us. I could even get away from August, who I didn’t know if I could trust or not. With control of my powers, no one would dare touch us. Hades, I could kill Derrick like he had so wrongfully killed so many children.

But…

“Why are you doing this?” I questioned August. His dark stare roamed over me, and I closed my eyes. I already knew, but I wanted a different answer. If there was someone, anyone. Ineededsomeone to help us because we were worth saving. Not because they wanted to own me next.

“Because…” August grabbed my chin and lifted. All I could feel was the helplessness from a few days ago when Derrick had done the same thing.

Stumbling back, my voice shook. “Don’t touch me like that ever again.”

His mouth parted as his eyebrows raised. “Nova…?”

“You’re all the same,” I whispered.

August’s forehead crinkled. “Are youcomparingme to someone else?” When I didn’t answer, his mouth twisted. “I’m not the one that has you shackled.”

“Then don’t touch me like that! Ever. I don’t want to be touched. By you. Or him. No one,” I seethed as I gripped my fists.

The whites of August’s eyes blackened as his jaws tightened. “He… touched what’smine?”

With sagging shoulders, I mouthed. “Boom.”

August gasped, eyes widening before he hit the dirt.

---