Page 92 of Living Legend

Natalia waved her hand around, creating a portal that opened slowly, letting in light that pierced the darkness of the room. She looked over at me as I started to press my hand to my side. “Get out of here!” she shouted at me before she yanked both Reese and Elise through the portal before it closed.How did she want me to leave? In the condition I was in, I couldn’t fly, let alone carry Dani. If Dani wanted to use her own wings, I didn’t wantherto have to carryme.

Then it dawned on me. I dipped my fingers into my shirt and pulled out my portal key. Natalia’s gift. Where did she want me to go? Where would Iwantto go?

The demons had dispersed to only a few around us, some following Markus and Ariel out of the room, but Jonah watched me as he hovered near the door. I wanted somewhere I could be safe, somewhere I knew Dani would be safe.

“Jonah, let’s go!” I heard Markus yell from somewhere in the hallway.

The dark shadows on the ground remained, letting us know that their presence was still very much a fixture.

“Nicholas?” Dani asked hesitantly. She watched as I held the portal key in front of me. Somewhere safe? Somewhere…safe?I reached my hand out for Dani to take it. She looked down at my outstretched hand and took a small glance over to my blood-soaked shirt before taking it. Her skin was just as warm as I remembered. I didn’t know where I was taking her, but it was going to be out of here and it was going to be right now.

I started making a circle with the key, watching as the space in front of us opened and light shot out, almost blinding me. I pulled her through without a second thought and hoped that I was thinking about somewhere plausible for her to be. I hoped we would end up far away from this shit, if only for a little while.

We had run through the portal so fast, we had no time to think about the in-between. We didn’t need to keep our balance or be aware of the glowing colors creeping from every surface. I blinked and felt a sharp pain in my back. I heard a thud next to me, seeing Dani arch her back as if she’d landed roughly. I saw as she reached behind her head and rubbed the back of her skull.

I looked down at my shirt and saw that the blood was moving its way out of my wound and had trickled down to my pants. I was still holding her hand, her fingers still intertwined in mine. I let my head fall back against the floor and I sighed.

Wait.

I sniffed. Then I sniffed again. That smell was familiar. The smell of meat and onions and peppers. I shifted my head to the side and saw a familiar mantle, a familiar rug. Dani looked over at me and took in my confused expression. She looked above our heads as a shadow appeared over us. I slowly moved my eyes away from her and up at the figure above us. I closed my eyes the minute I met his face.

He had his hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised. “Nicholas?” my father said, no sign of a smile.

I was home.

Chapter Fifteen

DANI

The man standing over us had a mixture of amusement, concern, and confusion etched across his face. He had his hands on his hips and had given me a quick look before landing his pointed stare on Nicholas, who had his eyes closed as if he was pretending this wasn’t happening. Then, the man said his name, as if they were close. I tilted my head as best I could to get a good look at the person above me, but that movement only made my head throb harder.

Where were we? It felt warm and cozy, probably someone’s home. The rain still pattered against the windows, but inside, there was a fire roaring and the smell…fuck, the smell. It was amazing. I felt Nicholas remove his hand from my grasp, leaving my hand with an ache I didn’t want to think about. He laid his hand over his wound, pressing down to staunch the bleeding.

“Jesus, Nicholas,” the man said, leaning down to haul him up from the ground, careful not to injure him more. I managed to lift myself so I was sitting up, watching them. Nicholas proceeded to protest he was fine, while wincing at every slight movement. The man grunted and sat him down in one of the chairs at a wooden dining table.

I looked to my left, seeing the fire that made the room toasty and inviting, the couch with a blanket slung over the back, and a hallway that led to three doors, each one opened just a tiny bit. The lightning outside didn’t seem so nerve-inducing with so much glowing energy in here. I heard a sharp hiss and then a groan, springing up from my place on the floor and looking over at Nicholas. He had his back turned to me in the chair, but his shirt was off, and I saw the way his back muscles tensed. Another hiss and the ropes of muscle around his arms pressed against his skin. I looked down around my feet and saw his sword not a few feet away from where we landed. I reached down to pick it up and placed it upright against the nearest wall.

“You have to stay still, Nicholas,” I heard the man say as he had a bottle I couldn’tmake out and a tube of ointment. “What the hell happened?”

Nicholas remained quiet. I made my way over to them, wanting to get a good glimpse of the man. They had a first aid kit, the contents spread out. The man threw a bloody cloth towards the supplies and used another one to gently dab what I now realized was alcohol from the bottle onto the wound, not even flinching when Nicholas hissed out low curse words. He reached for some ointment to smear onto Nichola’s gash and peered up at me. My breath caught when his eyes met mine. His eyes were a deep brown, simple but wise. The man’s jaw was cut and defined and if the way his shirt hugged his arms and chest told me anything, it was that he kept himself in good shape. His hair was thick and dark, so, for an older man, he was fucking hot. I gave him a once over and he raised an eyebrow at me, as if waiting for me to speak first.

I looked from his face to Nicholas, who was now looking at me as well. He remained just as quiet as before, but now it looked as if his was trying to configure a story. I looked back to the man and then quickly back at Nicholas. The eyes, the jaw, the fucking muscular arms. Fuck, even their mouths had the same curve.

“Are you Nicholas’ dad?” I asked tentatively.

The man furrowed his brow and looked to Nicholas, who was taking the gauze from the first aid kit and ignoring us. The older doppelgänger let out a little sigh and a laugh that almost made me want to smile. He nodded towards me and stuck out his hand.

“I’m Maurice Cassial, Nick’s father.” His smile was friendly and open. I grasped his hand and nearly watched my hand disappear with how small it was compared to his. “I assume you are one of the demons he’s told me about?”

I widened my eyes at his son, who simply looked up at me and shrugged.Mr. Cassial waited patiently for my reply. “Yeah, I’m Dani. I didn’t know he talked about me.”

He chuckled. “Well, since you are here, would you so kindly do me the honor of telling me what the hell is going on and why my son has an open wound, bleeding all over my floor?” He was casual and easy about it, but I knew the tone was serious.

“Dad,” Nicholas tested.

“You. You do not get to speak right now unless the next thing out of your mouth is an explanation.” Mr. Cassial yanked the gauze from his son and pressed the material to the wound. Nicholas let out a grunt, which is father just huffed at. I pressed my tongue into my cheek, holding in my laugh.

“You really think you can just portal in here and think I’ll just patch you up without asking questions?” his father said, securing the gauze onto his skin. “You may not want to tell me anything, but by the look on her face, she might just sell you out, son.”

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