Chapter Sixteen

Nova

Grim’s woods were an odd place. A fake world with even more fake colors. If Sofia had been alive, would she believe those woods were a part of her fairy tale stories? The beauty of the place instilled my fury. So, August grew up there. How nice.

Lifting my hands, I sent out threads of decay beneath my fingertips. The ruin was immediate, pouring out of me like a disease. I thought of how awful I felt rotting alone with my thoughts for decades. I wished for those woods to look as I had felt. The effects of my magic were instant.

Blackness covered the ground, erasing the weirdly colored grass. It raced up the trees, deteriorating them. The magic moved ten times faster than I walked. Within minutes, the rot destroyed miles of lush forest. But it wasn’t enough.

Lifting my arms above my head, I uprooted the dead trees and sent them flying in every direction . Not enough! I needed more. I couldn’t see Grim’s castle from where I stood. There was still so much of August’s world left. I wanted a clear view of my destination.

“ Don’t leave those woods until the Reapers are dead.”

At Harvest’s command, a dozen dragons poured out of a portal in the sky. They roared, and the dragons in Grim’s woods roared back, but his beasts stood no chance against Harvest’s creations. The Reapers fought them anyway.

Sebastian and Isabella appeared before me. I stopped and cocked my head as the two glared at me.

“Without your cloak, I know exactly who you are,” Sebastian murmured as he tucked Isabella behind him. “From the state of the woods, I’m guessing you’re not here to be friendly. Don’t kill the creatures that live here. They have no part in this.”

“ When August appears, kill him before he speaks ,” Harvest instructed telepathically.

“Nova.” Isabella stepped beside Sebastian.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Sebastian told her.

“Harvest forced me to do things. Things I remember, most I don’t.” Isabella took a step toward me. “I see the band on your arm. You’re trapped by Harvest, right? We can help.”

I could see the sweat beading on Sebastian’s forehead as she continued walking closer. He had every reason to be fearful for his mate.

“From the looks of your torn and bloody dress, you’ve been fighting,” Sebastian stated. “It wouldn’t have been with my dear brother, would it?”

“Are you scared for him?” I asked.

Sebastian clenched his jaws. “What have you done?”

“I’m guessing every Reaper is here to battle the onslaught of dragons.”

I just needed four of August’s family members, though. Four was the number I lost.

“Sebastian!” Isabella shouted. “Come help me remove the bands. I can’t touch—”

I grabbed her left wrist, and she shrieked as her black magic traveled beneath her skin like snakes. “You share the same blackness as Harvest.” I stared at her skin, knowing her fate would have been mine if not for August. August’s essence woven through me thrived with my magic and shielded me from Harvest’s blackness back then. It infuriated Harvest and caused him to kill us. Another reason to latch onto my anger.

“Your deadly touch will have no power with me,” I warned.

Isabella’s smile finally waned as she leveled her stare with mine. “This darkness inside me is no longer his. It belongs to me now.”

“The darkness won’t protect you from me,” I said as I sent magic up her arm. The dark magic wiggling beneath her skin hissed as if my power was killing them. Isabella screamed, and Sebastian made his move. Before he could get close, I swept out my arms and sent the lovers flying. Isabella’s tiny body smacked into a tree. Sebastian went right, traveling out of sight.

“ Don’t touch her ,” Harvest warned. “ After you kill them, bring her to me, along with Kitty .”

That was one command I would try to fight when the time came. I knew what it felt like being chained to Harvest. Maybe Isabella would prefer to die, like me, rather than being stuck beside him. I wouldn’t put that fate on anyone. It would be easier for me to end her instead of handing her over.

A roar shook the ground. Glancing up, I saw the massive flamed dragon peering down at me. No wonder Joy’s mate freed her that day. I’d seen nothing like him before. In the end, it didn’t matter how strong he was. My attack would come from within. I thought of an explosion right inside his pounding heart. He squawked loudly. As his body descended rapidly, Harvest’s dragons pounced on him like vultures. I stepped away, so I wouldn’t get caught in the melee.

A long, wingless dragon blocked my path. The green scales and the essence woven around the creature was a clue to who it was.

Joy Reaper.

Just like her human appearance, her dragon was regal. But when I saw her swollen stomach, I froze. Was Joy pregnant? Since Harvest pulled me out of the cell, I’d done heinous things, mostly to humans. I destroyed many people that day in New York City. I didn’t want to imagine the number of women and children. Yet, I wouldn’t strike Joy down. Not with her being pregnant. Not even to hurt August.

Sofia and the others would cry enough if they saw me. I tried so hard to protect them, only to become… It didn’t matter in the end what they would think of me. They were dead.

When Joy ran toward me, I forced her to the dirt with a spell. “Bound to the ground. You may not move until I release you.”

She roared and disappeared. I kept forgetting they could do that. I would need to strengthen the spell when she tried attacking again.

And Joy struck again, but I strengthened the power of my words when I chanted the second time. She roared as she thrashed against my spell.

My stomach churned. How could I carry out my mission and save Joy while also keeping Isabella from Harvest? Which four siblings would I sacrifice for my revenge? My stomach cramped more.

I sensed another Reaper approaching. Creating a magical shield around me, I narrowly avoided the red-tinged scythe. Barron glared at me through my protective bubble and said, “We meet again. Don’t think I forgot what you guys did to Gwen.”

I didn’t play a part in killing Barron’s human mate, despite what he may think. But I had done much worse. I flicked my wrist and sent him sailing as he swung his scythe. My bubble rippled from the attack, then again when another hit came from behind me.

“I don’t care if you’re August’s mate!” a female seethed as she beat her blades into my shield. “I remember what you did to the human world and what you did to Jack. He forgot about me because of you. ”

Maureen Reaper.

I was indeed responsible for that one. Not that I had an option. Not that it mattered. I kept telling myself that nothing mattered anymore. I stood in those woods without a choice, even as I convinced myself it made me feel better to hurt the Reapers. Doing so would upset August. But their faces, so twisted with fury and hatred, chipped away at my insides. I was what Harvest wanted me to be. I became what I despised, and I could do nothing about it.

Straightening my spine, I sent Maureen flying next, only for Barron and Sebastian to return together. They weren’t talking. They must have realized it wouldn’t help. Instead, they were trying to destroy my shield. I let them try for a few minutes before I sent out a wave of magic to knock them off their feet.

I would be there a while if they didn’t become mortal soon. Again, it didn’t matter. They might be immortal, but I was almighty. August had freed most of my power. I felt infinite. I glanced down at my wrist as Maureen, Barron, and Sebastian beat their weapons over my shield. With a thought, I could blow them to pieces and yet, they wouldn’t relent. They kept trying. I swallowed and wondered. Was I strong enough to yank the last two bands off?

Although my shield cracked from their attacks, I continued staring at my wrist. The second I reached for the bands, Harvest’s protective spell threw me out of my barrier. I gasped. Pain exploded in my head as I smacked into a large tree. Fire ripped up my spine. I thought I had destroyed everything in those woods. I needed to send out more decay.

Why did I attempt to take them off? I knew what awaited me if I didn’t kill August. If I didn’t die, I’d spend many years locked away until Harvest grew tired of what I could do for him.

The loud ringing in my ears discombobulated me for too long. Something sharp pressed against my throat. I opened my eyes to see Barron holding his scythe against my neck. Jackal appeared behind Maureen, who stood beside her brothers, Sebastian and Barron. They glared at me.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Sebastian asked.

“You lost in la-la-land?” Barron questioned.

“She was trying to take the bands off,” Isabella answered somewhere in the distance. “Remove them, Sebastian.”

And he did something I didn’t expect. He yanked at one of them.

“Wait!” I shouted.

It was too late. An explosion caught Sebastian, Maureen, and Barron. I screamed as I cupped my severed limb. Sebastian lost his hand, too, but Maureen and Barron caught some of the explosion on their stomachs.

“ Return to me. ” The pain of my severed hand was nothing compared to the terror I felt at Harvest’s command.

“No!” I stumbled into the tree as my chest heaved.

“Channel August’s power,” Maureen muttered. “You’ll heal faster. Hades, what am I saying?”

I dug my fingernails into the bark of the tree while blood poured from my missing limb. The compulsion to use my portal chip and do as Harvest said ripped through me like a blade. But I resisted.

“Even if I am free from Harvest, I will still kill you,” I said.

“No, you won’t.”

I turned toward the newcomer’s voice. She was a witch. Beside her were August’s parents.

Almost the entire family came out to greet me.

The ringing in my ears intensified. The insistent knocking of Harvest’s command pressed inside my skull. Wincing, I closed my eyes.

“Fight it, Nova,” the witch said.

How could she know that a battle raged within me?

I scoffed and sent the siblings flying. Barron’s scythe nicked my skin as he moved.

“Fight it,” the witch said again, enraging me more.

The pounding in my skull grew worse. Blood spewed from my nose and mouth. I coughed up the coppery liquid as my vision blurred.

“What’s wrong with her?” a woman asked.

“ Return to me!” Harvest screamed.

My remaining hand twitched.

“Take her portal chip!” the witch shouted. How could she know? It was like she was trying to save me. No, she was just trying to keep me from escaping. “I don’t know how long she can resist his command.”

Hades, she knew. She had sight.

“ Now! ” Harvest’s voice thundered in my head.

“As soon as her wrist grows back enough to see the last band yank it off,” the witch ordered. “Where is August?”

My heart pounded against my ribcage.

“ I’ll come get you myself!” Harvest shouted.

The longer I resisted, the pain intensified. My head felt like someone kept hitting it with a hammer, and I could barely see.

I could, however, see August appearing before me. He looked at me, then glared at his family. “What have you done?”

August yelled at his family… for me. He must know why I went there. I didn’t understand why I wanted to weep actual tears instead of blood when I saw him, either.

My other hand formed again, but it was as if my limbs crawled with bugs. My hands moved on their own, and I swallowed nervously as my fingers roamed. No matter how much I resisted, my body was disobeying me at Harvest’s command. I reached for the portal chip in my dress pocket. My eyes widened as I stared at August stalking toward me.

“August, don’t get any closer to her,” his mother screeched.

There was something I never told Harvest. I felt a change in me when the Reapers became mortal. I sensed it within me every time they lost their powers, and yet I never said a word. The yellow tinge to my essence would fade and a gut-wrenching emptiness would hit me. It must be because I was mortal, too, when it happened. It couldn’t be that I felt hollow without the only connection to August severed.

That emptiness was inside me again as August ignored his mother. He didn’t stop moving until he towered over me. He grabbed hold of my hand before it could reach the portal chip.

“I got you,” he said, voice soft.

“ Mortal .” Harvest laughed. “ Looks like I don’t need you after all.”

My throat burned. August smiled. Why did the fool smile?

“Harvest comes,” I told him.

August nodded. “I’ll free you.”

“You’re mortal.” I had to point it out. “I could kill you all right now.”

“You have something to save Nova, don’t you, Melinda?” August asked without taking his focus off me.

“Yes. Just a single healing elixir,” the witch responded.

“You’re never going to look at me with anything more than distrust,” August murmured, eyes glassy as he rubbed his fingers over mine. “No matter how much I think about it. I don’t understand why that is when you’re the one—”

The stabbing pains in my head were nothing compared to the lies August continued to spew. “Lie to me one more time, and I’ll blow you to pieces.”

“If you truly wanted to end me, you’ve had a good minute to do so. I refuse to live another second without you, Nova. I have mourned you long enough.”

When I felt my nostrils flare, his fingers tightened over mine.

“I’m not lying about the past, and I don’t think you are, either. I think we’re missing something, don’t you?”

“Don’t fool me,” I whispered. “I am tired.”

“I know you are. Me too, but if killing me gives you peace, then so be it. Because I know what it feels like to mourn you. This time, you can weep for me. I’ll have you or die.”

“You pigheaded man,” I muttered. “How dare you talk to me about mourning? You know what I lost.”

“If I had known you were alive, Nova, I would have saved you sooner. If nothing else, please believe that.” He dragged his hand up to my final binding, and I inhaled sharply. “I’m going to ask one thing from you, gorgeous. Protect my family, please? You’re the only one who can right now. Save them the way I wanted to save our family.”

August yanked Harvest’s last hold over me. The pain left my head instantly and exploded in my arm instead. No matter how many times it happened, I trembled. Blood squirted everywhere. August was missing half his arm too, but he never made a peep. He stood there, smiling at me as he bled out.

I swayed, remembering again that he and I were mortal. As August’s family gathered around him, Barron ripped off his shirt and placed it over August’s elbow to stop the bleeding.

Melinda stopped in front of me, holding out a small pink vial. “Drink it.”

“Do you have one for August?” Maureen asked.

“Hush, Maureen,” August muttered.

“Give it to him,” I said as I cupped my stump.

August pushed his family aside, grabbed the vial from Melinda, and shoved it into my hand. “If I live, let’s discover what happened in the past together, okay?”

My nose burned, and my eyes watered. Turning before anyone could see, I snatched the vial and drank it up. August fell to his knees before me. My lungs felt like they were locking up as I saw the amount of blood still pouring from his wound. I scowled at the witch, about to order her to do something, but she already was. A soft, white power drifted from her open palm as she held it over him.

“I can stop the blood by freezing your arm, but you’re going to lose it if I do.”

August sighed as he swayed, smirking at Melinda. “So, that’s what you meant when you said I’d lose something, huh?”

“Even when our powers return, his arm won’t grow back?” August’s mother asked.

Melinda nodded.

When August’s eyes fluttered and his face whitened, I made the choice for him. “Just do it. Stop the bleeding before he dies. He doesn’t need the arm to grow back. He’s probably had a lot of limbs grow back over his lifetime.”

“Stop the bleeding,” August said. “My mate must want me alive, after all.”

“Is that what you think?” I cocked my head to the side as my hand grew back. The witch’s healing elixir worked quickly. “Maybe I plan to do something truly heinous to you.”

“Yes, please.” August groaned as his eyes rolled back.

My body heated from top to bottom at the sound. What a weird man.

“Fuck. He’s going to pass out,” Sebastian muttered.

“Nova…” August slurred right as a portal opened in the sky and more dragons poured out.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let Harvest do to your family what he did to mine.” I meant every word. We couldn’t rewrite the past. But that didn’t mean I could continue to hurt people because I was hurting. Sofia would be so ashamed if she knew the things I’d done.

I was free. I could do anything. The Reapers were at my mercy if I wished. A choice truly changed everything.

“They were my family, too. You’re still my family.”

I turned away from August as he spoke. Could there truly be more to the past than what I knew? Hades. I was a fool in August’s presence. After everything, I still wanted to search for a reason to believe him.

Harvest ported in front of me. He finally arrived.