Page 30 of Payne's Envy

That name caught my attention. If we were correct in our assumption, Nova, another proxy, could be August’s marked mate.

“Give up on Nova,” Nadine said. “Harvest will never give that kind of power away.”

Instead of getting upset like I assumed he would, Derrick twitched with eagerness like a demon addicted to the witch’s brew. “So, Nova’s alive, buthow?”

“You’ll have August Reaper to thank for that.” Harvest, with his sizzling fiery hair, stepped out of the darkness like he’d been there all along with a small, cloaked figure beside him. “His immortality is her immortality.”

I pressed my back against the cave wall.

He glanced down at Nova, but she never met his gaze. She simply stared straight ahead. Was she looking at anything, or anyone in particular?

“So, don’t you understand?” Harvest continued. “As long as her mate is alive, she will never belong to you.”

Derrick cackled. “That won’t be a problem because I come bearing more than Grim’s daughter.”

“And what is that?” Harvest asked.

“The Reapers are randomly losing their powers.” Derrick glanced over his shoulder. “Not just one. All of them. And when they lose them, they lose everything, which makes them mortal during that time.” His lips curled up on one side as he spat near my boots.

“You really want to believe we’re losing our powers?” I blurted. “From this guy?” I jerked my head toward Derrick.

The flames on Harvest’s head grew higher. “Oh?” He placed his hands behind his back as he watched me. “Did you hear that, Nova? Revenge is finally within your reach. Your lover boy is becoming mortal.”

Oh, Hades!

It didn’t matter what I said. The idea of us losing our powers was every bad guy’s dream. But revenge? What did my brother do to Nova?

“Not all the time,” Derrick stated. “And the length is very limited. If we’re going to kill them, we might want to find out if there’s a pattern to when their powers—”

“No need for that,” Harvest interrupted. “If we attack often enough, one is bound to lose their powers at some point.”

“Harvest,” Nadine began. “A lot has fallen by the Reapers. I’m afraid you’ll lose followers if you treat them like…”

Harvest chuckled. “Who said anything about those weaklings? My beautiful creatures are thriving in the human world’s chaos. Isabella would be so happy if she saw how much I’ve progressed without her.”

It seemed the entity was still obsessed with Isabella. How delusional could one dude be when it came to a woman hating his entire existence?

“We can use my creations. They’ll be quite the headache for Reapers.”

I didn’t like the way Harvest eyeballed me as he spoke.

“You were at the human festival, right?” he asked. “When blood reign down the walls from the Devil’s wrath?”

I’d always wondered why the Devil had reacted the way he did that night.

Harvest walked toward me and dropped to one knee. “Are you her?”

“What?”

“You better hope you are, because you’re no use to me if I can’t get a reaction from him.”

Him?The Devil?

“What are you talking about? Reaction from who?” I asked as Harvest stood and walked away.

“What’s the point of saying anything at all when you’ll likely be dead soon enough?” Harvest let out a deep chuckle.

My heartbeat roared in my ears as despair climbed up my throat.

---