Chapter 32 Nova
NOVA
Once I heard a soft shuffle of feet sliding across the floor, I inched my head past the doorway just in time to see Conrad lower the werewolf’s body with careful precision, an empty cavity where the heart had once been. His fangs glistened with crimson drops.
Then he blurred. Suddenly, he was in front of me, the werewolf’s phone dangling from his hand. Despite the blood still dripping from his mouth, his smile was surprisingly clean. Smug satisfaction oozed off him.
Perfect. I opened the bond between us, letting him feel both my pleasure and pride at his quick, efficient work. His eyelids fluttered, and his response pulsed in my chest, a warm ripple of feeling.
Biting my lip, I tore my gaze away from him, afraid I was seconds away from shoving him into the nearest wall and devouring his mouth loudly enough to wake the dead.
Zeth brushed his shoulder against mine, catching my attention with those bright, jeweled Caribbean eyes. They were sharp and commanding, wanting my attention.
He winked at me before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Power slid off him in a subtle wave, smooth as silk.
It was almost invisible—unless you were trained to detect mind-altering magic.
He moved down the hallway, ignoring the crumpled werewolf on the floor, and stopped before heading into the room with the pink-haired fairy girl.
Her voice carried before we saw her.
“Precious work. Must protect. Must. Can’t fail. No. No. No.”
Her pacing sounded frantic, wings flicking, hands rubbing together. A cult-follower’s cadence on her lips.
My skin crawled. Greed, I understood. Power, money, desperation, I could break those, but blind devotion? That kind of madness had no edges to hold on to. No way to easily get through.
I could tell when Zeth’s influence touched her because her muttering sharpened into something violent.
“No! No!” A slap cracked through the room. “It’s them. They hold us down—”
They hold us down? What the fuck was she talking about? Wasn’t she part of the ‘them’?
“His work… revolutionary. Change the world! Renew—” Another slap.
A snarl echoed from the other side of the room. “Val! Get your crazy under control before I do it for you! I can’t listen to that shit for the whole shift. I won’t!”
Breathlessly waiting for the heavy footsteps that meant discovery, we froze, but all that followed was silence. Then nothing.
Zeth gave me a look—going in deeper—and shut his eyes, pushing more of his power into her mind. I could hear her breathing hitch and her heartbeat fluttering like a trapped bird.
A weak sob broke through. “I’m wrong. I’m like them. Not enough. Never enough.”
It seemed like he had a good grasp on her now. My curiosity pulled me forward, and I peeked around the corner.
The fairy was kneeling in front of the teller counter, staring at the ceiling with hollow, reverent eyes. Her wings had calmed. One hand pressed a blade, shimmering with that same fae magic, against her heart.
“I’ll never betray him. His vision. Our god.” A broken pause. “I g-give my life to you.”
She slid the knife into her chest with silent devotion. No scream. No hesitation. Her hands lifted skyward as she took her last breath. Blood bubbled out in quiet gurgles, soaking her shirt. Her final bloody whisper drifted in the space around her.
“Only for you… my only god.” Her body collapsed with a soft thud.
Zeth stood inches behind me. His eyes were locked on the body, expression carved from stone. No remorse. No guilt. Just cold, righteous satisfaction.
I slipped my fingers into his, and he looked down at the contact. His eyes didn’t soften, not even a fraction, but he reverently traced a finger along my cheek in a way that made my pulse skip.
“Don’t make me your goddess,” I murmured, using the teasing to cut the tension.
His eyes narrowed, and his hand grew hotter in mine. Leaning in close to me, he whispered along my neck, “Too late.”
My knees grew weak, and I leaned against the doorway to keep me upright. I searched his eyes for the joke, a twitch of his lips, some hint of a grin, but I found nothing. Just absolute, terrifying certainty.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway on the opposite side of the room.
“Val, I need a drink,” the same voice from before called out, moving closer.
I gave Zeth one look before I dove behind a desk while the guys melted back behind the wall, out of sight. Good. I didn’t want them tangling with this bastard yet.
“Can you watch the—”
He stopped mid-sentence, and I knew that was my window of opportunity.
When I burst from my cover, the demon's hollow eyes narrowed on me just as the first knife sailed through the air. I dodged to the side, and the knife hit the wall, missing my skull by inches.
Before the next knife could be thrown, I sprinted toward him, then dropped to my knees, sliding across the floor as the next blade whistled overhead. My hands shifted mid-slide, claws ripping free, ready.
Two more knives appeared in his grip.
“Go, Des! Now!” I roared.
Deslen’s jaguar shot out from the hallway like a shadow unlatching from the wall, slipping between the teller stations and streaking toward the vault, bypassing its demon guard.
The demon’s gaze flicked toward him, one heartbeat of distraction. He hurled a knife that hit a glass divider. The glass crumbled to the floor with a loud smash.
That was all the opening I needed.
Sliding right up to him, I swiped my claws up, tearing his thighs with deep slices. His mouth dropped open in a silent, agonized O, then I yanked my claws down, shredding all the way to the bone.
Torn fabric fell to the floor, exposing the open, oozing flesh beneath.
Blood sprayed as I flicked my wrist and ripped through his crotch, the scent of ruptured skin and terror exploding into the air.
He staggered back, barely managing to stay upright, but he couldn’t shake me.
I carved my way down his chest, opening him from clavicle to belly.
He slashed at me with another knife, but the desperate move was too slow. I ducked beneath it, swatting the blade from his hand. Metal clattered to the floor, useless.
A cruel smile crossed my lips as I looked down at him. He was a long-range fighter. Not good at close combat. Perfect for me.
Letting my jaw morph into my wolf's muzzle, I snapped my teeth at him before latching onto his shoulder and dragging him to the ground, using my weight to pin him down.
“No—no—get off!” he shrieked, but my jaws only tightened, fangs digging in deep.
Plunging my claws into his chest, I ripped at his flesh and bones like an animal at a feasting session.
Wet clumps of muscle, skin, and organs splattered the floor beneath me.
Fresh blood covered my face, rolled down my throat, and soaked the front of my clothes in a thick, metallic heat.
I drank in the scent. It was rich, primal, intoxicating.
Pain. My wolf was practically vibrating in my skull. Give him pain.
Not this one, I reminded her. The doctor suffers until death. This one dies fast.
His heart thudded wildly against my palm, its beating panicked, frantic. I drew a claw down its center. The organ spasmed, flesh splitting open. He whimpered, the sound collapsing into a wet rattle as blood filled his lungs.
I let my jaw revert back to human form, breath steadying as I stared down at the twitching muscle. Blood pumped out hot and fast for a few seconds until it slowed then finally stopped. His immortal life was extinguished.
Just to make sure, I ripped the sliced heart free and tossed it across the room. It hit the far wall with a satisfying smack before falling onto the floor with a splat.
A pale hand appeared beside me, reaching to help me up.
Conrad.
Sliding my blood-slick hand into his, I let him pull me to my feet. I expected to see hesitation, maybe even fear, but instead, his dark, awe-filled eyes burned with hunger, directed solely at me.
“The control you have over your body…” His voice was almost reverent as he whispered, “Incredible.” He glanced down at the demon’s ruined corpse, his lip curling up in a sneer. “And he deserved worse.”
When his palm cupped my cheek, I leaned into it, only for a second, before his mouth crashed into mine. His tongue dragged across my lips, cleaning me in the slowest, filthiest, most intoxicating way possible.
We would’ve kept going, maybe for too long, if Deslen’s voice hadn’t echoed from the vault.
“You need to see this.”
I pulled away, wiping at my mouth as he grinned down at me. Zeth stepped up to my other side, muttering, “Copycat.”
Conrad’s reply came smooth as sin. “Jealousy is an ugly emotion.”
Zeth’s angry inhale and laser-burning eyes almost made me laugh.
Heading through the doorway first, I led them down a short hallway and slid around the large vault door until I saw Deslen standing atop a gaping hole in the floor.
His worried eyes flicked to me then down at the hole, but all I saw was miles of smooth, dark skin I wanted to lick.
When my eyes traveled down, my heart stopped for a beat.
“Is my mate having trouble focusing?”
His deep, soothing voice woke me from my lust-filled stupor, so I tore my attention away from him and down to the hole in the ground. “Did you go down?”
The wild, loose strands around his face moved as he shook his head. “Not yet. Waited for you first.”
Zeth walked up to it, crouching beside the hole. “What’s the plan?”
“We still haven’t met the air mage,” I said, “so no magic tech. No watch. We move slowly. Check every corner.”
I had stepped to the edge, about to jump down, when I realized Deslen didn’t offer his hand to me. His gaze was fixed behind us, body tight as he looked down the hallway.
“Des?” I asked. “What is it?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he shook his head and forced a smile as he extended his hand. “Sorry. Here. Let me help you.”