Page 83 of Villainous Greed

Derrick threw out a wave of power at the brothers. The shield wobbled as his black magic ricocheted off it and slapped into the container beside them. Flames engulfed the metal instantly.

“Well, shit, it works,” Sebastian mumbled.

“You guys didn’t know if it would work?” Isabella’s voice rose higher with each word.

With a snarl, Derrick threw more magic at them. Each outcome was the same as before. When a fireball landed on the bed next to me, I grabbed the sheet and scrambled to my feet.But the sheet was on fire, so I dropped it. Derrick grabbed my wrist. “I don’t have time for this.”

I tried yanking out of his grip as he reached for his pocket. Hades! He was going to use a portal chip and run again before August could get close.

“August!” I screamed.

The shield dropped, and the loud clattering sound made my ears ring. No one was behind the shield. Snarling, Derrick lifted his hand and August ported in front of us, sword raised. The blade slashed into Derrick’s wrist, severing the hand. Blood spurted on my naked skin, and he screamed in agony.

August didn’t take any chances. He lifted his weapon again, severed Derrick’s other hand, and then kicked his feet out from under him. Derrick was on his knees, thrashing and screaming as August cupped his palm over his mouth. “Give me your fucking sock, Sebastian.”

“Why my sock?” Sebastian asked. Isabella was beside him.

“I need to keep his mouth shut, so he can’t cast any spells,” August said.

Blood puddled around Derrick and continued to drip. The warlock’s eyes rolled back in his head as he swayed. “What do you want to do?” August asked. “He won’t last much longer. I couldn’t risk him getting away this time or I would have left him more put together for you.”

I shook my head as tears filled my vision. “You made the right call.Thisis okay. I can’t hurt him until the band is off. Now, he has to wait to die. Derrick finally paid today for Finn, Odin, Cloud, and all the others who lost their lives.”

I gripped Derrick’s chin and when our eyes met, I said, “You’ll die knowing I was never yours. You’re dead because owningme was more important than your survival, even if you were a coward about it.”

I sucked in a breath as my immortality returned. August glanced at his chest, exhaling. I knew he felt it return because his eyes blackened completely while our enemy bled out between us.

When Derrick’s lifeless body fell to the ground, the surrounding flames died out instantly. The band on my wrist fell off, too.Freedom. Derrick could never hurt me or anyone again. My chest lightened.

“One enemy down,” August said right before his lips parted and he turned to Sebastian, who wore the same expression.

“What is it?” Isabella asked. “Why do both have the same odd expression on your faces?”

They both grinned, but it was August who said, “Nova, use my power. You know how Reapers can sense where people are. Doing so is how we track down the good and bad—yada, yada.”

I frowned. “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to think of Harvest and where he’s at,” August said.

Hope coursed through my veins, making me feel weightless. “You mean you know where he is?”

“When Derrick died, I think his concealments dropped,” Sebastian said, beaming.

“We fucking sense him.” August had a gremlin-like smile that kind of terrified me. “We know exactly where he’s at.”

“We can end this with Harvest,” I whispered, the words feeling too good to be true.

“Yes!” Sebastian replied. “Let’s get the family.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Nova

August’s siblings and their marked mates were prepared to fight Harvest. The only one who was getting left behind was Kitty. Grim wanted her with him and Melanie. I wasn’t positive since I hadn’t been around the family long, but they treated Kitty differently than the others. She seemed capable of taking care of herself, but they were making her stay behind.

Maybe they kept her in the woods because her marked mate was the Devil himself. I’d keep her locked away, too. Anything that created a being such as Harvest couldn’t be good. And Harvest seemed sure he could use Kitty to bait his creator. If Harvest could hurt the Devil through Kitty, she didn’t need to go with us.

Despite what I knew, I asked August why she received special treatment and he said, “Kitty’s the youngest. Everyone babies her.”

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