Page 72 of Live Like Legends

Ariel didn’t even speak when they’d tossed me in here; he simply nodded and turned on his heels to leave. His words came flying back at me once he’d closed the door.

You could be going straight to Hell to find her dead body, but hmm, maybe I should let you go and see that for yourself.

“Fuck!” I yelled, pushing off of my seat and starting to pace. I had tried really damn hard to not consider that alternative the moment I realized she was gone. I mulled over the fact that Dimitri wouldn’t have taken her just to rid himself of her. That wasn’t the way he operated and with the way he was fucking obsessed with her, maybe I could breathe easier knowing she was alive and?—

I ran a hand through my hair. I couldn’t say alive andwellbecause the second part was still undetermined.

Right now was when I wished my mother had left me with some sort of telepathic magic and not just resurrection as a parting gift. Not only did I want to talk to Dani in any way I could, but I wanted to tell Reese and Elise that they should just go on and find her without me. I hesitated in that thought, since maybe for my own selfish reasons I wanted to see Dimitri myself and ram my fist into his face.

My mind raced relentlessly causing my breath to become shallower and my chest to constrict. The air in here wasn’t helping but I knew it was so much more than the less than quality air filtration in this place. I stood in the middle of the room and placed a hand on my chest, closing my eyes. I could feel myself wanting to go to that place, that dark place I accepted but chose not to visit by choice. My heartbeat raced underneath my hand and I took one long deep breath in.

She would be found and if not by me, it would be by people I trusted.

I let out one big deep breath.

I repeated this over and over until I felt the tension from my body start to release and I opened my eyes. My vision was a bit blurry from the amount of pressure I’d used to keep my eyes shut, but my heartbeat started to slow to its normal rhythm.

I heard the door open, a tiny line of dim light coming into the room as Morgan stepped in.

I gave her one short look, before turning away, not in the mood for whatever useless conversation she was planning to have with me.

“Oh, don’t be like that.”

My shoulders tensed at her cavalier tone.

I heard her cluck her tongue before she continued. “Fine, I guess youaregoing to be like that. You are getting so emotional over some demon who honestly shouldn’t have been here in the first place.”

I shook my head, rubbing my chest. I didn’t turn back to look at her.

“Nick, maybe this all happened for a reason and it’s for the best.”

I spun around. “Is Ariel delusional in thinking that just because she’s gone that we’re all safe? Taking over Heaven’s Gate has always been the plan, no matter who was in charge. He would fucking know that if he wasn’t so dead set on targeting my girlfriend.”

She blinked as if the term girlfriend took her by surprise. Morgan licked her lips, brushing a piece of her long brown hair over her ear. “That’s no one's call to make buthis. So, I guess, like he said, you’ll sit here and rot until you can find that guy you used to be who always had a stick up his ass for the rules.”

I raised my hands up and backed away, turning so I could go sit on the wooden bench. It was like talking to a wall with her.

“You should be happy he only came after you and not the rest of them. There is a silver lining in everything.”

I placed my head in my hands. “I just want to find her Morgan. That’s all I’m asking.”

My ex-girlfriend shrugged, adjusting her glasses on her nose. “Well then you are asking a fucking lot.” She turned to go, but I called her name, gaining her attention.

“I don’t think I’ll ever really understand why she threatens you so much, but I do know that when I get her back, she’ll aid in making this place better because she’s a good person. Despite what you think, she’s agoodperson. That’s more than I can say for you. There are a million angels like you that Ariel can boss around and answer to him without a care in the world, but there is no one like her. So yeah, I would probably be threatened by her too.”

The air between us crackled as if she didn’t know what to say. She smacked her lips together before she started to exit the room. “One flaw in your little speech.Ifyou find her, notwhen.”

The door closed with a loud bang and I knew I’d hit a nerve. I was pissed off, even more so because what she said wasn’t a complete lie. I was optimistic that I would find her, but I also needed to be a realist and take into consideration that maybe Dimitri was smarter than he looked.

The wooden bench was long enough for me to lay back on it, stretching one of my legs out while bending the other. I placed one of my hands behind my head while the other casually rested at my stomach. I needed to think about all my options when there was a tug at my chest.

No, not at my chest.Inmy chest.

It didn’t hurt and it wasn’t trying to physically move me, but it was like an aching sensation to be somewhere else. I placed my hand on my chest, feeling it start to burn. Again, it didn’t hurt. It felt like the light that I’d always expelled from my hands, the light that radiated even from my pores was harboring in my chest.

A prisoner's inherent powers were nullified in these rooms. Any sort of outward attack would cease the minute an imprisoned entity tried to use it, but just because I couldn’t release it, didn’t mean it wasn’t present. It felt bigger than me though. There was a thump against my chest and I sat up,pressing my fingertips to my shirt. A much harder ache and more light magic. I recognized my own, it’d been growing with me since the day I was born, but now something had been added to it.

Something that felt far away, but close enough to meld itself with my own.

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