Page 143 of The Never List
Am I still scared? Is there still a sliver of doubt threatening to steal all my confidence? Absolutely.
But it’s them…my Legends.
My mates.
And I’ll do anything to keep them.
“Now that that’s settled,” I continue when each of them looks keen to argue with me but keeps their mouths shut, “shouldn’t we talk about the Faders?” It feels good to shift the focus onto somethingotherthan what’s going to happen next—the final Choosing ceremony, the Athanry, all of it. “I believe we need to up our efforts to capture one and interrogate them.”
Axl grins at me, sliding a hand along my back. “Spoken like a true Legend,” he says, excitement coloring his tone. He waggles his eyebrows at me. “I think it’s time to make you an official member.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “Really?”
“You have my vote,” Pierce says.
“And mine,” Kal adds.
“You know I already claim you as mine,” Axl continues. “Might as well claim you in every way possible. But being a Legend isn’t all power games and intimidation.”
“You have to be prepared to get your hands dirty,” Jax finishes.
“Haven’t I already proved what I’ll do to anyone who threatens any of you?” I ask, thinking about how quickly I’d unleashed my powers on Turner when he tried to hurt Jax.
“Get her a Legend mask,” Jax says to Axl, who claps his hands. “If she’s going to go through the Athanry without fear, she’s stronger than any one of us.”
Pride flutters in my chest.
“Besides that,” Jax continues, “she’d be an asset to our team.”
“The only problem is that we haven’t heard a whisper from the Faders since the attack on the fishing village in the Sapphire Cove.” Pierce’s brow furrows, his mind calculating scenarios and odds about the reasoning behind their absence.
“Even if they don’t show their faces again,” Jax says, jaw flexing, “which I doubt, there are always other Legend dealings to conduct.” He eyes me. “Let’s see if becoming a Legend is truly what you think it’ll be.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I say, anticipation bursting through me. We’re in this together, no matter what.
They smile at me, and we all push away from the table.
“Let’s get started,” Jax says, and a thrill rushes through me at his words.
…
Weeks pass by in a new sense of normal that I can only call surreal. We fall into a rhythm, working the streets of each city in Lumathyst—me donning my official Legend mask and crest-branded jacket as we hunt for information on the Faders. Even Ivy and Layce have helped on side missions, slowly integrating into my new life.
I keep off the kings’ radar, thanks to my Legends and the lengths they go to to keep my secrets. We’re no closer to finding a Fader or any information about them, constantly chasing shadows and leads that result in dead ends, but eventhat can’t sour my mood.
There haven’t been any more attacks, and the time we aren’t being Legends, we’re behaving likemates. My body heats at the mere idea of how easily we all live together—choosing to stay at Jax’s estate, since that’s where we decided to be all in with one another.
Kal, Axl, and Pierce return to their cities frequently to ensure things are running smoothly and their people aren’t in need, but they always come back as if I’m the magnet that draws them all together.
It’s an intoxicating feeling, even if the closer we get to the winter solstice, the more worried I get. There is already a chill in the air, the crisp cold biting the night in Jax’s city. I usually love this time of year, but since it means the Athanry is only a couple of days away, I feel like it’s an ominous sign that my little blissful time with the Legends is almost up.
I try to force it out of my mind, focusing instead on just how damn lucky I am. They never try to coddle me; rather, they recognize my strength and utilize me as an asset to their Legend team as we try to hunt down our enemies. There have been smaller problems we’ve settled together—like an influx of new enhancement drugs causing disturbances in the Ruby Aire—and it seems there isn’t anything we can’t accomplish together.
Except get our hands on a flesh-and-blood Fader.
I blow out an exaggerated breath as I sit alone, a book open and unread in my lap as I lounge in one of Jax’s large, overstuffed armchairs. A fire crackles in the hearth next to me, the flames casting the room in a warm glow that eases my muscles.
Axl, Kal, and Pierce all returned to their cities thismorning, and Jax left to handle some matters earlier, leaving me to do nothing but await his return. Even Mirren departed after my moodiness became too much for her, but can she really blame me? The second I stop moving, the second I stop focusing on the Legends or the Faders, my true terrors come to the surface of my mind to torment me.
