Page 21

CHAPTER 20

NOVA

A t this point, I was damn near positive I didn’t have fears anymore.

That was ridiculous. Obviously I had fears, but they rarely made an appearance. Unless it was about my men getting hurt, physically or emotionally. Or water…and this happened to combine both of those situations.

While falling through the trap door, I think some part of me realized that we were going to land in water. I’d braced myself for it and even sucked in a breath.

None of that helped when I torpedoed into the water, my body plunging deep beneath the dark surface. Water closed in around me, grasping me with its cold, boney fingers, trying to suffocate me. It was only because of adrenaline and panic that I was able to kick my way to the surface, breaking out from its grasp. I was breathing in short pants and shivering as I clung onto Cassian, the truth of our situation and Earnest’s cruel words ringing in my ears.

I should have died a hundred times before in a submersion pool? Of course, I’d known what he’d done, but him admitting that it was at least one hundred times? And why wasn’t my magic gone? It may have been suppressed, but I could still feel it coursing through me. It was livid. I was livid.

That intense emotion caused the walls around my magic to shake, the rattling and roar of my power ringing through my ears. It pushed away everything else, and my magic grew in response to my anger—my fury…

…until the sound of water rushing around us pulled my attention.

“Breathe, gorgeous.” Fox tried to comfort me, grasping my jaw so that I was focused on him. I could barely see him, so his touch helped. I didn’t want to drown. I really didn’t want to fucking drown.

My head was so fuzzy, and thinking straight felt impossible. Why couldn’t I get it together? Why couldn’t I bring my magic up to the surface?

My magic was being suppressed by my own fear.

That singular moment of realization started a storm brewing under my skin. Yes, that’s what I needed…I needed to break out of this terrified state, of the cold numbness wrapping around me to protect me from the trauma associated with these damn pools. I needed to harness my anger and push away the fear. It was the only option.

“We need to break through the glass they’re behind,” Volkan said. I looked toward my other men, none of them seemingly concerned about their own fate. Instead they were focused on me—only me.

They needed to worry about themselves; how would they survive if they didn’t? My throat caught with emotion as I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing I needed to break past this. I was strong enough to do that. I was strong enough to overcome Earnest’s bullshit. We didn’t come this far to be so easily defeated.

A banging noise in my head made me realize that my magic was slamming against the wall I’d placed her behind to protect her—to protect myself.

I let the wall fall.

Instantly, my magic surged through me, magnetic, dark energy exploding and bouncing off the walls. I shivered at the sensation of electricity dancing across my skin as I inhaled sharply and dove under the water. I wouldn’t give myself a moment to overthink this—time was of the essence.

Searching the tank, I let my anger grow. Whoever had put this in here—probably Earnest—really relished in torture. That was fine. I would ensure no one ever used it again.

My gaze locked with the motherfucker in question.

I could see the fear in his eyes as I neared the window. He stumbled back, and I looked at him with pure disgust. Earnest had always been conventionally handsome, but now he looked sick. Thin, snarly arms were crossed over his chest, and a gaunt face with cruel eyes stared back at me. I could feel his magic—sick, erratic, and unpredictable.

There was something very wrong with Earnest. There had always been something wrong with him. Sick bastard.

“You don’t scare me!” he roared. “You can do nothing in that damn pool!” His voice traveled from the loudspeaker through the water as I watched his lips move.

I’d been underwater long enough at this point that I’d expected my lungs to burn with the need for air, but my magic was wearing a diving tank so…I guess I was good? I had stopped questioning this shit, and now wasn’t the time to start. If I didn’t need to get scuba certified to be able to reap the benefits, I was totally a fan.

Also—he said I could do nothing ?

Suddenly my fear felt like a distant memory, paling in comparison to my wrath, all fully focused on Earnest as I swam right up to the glass, glaring daggers at the man who’d raised me—who had taken me under his roof—all because he wanted to be able to take my power.

He had tortured my mom.

He had drained my power, leaving me sick.

He had made me feel like I was wrong—too different to find a place.

He had hurt and killed so many people.

He had single-handedly turned our coven into a cult that ostracized anyone who wasn’t like him.

Earnest had committed so many crimes, and he deserved to die. But the one that would be his death sentence? Trying to kill my men. That was un-fucking-acceptable.

My rage surged violently, and I closed my eyes and let my magic travel across the glass in a dangerous bolt. At the same time, the sound of water filling the room stopped, the drains at the bottom of the pool opening. A smirk crossed my face. He knew what I was about to do, and he was trying to mitigate the damage.

Too fucking late.

The observation window shattered.

Water crashed into the observation room, carrying us with it. Cries filled my ears as the fifty or so men that had stood behind Earnest and Edmund were hit with the force of the deluge. I kept my attention on one fucking person, though, avoiding the shards of glass. I knew my men would take care of everyone else and ensure Edmund didn’t escape.

Earnest, though? He was all mine.

When the water slowed and settled at waist height, I strode forward. “You can’t escape me, Earnest.”

He was giving a good effort though, hanging from a metal shelf and trying to pull himself up to a set of rusty stairs that had been installed above. I didn’t even bother rushing to get him, his weak attempt at saving himself thwarted by me pulling on his leg, bringing him crashing to the ground. He went underwater before floundering and standing, sputtering and trying to walk back—hitting a wall.

I could feel my men’s magic filling the space as cries echoed around us, so I let my own jump across the water to Earnest. He screamed at the surge of electricity as I reached him, putting my hand on his throat and digging my nails into his skin, enough to draw blood.

I wanted to rip his throat out. I’d never had such an urge before, but as I watched his weak attempt to struggle, it was all too tempting. After all, he’d done so much fucking worse.

“Fuck you,” he hissed. “You were supposed to die, just like that bitch?—”

My hand tightened so that he wheezed, unable to speak, his face turning blue. “Shhh. Don’t talk about my mom like that. She’s doing amazing without you, by the way.”

His eyes widened as he sputtered. “She’s not?—”

“Oh, but she is, Earnest.” I smirked. “But let’s not talk about her. She’s happy and alive—something you won’t be for much longer.”

“You won’t do anything; you don’t have the?—”

He gasped, my hand clasping hard enough that it cut off his words. Who was he to tell me what I would do, or what I had or didn’t have?

“I don’t think you realize what power I have. I am far more powerful than you can imagine, but it’s not my job to explain that to you. I will, however, give you a demonstration—out of the kindness of my fucking heart.”

I didn’t waste any more time talking. I knew he wouldn’t beg; he would shit-talk or worse. So instead I let my magic seep beneath his skin, into his blood stream. His hair stuck up in all directions, manic fear filling his face. He could feel what was about to happen, the snake resting right under his skin ready to bite. Not only that, though. I also allowed my death magic to wrap around his heart, and I spoke a set of soft words that would be the last he heard.

“I want you to die knowing that you accomplished nothing. You never achieved your dream. You never got what you wanted from me or my mom. You’re a failure, and you will die as one.”

My power detonated inside of him. Earnest’s agonized cry echoed in the room, a sharp and intense sound that filled me with joy. His incinerated flesh and the way his eyeballs popped—literally popped—was particularly satisfying as my death magic crushed his heart. In seconds, the man who had tormented me was dead.

I removed my hands, and the rest of his body fell into the now shin-high water. Brushing my hand off, I stepped back, examining my palm with disgust. Maybe I should have let go of him sooner, before the flesh on my palm could burn.

“Well, that was gross,” I sighed, leaning down to wash my hands. “How did the rest of us fare?”

The silence of the room had me turning around.

“Awesome. I was hoping the quiet was a good sign.” I smirked, finding my men watching me with surprise and a sliver of heat. Slaughtered bodies lay around them, River holding the only one left alive, unconscious and hanging limply, by his collar.

Edmund would be successfully delivered for the sacrifice.

“Anywhere we can store him for the time being?” I asked, tilting my head in thought. I really didn’t want him hanging around our house if we could avoid it—and for sure not in our super cool RV.

“I could create a shadowscape if Row draws an entrance. Could work for the time being,” August offered. It was as good an idea as any, and I watched as Rowan took out a pen and broke it, allowing ink to drip on the floor before drawing a door mid-air. It solidified into a portal, much like the one he’d walked John through back in the cafeteria.

River all but threw him into it, August grunting at the hard landing—something he probably felt since it was connected to his magic—before it was sealed up tightly. I sighed happily at the very efficient job.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “I mean, I didn’t get to kill Set because he surrendered, and then Earnest was weak, so that was an easy one, minus the submersion pool. I don’t know, I just sort of feel like I needed some better ‘dad’ kills to deal with my issues.”

“I have a dad you could kill.”

Maker, I loved Volkan’s dark humor. “Thank you! That is so sweet of you to volunteer him.”

“Love the satisfaction you get from killing, baby,” Everett mused.

“It’s from beating the bad guys, not killing.” I waved him off even though he was totally right.

“Right.” He offered me a knowing look. “Alright, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

At the top of the rusted ladder that Earnest had been trying to climb was a corridor that connected to the hallway we’d originally come down. I had no idea where any of their supplies were or where they’d even been sleeping, but the place looked a little worse for wear. We avoided the trap door section of the hallway and navigated our way up the original set of stairs, and I stopped at the top to take a deep breath of the fresh, cool air. I was glad to be up on the surface again instead of underground in that damn pool. I may have gotten over my fear enough to get out, but that had been awful.

“You know, it’s sort of wild that his submersion pool didn’t work on me,” I pointed out. “Once I got out of my head, my magic was totally usable.”

“His magic is powerful. Or, was—” Nour corrected. “But at the end of the day, you are insanely powerful, Nova. It’s not shocking that you could break out of it.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, flashing a bit of a cocky smile. “Guess Earnest just had no idea who he was going up against.” After the way he’d exerted his power over me and my mom throughout the years, it felt really good to know that I could kill him with such ease.

After we all exited, the stone building closed and began to sink back beneath the surface, all of us watching in satisfaction. I groaned, sitting down on the ground and letting out a yawn.

“Okay. Well, I could totally use some more donuts.”

“We are getting a real dinner, Nova,” River said, lifting me off the ground and over his shoulder. “Come on. We’re going to a steakhouse or something.”

“Hmmm.” I sighed dramatically. “I suppose I could deal with that. Or we could do pizza delivery. Come on, that sounds amazing. We could even watch some movies!”

“I’m a fan of this plan,” Fox said.

“And Fox always has the best plans,” I teased.

“Fine, we can order pizza.” River shook his head. “But no donuts.”

“Buzz Killington,” I murmured. I jumped as he slapped a hand on my ass and continued forward. Everett chuckled as I scowled at the man. I wasn’t actually upset, though—I would never say no to River’s hands on me. Maybe I could even bribe him with my body to get more donuts…

“Don’t even think about it, butterfly.”

“I am totally thinking about it, sprinkles.”

And I would probably be thinking about it in my dreams. Which considering the energy I’d expended could be sooner than I expected. Letting my eyes close, I relaxed into River’s frame, deciding a little nap wouldn’t hurt anything.

After all, I had pretty much just worked an entire nine-to-five in just a few minutes!

It felt like only minutes later when our RV rolled up to the house and I woke up, curled up on Everett’s lap. I had no idea when they’d transferred me, but I happily looked up into his gaze as he nodded toward the house. I hopped up, and as we made our way down the driveway, I couldn’t help but appreciate the familiar sight.

“We need to decide where we want to live permanently,” I said. “I love the Horde, but I don’t think it’s a perfect fit. Let’s make a list to decide, because I would essentially like to take this house and transport it wherever we go. It has that perfect gothic ‘I’m beautiful but possibly haunted’ vibe.”

I wanted to literally lift it from one place and put it in another—although that probably wasn’t possible, right?

“We could visit a bunch of places to find the one we like best,” Nour offered.

My smirk grew as I eyed Ramsey. “Well, wherever we decide, it has to have good schools, so let’s keep that in mind.”

Ramsey immediately looked at me, his eyes narrowing as I let my smile grow.

“Why do we care about schools—never mind.” August chuckled, catching on.

“I just think it’s important. We want our kids going to good schools,” I said evenly before turning toward the stairs to get changed. “But anyway, just think about that— oh my Maker !” I giggled as Ramsey swept me up and carried me up the stairs, kissing me hard while holding me in a bridal hold.

This was why it was so damn fun to mess with the man. His reactions always benefited the both of us.