Page 172 of Living Legend

Isabel walked towards Natalia and perched herself on the wooden table next to her girlfriend's chair. She reached her hand out, cupping Natalia’s chin. “All in due time.” Natalia tried to pull away from her grasp, but the traitorous Enchanter just held on tighter. “Oh, don’t be like that. Maybe if you didn’t make it so easy to earn your trust, you could have prevented all of this. Poor little queen so desperate for someone to love you.”

“Just leave her alone!” Dani yelled from across the table. Isabel swung her head in her direction.

She smirked. “Don’t worry, Soul Seether. She isn’t the one we want, but you know that. Beautiful Natalia here was just a means to an end.” Isabel hopped off the table and sauntered over to me, the angels parting a way for her. “You’re all collateral. I wouldn’t have cared if you died out there, but he thought it would be better to keep you alive—for now.” She looked down at where I was on the ground, her eyebrows raised.

She clapped her hands together. “Oh, this came together so wonderfully!” She patted the top of my head. “You get to see your little girlfriend do what she does best. Exciting, isn’t it, Nicholas?”

I let out a grunt. “Just let us go, Isabel, or tell us what’s going on.”

She pushed her pink lips out into a pout. “Now that would ruin all the fun, wouldn’t it? I will tell you one thing, though.” Isabel cocked her head to the side, her blonde hair moving with her. “It’s amazing what the power of so many willing Enchanters can do for you. It’s overwhelming, but it was a necessary evil. Seducing a queen is easy, but breaking through their power, now that—, she brought her hand up and colorful magic crackled from her

fingertips, growing larger. Her eyes shifted with the various colors that bounced around her hand. “That is something that takes much more strength.”

“You bitch,” Natalia spat out.

Isabel slightly turned and pointed her index finger at Natalia, a small spark of blue shooting out from her fingertip and right at the High Priestess’s mouth. Natalia instantly closed her mouth and tried to open it again but couldn’t. She made muffled noises from behind her lips, and Isabel gave atsk, wiggling her index finger. “No need for name calling, my love.”

Isabel moved past Jonah like he wasn’t even there, but he followed her movements.

She walked around, stopping at Elise and swatting her hand across the side of her face before moving onto Reese and simply rolling her eyes before moving towards Dani. Dani stiffened as she got close, her dark eyes darting to Reese and then to Elise, who was seething next to me. Isabel twirled one of Dani’s curls around her finger. “You would have made an interesting angel.”

She was taunting all of us. She was a bitch, that was for sure. Dani twitched at the way Isabel was pulling her hair.

“Fuck you,” Dani said. She was angry. She had every right to be. “Fuck you and whatever plan Lilith has. Whatever she wants, I'm not doing it.”

Isabel grabbed under her chin, bringing her face up. Magic moved from her fingers to Dani’s chin, and I heard Dani groan as Isabel’s magic seeped down her neck. “Oh, you’ll do it. You have a very handsome reason to do everything we say, now don’t you, Soul Seether?” She tilted Dani’s head to look at me. Dani looked like she was lost, like she had no sure-fire way out of this. She didn’t.

None of us did.

“Now, now, Isabel, let’s not tarnish our prized possessions,” a voice echoed through the room. It sounded as if it was coming from beyond the door.

I watched as Jonah closed his eyes and started to get up, as if he was ready to fight, but two sentries pressed down on his shoulders, keeping him in place. He looked at me, as if pleading for me to do something. I didn’t know what he wantedmeto do. I wanted to help him, and I wanted to help the demon that my heart rapidly decided to beat for, but as I tried to pull on my restraints, it was still no use.

Isabel let Dani go with a bratty sigh and crossed her arms over her chest.

Footsteps echoed as they got closer and closer. A small smile crept up on Isabel’s face as she waited. Elise kept her eyes on the entrance to the room, while Reese gave me another confused look, which I volleyed back. The voice sounded familiar, but it was different. This voice sounded dark and demanding.

“You are quite the little liar, Nicholas.” The footsteps got closer and closer.

I furrowed my brow in confusion.

I heard a zip through the room, like the sound of an arrow sailing through the air. A thud sounded and then cracking wood reverberated around the room. We all stared at what looked like a blade now stuck in the middle of the long table. The blade was angled into the wood as if it was hooked at the end. The hilt was leather, rich and brown. The middle had razor slits that looked sharp, even from where I was on the floor.

Isabel's eyes flashed with magic as she stared at it.

Dani zeroed in on the weapon in the middle of the table, her eyes glued to it.

I didn't have to look at the etchings carved into the silver to know what it said. I knew exactly what it said. It was her dagger, and it was out of my room and right in front of us.

I noticed Elise had stunted her breathing, her eyes on the weapon as well.

My eyes were pulled from the dagger when a figure walked into the room.

"Oh my god," Reese said, eyes fixed on the man who had entered the room. I looked at him and realized his eyes were locked on mine. A knowing look was written all over his face.

I was so stupid.

"A bad liar at that." He cocked his head to the dagger, running a hand through the side of his gray hair.

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