Page 87 of Live Like Legends

The Son of Hell laughed. “Oh and she’s yours? This isn’t a game of who she likes better, it’s simply a game of what’s best for her. And that’s being the most powerful being she can be. While on a throne.”

Elise snorted, causing Dimitri to sneer at her.

“Back off and let her go,” I demanded, holding the hilt of my sword so tightly that my knuckles were white.

Dimitri let out another laugh and snapped his fingers. The sound of multiple footsteps echoed and black smoke filtered in around our feet. The air became thicker and my vision was blurrier. I could see things, but most of it was distorted and misshapen. Something took a hold of my wrist, cranking it in one direction, making me hiss out in pain before I felt a blow to my stomach.

“Get the fuck off me, you little shit!” Elise yelled. I could make out the whip of her tail through my cloudy vision. A body collided with mine as we both fell to the ground. Reese shook his head, his blonde hair fanning out around him. I rubbed at my eyes, needing my vision to be clearer.

“Let me go!” Dani shouted. I watched as she kicked her legs out, scrambling away from whoever was trying to grab her. For a small moment, when my vision was palpable, I saw the way her fingertips sparked as if her light was brimming at the surface.

I pushed off the ground, heading to her, but my feet were pulled from under me and my face hit the stone floor first sending a painful vibration through my skull. My face was towards the entrance of Dani’s cell and I saw Jasmine and Yuri hiding inside, peeking their heads out ever so slightly. I noticed a small floppy ear near their feet, telling me that Axel was with them.

I groaned, pushing off the ground and flipping over. I felt around for my sword, knowing it was nearby. Once I had it, I pushed every last bit of my light into it, watching it glow within my hold. The guard lunged at me from above, but I held my sword out, watching them fall onto the pointed silver tip. I lifted my legs and shoved them off of me, ripping my sword from their body.

Light cascaded around us and my eyes burned a little less. The blur that shifted my eyesight was gone. I shot my eyes over to Garrett whose hands were covered in bright yellow magic, magic that melted away the fog that loomed. A guard came at Garrett from behind, but Leah lifted her elbow, hitting him in the face. Garrett pressed his magic to another’s face, using their body as a weapon to knock another one down.

Even with her less than healed thigh wound, Dani fought alongside Elise. Her shadows were easier to handle especially with the way she winced. Reese reached for one of his arrowsand pierced it into one guard’s leg, ripping it out and plunging the same arrow into their stomach, shoving them away from him.

Elise shot out her dark magic, connecting it to every target she saw, but a wave of dark energy swept her and Dani off their feet. A set of larger guards stalked over to them, their shadowy weapons at the ready. I held my sword out, slashing at them one by one. Elise shot her foot out hitting one of them in the knee. Her hit landed so hard, I heard the crunch of bone.

One of them hovered over Dani and she let her shadows come from her hand, sending them sailing backwards, causing me to shift sideways so I was out of the way. Before they could push off the wall, I turned my sword slicing diagonally across their chest, making my cut deep and deadly.

I heard a tiny groan from behind me. I turned to see the blood that slowly leaked from Dani’s open wound, was bubbling. It was like it was being heated.

“You think I care about any of these demons you’re slaughtering, Nicholas.” Dimitri’s voice rang out.

There was a ringing in my head. I staggered backwards, the hallway we were in fading in and out, while visions of blood and Dani’s screams became more apparent.

Breathe, justfuckingbreathe.

My sword was strained in my grip. I closed my eyes, nearly tripping over a dead body.

I would never be fully rid of this panic, of this dark thing that still gripped me from the inside out. And I had to remember that I was…okay with that.

Dimitri kept feeding into that part of me, but something else crept in right beside him. Something wriggled its way through the cracks in my mind. It was still dark, but it was a darkness that wasn’t my own, but it was a darkness I knew was safe.

I peeked over at Dani who gripped the wall as she pushed through the pain in her thigh. An arrow sailed by my head while Leah and Garrett were fighting back to back, but all I felt was the simple darkness of a girl I loved.

My light called to hers, so why would I ever think her darkness wouldn’t do the same to mine.

The pain Dimitri tried to put me through felt so minuscule and unnecessary. I held onto my sword as I ran straight for the Son of Hell himself. I rammed into him pressing my side against his, digging my elbow into his side as we both collided with the wall. He shoved me off of him, his usually well manicured hair was now messy and unkempt.

I pulled my sword back to strike him but he grabbed the silver blade before I could pierce his skin. He held on so tight that it cut into his fingers, blood dripping down towards the handle. “She already took one of your hands. Don’t make me take the other one,” I threatened, ripping my sword from his grip.

I felt hands on my shoulders, trying to haul me back, but Elise wrapped her tail around their ankles, pulling. I wiggled out of their hold, before they descended to the ground, letting Elise finish them off.

Something yanked on my neck and it burned. I was lifted up and hurled towards the wall. Dimitri slammed his body against mine, while the tension at my neck held me in place. He extended one of his nails and sliced down my neck. His face was contorting into that thing I had seen for a short period of time when Dani and I fought in his office. The perfectly normal face he had was melting into nothing by gray matter and bone. His eyes sunk in and black whorls of nothing were starting to take the place of his bright green eyes.

“At least you got to see her before she destroys everything. She will create something so beautiful, but it saddens me toknow you won’t be here to enjoy it.” His voice was so dark and unholy deep that it made my stomach drop.

He didn’tscareme though. Dani could have given in to what he wanted, but she didn’t. Could Heaven’s Gate be better? Sure, but not like this. If Dani wanted to create a better realm, she could very well do it. He didn’t need to be a part of any of it.

I gathered light in my hand, mustering all my strength as I brought my palm up and slammed it against his face. I wanted to blind him, shove the light down his throat and watch him choke on it. He coughed, still keeping me in place, but he stepped back enough for me to kick upwards, connecting my foot with his stomach.

He let out a guttural sound, holding his middle. I punched him with my free hand, watching as he clawed at his face to remove the remnants of the light I’d bestowed on him. I used the pommel of my sword to hit the side of his head. Flipping my sword around, I stabbed him in the shoulder, pulling out my sword so I could stab him in the stomach as well, before he could hit the ground. I extracted my blade from his body, getting on my knees and turning him over.

I clenched my hand into a fist and started to hit him. My knuckles collided with his jaw over and over again. I wrapped my hands around his neck, bringing his face up and slamming it into the stone floor. He continued to flood my mind with vicious thoughts and I pushed them away, even when my blood was on fire. My arm was getting tired but I needed him to hurt and get out of my head.

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