Page 29 of Villainous Greed

Harvest shoved Derrick with a curse. Harvest prowled back and forth, smacking jars and bowls off one of his tables. He cooked up a lot of weird things and creatures, no matter what hideout we were in. The creatures he brought to life with dead body parts shouldn’t be possible. I fought the urge to shudder as a glass of eyeballs shattered on the ground right beside me. Several of the eyes rolled until they hit the tip of my boots.

“Payne found Joy, so…” Harvest stopped, then glanced at me, and groaned. “It seems your lover boy has finally figured out who you are, Nova? Does that make you happy?”

I said nothing. August Reaper didn’t care about me. Why would he bother if I was his marked mate? He had to know I’d kill him for tricking me so long ago if he come for me.

Derrick’s top lip curled in disgust. “August is coming for Nova?”

“She’s the only reason I would think he’d be able to find us,” Harvest replied.

Derrick shouted, “We got to do something! I don’t want him near her.”

Harvest chuckled. “I’ll do nothing, but Nova will.” Beneath my mask, I frowned as Harvest smirked. “I don’t wish to leave you alone. You’re valuable, Nova, but you’re also strong enough to kill August. You’ll stay behind and meet him. This is my command. You won’t return to my side until August Reaper is dead. This is good news for you, isn’t it? I killed you and your friends that day because he refused to help you little fools.”

My throat burned as I fisted my hands at my sides. Harvest loved that game. He knew exactly how to anger me. Yes, I’d love to hurt August. I’d love to hurt them all, but I didn’t want to do it because Harvest provoked me. In the end, I would because he said it as a command. And since August was immortal, I wouldn’t be able to do my job until his power malfunctioned. That could take a while or not long at all.

“No,” Derrick said. “I’ll stay and help her.”

“Nice attempt, but no. You need to re-stabilize the barriers as two of my hideouts became compromised in minutes.”

“You can’t let August near her!” Derrick unraveled so quickly. As he got in Harvest’s face, I assumed Derrick must have a death wish.

Harvest surprised me by laughing again. “This is so fun. Come, Derrick. While I’d love to witness Nova killing her soulmate, I’d rather avoid being caught in their fight if August summons the entire family.When I meet the Reapers, it will be on my terms.”

When Derrick continued to seethe, Harvest arched a brow. “Isn’t this good news? When she kills August, she won’t be his soulmate anymore. You should want that, warlock, if you plan to have her yourself.”

Derrick examined me from head to toe, taking a deep breath before settling. The disgust rolling through me had my stomach churning. More than anything, I wished I could pulverize those two. Discussing my fate as if I were an object instead of a person.

“Aren’t you worried he will…” Derrick didn’t finish.

“He’ll what? Seduce her? Sway her?” Harvest chuckled. “Yes, Nova will hold hands with the one person who could have helped her that day but chose not to.” I flinched, unable to hide the reaction, which made Harvest laugh harder. “If she does such a thing, she is a fool. Besides, with those shackles all over her, she can only do what I say. So, be a good girl, Nova. Stay here and kill August, then return to me.”

Chapter Thirteen

Nova

Harvest had to give me access to my powers if he wanted me to help with his destruction. But he made sure I couldn’t do anything to harm myself. I couldn’t tear my body apart with a spell. That would be the easiest way to get the shackles off me, but there was no way he’d allow that. He didn’t give me full access to my power, either. Just enough to hurt people.

In their hurry to leave, Harvest had made a mess of his things. Harvest had scattered books, potions, and odd jars of body parts at my feet. He had taken a couple of things with him. He mounted chains to the rocks where he had experimented with demons. Streaks of red, black, purple, and green covered the area. A birdlike demon’s corpse was decaying on the wall to my right. I couldn’t smell it. I wondered how much my senses have dulled beneath that mask. Or was I so accustomed to blood and death I no longer smelled it?

August was coming. A part of me believed he was tracking Harvest and would go after him instead of continuing to that cave where I was. I didn’t like the idea of him searching for me. A strange heat gathered on my skin. It must be anger. Yes. Maybe he would be as furious as me to learn I was his marked mate.Maybe he’d be mad I was alive like I was too. He’d soon wish I was. Since I had the chance, I would seize the opportunity to put an end to one of the three who had wronged me. Not only had August played me for a fool, but he had also given those kids hope and crushed it. They died never knowing his deceit, which was good, because I didn’t want to imagine that day being any worse for them. I’d carry the knowledge and end him. The moment his power disappeared; August Reaper was dead.

My hands trembled, and I was sure it was because I couldn’t wait to kill him. But my heart quickened, and my mouth tasted like I’d swallowed fur. Glancing around, I wondered how I should wait. It had been a few minutes since Harvest left. If August was still there, he’d arrive any minute…

I could hide, camouflage myself into the wall, and blow him into bits when he walked by. Hiding wasn’t my style, though. It was Derrick’s. So I stood and waited.

The Reapers could materialize themselves at will without a portal chip. August could appear from any direction, I reminded myself.

At the first pull of energy behind me, I didn’t move. The power that rippled off August when we were kids had always made it easy for me to spot him out in the woods. No matter where he waited for us, I could sense him. It seemed time changed nothing. The amount of power he carried as he aged was downright overwhelming. It was like the cave walls were closing in on me, but it was just his presence.

I heard a sharp intake of breathrightbehind me. The hairs on my arms stood on end. August was too close. The cave was so quiet I heard the swish of his cloak, and my heart went into a frenzy. He planned to attack first. I didn’t think so! Without aword or movement, I sent a blast of my magic out right as there was a tug on my hood.

The impact of my explosion rang in the air. I turned, grabbing my hood to make sure it was still on my head. I saw his cloak first and the blood dripping on the ground. The cloak had no damage, but I always attacked from the inside. August knew that, and yet he hadn’t moved. I looked up because he was so tall. There was a strange tightening in my chest the minute I really, truly let myself see August. The man was smiling! I didn’t know what I expected, but it was not that.

“You didn’t say boom.” I didn’t expect that to be the first thing he said, either. Nor did I expect him to look so… disheveled. His beard was unkempt, eyes bloodshot, and the dark circles beneath were fierce. I wouldn’t expect an immortal to look so haggard. Maybe Harvest was scaring them after all.

“You’ve gotten taller. That’s good, but you’re still tiny,” he said, gaze roving over me.

I frowned beneath my mask. August stood there, talking about my height as if what—we werefriends? He showed me the truth that day about who he was. Breathing deeply, I sent out another explosion, but he disappeared before the blast went off. I spun around, searching for him. I didn’t sense him until he was upon me. The same tug of my hood had me twisting around to send another blast. He was gone again.

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