Page 183 of Living Legend

I looked at her with my mouth slightly parted, letting her words sink in. She isn't wrong that maybe I’d had thoughts that in the future, that would be the story I would tell people. How I got paired with a demon from Purgatory and we set off on this mysterious journey of twists and turns, but ultimately defeated the enemy. It would be a story that they would tell around The Skies for as long as I was able to hear it. Now, I didn't know if that was the official story I wanted. I wanted us to win, I wanted to defeat the bad guys, but maybe–maybe–I still wanted her here when those stories were being told.

"Dani," I said, just her name singularly, but it spoke volumes to her, and she stopped me abruptly.

She shook her head. "Don't act like you don't want that kind of happily ever after ending."

"Well, I mean, sure, who doesn't? But Dani, I wanted to talk to you about all this, when I told you the truth about yourself, what I said…"

She rushed over to me, pressing her palm over my mouth, shushing me. "Today has been a lot and like I said, there are more important things to think about." She pulled her head back a small bit, stunned. "Fuck, I sound like you when I first met you; it's really fucking weird."Her hand smelled like lavender, and it was sending a relaxing wave through my senses. "What you said, how you feel, it's expected, I guess. You have standards and rules here, so my little rule follower must obey." She looked a little sad, even though I knew she was trying to be sassy. She removed her hand and I licked my lips, realizing they had gone dry.

I had told her I wanted her to choose, not so much those words, but that's what came out of my mouth. I had acted like it was the only way, but maybe I was being selfish. Every angel thinks about their life ending with a perfect partner, by the book and angelic in every way, but now, that idea rubbed me the wrong way. Purity doesn't really matter, so long as they look the part, but now, I thought back to how no one actually told me that that was how things went. I just assumed. I had never laughed or been more at ease with a female than when I was in my bed that night with her. That had to mean something.

She didn't want to change me, so why was I trying to change her?

The darkness was scary, but I had never lived in it, bared witness to its features and called it home like she had. I had only heard rumors and stories, same as with Oculus, and that turned out to be an entirely different narrative altogether. She could have torn this building down if she had taken Jonah's magic and infused it with her own. I would have been scared of her at first, most likely, but did I think she would have figured out a way to handle it, take control of it, simmer it down just so we could win?

Yes, I absolutely fucking did.

"Hmm," I answered, leaning down closer to her face. Her shoulders stiffened, as if she wasn't expecting this. "You're right. There are more important things to think about."

She blinked up at me, her eyelashes fanning over her cheeks each time.

"You should know, though,youare one of those important things."

"Nick, I swear to fuck if you make me sleep on that uncomfortable-ass couch again, I will run an arrow through your dick."

I walked out from my room and right into the chest of a very angry Reese. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest.

"How about you go to sleep atyourhouse then?"

He scoffed. "Yeah, my parents think I'm all tainted now that I fought beside a demon, forgetting the fact that Markus abducted us all and we almost died, but whatever."

I patted his shoulder. "Then the couch is your bed until further notice. Ariel said they’re still fixing things up. He's working with Natalia for wards around the building, so it's your house, your room at The Skies with Ariel breathing down your neck, or staying here. Choose wisely."

Reese threw his hands up right as my father hustled from upstairs, giving us both a swift good morning.

"Maurice, tell your son he needs to stop being selfish and give me his bed for a few nights." My dad just laughed and shook his head, heading straight for the refrigerator. Reese grew even more frustrated. "Ugh, fine, then tell him to stop being a hog and share the good pillows."

My father slammed the fridge door and waggled his finger at Reese. His hair was still messy from waking up, but it looked like he had tried to fix it with his fingers. "Stop whining and come in here and settle down."

My father had made sure we both remained well-rested and doted on while we recovered. For all of a month, he was our in-house nurse, doing exactly what Natalia and the healers had instructed. He had me recite every single fucking thing that happened while never returning to my question from when we were in the infirmary. He only brought up Jonah when it was about the upcoming ceremony and nothing more. Jonah’s last words were like a tattoo etched in my brain, but I left it at that, ready to come back to it when there were less-pressing matters. It was never far from my mind, though.

I did mention Zane, which sent him into a surprising story about the brawny Enchanter. My dad was so open about some things and so closed off about others. Daya was the same. There was no sneaking to her and gathering information, because she always said it wasn’t someone's place to tell another person's story. I admired her for it, but that didn’t mean I didn’t huff in annoyance when she’d pat my shoulder, shaking her head.

I thought about Dani a lot, more than I liked to admit. Natalia had sent Reese and I home with drinkable pain subsiders and they luckily tasted tolerable, so once I settled into bed, my mind drifted to important things. She was important and maybe she was kind of, sort of, important to me. I was just trying to figure out how much. The pain subsiders also made me drowsy, which I was thankful for, so my mind wouldn't start drifting to thoughts about Dani that were less than honorable.

I knew she was safe in Oculus, but I still…cared.

Daya walked in through the front door, putting her hand up in a hello, while Alex shuffled in behind her, her hair changed from purple stripes to electric blue ones, grabbing a bagel from my dad's hand as she passed. She greeted Reese and I with a mouthful and sat down at the table. This had been my new normal this month, seeing Daya at my house almost every day and Alex at least three times a week. I may be twenty-three but seeing my dad cuddle and kiss his girlfriend was still gross. I was happy for him, but I didn’t want to see him make out with anyone.

Things were changing around here.

There was a light outside that caught my attention and I tapped Reese on the shoulder, pointing to the window near the backdoor. He followed my gaze as the light grew brighter and then faded. A knock sounded at the door, and I hustled over to it before anyone could make a move. I pulled it open and saw Natalia looking back at me, a multicolored sparkle on her cheeks, two gold bands wrapped around her right bicep.

"Good morning, Nicholas and…family," she said, looking over my shoulder at probably a bunch of wide-eyed expressions. "Can we come in?"

Elise and Dani flanked her sides, waiting.I nodded, stepping aside and making room.

Natalia walked inside, Elise following her, her black combat boots stomping inside as she looked around. “Well, isn’t this cute.”

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