Page 24 of Living Legend

I bite my tongue, suppressing my laugh. “We weren’t going to let you die. Let’s not forget Dani saved your ass.” I gave him a pointed look.

He ignored my comment, walking over to his dresser and pulling out clean clothes. Instead, he said, “is it weird to say Natalia was kind of hot, or is that too soon?”

I waved my hands out in front of me. “Wait, wait, wait. Elise wants to kill you and you can’t stand her, but Natalia actually tried to hurt you and you think she’s hot? I don’t follow.”

Reese tucked his clothes underneath his arm. “Natalia did it to, you know, protect her people. Elise just wants to annoy the living fuck out of me until the day I die, which would undoubtedly be her fault anyway.”

I looked up at the ceiling and fell back onto his bed. “Shower, please.”

“Okay, mom.” He walked back into the bathroom, and I shut my eyes, mentally checking off all the things I planned to do today.

“Hey, so what are we doing this early anyway?” Reese asked.

“I set up an impromptu training session with Dani,” I started, opening my eyes and pushing up on my elbows, only to be faced with a completely naked Reese casually standing in front of me. “Fucking shit, Reese, a little warning would be great.”

He smirked, turning away towards the bathroom again, giving me a prime view of his ass before slamming the door behind him. “Ain’t nothing little about it.”

Chapter Five

DANI

“Punctuality must not be part of being an angel,” Elise said. Once the sentries had led us to this training room, removed the handcuffs, and promptly left thirty minutes ago, she had made herself comfortable on the glossy floor. She propped herself against the wall and tilted her head back. “I don’t like being woken up early for no fucking reason.”

“At least you get to release some of the anger you’ve been harboring today,” I answered, my hands on my hips.

“Very true. I know just who I can release it on.” She tapped each of her black-polished fingernails on her chin dramatically.

I rolled my eyes. “Give him a break.”

“He can have a break when he dies,” she quipped, pressing her lips together. “Of completely natural causes and not by my hand, of course.”

I raised an eyebrow at her and opened my mouth to respond when the door opened. I turned to see Nicholas and Reese walking over the threshold, expressionless. We had been told to dress for training, which to angels meant comfortable, breathable attire. They were no exception, both sporting sweatpants and worn t-shirts. Elise had opted for a baggy shirt and shorts, while I decided on just a sports bra and dark red leggings. I had braided my hair to keep it out of my face, but small, wispy curls had escaped around my forehead and temples.

“Look who decided to grace us with their presence this glorious morning,” Elise sneered.

Reese gave a tight smile and walked to the weapons rack near the door. He pulled a sword out and lightly tossed it to his friend, who smoothly caught it.

“Bit of a late start this morning.” Nicholas nodded behind him just as Reese let out a disgruntled sound of agreement as he wrapped his hair in a messy bun.

“Aw, did Blondie not get his beauty sleep last night?” Elise placed her hands on either side of her legs, palms to the ground.

Reese pulled out a sword for himself and twirled it in his hand. “Fuck you.”

Elise pushed out her bottom lip. “You wish.”

I decided to cut in before any more shots were fired. “You want us to train?”

Nick laid the sword over his shoulder, letting the blade rest on his clavicle. I noticed the prompt tick at his neck, his pulse strong but relaxed. His skin was smooth, but there were imperfections that broke the porcelain mold: small shaving cuts at his chin, a scar under his right eye, the bruises still heavily purple on his wrists from our trip to Oculus.

I hadn’t realized he was a few feet in front of me until he spoke again, those brown eyes looking right at me. “I made sure to block off this training room so we wouldn’t be interrupted. We wanna see your skill sets.”

I gave him a small smile. “You’ll have to be a bit more specific, Nicholas. I’mskilledin a lot of things.”

“Skills with a sword.”

I kept my smile but traced my eyes down his body. “I assure you my sword skills comehighlyrecommended.” I raised my hand and let my finger trace down his forearm.

His eyes never left my face, but I could feel the hairs on his arm rise, goosebumps making a welcomed appearance. His attempt to disregard my innuendo was cute. He let his eyes drop for a minute to my chest until he cleared his throat and backed off, turning towards Reese, who stood there with his eyes narrowed.

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