Page 152 of Living Legend

She would pay for this.

Even though the pain felt as if all the bones in my back were on fire, I pushed through it. The excruciating pain hit again and again as my wings attempted to manifest.

Finally, I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes. I strained one more time and my wings expanded.

Chapter Twenty-Three

DANI

Ifelt the bottom tips of my wings brush the dirt and dust off the ground as I corrected myself so I was pushing up and back towards Elise. She would have let me fall and hit the ground, likely breaking more bones than I would have liked. Bones would break, hers and mine, but I didn't want it all to happen so quickly. I looked down to see more Enchanters had started to gather, but I couldn't make out their faces. I could have guessed that everyone had about an ounce of fear in their eyes.

I didn't blame them.

Elise came into my view, her smug face completely collected. I caught a glimpse of her widened gray eyes right as I was making my way up to her. She clearly hadn't expected me to rally so quickly. Her mistake.

Before she could make any move against me, I propelled my arm up and extended a rope of solid black, hooking it around her ankle. The rope knotted itself around her and I didn't hesitate to pull my arm back and drag her toward the ground beneath us. I flung her down so fast, she didn't have time to think about her wings, or anything else for that matter. I heard the thud of her small frame, and a shudder went through me, making me smile. I rapidly descended so that I was hovering over her splayed body.

I looked down at the back of her head and watched as she slowly placed her palms on the ground, grinding her fingers into the dirt and gravel. Her face was still concealed and she seemed to be taking her sweet time getting back up. I raised an eyebrow when her shoulders started shaking and a small knowing sound of a laugh came from her. Her laugh came out more clearly as she shook her head and looked up at me, her face cut along her forehead and cheeks, mated dirt caught up in pieces of her hair.

"You really love putting on a show, don't you?" Right as I was about to make my next move, she quickly came off the ground to swing her legs around and knock me on my ass. She grabbed my ankle and yanked me over to her with so much force, I felt the tiny rocks and broken tree branches scratch along my back through my shirt. She straddled my waist and wrapped her hand around my throat. Elise jerked me up towards her by my neck and then slammed me back into the ground, the back of my head creating a resounding thud.

"What is even happening right now?" I heard Reese say from behind us. I heard the chatter of more people, the shrieks and cries from scared Enchanters, the disgruntled muffles of ones who had probably had enough of this shit.

I felt Elise grab my neck again, preparing to force me down, but I felt her signature up-close move. Her midnight black venom burned and poisoned you from the inside out. It was slow and methodical, torturing. It paralyzed you and burned you at the same time, but if ever she stopped, the sensation would linger, so the longer she did it, the more you had to wait for it to wear off. If she did it long enough, you more than likely wouldn't survive. She would make sure of it.

I felt it travel towards my collarbones and up to my jaw. "Oh, Dani. You should really focus on what's happening now and stop fucking around with what you can't fix. It's beneath you." She sounded so condescending, I wanted to punch her in the throat.

I flexed my fingers, confirming I had movement in my hands, so that's exactly what I did.I brought my fist up and back, then throttled it towards her slender neck. She let go of me, letting out a few rough coughs. I felt my hand vibrate with rage and I slammed my palm against her chest, causing her to fly backwards into the tree. Black smoke seeped from my hand as she sailed away from me. The branches shook and rattled, leaves cascading down towards the ground. I huffed out a few harsh breaths, shoving myself off the ground.I stalked over to her as she was shaking leaves out of her hair and cracking her neck.

"Dani, stop!" I heard a familiar deep voice plead.

"Nick, shut up. We should really let this play out," Reese joked, letting out a small chuckle.

Nick let out an exasperated sigh. "Dani, look at me, please!"

I tightened my fists at my sides and looked over my shoulder. His brown eyes were so wide, they were saucers, and his cheeks had hints of pink that I knew wasn't from simple blushing. I kept a side eye on Elise, who was standing with her head tilted, waiting for Nick to say whatever he needed to say.

"Whatever you say won't change anything," I stated, narrowing my eyes at him.

He pressed his lips together. "I get you're angry, but this won't change anything either. Everything will still be the same when this fight between you two is over. Elise can answer for shit later, so can you please stop so we can focus?"

Elise let out the loudest laugh in the silence that surrounded us. I tilted my head up to the sky, truly considering letting this go. That consideration lasted all of a fucking minute. "I don't do later, Nick. I prefer instant gratification." I turned my head fully towards Elise, who had finally righted herself from when she had doubled over laughing. "Unless Elise would like to stop being a withholding bitch."

"There has to be a better way than this," Nick said.

"Wait, wait, you know what's going on with them?" Reese asked.

“Nick, you should really fucking go,” I said, my voice steady.

Elise let out atskand shot her eyes behind me to where the boys stood. "Youreallyshould let demons be demons and not get in the middle of something that doesn't involve you." She picked dirt out from her hair. "You involved yourself, Nicholas. So do me the honor of watching me beat the shit out of your girlfriend."

"Elise—" Nick started, but before he could say whatever he wanted, I saw what caught his words in his throat. Elise's eyes formed whirls of reddish black, the tips of her hair casting the same colors but in a transparent smoky form. None of that had me apprehensive, but it was what was spooling from her lower back that grabbed my attention.

It was black and from this distance, looked as if it was textured in velvet. It wasn't too thick, but I knew that it carried some weight. Dark smoke clouded around every inch of it. The tip was spiked with orange-yellow points that somehow reflected the sunlight and made the sharp tips look even more menacing.

"Woah, what the fuck. She had a fucking tail this whole time?" Reese shouted.

“Reese, we have to go!”

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