Page 158 of Living Legend

"This doesn't make us friends, you know," he called over his shoulder.

I twisted my body so I could see him. "Well, we weren't friends when we fought those shadow demons together. All I'm asking is that you give a repeat performance."

"Now that, I can do."

Chapter Twenty-Four

NICK

This is the legit opposite of what I wanted when I left. I don’t regret telling Dani something that she had every right to know, but I can honestly admit that maybe I went about it for reasons not completely unselfish. This turned into a giant clusterfuck of unnecessary violence and yeah, sure, I could blame Elise for not being more forthcoming, but maybe Reese was right and this whole situation could have been dealt with better. Dealt with better onmyend.

I hated watching her walk away from me and I especially hated the way she moved my hand away, as if that was the absolute last thing she wanted. It probablywasthe last thing she wanted, and I would do what she asked and take a step back. That didn’t mean I had to like it. I hated what had transpired within the last hour, but what had just happened within the last few minutes had my stomach in knots. It hurt in a way that creeped up from my stomach towards that beating organ in my chest.

I severely fucked up. I knew that. Reese's words settled uncomfortably in my mind as I started walking.

Makes things easier for you.It reminded me a lot of what Dani had said to me earlier when I somehow couldn't find the words to make myself clear.

Was that what I was really like? Was that how I came off?

I had started all of this with an order from a higher up, and now it was starting to unfold into something I didn't know how to navigate. The people I wanted to trust were rubbing me the wrong way and the people I couldn’t trust were somehow becoming my allies. I was good at structure and order, commands and duty, but this…whatever the fuck was going on wasn't something I could easily figure out. It was like everything I had ever known was now molding and shifting into something unrecognizable, yet I still wanted to take hold of it and decipher it. I never went into thingswantingto be a hero, I always just was. I was always the one to get Reese out of his messes, the one who trainees came to with questions, I was always the one with the fucking plan.

The credit was usually given to me and maybe…that was where I went wrong. This wasn't about credit or glory or the thanks given to me by a beautiful demon.

I thought telling Dani was me being a good person, but thinking back on it now, maybe my reasonings weren't just for her benefit. I wanted to tell her because that's just what good people do and she deserved to know, but maybe she was right. My persistence on who she could become was unwarranted. She deserved what she was owed, but this little piece of information gave her a way into a different life. Maybe that night of talking and incredibly mind-blowing sex had me thinking that a different life would include both of us.

Me telling her she was an angel didn't instantly change her, and knowledge that maybe, if she wanted, she could have one life over the other hadn't changed her either, so I don't know why I thought it would. She thought I fucked her as some sort of need to check off sleeping with a demon from my list. All sleeping with her did was make me want to know more about her, breathe her in , hold her…

I would settle for holding her fucking hand.

I realized I hadn't been paying attention to where I was walking and ran straight into the thin body of the High Priestess. She looked at me as if she was undisturbed by our bodies colliding. She gracefully took hold of my forearms and gave me a considerate look.

"Are you alright?"

I chewed on the inside of my lip before I answered. "I'm alright. I just…"

She raised a delicate eyebrow. "Don't know where to start." There was no inflection at the end of her words, which told me she was simply just finishing my statement instead of asking the question.

"Pretty much. I didn't want this, you know. I thought telling her quickly would be a good plan. I knew she would be upset and then the whole thing with Elise just came out and I just didn't think after she spoke about leaving." I could feel my disdain for the whole thing in my voice, my heartbeat starting to pace faster.

Natalia nodded softly. "You don't have to explain to me. Although, I will remind you that I did say telling her would not be beneficial in this moment. What's done is done. Whether you meant to cause damage or not, the damage has been dealt, so all you can do is figure out a way to fix it; quickly, if I might add."

I let my eyes close for a moment and then opened them, taking a long breath in and out. "Do you agree with them?"

Natalia tilted her head to the side confused. "Agree with what?"

"That I make decisions to make things easier on myself. Reese and Dani literally said the same thing to me in less than twenty-four hours." I let out a half-hearted chuckle.

The High Priestess stuck her tongue in her cheek and her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her elegant voice brought me out of my head. "Nicholas, I don't think you have done anything in your life to hurt anyone intentionally. I think you make decisions with others’ best interest at heart." She pointed her finger to my chest, but then tapped her fingernail against me. Her honey-colored eyes narrowed a bit, telling me that the compliments were coming to an end. "But, and correct me if I'm wrong you don't always consider the bigger picture when making these decisions. You wonder why no one is thanking you for your plan or simply just going along with it. Well, that's simple. When you have a team, Nicholas, everyone has a say, a role, everyone's interests are accounted for, their ideas are accepted with open arms, everyone is in theloop." She raised her hand to my chin. "You have an idea of a team, what you want from these people around you, yet you are still trying to be theonlyleader, the only hero, as your friend says. Lilith will beat all of us if you cannot learn to take a step back and realize what you're doing."

I swallowed hard, taking in each and every one of her words. Each syllable hit me like a punch to the gut.

"As for your very vocal blonde friend, I think it's mostly pride, but regardless, just apologize. He holds your friendship much closer than you think he does. It was easy when it was always just the two of you but now…" She looked over in the direction that Dani had walked and then over her shoulder where the healers had taken Elise. "Well, now things are different. Whatever is going on with you and Dani will take time."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, I'm well aware of that."

"I don't know what you said to her or what’s really going on." She gestured her hand towards where the fight broke out. "But I do know you care about her, and I have a strong feeling you might have put your foot in your mouth."

I looked up then to see a small smile forming on her pink lips. I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Alright, alright. You sound like my father, you know that?"

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