Page 151 of Living Legend

I heard him sigh behind me, but I was staring straight ahead now. My fingers were itching to be wrapped around my dagger, making her cry with every slice and cut it made. My precious weapon was out of reach, but that didn't mean I was weak and useless. Elise was one of few who taught me how to use my powers and skills without a weapon, so it's only fair I show her each and everything I'd learned.

I let the portal engulf me and this time, I was steady as I walked forward. I knew Nick was right at my heels once the portal closed, and within seconds, I blinked and an entirely new Oculus was right in front of me. I recognized some of the things, but it was brighter, buildings more put together, flowers blooming everywhere. The smell of chocolate hit my nose instantly and the sound of wind chimes fluttered around my ears.

"Thank god, I did it right this time," Nick muttered behind me. I didn't know what he was talking about, but I noticed we’d landed right in the middle of everything. Enchanters stopped what they were doing and looked straight at me, taking in my smoking exterior. I narrowed my eyes at each of them, searching. I could feel my blood pulsing in my ears, my anger so fucking loud.

My ears perked up when I heard the familiar voice I was waiting for.

"Back so soon, hero?" Elise said, coming up on my right.

"Elise—" Nick started to say, but he stopped talking as soon as I walked the few steps to Elise and grabbed her by the throat. I felt my fingers squeeze her skin, the thought of cracking her esophagus running through my mind.

"What the hell?" I heard Reese behind me, his feet hitting the cobblestone as he ran.

Elise placed her hands over mine, trying to get me to let go, but I wouldn't. "You have some explaining to do," I gritted out, bringing her closer to my face.

She darted her gray eyes behind me and narrowed them before they bugged out from me gripping her throat harder. She was beginning to say something else, but I threw her back, watching as she landed into a tree trunk. She sunk down, bark cracking and flying off as she made contact.

"Fuck, Dani," Nick said.

Resounding screams and shouts sounded around me, but I didn't care. I was going to make this a fucking show, and I didn't care if the people watching me approved of it or not.

"Get up!" I yelled, stalking over to her. Each of my steps were slow as I watched her get her bearings, using the tree trunk for leverage as she got to her feet.

Elise shook her head, her bangs swinging back and forth. She heaved in a breath and let it out slowly, keeping her eyes trained on me. I thought she would come charging at me, but instead, she smirked and let out a small laugh. "I knew he wouldn't keep his fucking mouth shut."

The dark smoke trailed down my arm and circled around my fingers, growing bolder and darker as a silver flame enveloped my hand. I lifted my hand, watching as the flames danced, seeming to grow larger and fuller.

Elise watched my hand with no sense of urgency, but I noticed red and black ribbons of dark power slithering down her arms.

"Why did you keep it from me?" My voice was leveled and demanding.

In typical Elise fashion, hers was leveled and mocking. "You ask like you expect me to give you an answer."

Distorted colors cloaked my vision. I was done with her games. My whole body was vibrating. We weren't friends in the sense that we braided each other's hair and told each other our biggest fears, but I had trusted her, relied on her. All of that just seemed so…pointless now. Stupid. I was so stupid.

"You will tell me everything, even if I have to make you." I took quicker strides toward her as she lifted her hand up, her own dark flame growing larger.

"I'd love to see you try." She shot her flame out towards me, and I shifted to the left, dodging it.

She shot out another flame, but this one was a rope meant to catch my arm and tug me towards her. I grabbed it and watched as her red tipped little fires morphed into my own silver tipped ones. I yanked it towards me, pulling her forward onto her face.

I rushed over to her right as she was scrambling to get up and grabbed her by the neck. I lifted her face and slammed it back into the ground. I pulled her back up, about to ask her again, hoping she would relent.

Elise reached out her arm furthest from me and grabbed my arm. Inky black lines invaded my veins and I felt a burning sensation reaching up to my neck. My skin was on fire; I let her go, reaching for my sizzling arm.

"You want to play, Dani?" She pushed off the ground and before I knew it, she had let her wings out and grabbed me by the neck. "We'll play." I didn't have a moment to fight back before she dragged me off the ground and into the air. She was fast, and the trees of Oculus were disappearing quickly. I struggled to get out of her grip, pulling at her fingers, but she was relentless.

"Let me down!" I screamed. I kicked at her legs and thrashed my arms. She was letting those black streaks of pain move over my body, my legs tensing with pain and discomfort. They were on fire, tight as if I had pulled a muscle I could never stretch.

"You are so fucking ungrateful," Elise said, raising us higher and higher.

I whipped my head to her. "Ungrateful? You're a fucking liar! Put me down!" I was able to reach my hand out and scratch her face, and she let out a low grunt from my nails digging into the side of her face. Blood was starting to drip from the gouges, and I felt a joyous ringing in my bones.

Her eyes blazed and her tattoo pulsed, as if it was about to rip right off her skin. "Fine! With pleasure!"

The burning pain at my neck was instantly gone, and her hold on my throat vanished as she let go of me. She fucking dropped me. Trees flashed by me as I fell. The pain she let mix into my veins had made its way to my back, and I couldn't push out my wings. Every time I tried, pain would slam into my head, it was as if her magic hindered my own. The wind whipped upward, and my hair flew around my face as I tried to get hold of something, anything, to keep me from slamming into the ground at full force.

I tried again with my wings. Again, again, and again.

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