Page 1 of Legendary

LILITH

My beautiful girl. My beautiful creation.

So naïve.

Pity, really, to have so much power but be so ungrateful.

She would have torn their world apart and it would have been a glorious sight to behold, but of course things don’t always work out the way we hope. I had no time to linger on such thoughts when there was so much to prepare for.

I heard the click of heels on the brick floor, peeking over my shoulder to see my little Enchanter. The Enchanters I’ve surrounded myself with, the ones forced to be here with me, they are nothing like Isabel. I can taste her rage, her malice, from miles away and it’s positively delicious. If only my Soul Seether could be so easily molded, so easily convinced.

“The Oculus wards are stronger than ever. I can’t…” She stopped, raising her eyes to the ceiling before continuing. “I can’t break through it. I can’t tell you their next move.”

I gave her a small smile before turning towards her, my red silk dress swishing along the ground, kicking up dust. “It’s alright, sweetheart. I’m not angry.”

Isabel went from looking at the ceiling to looking at the ground, as she curled a lock of her golden blonde hair around her ear. “I know you aren’t, but I want to help. I could try to gain some more power. I could take Natalia, bring her here as bait or something.”

I tsked and placed my hand on her cheek; her green eyes looked at me with so much devotion, it was refreshing. “You are a good one, but there is no need for that.”

She huffed, her eyes an electric color resembling a rainbow. “Then what are we even doing? I’m not just going to wait here for them to make a move. We did that last time and they made it out alive. I don’t doubt you, but you can’t just let them waltz in here like nothing happened. Dani has gone rogue, Elise completely disobeyed you and those stupid angels—” Her fingertips flickered with that same rainbow coloring.

“Hmm, yes. Last time, I put too much faith in my Soul Seether. I don’t make the same mistakes twice, my dear.” I snapped my fingers, and two demon guards came barreling into the room. “If I know her well enough, she’ll be ready to rage and fight, right in here, where she belongs.”

The guards stood a few feet away from me, awaiting my instructions. I threaded my fingers together in front of me, giving the demons my full attention. “Gather the ones in the holding cells.”

“Holding cells? I thought you were done experimenting with those demons. After the ambush, that’s what you said.” Isabel scrunched up her face in confusion.

I let out a light laugh. “Oh, no, I won’t need toexperimentwith them anymore. They are going to do exactly what I know they can do, when I tell them to, as will you when the time comes.”

Isabel raised a delicate eyebrow at me as the guards hurried off to bring me my toys. “What are you asking them to do? Kill her?”

I cocked my head to the side, watching her. I’d waited for my Soul Seether for years and when she was in my grasp, I made sure she had all the tools to succeed. Letting her get taken to Heaven’s Gate was hard, but it had to be done. Letting an overzealous angel into my plan had been my first mistake; I practically shook my head remembering how he had come to me battered and so very, very angry. I should have known there would be altered plans and outliers, like that boy of hers. Such a handsome boy.

Ah men. They always seemed to get in the way.

No bother, though—they made perfect distractions.

Made us weak.

My lips curved up into a mischievous smile when I answered her. “No. They’re going to bring me what’smine.”

NICK

I’d never been the type to pine for something. I’ve wanted things, of course, but this was different. I hadn’t felt the need for something every second I was awake or never constantly thought about that same thing when I went to sleep, but here I was pining. Pining over a girl who clearly wanted nothing to do with me at the moment.I’d tried to distract myself, engaging Daya in conversations about a time when portaling was a regular way of transportation among angels until it was taken away after the war. As much as it pained her, she seemed to adore talking about life before it all, so I leaned into that. My thoughts, like always, never stayed in one place for long and they always landed on the same thing—or rather, the same person.

She had barely looked at me when she’d left my house behind Natalia and Elise. All I had wanted to do was take her hand and tell her I was sorry, that I wanted to understand her more. Knowing Dani, she probably would have just shaken her head and said, ‘try again, pretty boy’ and walked away. Yes, I probably would have watched her walk away, because I’mstarting to feel a bit obsessed. I was chalking it up to the fact that I went from seeing her quite frequently to not seeing her at all for about three months now.

We hadn’t heard anything from the girls since they had left months ago, but theyhadleft us with a lot to think about. Not only that, but it didn’t seem there was any movement on Lilith’s side of things either.

I used my back to close my bedroom door and let out a sigh as I relaxed against it. I could hear Reese and my dad walking around in the living room and chatting, and I tried to close my eyes and block them out. I unbuttoned the first few buttons of my dress shirt and slid a hand around the back of my neck.

Ariel had taken care of getting The Skies back in order, with Reese and I trying our best to help, even if being around Ariel was the most mind-numbing experience of my life.

The angels who came back to The Skies were wary of pretty much anything and everything now, although rightfully so since one of the angels they’d trusted betrayed us. Markus had this whole plan and none of us saw it, which made me so fucking angry, I had two distinct fist sized holes in my wall to prove it. Markus had played us so well and he had…he— he killed Jonah.

Jonah.

It took three months for us to get things back in order and for Ariel to achieve his perfect vision for Jonah’s ceremony. We’d just returned, it was the longest period Reese had ever kept his mouth closed, so I was thankful for that. Natalia had walked up next to me in a long flowing black dress with gold buttons along the shoulders and waist. She had given me a somber expression, mouthing an “I’m sorry,” before she faced forward, clearly holding in her tears.

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