Page 38 of Live Like Legends

I nodded. “Right, hence your abnormally large hellhound you refuse to tell me the origin of or admit that you miss.”

She ran a hand down her face, scooting further back so that she could rest her back against the wall, with her legs out in front of her. “Shut up now. And honestly, I can’t take you seriously without pants on. I keep getting reminded that nearly an hour ago you were getting railed by your perfect angelic cock.”

I twirled one of my spiral curls with my finger as I turned around to search for a pair of shorts in the dresser.

“Dani.”

“Mmhmm?”

Elise let out a frustrated sigh. “I said it in Purgatory, and I’ll say it again. Is he strong enough for this?”

I pulled the shorts up my legs. “Who, Nick?”

The demon across from me placed her hands in her lap. “Yes, Dani. The angel that would like us all to believe he is doing just fine and managing perfectly. He may very well be getting his mental stuff together but what about his personal shit?”

“He went to Purgatory with personal shit before.”

“He was still on good speaking terms with daddy Cassial. Those terms are nonexistent now.”

I went over to sit on the bed with her, pushing myself back to match her posture. “I can’t make him talk to him. I’ve tried. Ican’t treat it like I did his pain in Purgatory. I took that darkness from him as best I could. Right now, he’s already removed his father from his life, and I have no idea if he’ll let him back in.”

Elise ran her tongue over her front teeth, letting out a humorless chuckle. “If pretty boy loves you as much as he disgustingly claims he does, he will. If it means being by your side when Dimitri and Lilith bring a shit storm upon us…I guarantee his handsome lovesick ass will do whatever it takes.”

Two whole days of focusing and harnessing something I’d assumed would be unwilling to tether to me was proving harder to control. It was always much bigger than me in some way, the power too great. They were like fire to the open air, where one breeze would take it and cause a massive catastrophe if I didn’t get it to back down— and that was without Nick’s added help.

It was a power within myself, but somehow, I didn’t think it understood that. I was opening myself up but maybe I wasn’t being stern enough with how I went about releasing it. Natalia could only do so much each time and I swore Zane was praying to whatever Enchanters believed in that I wouldn’t fuck up any more of their infrastructure.

The ripple was getting bigger and the pressure made me antsy. No one was outright yelling in my face to get my shit together, but every time Morgan came in with Nick, it was like she was silently willing me to admit defeat. I wouldn’t be doing that anytime soon, if ever.

Reese, Elise and I walked into the training room with wide eyes the next morning we met up. “Holy fuck,” I said, impressed with what Natalia had done to the wall of her training room.The interior walls had some sort of translucent moving film over them. I stretched my finger out to touch it, feeling a tiny bite against my skin.

“So, you want her power to just go flying all over the place now? Explain to me how you’re queen again?” Elise questioned, sneering at the moving Enchanter magic around her.

“The forcefield takes her powers into it, anyone with half a brain could piece that together,” Reese explained, giving her an expression that stated that what he said was common sense.

Elise squinted at him. “I’m sorry, are you her mouthpiece, I didn’t think I was talking to you.”

“Ellie, be nice. It’s actually pretty cool, I watched her make it.” Beetee skipped over to Natalia, hopping from one foot to the other.

“I think it’sverycool, Natalia. Don’t mind the grumpy bitch over here,” I said, slapping Elise’s arm.

Elise shoved me to the side. “Oh no, I’m just grumpy because every time I go into your boyfriend’s room, I see fiery, charred things everywhere, which tells me that you are just getting laid all over the fucking place and some of us are in a living situation where they have to refrain from‘reckless behavior’.” Elise made air quotes around her last words, looking over at Natalia.

Reese snickered. “Well at least we know Nick is well satisfied meeting with Morgan.” He presented his fist to me, and I connected my own against it, laughing. “Are we starting or are we waiting for another army of lethal Enchanters to come and attack us without notice?”

Zane shook his head, while Natalia patted him on his bicep. Her shoulders were dusted with gold glitter and the magic surrounding the room seemed to make the glitter shine brighter somehow.

“Are we waiting for Nicholas?” Garrett asked, his thick braids were separated down the middle and braided into two separate braids and rested on his shoulders.

“No, Nicholas will be joining us a bit later. Ariel has him attending to other matters.” The irritation in the High Priestesses voice wasn’t lost on me. I felt the same way she did, but something inside of me hoped that Morgan made a move so that Nick could tell her to fuck off. “And no, no army this time. I just want Dani to have her moment.”

Beetee made a hurried motion so Elise would come stand by her and Reese sat his bow down so he could comfortably prop his back up against the wall.

“So, you want me to just have a fight with the wall?”

Natalia opened her mouth, but Garrett spoke instead, “I think she wants you to look in yourself, no distractions, no fights. When it’s just you. You can tell your own power what you want it to do and how you want it to act. The problem with most hybrids from what I’ve understood is that they let it take them over. It’syourpower.Yours. You rule it, not the other way around.”

I gave him a curious smile, then looked over at Natalia. She raised both her perfectly arched, dark eyebrows and nodded. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

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