Page 39 of Living Legend

I started to deepen my thoughts about his bedroom habits when he snapped me out of them with his voice. “He told me, you know.”

I blinked in confusion. “Told you what?”

Nicholas only looked ahead, his eyes focused. “Your special gift.”

I swatted the clouds as they passed, trying to figure out what he was talking about. A special gift? Any gift I would be given would be nothing special.Oh shit.

“My compulsion, you mean?” I wriggled my shoulders around, sinking into his arms so my legs hung off a bit more. “What about it?”

He scoffed. “You didn’t think to tell us?”

“Why would I need to? It’s not really something I need to disclose,” I pointed out, tilting my head back to view the open sky. The peacefulness of it was something I envied.

“You’re aware that it’s outlawed, right? A literal crime.” I knew he was trying to scold me, but all I heard was an angel with a deep, dominant voice.Shiver.

“Oh, I think everyone is aware, Nicholas.”

“But you still use it.”

I brought my head back up, letting my nails casually graze the side of his neck, feeling tiny goosebumps raise in his skin. “I’m going to tell you what I told your friend. The way you operate here is the least of my fucking concern. What you outlaw and what you don’t are more like suggestions where I’m from. We both know angels aren’t coming down to check on us. It’s not high on the to-do list for your kind. As long as days go on as normal, a blind eye is turned.”

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Have you ever thought of using it while you’re here?”

“Not really. I mean, you angels are pretty easily motivated as it is.”

His face scrunched up in a perplexed look. He quickly looked down at me and then back towards the sky. “What’s that supposed to mean?

I looked over at where Reese was flying with Elise, highly annoyed in his arms, and smirked. “No reason.”

“I’m going to be honest and tell you I don’t really care that you have it, but only that you don’t use it. If you do and you get caught, I won’t help you,” he explained, expanding his wings so we were gliding instead of pure flying.

“Duly noted, sir,” I answered, saluting him. I decided to let him in on a secret, just to ease his mind. “If it makes you feel any better, I can’t compel anyone even if I wanted to right now.”

He was silent, as if waiting for my answer.I traced my fingers around his neck into the collar of his t-shirt, feeling the skin above his collarbone. I adjusted myself a bit so I was somewhat level with his face. “You have something I need.”

“Ah, your dagger, you mean,” he quipped, interest peaking in his voice.

“Ah yes, you actually hold the key to my compulsion, Mr. Cassial.” I tapped my finger on his collar bone, letting my hand rest there. He made no moves to brush my fingers away, no slight shift of his shoulder to completely remove my fingers from his body.

“I assume you got that fun gift from Lilith?” he asked.

“The dagger or the compulsion?”

He adjusted his arm so that his hand now wrapped around my thigh. “Both.”

“They came as a package deal, although I didn’t know about the compulsion until later. She decided to keep that fun fact to herself. The dagger was forged for me and me alone. She infused it with additions like the compulsion.”

His fingers tightened around my thigh. “So, you only use it when you're torturing people?”

I nodded. “It tends to make what I do a little bit more fun. I can make people do and feel whatever I’d like.”

“Isn’t that a little cruel?”

I giggled a little, causing him to malfunction a bit in flight, as if the sound made him stutter for a moment. “You’re adorable when you’re naïve.”

I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat in a steady rhythm. “Nicholas, you say it’s a little cruel, but we’re talking about torture in Purgatory. It’s nothing but cruelty.”

I could see he was biting the inside of his cheek, thinking on his words.

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