Chapter Seventeen

Nova

A few yards ahead, Harvest smirked. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face beneath the mask.” He tipped his chin up as he looked at someone behind me. The flames on his head heightened. “Isabella…”

“Don’t fucking talk to her!” Sebastian yelled.

A roar echoed through the woods. The ground shook beneath my boots as Joy’s mate tore through the trees. Since they were already brittle from my decaying magic, the trees turned to ash as his massive wings plowed through them.

Harvest turned slowly. “It’s a shame you’ve broken free, Nova. Just one little blast of yours to Payne’s heart and he’d die. His hide is impenetrable.”

From the glint in Harvest’s eyes, he didn’t appear worried as Payne roared and rushed forward.

“But my creations are getting closer and closer to matching him,” Harvest said.

Joy, still bound by my magic, whined behind me.

Payne closed in on Harvest, mouth stretched wide. Payne’s snout snapped together right as Harvest disappeared.

“Isabella, help me put up a barrier!” Melinda shouted.

I turned to face them, glancing left, then right. Where would Harvest go? Where would he attack? Who would he go for first?

“Move!” Barron shouted. He shoved me aside right as I sensed Harvest’s eerie presence. I stumbled backward as Barron unsheathed a sword. Harvest also materialized a sword, and their blades clanked together. Barron parried left, then swung again.

Payne stomped his giant dragon feet, making the ground shake. Before he could get any closer to Harvest, several of Harvest’s dragons dove for the Reapers. Payne roared and took off after one. I glanced at the rotted beasts. One hovered above me and two flew in from the right. I exploded their hearts before they could reach the barrier Isabella and Melinda had erected around the mortal Reapers.

When Harvest materialized another sword behind Barron, I pushed against Harvest’s power. The floating blade shook and rattled in a battle between my magic and Harvest’s power. I shoved the sword and sent it flying. Harvest glared, and I beamed.

“Move,” I said to Barron as I threw him aside with a wave of magic. “I don’t know what I’m capable of. Stay back.”

I never thought I would get the chance to find out just what I can do.

“Are you really protecting them?” Harvest laughed. “Did you forget what August did?”

“I’ll never forget what he didn’t do,” I said as I fisted my hands. “Just like I’ll never forget who killed us that day. You dared coming here knowing I’m free.” I lifted my arms, letting my magic crackle from my fingertips. “You’re immortal, so that means there is no limit to how many times I can hurt you, right? You would know about killing someone for pleasure. It’s my turn to see if I might enjoy ruining you.”

As I pulled at the magic inside me, my stomach felt like I swallowed fire. The burn was good. I tapped into my full potential, but it was painful. Using my magic never throbbed before, and I wondered if that was because of August. Perhaps I channeled his power all that time to use mine.

The ground shook as the burning intensified. Trees, untouched by my decay, ripped from the ground and swirled in the sky. The ground came next. Huge chunks of dirt floated, too . I kept pulling and pulling from Grim’s world, plucking and destroying what was once beautiful and different. But I thought the chaos was marvelous. Look at what I can do.

I was at the center, staring up at the destruction.

The air stirred, causing a thunderous crackle. Soon, everything spun around me. My tattered dress whipped around my legs.

In the distance, I saw my enemy. The flames on Harvest’s head were gone. He lifted his hands and laughed. “You’re destroying Grim’s home. Beautiful,” Harvest said in awe. “You’ve always known how to destroy, Nova.”

“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” I agreed. “I am free.”

His smile waned. I sent my magic out toward him, seeking to trap. He clutched his pants pocket right as I ripped into him with an explosion. The entity never screamed, but he stumbled and reached forward as his portal chip floated in the air away from him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked, my voice dropping an octave.

I imagined holding the chip between my hands, then I slammed my palms together. The chip shattered to bits right in front of him as I magically destroyed it.

Pain ripped into my chest, and I coughed up blood. The agony was so intense it was all I could focus on for a second.

Harvest cocked his head. “Lover boy is still dying. I’d be careful if I were you, Nova. You’ll kill yourself trying to use your magic. Proxies die trying to use the power they have. They risk their lives by using too much magic, as their frail mortal bodies cannot handle it.”

As if anything he said would stop me. I’d been waiting forever for the opportunity to hurt Harvest.

Wiping the blood from my lips, I threw enormous chunks of Grim’s woods at him. All I heard was the static of the winds, but through my magic, I sensed bones snapping. Jaws tightened painfully, but I kept crushing Harvest. More trees and dirt clunked together, forming a ball around Harvest.

It’s not enough.

Somehow, I had to seal him away. If I didn’t, he’d revive and escape.

Liquid seeped from my nose. I coughed and coughed as the burning seared my lungs.

“Easy, Nova.” August’s mom grabbed my shoulder. “August asked you to protect us. Not die for us.”

I shrugged out of her grip as my vision blurred. “I’m not doing this for you.”

“You and August want answers about the past, don’t you? Remember that, at least, before you kill yourself,” she added.

“You’re not afraid of death,” Melinda said. “But it would be a shame for you to leave this world not knowing the truth.”

What truth? What could be truer than what I saw and experienced?

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

August’s words from earlier pierced my thoughts.

“If I live, let’s discover what happened together, okay?”

My lips trembled, and I shook my head as if that would erase his voice inside my head. But I knew better. He’d lived inside my dreams and nightmares for a century. I couldn’t rid myself of the immortal. Honestly, the idea of him tricking me again hurt worse than the pain engulfing my insides.

And yet…

I glanced back at August. He appeared unconscious as his chest rose and fell. Annoying, infuriating man! I screamed my frustrations before looking back at the boulder I had formed around Harvest. Swaying, blood squirted from my nose, and I fell to my knees. There was no way I could keep him trapped. I was pushing myself, but when would the Reapers’ powers return? If I had August’s power, I might have been able to channel more of my magic and turn the boulder into a chamber around Harvest.

The idea of Harvest being imprisoned by me made my lips twitch. He would be furious.

Even with my waning strength, I sensed the moment Derrick entered the woods. Like Harvest and August, I couldn’t forget his aura. It was engrained in me from the past. Stumbling to my feet, my vision worsened, and I heard several of August’s siblings yelling. The sound was pure agony. My gut twisted through the hurt and I looked back—

“I won’t let him live,” Derrick said, bent over an unconscious August. “I’ll come for you soon, Nova.” Before my explosion could hit him, Derrick ported away.

I saw the dagger buried in August’s chest, and time stood still.

My lungs hurt, my ears rang, and my throat stung as I stumbled toward August. His family was in hysterics, touching his arms and shaking him. No, no, no. I dropped to my knees beside them, trying to make sense of the crying and screaming. Stop it!

“Do something,” I whispered.

The others continued chattering and crying, and then someone yanked the dagger from his chest.

“Do something!” I grabbed someone’s cloak and shook. “Help him. Help him, or I’ll kill you all!”

I begged those who hated me. All because of the man dying before me.

“You’re not allowed to die,” I told August as I shook him. “Not unless I say so.”

August’s yellow essence burst to life around us once more. The pain in my stomach and joints eased instantly. Relief flooded me. Their powers returned. August would be okay.

But August looked paler.

It seemed I had forgotten what the fear of death felt like. For so long, I wished for and welcomed death, like it was an old friend that I waited for. I forgot how badly the heart twisted, ached, and raced when confronted with it. The agony, the absolute horror that traveled up my body when I witnessed someone I loved die. I swore I’d kill August when I saw him again. I realized I must be a liar, because the thought felt like claws ripping into my chest.

“Why isn’t he healing?” I asked. “I sensed his power returning.”

“Move,” August’s mom said as she shoved one of her kids aside.

“Release me, Nova!” Joy yelled in the distance, no longer in her dragon form. “I need to help my mom heal August.”

“Quick.” August’s mom gripped my hand and squeezed it. “Despite our powers being back, he’s been without it for too long in this state.”

I released Joy, and she appeared beside me in a second. A green and white glow emanated from their palms as they held it over August’s chest. As soon as August’s wound stitched itself together, he sucked in a large breath and sat up. His mother clutched his missing limb and fussed. August Reaper wasn’t paying attention to a word she said. His stare bore into me. With his remaining hand, he reached out for me, letting his fingers graze my bare wrists. He smiled, eyes glistening, and little shocks burst through me.

The tension left my shoulders, but when I realized how relieved I was, they stiffened again. August must have noticed because he placed his palm on one, squeezing gently.

“It’s not growing back,” Melanie murmured as she stared at her son’s arm.

“I told you it wouldn’t. He would have died from the blood loss if I hadn’t frozen him,” Melinda added.

“Couldn’t you have made another healing elixir?” I butted in.

“Have you ever made one before?” Melinda stared at me with a blank expression.

I shook my head, feeling slightly heated to have to admit I hardly knew any spells besides the one causing destruction.

“Witches have limitations on what they can do. Not all of us are a bottomless well of magic, like you. Besides, my strength comes from what I can see. Even if I had the opportunity, I wasn’t meant to make two.”

So, the witch was basically telling me she could but chose not to.

Maureen glared. “You mean—”

“If Nova didn’t see the lengths August would go to save her, we might be dead this day,” Melinda finished.

There was a thickening silence in the air.

My chest tightened uncomfortably the longer the witch stared. Was she saying I would have killed them? Bile rose in my throat as I realized I would have. The hatred inside me still burned bright. But something must be a little brighter inside me. I didn’t kill August or his family. I’d imagined hurting August in so many ways. And yet, I had been terrified of him dying.

August lifted my chin, and I smacked his hand away. “Careful. That’s the only one I have left.”

I tensed, and the sharp twists of discomfort hit my stomach. Was I feeling guilty? When he reached out for me again, I honestly didn’t know what to think.

A large crack pierced the air. I turned, then erected a barrier around us as the debris blew from Harvest’s chamber.

“You don’t need the barrier. Harvest is gone,” August said. “I don’t sense him anymore.”

Hades, I forgot about Harvest. But then I remembered Isabella and the youngest sister. Those two were in the most danger. “Where is the youngest one?” I asked.

Joy frowned. “Youngest?”

“Your little sister, Kara. ”

“Do you think he’ll go after Kitty?” August asked.

I searched through those gathered until I found Sebastian and Isabella. “Yes, he will. If given a chance, he’ll steal Isabella too.” Sebastian hugged Isabella to him as his jaw tightened.

“Kitty should be inside with the others,” Barron stated, but his parents had left when I mentioned her. He disappeared as soon as he finished talking.

“Come on.” August grabbed my hand. I sucked in a breath as he pulled us into a darkened vortex that spiraled into a multitude of colors. When we exited that strange space, stone walls surrounded us. Were we inside Grim’s castle?

I waited quietly as the Reapers scattered about, talking and making sure everyone was safe. Payne was still outside, killing the last of Harvest’s dragons. Harvest likely retreated and wouldn’t return until his creations encountered the Reapers as mortals again.

Derrick got away, and so did Harvest. Derrick almost killed a Reaper. I placed a palm against my chest as my breathing became labored and painful. August risked his life to free me from Harvest, so why didn’t he when we were kids? That awful day in our past made no sense. Something had been strange about August that day. Being near him again clouded my judgement, muddled my thoughts, and made my body feel weird. We couldn’t change the past, so why did I stand there and let my heart ache as if I could?

A cool touch gripped my hand on my chest. “What’s wrong?” August tugged, and I noticed it was some sort of iron prosthetic. His yellow essence flowed around the metal arm.

I trailed my fingers over the cool steel. “You already made yourself a new arm.”

“Better get used to it, Boom.” August slipped his cool fingers through mine. “You’re going to be feeling it a lot.”

I jerked away from him, not knowing which heated me more. The odd touch or his words. I uttered, “What do you mean?”

He waggled his brows. “What do you think it means?”

“I’d hate to kill you right after your family worked so hard to save you.”

He leaned closer. His breath heated my cheek. “I’m talking to you right now and you haven’t blown me up.”

“Do you want me to?”

“No, but I think we’re making progress.”

Ignoring him, I stepped away. “What did you mean earlier? About the past.”

“Are you ready to learn the truth of that day?” Melinda interrupted, walking up behind August.

“How would you know what happened? You weren’t there,” I said. Although the witch likely had sight, didn’t mean she was honest about her visions.

Melinda said, “I’ve seen it, but you need to see it to believe yourself.”

My stomach knotted, and I squeezed my hands together. “I don’t want to relive that day.”

Melinda gave me a pitiful smile. “You’ll have to if you want to understand what happened between you.”

August gripped my hands and pulled them to his stomach. I froze when he leaned his giant body over me and his forehead touched mine. His breath heated my nose and cheeks, leaving goose bumps over my skin.

“Please, Nova. I don’t want to experience any of it either, but I desperately need to learn the truth. You do, too.”

Without moving, I asked Melinda, “How will this work exactly? How will we see the past?”

“With a potion I’ve already made, you’ll relive each of your memories as a third party. You’ll see the past for what it was. You can’t speak or interrupt a memory since you’re not there.” Melinda handed each of us a vial. “Whose memory do you want to relive first?”

“Nova’s,” August said.

Melinda lifted her chin. “Then, Nova, you drink up first. August, you follow right after.”

My heart rammed against my ribcage. That day still haunted me. The idea of reliving it and seeing the children die…

With the mechanical limb, August caressed my hand with his cool touch, then cupped my cheek with his other. “The past is the past. It’s already happened. All we’re doing is finding out why we’re at odds about that day.” It was like he tried to command me to be calm with his stare. After stealing my focus, he glanced at Melinda. “How do we pull out of the memory?”

“Your thoughts just need to align to leave. You both must want to exit together. That’s it.”

That’s it? Melinda thought it was easy because she wasn’t the one experiencing our past.

August ran his finger over mine. An iron appendage shouldn’t invoke a circuit of energy beneath my skin. I felt electric from a single touch. The sorcery of August’s touch astounded me.

I forgot when we were doing until he uttered, “For our truth.” His throat bobbed as he uncorked the vial in my hand and guided it to my lips.

I swallowed nervously as I held his dark stare. “This could very well prove you abandoned us that day. Then what?” I whispered as my stomach knotted. “I’ll truly kill you for putting me through it twice.”

“I would never abandon you. See me for what I am. I am yours.”

Unable to withstand his gaze, I drank the potion. The scenery shifted immediately as August tipped his head back and drank his. Seconds later, we were in the barren woods I had spent my youth . I turned, and August moved with me . There was nothing around us. I saw no one. Not even the kids—

“There you are.” August pointed toward our left.

My breath rushed out as I saw Sofia and the others climbing the tree. The one I ordered them to hide in while I went to meet August that day. There I was, too. A younger me, peeking up at them from the ground. My heart felt like it could burst right out of me at seeing those young kids. Seeing them again hurt and made me happy simultaneously. I was a fool to think they’d be safe as I left them there, running through the woods to find August.

August and I ran after the younger version of myself. When I tripped over my feet, he scooped me up. I pushed at his chest. “Put me down!”

“August.”

August and I froze at the sound of my younger voice. We watched me approach Young August as he turned, but already something was just not right. A black essence spiraled around the younger version of August as he looked down at thirteen-year-old me like I didn’t differ from the dirt beneath his shoe. I hadn’t recalled seeing that blackness before. August’s aura was a yellowish hue. What was I seeing?

The past made no sense, and my chest ached at seeing him stare at me like that again. The interaction was as I remembered.

“Nova…” August carried us closer while the Young Me called out for Young August again. August’s breath heated my neck as he uttered, “My little star, that is not me.”

Tears dripped down my cheeks as I peeked up at August instead of the mean man about to rip out my young heart. August didn’t notice me staring, though, because he watched Young Me. Young Me hesitantly approached the twisted version of him. I turned away, refusing to see more, but I still remembered the hopefulness of that day despite the fear.

August’s eyes watered as his grip on me tightened. “Look at you. Fuck. You trusted me here. I can see it on your face. You’re looking at me like I’m about to give you a new world. Like I promised.”

He sniffed, and I still refused to watch them the way he did.

“I can’t believe you actually came.” I stiffened at Young August’s voice. He sounded detached and cold.

“We need to hurry. When we remove the bands, it will alert Derrick. Sofia and the boys—”

Young August laughed abruptly. “Did you think I’d actually help you and your brats?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I take off those bands, that’s unnecessary trouble for me,” he explained.

My heart sank all over again, and I covered my ears. “August—”

“That’s not me,” August said beside me. “Look at me, Nova.” I opened my eyes to see tears slipping down his cheeks. “I would never treat or gaze upon you like that.”

“Please, look at you, then me. Isn’t that answer enough?” Young August said, pulling my attention back to the past.

“That’s not my essence!” August shouted. “I’ve seen enough of yours. Come to mine, okay?”

I nodded, unable to stomach hearing Young August’s bitter words again. Their conversation stopped, and I looked back to see the younger versions of us gone. When a branch snapped, August and I followed the sound. A few feet away from us, a Young August paced back and forth, gripping his hair tightly as he searched around frantically. The black aura around him was gone. He plopped down on the ground, twisting the hair ties I made on his wrist. My stomach cramped the longer I watched him. He seemed so anxious as he waited.

This one… I thought. That one was different. Already, I know this August is mine. He had no yellow essence around him, but the black one was gone.

When Young Me stepped into the clearing, Young August jumped up and rushed forward. My lips parted. The black aura clung to Young Me in August’s memory. Not-Me smiled eerily at Young August.

“Are the others safe?” Young August asked her.

“Oh, yes. Safe.” She nodded her head.

“Are you?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’m glad you’ve decided to let me free you.”

“Oh, so that’s what we’re doing.”

“I knew something felt off about you that day,” August said, pulling my attention away from the past unfolding before us. “I was too young to realize it might not be you.”

“It’s not me,” I murmured as Younger August asked Not-Me, “Why are you acting so weird?”

My thoughts whirled as I watched Young August falter and stumble with his words as the fake me stared at him like he was the dirt beneath his shoe. Exactly how August in my memories had looked at me. The truth unfolded before me as I gawked at the blackness wafting around Not-Me. The answer was within the blackness. August didn’t betray me. What happened between us was so obvious it hurt. There was an entity who could become whoever he wanted to be. An immortal with an icky black essence that seemed to spill out around him if one paid attention to auras.

Our past was Harvest’s doing. The very creature who kept me shackled in a cell for a century turned me against August because of his sick game.

“ I’m going to kill Harvest. ” August eyes blackened completely as his grip tightened on me. “Long before the end, the entity has been plaguing us. A player of faces—Fuck! I should have considered this. He was the entity searching for you back then, too.”

I gripped his cloak. “How did we not know? I didn’t see Harvest’s essence back then.” Or anyone’s.

“I think we were too young back then,” August said as he watched the younger version of him. “I was so desperate to chase after you. That desperation is the only thing that got me through the barrier.”

Just as he said that, Not-Me sent Young August flying with the flick of the wrist, then left him there. Young August was screaming and pulling at his hair as he sprinted through the woods. Still in August’s arms, we chased after Not-Me and Young August’s yellow essence burst to life around him. Young August walked through the barriers as if nothing was there. I didn’t think Young August realized he was running through layer after layer of heavy magic.

“Do you see my essence? This is when I unlocked it for the first time.” August’s jaw tightened. “To think, moments after my encounter with Harvest impersonating you, I gained the ability to see mine and everyone else’s soul.”

Sweat beaded my forehead as we continued to follow Younger August. If he found us that day… I didn’t want to see any more of the memory. I tugged at his cloak, causing August to glance down at me. He wasn’t out of breath, even holding me.

“Let’s leave,” I urged him. “We got the truth. I don’t want to see them dead again.”

“You need to see this. You need to see where they went.”

“Please,” I begged, tensing as the tents and cottages came into view. Derrick’s men lay slaughtered throughout the camp.

“I unlocked my Reaper powers this day.” August stopped running. He didn’t go inside the cabin, but the gut-wrenching scream that came from Young August the second he slipped inside stole my breath.

My chest tightened as the young boy wailed in what sounded like agony.

I covered my mouth and allowed myself to cry with him. I grieved for the little boy and girl we once were. Nothing that happened was fair. My hatred for over a century resulted from Harvest. I didn’t think I could despise Harvest any more than I already did. No wonder he knew what August did to me, since it was actually him. Harvest tormented me, reminding me over and over how August had abandoned me. I bet the entity thought he was so clever to see me so infuriated.

I froze when Young August walked out carrying Sofia. “What…”

My heat gave a little twist as Sofia kept chanting, “You’re too late, you’re too late.”

How…? My ears rang as I watched her stand beside Young August as he dug four large holes.

“She survived?” I asked.

“Sofia is still alive,” August confirmed. “She’s been with me since then.”

Been with him? Something in my stomach felt like it was sinking at those words, and I wasn’t sure why. Sofia was alive. That was… I smiled. “Thank you.”

“Keep watching,” August said, smiling slightly when he saw my own.

“I…” I frowned as three white orbs darted out of the house and circled Young August. “What is that?”

“Odin, Finn, and Cloud’s souls,” August replied. “I shouldn’t have been able to see them. Dad hadn’t given me my Reaper powers yet, but when you guys died, I tapped into them on my own that day.”

I felt my forehead crinkle.

“What I’m trying to say is I sent them to Heaven.” August pointed to the sky. “You understand, don’t you? They’re in a place we can’t reach, likely living carefree.”

I lifted my arm high and imagined what Heaven must be like. Still in the memory, we were in the Underworld, staring up at a dark, empty sky. I wondered what their new home must be like. Was Heaven bright and hot like the human world could be in places? Did it make their insides feel warm and comforted? While I imagined, I said, “They’re free.”

“They’re free,” August confirmed.