Page 113 of Live Like Legends

My father chuckled softly, more to himself than to any of us. “No, it’s not. It’s not wrong.” He sighed, looking at the book. “Jonah was my best friend. He confided in me about anything and everything. He always joked about how I knew every move he was going to make before he made it, but he got me with this one.”

“Maurice, if you need to think about things…” Daya began, but my father ran a hand over his face and shook his head.

“No, the time for thinking is long past. The Jonah that decided this knew who I was—who I am.” He cleared his throat, looking over Natalia’s shoulder to give Zane a short nod. The large Enchanter mirrored it back to him, a small semblance of a smile playing at his lips.

My father reached forward to take the book and small sparks played at his fingertips, moving from him to the book's leather exterior.

“Woah, there isn’t about to be some giant explosion while we’re all in here, right?” Reese asked, making a valid point.

Before anyone could answer there was a humming sound that vibrated throughout the room as my father took the book into his hands. Golden magic lined the outside of the notebook, tracing along my father's fingers, over his knuckles and down towards his wrists.

His chest rose and fell, the light seeming to not bother him. The magic looked like it was working its way through his veins, the trail moving up his arms and over his shoulders. He opened the book, white-gold light flooding from the pages, causing me to squint.

The light simmered to a dim hue as words appeared slowly near the first page in a delicate cursive that I couldn’t read from here. The only thing I could make out was that it was addressed to my father. His thick eyebrows pulled inward as he read it over. He then flipped through the book, wanting to read more, but pages moved on their own. The words that were previously hidden to us started to reveal themselves. The book ripped away from his hold, the pages flying faster and the dim light brightened, starting to tear apart into tiny particles of soft light.

The golden fleck began to decorate my father’s body like falling snow. His body absorbed the magic, piece by piece. Dani took my hand, squeezing it as she looked on.

The book finally closed and flew over to my father, slamming into his chest. He placed his hands over it, hugging it to his body before he fell onto his knees.

Garrett and Zane got to him faster than Reese and I, but my father kept his eyes closed and just took deep breaths in and out.

Daya and Alex hovered over him, concern etched on their faces.

“Maurice, honey.” Daya tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder.

His eyes opened and for a moment, they held golden magic within his irises before returning back to their normal dark brown. He held the book close, letting Garret and Zane help him up.

When he finally stood up straight there was a different aura about him. Maurice Cassial always held a presence of authority when he was around, but this was different. This kind of power was thick and…it suited him.

Natalia walked around everyone and stood in front of him. “How do you feel, Maurice?”

My father held the book out in front of him, tracing his fingers over Jonah’s initials. “Like I’m a teenager again with responsibility I’m not completely sure I can handle. He had to know that.”

I placed my hand over his. “I think he did. You are everything this place needs, Dad.” I leaned my head in, whispering, “you deserve it.”

Axel stood on his hind legs, running his claws against my father’s leg. My father bent down and swiped his hand over the hellhound’s head, petting him. Axel inclined his head as if he enjoyed this treatment.

“So are you as powerful as Miss. Natalia?” Garrett’s son, Yuri, asked. His face was scrunched up in skepticism.

“Yuri!” Leah ruffled her son's hair.

Natalia chuckled, winking at my father. “Something like that.”

“Do you think Ariel knows?” Reese asked, running his hand across his chin.

Dani hummed. “I think any angel probably feels like something is off. Just like Enchanters did when Natalia’s mother passed. I don’t think he’ll directly relate any of it to Maurice.”

I nodded. “She’s right.”

“Well, we can go right the fuck now. Daddy Cassial can blast him to pieces and we can move along because everything is totallyfineon all other fronts.” Elise’s grey eyes danced over to Dani, who shook her head at me and shrugged as if she had no idea what she was talking about.

I bit my lower lip, thinking. “Ariel wants to prove to everyone that he’s the one that deserves it. That's what this whole ceremony is for. He wants to make a spectacle, so can we.” I looked over at my father.

Natalia cleared her throat. “Um, Nicholas, you might want to ask your father if outing himself as Heaven’s Gates’ next ruler so outlandishly is what he wants.”

I winced, feeling a tad bit embarrassed. “Fuck, right. Sorry. We can do things however you want, Dad.”

He placed a hand on my cheek. I could feel all that power that Jonah held radiating from his palm. It was a little unnerving, but I also felt an overwhelming sense of pride. “That man threw my son into the Ethereal Bastille, belittled my family and thinks that sullying the name of a fellow executive is a way to success. I am a sensible man, but I won’t tolerate people who want to hold their people's respect yet they have no idea what the word even means.”

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