Chapter Thirty

Nova

Watching Derrick, I fought the urge to rub my neck . The pain coursing through my throat made it feel as if his bruising grip was still there. As I caught my breath, the coughs burst forth. Derrick was too obsessed to kill me, but he never shied away from inflicting harm. I endured so much, and I’d survive a little longer to end things once and for all. He wouldn’t escape that time. August would be there soon. I had to pacify Derrick until then.

“I used blood magic with August to protect my body,” I announced as I straightened my spine.

The large room became eerily quiet as Derrick stiffened, then scowled. “You what? ”

Maybe I should have lied.

Derrick walked toward me and gripped my neck again. His nose touched mine as he said, “It’s bad enough you were about to give yourself to the Reaper, but you did something as foul as sharing blood? Do you know how sacred that it is for our kind?”

No, I didn’t know. Derrick never taught me anything about witches or warlocks beyond how to destroy. How was I supposed to know? Not that it mattered. If possible, I would have shared my soul with August, like he shared his soul and powers with me. I loved August.

I knew that wasn’t something I should tell Derrick, but the words were on the tip of my tongue. Wait. I calmed myself. I could hurt him as much as I wanted when August arrived.

But August was still mortal. I felt no traces of his powers returning yet, which made everything dangerous for my mate.

“I can forgive you for this,” Derrick blurted as he released my neck and rubbed his nose along my cheek. “I should have talked with you more about things, but I always assumed you knew.”

I shuddered, bile rising in my throat from his touch. “Knew what?”

“That you’re mine.”

My skin and tips of my fingers tingled from my magic. I wanted so badly to unleash my wrath on Derrick, but I couldn’t. While I could refuse his orders, hurting him was impossible with the band on my wrist. Still, my power vibrated inside me. I wanted the warlock dead. For every proxy’s life he stole and my ruined childhood, I wanted to tear him apart.

“We can fix the blood magic. I just have to make a new one with mine.”

The idea nauseated me.

Derrick pulled a knife from his pocket and grabbed my hand. “I cast dark magic before I left August. The flames won’t die until everything it touches perishes. Everything in those woods will die. If your lover boy leaves the woods and survives, I’ll kill him the next time he’s mortal. He can’t get close to me without power.”

“He’s not the only Reaper.” I couldn’t resist taunting Derrick. “Do you really think they’re going to let you attack August?”

Derrick laughed. “They couldn’t stop me from taking you. They can’t do anything without power, Nova. Just like you can’t do anything to me with yours stripped away.”

My skin prickled as anger flowed through me like a wild energy, wanting to attack. “Only a coward would hide in shadows like you’ve done. Were you always there?”

“Yes, even when you were in the shower. When you fell apart crying in the tub that day and also when you fell apart for August in a different way.” Derrick’s eyes narrowed as he cut my palm. “And see? Where is August? He can’t save you when he’s mortal.”

That knowledge disgusted me, but I couldn’t be surprised. The warlock was a sick man. Of course, Derrick would think August wasn’t trying to find me. Derrick would never risk his life. August would risk everything for me.

“August isn’t a coward like you!” I spat out the words.

“ Soon, you’ll give me the same expression you gave August in the shower.” Derrick pushed my hand away in order to cut his own palm.

A loud bang made me jolt.

“What?” Derrick stood quickly.

There were several more booms, and then white smoke filled the room. “I can’t see shit,” Sebastian muttered.

“That’s the point,” August said.

My heart raced.

“I thought the mortal wouldn’t be able to save me?” I taunted Derrick.

Snapping his fingers, Derrick cleared the smoke in seconds.

“August and his brother have come to di—” Derrick let out a loud ‘oof’ as someone threw him backward . He smacked into the large containers behind the bed.

The first person I saw was Isabella.

“He sounds just as annoying as Harvest.” Isabella shuddered as she lowered her hand and grinned at me.

I wholeheartedly agreed. Then I saw Derrick’s black magic, like a blob, sliding across the floor toward Isabella. “Careful!”

Isabella thrust her hands above her head, and a blue dome-like shield covered her completely. “I’m okay.”

“I never had problems with the Reapers until August visited my woods and tried to steal what belonged to me,” Derrick said, walking toward Isabella. “Do you really think your magic can compete with mine? I know you have Harvest’s darkness flowing within you, but I don’t have to touch you to kill you.”

I tried to use my power against Derrick, but nothing happened. It was futile. I was like a powerless human.

Derrick’s magic seeped out of his palms, gliding across the ground. His blackness quickly engulfed Isabella’s dome-like shield.

“Leave her alone!” I yelled.

“She shouldn’t have come with the brothers,” Derrick replied. “Where are they, witch?”

“Right here!” August hollered.

My brows furrowed. There was a humongous black shield scrapping across the floor. I couldn’t see August behind it. How was he moving it?

“This fucking thing is heavy,” Sebastian groaned. “You should have let us get closer before you yelled.”

They were both behind it?

Oh, Hades.

Derrick smirked. “What is this? Do you really believe a massive shield will keep you protected?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” August muttered as the shield inched closer.

“Are you okay, Izzie?” Sebastian hollered.

“I’m okay,” she responded.

I shook my head. “What are you guys doing?”

“Hopefully, staying alive,” Isabella muttered, and worry pinched my stomach when I couldn’t see her beneath the black magic wrapped around her shield.

“I told you I’d give you Derrick,” August called out. “That’s what I’m about to do. Give me one sec…”

I saw the muscles in Derrick’s neck twitching as he said, “All right. I can tell you guys are mortal, so I’ll make this quick.”

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. This is 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 owning me 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.”