Page 5 of Legendary

I severely hoped she could wait a little bit longer.

Everything looked fairly normal when we landed on the grassy front lawn of The Skies. There were angels in the sky and others strolling in the general area, which to anyone who didn’t know what happened here, would look completely run of the mill. Boy, if looks could kill. No one actually looked at me as if I was the issue or as if I had caused all of the wreckage, but theydidlook at me as if I could give them answers to a question they weren’t asking. We were ushered inside by two sentries, giving me a small chance to survey everything Ariel had fixed. The windows looked brand new, the stones lining the walls no longer caked in blood. Even the furniture looked like he had sourced only the best of the best.

I couldn’t blame him. Natalia could only do so much, and even though she wanted to help, she was still rattled from Jonah’s death, just like the rest of us. That, and the fact that Zane made it really fucking clear she needed some time away. We were huddled in the elevator, and I looked around oneof the sentries to see what floor we were headed to.

Floor 10

Jonah’s floor—or the floor that used to be Jonah’s. If I hadn’t had a strong hold on my nausea, I would have vomited right then and there. I leaned against the side of the elevator, feeling myself start to sweat. I looked over to where Reese was staring right at me. He narrowed his eyes and mouthed, “You good?”

I closed my eyes and nodded as the elevator lurched to a halt. It was like déjà vu. Everything was exactly as it was. My anger at the entire situation came boiling back and I couldn’t even be mad at the person who caused Jonah’s death, because he was also dead. It wasn’t fair. We walked past whatwasAriel’s office and towards Jonah’s. The sentries gave the door one sturdy knock and the familiar wisps of magic and clicking of the lock rang through my ears. The doors creaked as they opened, and the smell of herbs and lavender filled my nostrils.

Ariel was at the bar cart in the corner, his red hair pulled into a sleek top knot, dressed in the teal suit all executives wore. Reese motioned for me to go ahead of him as per usual. I stepped over the threshold, walking further into the room, while eyeing my surroundings. Nothing had really changed—not that Ariel had any right to change anything anyway, but I wouldn’t put it past this asshat. Ariel swiped his left hand through the air quickly, closing the office doors.

“Glad you could make it, gentleman,” Ariel said, the sound of sloshing ice echoing.

“It’s not like we had a choice,” Reese muffled under his breath.

I elbowed his arm, and he gave me a look that said, ‘we both know it’s true.’

Ariel turned around to face us, a martini glass in his hand. “As you can see The Skies is looking brand new and I thought you would like to be a part of what else I have planned.”

I watched as he took a sip of his drink. “What else you have planned?”

He tapped his index finger on the glass. “Yes, Nicholas. I want a new and improved Skies. I want better monitoring, better training. Lilith is still out there, so we need to be prepared.”

“What do you wantusto do? We have just as much knowledge on how to beat her as you do, which isn’t very much at all,” I explained, suddenly thinking his meeting was pointless.

Ariel, who had been swishing his drink around in his glass, cut his eyes over to me. “Jonah would not want us to sit around and do nothing. I am trying to make our people stronger for whatever comes next. I would thinkyou of all people would jump at the chance to be a part of this.”

I shoved the sleeves of my jacket up my arms. “That’s not what this is about. There are plenty of people who are still scared and put off by what happened. The ones who are here and acting like everything is normal are putting on brave faces. The fact that you can’t see that is really not all that surprising.” I was pissed.

“Ariel, it’s not that we wouldn’t love to help you, but you are asking us to help angels protect themselves, which is really fucking great, but half of them just lost friends and family. I mean, I know it’s been three months, but damn,” Reese added, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ariel shook his head, astonishment in his eyes. “What do you expect us to do in the meantime, hmm? Frolic around and pretend like this is over just because Markus is dead? Please, gentleman, tell me what you think we should do since you know so much.” He downed his drink and slammed it on the bar cart. His face was getting redder with each breath he took.

I took a deep breath as I clenched my fists. “No one is trying to tell you what to do. Just maybe have a little compassion for what people are going through, instead of making yourself comfortable in a position that isn’t even yours.” I let my eyes bore into his and watched his eyes widen to saucers.

Reese let out an awkward cough in the small silence.

Ariel pointed his finger at me. “You may not like how I do things, Mr. Cassial, but I am still your superior. You should be happy I am even including you in anything, what with all the stunts you pulled while Jonah was alive. Sneaking into this office, trips to Oculus, bringing those demons into the Divine Library; it’s pure insanity how much you’ve gotten away with. Jonah was soft on you and let you do as you please, but I willnot.You have no choice.

“Youwillbring the eager new recruits into The Skies and prepare them more than ever before. As much as people have grieved, Nicholas, they areangry. They want to be ready for whatever happens next. You will continue to do your Animus Seeking as before because your duty doesn’t just stop because you want it to, or you don’t like how things are done.” He said it like it was supposed to mean something to me, like it was supposed to hurt me.

“And why us, huh?” Reese asked.

Ariel waved his hand around in nonchalant motion, not looking at me anymore. “Because you lived through what happened. You were unafraid and rallied when needed. Angels need to see that their efforts are worthwhile.”

Reese let out a laugh. “Okay, I’m sorry, but I, for one, will admit that I was actually scared shitless when my whole fucking life was on the line.” He walked over to one of the chairs facing Jonah’s desk and plopped down.

“You both are ridiculous. I want The Skies back in shape and the only way to get there is to try and find some normalcy.” Ariel ran a hand down the lapels of his jacket and narrowed his gaze at me. “Of course, since you bring it up, Mr. Cassial, finding a new high executive is one of those matters. Since Jonah left no offspring, where his power went is beyond me, but I’m having archivists help figure that out, along with help from our new friend, the High Priestess.”

He said this as if he had befriended Natalia all on his own, as if he found her, fought beside her, and now got to call her a friend. I knew she was doing this only for Jonah, to find the truth about his power and where it was meant to go. Natalia was too regal a person to tell Ariel to eat shit.

“As for your demon friends…”

“Woah, now, let’s not use the word friend so easily.” Reese held his hands out in front of him.

“What about them?” I inquired, looking towards the large door we had come through.

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