Page 40 of Legendary

“Are you going to explain anything right now?”

“And what would you like for me to explain? Beetee wanted you to talk to her friends so here we are,” Elise grumbled.

“You fucking know that’s not what I mean.”

I sighed not wanting to intervene, but if they started fighting again, we could all be fucked. “Can you both just not, please.”

Elise flicked her eyes to me and narrowed them. “Aw, your little boyfriend thinks he has a say in any of this.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Dani bared her teeth. I could admit how much that stung just a tiny bit. I wasn’t upset by her statement, but still…

Elise tapped her finger against her pursed lips. “Oh right, he’syourboyfriend.” She pointed at Reese before twirling around and moving along the rock again.

Reese stood there with his mouth open and anger in his eyes.

“Over here!” Elise shouted and we all hustled over to her.

As we wrapped around the rock, I didn’t notice anything different until my eyes caught on a smaller rock attached to the larger formation. It was red and rounded out almost like a knob, but there was no indication of a door. Elise rapped her knuckles along the area where the knob sat, then waited. I looked back behind me, still seeing Axel fully awake, but nestled on his stomach. I heard Elise knock again, then she let out a loud groan. “Beetee sent us to talk, so letting us in would be greatly appreciated.” The nice tone in her voice sounded so fake I almost laughed.

There was a straining noise as if something heavy was placed on top of something that couldn’t bear its weight. The red rock glittered and long cracks started to show in the rock, making the shape of a jagged edged door. The door slid to the left as if it was transparent to the rest of the rock. A woman poked her head out, her hair in two braids running down the sides of her head. I couldn’t make out her face well enough yet, but she focused her attention on Elise who didn’t seem phased by any of this.

“Beetee sentyou?” She was practically whispering, but from what I could tell her words were sharp.

Elise clucked her tongue. “Beetee sent all of us.” She motioned towards us in a nonchalant fashion.

The woman turned her head and gave us each a quick look. She motioned for us to follow her inside, but Reese and I hesitated. Elise followed her easily and Dani took one more look around before she stepped through the doorway as well. She peeked back out when I assumed she noticed we weren’t right behind her. She had her hand on the door and let her head tilt to the side, her hair swinging aimlessly. “You are welcome to stay out here by yourselves. I wouldn’t suggest it though since I won’t be out here to protect you.” She smirked at both of us then disappeared.

Reese and I both looked at each other before we made a mutual decision to head inside. I placed my hand on the side of the rock as I let my head peek inside before I let the rest of my body enter. It smelled like citrus the minute I inhaled, citrus and a hint of something that smelled like home. Not a scent that made me think of my father or my village, but the kind of scent that made your shoulders relax and eased your anxiety. Once we were both inside, the door slid closed behind us, any indication that it was ever an actual door now gone. It took me a minute to gauge what I was looking at. The interior had no rocks whatsoever. The walls were wood and the short hallway that was in front of me was adorned with sconces on the wall, casting the area in dim but welcoming light.

The woman from before caught my attention and nodded her head towards the open area to her right. Reese’s head was swiveling from left to right, his stunned expression speaking volumes. The room was small, but homey. There was a simple rug and two tall lamps with stands that looked like they had been made from tree bark. A singular window sat on the far wall, and I could see Axel in all his sleepy glory. The ceiling was high and there were small shelves and just tiny touches around the room that let you know that people lived here. Enchanters were a resilient bunch. Dani was already leaning up against the wall to my left and Elise had made herself comfortable on the couch that sat in the middle of the room. Reese and I hovered in the doorway as the woman who let us in watched Elise carefully.

She gave us her attention and her eyes seemed to widen for a moment before they settled back to their normal state. Her features were dark, her eyes a deep brown, her hair was the same, but her skin was a light honey color. She had different earrings, varying between gold and silver, cascading down from the top of her ears all the way to her earlobes. She wore a tank top that showed off all the decorated markings on one of her arms, but therewere raised scars there as well.

“I’m Leah and you are…” she waited patiently for our answers.

She reached my shoulder, but when I looked down, I saw that she wore heeled boots that gave her the illusion of being taller. She gave off this casual air of confidence that I’d only ever gotten from one person. My eyes floated to Dani, but then back to Leah as I answered.

“I’m Nicholas and this is Reese.” I nodded my head towards my best friend who lifted his arm and gave a quick wave before continuing to not so subtly gawk at his surroundings. I pointed over to Dani to continue my introductions when Leah brought her hand up to stop me.

“I am well aware of who the Soul Seether is, Nicholas. Just like I’m very aware that you are both angels.”

Reese wrinkled his nose. “Can you smell it on us too?”

Leah shook her head. “No, you just look—angelic. Like you’ll fight for someone’s honor immediately.”

“Oh, well she has you pegged pretty well, Nicholas,” Elise chuckled.

Leah side-eyed Elise before turning around to settle down on the couch opposite her. “If you would have asked me years ago if I wanted the Soul Seether in my house, I would have said Hell no, but that was then, back when I thought you were quite the mindless puppet.”

I watched as Dani’s mouth flew open, but she thought better of it for the moment and stopped. She paused and looked as if she was trying to choose her words wisely. “Well thanks for changing your mind, I suppose.”

Leah settled back on the couch and waved her hand over to us. “Hmm, well come on over, you two just standing there is making me anxious.”

We both walked over, as Reese leaned in and whispered in my ear, “So like am I wrong for saying I find her super attractive?”

“Umm, no,” I whispered back.

“Good, good, because I do.”

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