Page 123 of Living Legend

She laughed light-heartedly. “Oh, no. That is the one thing we learned in training. You were never seen and only watched, giving silent guidance, procuring safety. The key to being a good guardian.”

I smiled at this, wondering if I had someone like that when I was a human, still alive and able to make choices at a whim without dire consequences. “You were around during the war though?”

“Of course, but I wasn’t asked to fight. They left that up to the sentries. I was happy to be left out, though; I never believed in it. I would have never chosen to fight against Moira when everything was peaceful before. It just didn’t make sense.”

She shook her head, letting that memory fade and conjuring up another one. “I never quite understood Isaac’s reasoning, but that man was never in his right mind, if you ask me.”

“Isaac?”

“Jonah’s father. He was nice enough, but he was power hungry. There could be peace amongst all of us and he was still unhappy.”

I almost scoffed. It didn’t surprise me at all that Jonah’s father wasn’t some delicate do-gooder who had no idea the kind of power he held. No one down in Purgatory asked Lilith about the war and her place in it. Everyone there just let it go and allowed her to continue with her secrets and ruthless dictating. If I was being really honest, the magic that kept her in Purgatory didn’t faze her one bit; it was almost as if she really didn’t care.

Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she was just biding her time.

I pulled at the end of my braid. “There is something I don’t understand.”

Daya placed her hands together on top of the pillow and looked at me expectedly, as if to say,go on.

“Why would Jonah’s father be so concerned with Enchanters? I mean, as the highest executive, he has some pretty big powers, right? I understand that Enchanters siding with Lilith is one thing, but just completely trying to slaughter them because they made a choice? I mean, why not just go to the source? Go for Lilith instead.”

Daya chewed on her lower lip and looked over her shoulder at the window. Mr. Cassial was nowhere in sight now. She turned back to me and let out a breath. “Dani, you are asking the question that many have asked for quite some time now. Isaac did have the highest angelic power, Moira had the highest Enchanter power, and Lilith was the most powerful demon. They all had their respective places and roles, but sometimes, that’s just not enough for people. I believe he simply did it as a lesson. I’m pretty sure siding with Lilith was just another thing that pissed him off.”

“What are you getting at?” I pressed, leaning forward slightly. “Was there something else he was mad about?”

She tilted her head to the side, as if considering something. She pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth, her anxious energy radiating off her in waves. She readjusted herself on the couch. “Dani, do you know why I was slightly apprehensive about you?”

I pointed towards my head. “Well, I’m a demon, so that comes with the territory.”

“Okay, true.” She looked down, but then peeked up at me through her incredibly long eyelashes. “My family has a history with demons, one that causes me to have a different view on the past entirely.” She started picking at a loose thread on the fabric of the pillow. “It’s why I decided to be a guardian.” She paused and then shook her head. “Decided isn’t right. I wastoldI was going to be a guardian by my mother. I would have to pass demons, but I wouldn’t have to fight like a sentry or be tasked with going to Purgatory like a messenger. My mother was quite adamant about keeping me from it.”

“Why come to The Skies at all?”

She waved a hand at me dismissively. “I always wanted to go, but there were stipulations if I did, and that was at the very top. I wasn’t picky. At the time, Isaac was someone we all looked up to; he seemed to keep the peace. At least, up front he did. To most angels, he kept the peace through and through until the day he died. Lilith wasn’t a threat yet. She kept to herself and her demons, only leaving Purgatory if her demons got out of hand. All parties had somewhat of a truce, if you will. Oculus was the hub of interactions between all three of our kinds.” She sighed. “Maybe that was Moira’s first mistake, being so open to practically everyone.” A piece of her hair escaped her braid, and she tucked it behind her ear.

I tugged more at the end of my braid, feeling the pressure in my scalp. “Wait, how did your family have an issue with demons when the war and all of that wouldn’t have started until after you started at The Skies?” The war couldn’t have been what made her family so hateful against demons, at least not yet. I knew she was holding something back from me, and maybe it wasn’t my place to ask, but I had time to kill while Nick was off doing who the fuck knows what. Daya seemed like she wanted to tell me, but it was the classic how much information is too much.

She stroked the top of the pillow, as if to smooth down the plush bumps. The house made small creaking sounds around us. “My cousin fell in love with a demon and my family, they…it was just a lot. I always saw it as being fine. He was nice enough, but her mother and, well, my mother, ugh, they were furious. I was seventeen at the time, so what did I know?”

I didn’t even know demons had any interaction whatsoever with anyone other than our own kind, particularly romantically. I tried to picture a world where no one was waiting for the other shoe to drop, a world where angels, demons, and Enchanters walked right by each other and said some sort of common greeting. Maybe it wasn’t as sunshine and rainbows as I was making it out to be, but it was surely better than what it was right now.

I had to know more, I needed her to tell me as much as she could. “So, your mother didn’t want you having anything to do with being near demons? So being a guardian was the best option? She hoped you wouldn’t fall head over heels for a demon as well?”

She nodded, swallowing deeply, as if the thought of her family drama was difficult for her. “Layla told me she had met someone a few times, but never anything about him. They tried to keep it a secret, but her mother eventually found out and tried to forbid it. Layla just didn’t care. Moira gave them a place near the outskirts of Oculus so they could live without ridicule. She even tried to speak with my family, but they wouldn’t hear of a demon being a part of our family. I wasn’t allowed to visit them, and eventually, it was like I didn’t have a cousin anymore.”

I reached over and placed my hand on her knee. “Daya, I’m sorry. That’s terrible.”

“It seems that way, but it gets worse, I’m afraid.”

I squeezed her knee and let my hand settle there while she continued.

“A year went by, and everything was good, but one day, I came home to my mother crying and telling me that Layla was pregnant. I thought this was joyous news. A baby, you know? Something that would be full of love and bring us together again, but my thoughts were wrong.”

I winced. This was before Lilith put the barren curse on demons. Daya was speaking of a time when demons were free to live for years, growing old in the process, and were able to grow families. She took in a long breath and let it out.

“I didn’t understand. When the news spread, everyone was so happy about it, at least everyone I was aware of. There were, of course, angels who thought it was odd and demons who would curl their lips in disgust, but overall, the outpouring of love was beautiful. I thought it was so ridiculous of me to listen to my mother, so I went over and saw my cousin. I saw her pregnant and happy…and…the way he looked at her, that demon man she loved…” Daya trailed off, looking towards the fireplace. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked as if she had a few tears coming from her eyes. I hadn’t meant to push her to tell this story.

I racked my brain for any stories on a baby between a demon and an angel that I would have heard of. No one talked about it in Purgatory. Those two kinds having a baby would have been something that was talked about for years, right?

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