Page 107 of Living Legend

He banged his head against the headboard. “Yup.” He rubbed his neck with his hand, then placed both his hands in his lap. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this.”

“Because I’m a phenomenal listener.” I looked down at his hands on top of the comforter. I had a feeling if I kept looking at his face, I would be tempted to climb on top of him and ride him until he forgot his own name, but it was late, and he wanted to confide in me. I liked being seen as a confidante. It wasn’t what I was always known for, what I was labeled as.

“How about you tell me something?” he said, genuine curiosity peeking.

“Something like what?” I asked. The light between us made me feel like we were in our own little bubble, as if whatever the fuck was going on right now was so far away, it wasn’t concerning to either of us.

He stroked his chin, as if he was in deep thought. “Do you remember your life before Purgatory?”

That was the same question Natalia had asked me on our little excursion to Oculus. “Nope. I don’t remember my death either, so let's just go ahead and skip that question.”

“You make it sound like you’re just like the rest of them down there, the ones she turns into demonic savages.”

I laughed. “Not all of them are demonic savages. Some are just as useless down there as they probably were when they were alive. She just likes having the bodies around to do her bidding, that's all.”

“And you are so special because?”

“I’m not.”

Nicholas turned his head to look at me and fuck if I didn’t want to kiss him, the way his lips were pouting with skepticism. “Dani, the woman gave you a specialized dagger and pretty much gave you special treatment your entire time down there, grooming you to be…” He moved his eyes over me. “This. Let’s not forget that she has an entire plan that somehow revolves around you being here, in Heaven’s Gate, right now, at this time.”

“Well, when you say it like that, I do soundsuperspecial.”

He lifted his eyes up, staring at the ceiling. I groaned, getting up a little and moving closer to him. He didn’t look at me when he said, “Lilith had to start from somewhere.”

I pulled myself all the way back up to sit and rested my chin on his shoulder. “And let me guess -- you think that has something to do with my death? My life before all this?”

He shrugged causing my head to bob. “Maybe.”

“Unfortunately, Nicholas, we don't have a time machine to figure that out. We only have the present. What Lilith has planned is just herplan, it’s not fate. It’s not a certified ending.” I kissed his cheek lightly and watched as he tilted his head down, letting his eyes fall away from the ceiling and onto my face. “I’m not being an optimist; I’m just being a realist.”

“All that time in Purgatory, and you just…” he started to say, his mouth opening and closing as he attempted to find the right words. “You just don’t give off the vibe I thought you would.”

I couldn’t dig deeper into my past because the only memory that came up is opening my eyes in that cell in Purgatory. That was the beginning of my story, and I never asked any questions.“What kind of vibe do I give off, huh?”

“I don’t know, but there’s something off that personally, I don’t think has anything to do with the dark magic inside of you.”

I sunk back down into the pillows next to him, my head now at his bicep. A bicep I wanted to wrap my hands around, or at least attempt to, because it was definitely bigger than my hand. “I only really become the darkest part of myself when I want to, or if I’m severely bated. Don’t worry, you haven’t pissed me off enough for you to feel its wrath.”

Like I did with Cullen. He had pushed me, taunted me, played with the emotions I thought I had trapped down. He lifted them to the surface just to show me that I had that kind of killer instinct if the right words were spat at me. That if I was shown enough malicious disdain, I would see nothing but the task at hand. Maybe he was right. Maybe that was Lilith’s intent all along. That soon, I would be pushed to be nothing more than what people like Ariel deemed me to be.

“Your dagger comes into that as well, right?”

“Well, my dagger is connected to me. Compulsion is just a way for us to be connected, but it doesn’tmakeme who I am. It needs me more than I need it when it comes down to it. When I gain a lot of dark power, it does as well, making me a very dangerous little female.”

He started to shift his hand over to where mine was sitting on top of the comforter. “I can’t say that doesn’t alarm me.”

“But it turns you on, just a little bit.” I moved my fingers, so that there was a small space between my index finger and thumb.

“Hmph,” he answered, moving his much larger hand over mine. “Once we’re back at The Skies, we’ll get your dagger, alright?”

“And fall right back into all the bullshit.”

He squeezed my hand and ran his other through his hair in an anxious gesture. “Right back into all the bullshit.”

“What time is it?” I asked, looking around for anything that could tell me the time.

“Last time I checked, it was like eleven,” he said, letting out a sigh.

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