Page 144 of Living Legend

“I figured.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

He gestured towards his bed. “You might want to sit down.”

I moved my eyes to his unmade bed and our night together flashed through my memory, a warm feeling flooding my entire body. “I’m fine standing. Just spit it out.”

He raised those deep brown eyes to the ceiling, as if he was thinking how to tell me whatever was on the tip of his tongue. He ran a shaking hand through his hair, pulling at the back of his head. “I told you I’d probably continue to think about what you told me and I did…and I wanted a second opinion.”

“So, you went to Natalia for help? Without letting me in on what you were doing?”

“It sounds bad, I know.”

I cocked my head to the side, my hair moving along my back. “I mean, you went to someone about an issue that has nothing to do with you, so I would say it's a little weird. How about you just tell me what you know? That would be a fantastic fucking place to start.”

“That feeling you get, that sense of light or warmth you feel…it’s a lot more complicated than you think.”

An impatient feeling grew inside my chest.

Nicholas took the one long step he needed to be so close to me, I could see the pulse in his neck vibrating. “I was right about you. Natalia and I were both right.”

I looked directly into his eyes and made sure my face was displaying the highest level of annoyance. “Nick, if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on, I will literally fly to Oculus myself. Stop dancing around the issue and just say it.”

He backed away from me until the back of his knees hit his bed, causing him to sit down. He placed his head in his hands, the words coming out muffled. “You’re an angel.”

I scoffed. “Thanks, I like to think I’m quite nice when I choose to be, but what does that have to do with whatever you found?”

He peeked up at me, confusion in his eyes. He shook his head. “What? No, Dani. That’s not what I mean.” He gave me a pointed look, which caused my shoulders to stiffen. “Youarean angel.”

“Excuse me?”

He rubbed his hands down his pants. “You were supposed to be, but Lilith fucked things up. You’ve been living a lie. I still don’t know what that means for you, but it’s something you should know. So, here I am telling you, because I think you deserve some answers to whatever is going on inside of you. I told you something was off, that you didn't give off a demon vibe. I told you it had to do with how you started out and it does, Dani, it does." He sucked in a breath, as if it had taken a lot out of him.

I suddenly felt like my entire body was made out of concrete. I couldn't move any of my limbs and my head started to feel heavy on my neck. Everything felt too heavy, everything was too much. None of it made sense, no matter how many times I replayed his explanation in my head.

"You're joking," I stated, not even bothering to make it sound like a question.

He gave me a look of pure confusion. "Why would I joke about something like this?"

"Because frankly, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

He gave me a heavy sigh, as if he was conceding. "I understand it's hard to comprehend, but it's true."

I massaged my temples, trying to stave off the impending headache. "It's hard to comprehend because it's crazy. Yousoundcrazy trying to make me believe any of this. You are trying to find an answer that isn't there." I ran a hand through my hair, pulling at the curly ends. "How about you tell me what you actually found, and we can both just put this sad excuse for a joke behind us?"

Nicholas groaned, pushing the sleeves of his jacket up. "Dani, it's not a fucking joke. It's true. I wouldn't just make this shit up and I think you know that. I wouldn't come back from Oculus just to tell you a fucking lie. That's not me." He got up and walked towards me again, this time taking my forearms in his hands and squeezing. "You were supposed to be an angel and that's what's been inside of you this entire time. As much as I'd like to sugar coat it…I can't."

"You sound insane. It doesn't make sense—"

I let his hands continue to hold me as I looked up at him, ready to make another quick remark, but his face had me closing my mouth. His eyebrows were turned inward, his eyes were soft and almost pleading, and his voice was steady and slightly demanding. I'd seen Nicholas joke before, and this wasn't one. He wasn't lying.

I heard myself speak, but it sounded like a whisper. "The feeling…the voice, it's because I'm supposed to be a—" I couldn't make myself say it, but I let the realization trail off with all the unspoken words.

"Natalia said that angelic power doesn't go away, so when Lilith made you a demon, she just kind of placed darkness on top of it. Then I guess you kind of kept pushing it further and further down until you couldn't recognize it anymore."

I licked my bottom lip, realizing how dry my mouth was. "When I first got to Purgatory, it was so strong, it would give me these intense headaches. It was so loud and almost raging—"

"It was scared and it didn't know where it was, just like you," Nicholas said. "Angels have a connection to their powers; once we start developing them, it becomes like a friendship. It grows over time, once you start understanding it and using it, but you, Dani, you never really got to know your own power, which makes sense as to why you couldn't understand it. You couldn't connect with it.

"It hasn't let you go, though, and it never will. I think it just started to back off from you when it realized you were leaning another way. Now, with you being here, you're starting to feel it more. I think it knows that it's home." He blinked down at me, his lips twitching as if a ghost of a smile wanted to play along his lips.

---