Page 58 of Live Like Legends

“The simple fact that those words came out of your mouth says a fucking lot.” Reese ran both his hands through his hair, the blonde locks becoming a messy mop on his head.

My heart was pounding in my chest and I almost felt like I could hear it. I took small breaths, trying to steady my composure. My blood boiled when I’d seen him touch her at Leviathan as if he had the right and now my blood was boiling over thinking about him hurting her. My hands were shaking, but not from any sort of aftereffects, but from literal rage that coursed through my veins. I always saw myself as the type of person who fought when I needed to, became violent when it was called for, but right now I wanted more than just the typical violence.

I wanted him to suffer the kind of torture that Elise probably couldn’t even dream up.

I pushed past her more than ready to storm out that door and have her take us straight to the pits of Hell. I would spend an eternity down there if it meant I would find her. I turned on my heels back to my friends. “You know how to get there?”

Elise gave me a look like I was stupid. “Of course I do.”

I grabbed my portal key from around my neck, snatched her hand and placed the magical item in her palm. “Then take us there.”

Elise closed the portal key in her fist and scrunched her mouth to one side. “You forget there are other people involved here Nicholas, like Garrett. You want to clue him in on the plan?”

I opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off. “I know you are very set on this rescue mission and I am with you one thousand percent. I am more than ready to obliterate his other hand at this point. I am ready to remove him and Lilith from this equation all together, but going there might cause a lot of backlash for this place you call your home. It may not mean anything to me, but from where I’m standing it’s not fucking fair to just portal out of this room and leave them to their own devices.”

Reese whistled. “Damn, it sounds like you actually care.”

I could see her jaw tense and the way she ground her teeth together. “I fucking don’t. I just don’t want to come back here and you send yourself into another spiraling mess because you weren’t thinking. You don’t have to be forthcoming with that shithead Ariel, but all of these people have risked their fucking lives for you and for some odd reason care about you. Dani is strong and can hang on, even when it comes to Dimitri, or did you fucking forget that despite what Lilith likes to claim, I’m the one that taught her how to survive.”

I pressed my lips together letting her scold me like I was a child. Maybe she was right. I had let Garrett cry on my shoulder and promised him that he would get a chance to collecthis family. Natalia had been this enchanting rock holding us together most times and I wanted to just leave without any sort of acknowledgement or parting words to them.

Elise’s voice filtered into my thoughts as she fiddled with the portal key in her hand. “In case you didn’t remember, you nearly buckled and lost yourself in Purgatory due to everything you wouldn’t say. Dimitri got a taste of your blood down there, so as scary as it seems he will always have some tiny connection to those deep seeded parts of you.”

Reese raised an eyebrow. “Nick’s been handling all of that. We’ve all made sure he’s been good and he has.”

Elise hummed, her words coming out sarcastically. “Oh yeah, I totally see that.” She casually sniffed the air. “You wanna know what I smell on you, Nicholas?”

I furrowed my brow.

“Resentment.”

“Ellie….” Beetee started, but Elise put her hand up to silence her.

Elise grabbed my chin and lightly shook my head. “Resentment is a nasty thing to hold onto Nick. Believe me, I know, I do it every fucking day, but I’m aware of it. I speak it into existence so it isn’t something to use against me. The reason why all the sadness and pity ganged up on you in Purgatory is because you couldn’t admit to yourself that they were apartof you. Resentment works the same way and if you think that Purgatory was bad, Hell will eat you alive if you walk in with that hefty fucking baggage looming over you. I’m honestly surprised Dimitri hasn’t dug his demonic nails into your little brain by now and fucked around in there.”

I looked over her shoulder at Reese who was looking at me, but then his hazel eyes flashed with silent understanding. His mouth gaped open and he scrubbed a hand down his face.

“What the fuck are you talking about? I don’t resent anyone.”

Elise cocked her head to the side. “Oh really? No one at all?”

“Elise just back off,” Reese warned, moving around her and standing next to me.

Elise waved her hands in front of us as if she was done with this conversation and our attitudes. “All any of you guys have done is coddle him. You will be no good to any of us, especially Dani if you don’t talk to yourfather. I don’t think you are afraid of the story or the knowledge you’ve learned. I think you’re afraid of what it all means. For your future, for the past you can’t remember. You think you had it all figured out and now it’s all fucked up and you don’t like that. You. Are. Afraid.”

My blood ran cold and my shoulders stiffened. “I…I’m not…I don’t…”

“You need to run into Hell with the idea that nothing is holding you back. When your father came to Oculus and explained things to us, it sounded like he told you a story that you ultimately gave no feedback on. You didn’t yell at him, you didn’t cry, you didn’t do anything, you just stormed out and removed him from your life. You don’t go into places like Hell with a small inkling that you might not make it out when you have unfinished business. Ifyoudie there, you don’t have your pretty soul moved to Heaven; you’ll go to Limbo because you have no idea what else to do and you won’t get a chance to do it again.” Her tone was filled with agitation.

“You can’t make me do anything. You can’t push me to do something I’m not ready for, that’s not fair.” I wanted my words to make a statement but all they did was bounce off her guarded exterior as if she knew that’s exactly what I would say in retaliation.

“No I can’t, but you can sure as hell believe that I’m not going with you and neither is Beetee.”

Beetee let out a tiny gasp.

“So you just plan to leave Dani to fend for herself!”

“No, you fucking idiot. If you go there assuming you’ll be fine, you won’t save her either way. We will all be stuck taking care of you. I refuse to have a repeat of Purgatory and you honestly shouldn’t want that. You want me totrustyou? Have faith in you as your people like to say? Then do what I fucking say!”

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