Page 175 of Living Legend

“Once Nicholas learned of your origin, it was time to get this party started.” She leaned down and got close to the High Priestess' face before she opened her mouth and snapped her teeth together.Natalia flinched, trying to pull herself backwards, her hands magically forced against the table, preventing her from moving.

“So youwerelistening to their conversation when I saw you in the apothecary. You’ve been a fucking creep this whole time,” Elise barked.

"That Finley boy was a test of my loyalty, but of course, you know all about how that ended," Markus said with a grossly sly smile.“He was so eager to think Jonah thought so highly of him.”

"Oh fuck, you needed his key to get him in Purgatory to kill him, because using your own would have given you away. You got her to cast a haze on you so we wouldn't know it was you who had his key." Reese nodded his head to Isabel, pieces of his hair framing his face. Pieces of dirt and dust were scattered along the blond strands.

"Hmm, breaking that stupid portal this pretty thing created for the demons to come through…" He side-eyed Natalia. "It was difficult, but angelic magic and the force of fed-up Enchanters can do wonders. I have to say, one demon breaking through happened earlier than I wanted, but we made do. Of course, Nicholas, you just had to try to dig deep and poke holes in certain plans, running to Jonah every chance you got, but it all worked out." Markus waggled a finger at Nick, as if reprimanding him for getting in the way of this plan.

"The demons at the ambush, you opened it so they could come through," Elise said.

Markus swiped a hand on the shoulder of his suit. "The demons at that meeting -- that was astonishing. Talk about perfect timing."

Angelic magic and the force of fed-up Enchanters.

"It takes one to make it and two to destroy it," I muttered under my breath. Isabel wrinkled her nose at me and I stared back at her. "You think my dagger is going to help you get revenge? Get everything you want, destroy this place?"

Markus picked up my dagger and moved it back and forth like a pendulum. "I want to destroy it and build from scratch. We knew that sacrifices had to be made. Lilith believes in what I want, and I will give her what she wants in return."

Elise scoffed. "You’re working with the Queen of Hell. You honestly think she gives a flying fuck about what you want?"

"What does she want in return?" Nick asked, his voice low and meaningful. His skin was a little paler than normal, likely from the blood loss, but his unwavering look of determination had my heart hurting. I was still upset with how our conversation in his bedroom had gone, but that didn't mean I couldn't still feel a certain way about him.

"Now's the fun part." Isabel clapped her hands together twice and snapped her fingers, a spark of yellow magic flaring to life. The sentries keeping Jonah in place picked up the chair he was in, bringing it closer to the table. Jonah let out a huff as the chair slammed to the ground, unsettling him in his seat. There was dried blood on his face, and he looked tired, but also nervous, as if he was waiting with bated breath just like the rest of us.

I wondered why he wasn't trying to fight back, use magic of his own to save himself. Despite this mannotbeing the bad guy, he was still such a mystery.

Markus rounded the table and came up to me. He leaned down so that his face was level with mine. "You are a very skilled demon. So much untapped dark magic still inside you, but you have that angelic magic begging to be free as well." He used the hooked part of my dagger to brush back a piece of my hair. "Lilith wants out of her prison, to play among the rest of us. Free the Enchanters. You are the key. She just needs you to get a little stronger." The metal from the blade grazed my temple and then my cheek, nicking my skin.

"You'd be strong enough to break Moira's magic," Isabel said, practically skipping over to Jonah, sliding her fingers along the back of his chair.

"How do you expect me to free this angelic part of myself, huh?"

Markus huffed, annoyed. "Lilith figured I could have what I wanted at the same time she got what she wanted. Isabel and I could both get what we wanted. You have a decent amount of darkness consuming you. I mean, look at what you did to poor Cullen. We needed to make sure that part of you was still strong. Now, we need to give it some light to really give you the boost you need. What better way to obtain that kind of power than taking it from someone else?" He gave me a crooked grin before slowly looking over at Jonah.

I noticed Nick widened his eyes as realization sunk in. Reese and Elise looked from each other to me and then to Jonah. Natalia flexed her fingers, trying with all the power I knew she had to get out of her magical restraints, but it was no use.

"What exactly are you asking me to do?" My voice was shaky.

"Oh, what you do best, my dear. Angelic magic is in the soul. It’s still in yours. You are simply going to do what you were programmed to do. Take his soul and draw it into yourself. The highest executive's magic should be more than enough to jump start your powers. Light will call to light and all that. You'll be a force, flowing with so much power." He placed my dagger on the table and slid it over to me.

"Taking souls is one thing; consuming them is something entirely different. Only hell born demons can do that," Elise stated, her neck tattoo pulsing.

Isabel snickered. "You think so? I think you doubt how powerful your pretty High Priestess is. It seems you didn't read far enough into that book you found in your quaint little library."

Isabel knew so much because Natalia had confided in her. She had thought they had the kind of trust where what she said was sacred. That had all been a cruel lie.

"I won't do it," Natalia answered.

The blonde Enchanter just blew out a breath of annoyance. "You will. If you don't, I'll go to Oculus and snap the necks of all your beloved people. How does that sound, sweetheart?"

Natalia swallowed hard, pressing her lips together. The glitter on her shoulders and cheeks seemed to dim at Isabel's words.

"Can you really do that?" Nick asked, eyes locked on Natalia. I could smell the sweat coming off her body, the fear and anguish. I could also smell the way she tried to push that aside and be strong, even though that strength was fading with every moment we were here.

She licked her lips. "I can, but it's magic I don't like touching. My mother never used that sort of magic, so I didn't either. It takes a lot to place one soul into another; it's quite draining. Demons do it in hell, where they can feed off the magic already present."

"All I'm hearing is that you know how to do it." Isabel clucked her tongue.

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