Page 181 of Living Legend

Daya took the few steps it took to reach me and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back, my eyes lingering on the waiting girl at the door. She pulled back, giving me the same once over my dad had already given me, and stepped back. She followed my eyes, looking over her shoulder. "Oh, Nicholas, this is Alex, my daughter. She was visiting when the news started to explode. We tried to get here as fast as we could, but your father didn't want to fly without me. I haven't used my wings in so long, so I had to dig up my old portaling skills to get us all here."

Old portaling skills? Well, that was something to ask about later.

Alex could have been a spitting image of her mother’s younger years. Daya was taller than her daughter, but not by much. Where Daya was lean with a narrow waist, Alex was curvy with rounded hips. She wore a ripped jean jacket and black v-neck that put her generous chest on display, which I looked away from with speed I didn't know I had.

"Hey," I said. This whole situation was probably not what she had envisioned as the backdrop for her first meeting with me.

"Hey," she echoed back, giving me a genuine smile, her full lips tilting up completely as she gave me a wave, walking over to her mom.

"Your room is all set up for you to come home and rest," my dad said, leaning against the table I was sitting on.

"I am really fucking happy I decided not to come here, I can tell you that much,” Alex scoffed, tilting her head to the side and giving me a cheeky smile. Daya scolded her daughter and shook her head.

Natalia walked back over to us, standing next to me on my other side. "I think that would be good. I think we all need some time away from this place. Restoration in a time of healing, I know it well." She tucked a hair behind her ear.

"What about…" I started but she cut me off, knowing what I was going to say before I said it.

"They can stay in Oculus with me until we make our next move." She leaned into my ear so that only I could hear her. "She'll be safe there."

A knock came at the door, and we all looked in the direction of the sound. I found my heart beating, no, thumping in my chest as I locked my eyes on her. "Am I interrupting?" She had pulled her hair into a low ponytail that rested on her shoulder.

My father looked from me to Dani and back to me, clearing his throat. "Ah, no, dear, we'll go check on Reese and be back."

I grabbed my father’s jacket sleeve. "What about what Jonah said, dad?"

"Nicholas, please, I’ve already almost lost you once. Don’t give those things too much thought. Just focus on healing and getting better." I let go of his sleeve as he walked out after Daya and Alex. For now, I had to let it go.

Didn’t mean I couldn’t spiral, as per usual.

Dani walked further into the room, turning around and leaning against the table. I let my legs swing as I readjusted myself on the uncomfortable examination table. Natalia patted Dani's shoulder as she passed us, moving towards the door. "I'll leave you to talk. Just call for me or Zane when you're done; there are a few more wounds I need to look over, but you should be good for now." She turned towards Dani. "Have you been all cleared by the healers?"

Dani raised an eyebrow. "Sure. They gave me some stuff that smelled like shit for the burns, but other than that I can see, hear, and walk straight, so, all good."

Natalia nodded, as if that was a sufficient enough answer, and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

There was an uncomfortable silence after she left. I started to move my lips to say something, but every time I tried to form a sentence or even a syllable, nothing would come out. I had nothing to say that seemed like a perfect start to a conversation.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned voice. When I looked at her, her brown eyes were trained on my face.

"Yeah."Was I okay though?The answer came out easily enough, but even I didn't actually believe it.

Dani squinted. "Yeah, okay, try again."

"I'm alright, really."

"Okay, so you want me to just believe that over two hours ago, you found out that one of your fearless leaders helped orchestrate this whole thing and the one leader you thought might have been the bad guy died right in front of you, and you want me to believe that you are just alright?" I opened my mouth, but she pressed on. "Not to mention the fact that you just had to fight and kill a chunk of your own people? Oh, yeah, totally alright." She shrugged in mocking, nonchalant fashion.

I shook my head, realizing I almost wanted to laugh at her words. "Why do you care?"

Dani scrubbed a hand down her face. "Nick, just because we aren't going to have this obnoxiously epic but incredibly corny love story doesn't mean I can't be a little concerned."

I pressed my lips together, not completely liking what she was saying. "How very…undemon of you?"

She poked me in my bicep. "Not just a demon." There was no laughter in her voice when she said it, like she knew it was a fact about herself, but she had no idea what to do with this new knowledge. It was inevitable, though, and it wasn't something she could hide from.

I pushed off the table and walked over to the bed at the other side of the room, retrieving my jacket. I slipped my arms through the sleeves. "I'm okay, actually. A little bit confused and shaken, but I'll be fine. I kind of have to be. This isn't over."

She let out a long breath and a joyless chuckle. "I'm well aware. Isabel got the fuck out of there and Lilith, well, she's just putting her next plan in motion. Setbacks frustrate her, but they don't stop her. It's admirable, to say the least."

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