Page 44 of Payne's Envy

Maureen burst into tears as she wrapped her arms around us. Honestly, she cried louder than all of us.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Joy

Heavy footfalls thudded in the distance.

“Where is she?” August asked.

“Kitchen. Mom made her some chili,” Maureen replied.

It sounded like they were in the hall.

The door banged against the wall, and Mom’s kitchen cabinets rattled, causing her to exhale loudly. August scowled at the doorway until his gaze landed on me. Before he could step in, Barron faded and shoved him backward. Barron tried to keep a step ahead, but August wasn’t having it, which led to a lot of pushing and shoving. It was comical watching them try to fit through the entrance at the same time.

“Are you serious?” August muttered.

“Move,” Barron shouted.

Sebastian faded in front of them. Seconds later, my eldest brother scooped me up. “Let me see you.”

A large hand slapped over Sebastian’s face, and he let go of me. Barron shoved him like he had been doing to August.

“Barron—”

Barron didn’t let Sebastian finish. “Who? Where? Need to know right now.”

“We’re going to need to know how bad they need to suffer and how many we have to kill,” August added, looming over me.

My brothers towered over me as they fussed.

“Boys!” Mom yelled. “Let her eat. She hasn’t done so in days.”

They backed away and looked me over from head to toe.

“Are you okay?” August finally asked.

Exhaling, I said, “I’m lucky is what I am.” Picking up my spoon, I eyed the chili, but couldn’t muster a bite. “I’m lucky that Payne can sense me when we’re apart. The chains that Harvest bound me with concealed my powers and my essence.”

An enormous lump formed in my throat just mentioning Payne, and I sniffed.

“So, Payne’s a dragon, huh?” Sebastian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I mean, we all guessed it at one point because of his closeness with the dragons in the woods. We gave up the thought of him being a shapeshifter since he never sprouted wings and flew.”

“Does that matter? He brought Joy home.” August must have noticed my reluctance to eat because he scooted the bowl closer to me. “Tell us what you went through, Joy. Don’t hold back, either. We need to make Harvest’s followers hurt like you did.”

That was the thing. I was hurt and confused, but the torture at the hands of Harvest and Nova wasn’t what bothered me. It was the fact that Ryan was still in the woods, fighting his son as if that could jog Payne’s memories. Plus, my father hid something from me and forced Payne out of the woods.

Would Payne ever return to normal?

“She’s pale.” Barron leaned far too close, making the other two insufferable brothers do the same. “You’re pale,” he repeated.

“All right. Back away from her!” Mom snapped, and they took a step back.

I did a double take when I noticed August’s haggard appearance. He already looked rough when we fought Harvest’s flaming abomination in the human world. The bags under his eyes and the messy beard were new and unsettling. August always prided himself on his appearance.

“Hades, August, you look awful,” I said. “Are you sure you weren’t the one kidnapped?”

Barron and Sebastian glanced at him.

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