Page 138 of Legendary

“Childhood,” Xander said, his voice low so as not to upset Natalia with his interruption. She just nodded over to him and then looked back at me.

“Exactly. You see, children are more susceptible to it. It is, of course, not a pleasant feeling still, but it could happen more easily. Your body would mold with it as you aged, and if you did find yourself using it, it would grow with you.”

I looked at her confused. “I didn’t, though. I didn’t know anything about this until now.”

“Precisely. I think someone transferred those powers into you, but then took away the memory of you ever having it transferred in the first place…along with other things. There were too many missing pieces for that to be the only one.” Natalia looked a little sad as she explained things to me, as if she was telling me about myself, knowing full well I had been in the dark this whole time. “It was likely dormant, never having been used, and then with Dani’s death, you manifested it without really trying. It also explains the passing out seeing as necromancy is a whole-body kind of power. You put everything you have onto repairing a soul, finding the pieces and linking them together to create an entire person again.”

Garrett had mentioned something like that when we’d first met, how it took so much out of him to perform with his powers. I flashed back to his face when it was happening, how he had looked like he recognized the colors of the light, the way the power moved through her body. That had to be why he was adamant about speaking to Natalia before I’d blacked out.

“Why would someone do this? Why me?” I asked.

“I hate to butt in yet again, but I don’t think we’re the best people to be asking,” Xander shrugged. Natalia didn’t scold him this time. Instead, she continued to look at me like she was gauging my reactions.

“Well, you’re Enchanters. This is an Enchanter power, so wouldn’t that kind of make you the best ones to ask?” I said, looking between the both of them.

Natalia shifted on her feet. “We weren’t there for that time in your life. I wouldn’t know the people you surrounded yourself with. The only thing I can do now is figure out who transferred it and maybe help you find the missing pieces to your mental puzzle.”

“The only person I would think to ask would be…” I stopped myself and swallowed the developing lump in my throat. I snuck a glance at Reese, who raised a blonde eyebrow at me, and I ran a hand through my hair, giving my head one good shake. “I have to go. I’ll be back to check up on you.” I nodded over to Reese and gave Natalia and Xander a quick wave goodbye.

I needed to find my father and I needed to find himnow.

I heard voices as I entered my room at the infirmary. Daya and Alex noticed me and headed in my direction, both of them giving me a big hug. I embraced them, but my eyes were set on the man I was slowly realizing I knew so little about. Maybe he didn’t know anything about this transference nonsense at all, but something in my gut told me he did.

“You are a badass, you know that?” Alex complimented me, her blue streaked hair tied up in two large buns on either side of her head.

Daya kissed my cheek and rubbed her hands down my arms. “You look good, Nicholas. We were all worried out of our minds, but we never once doubted you would come back.”

“We also heard Lilith is still on the loose. This shit is about to get wilder,” Alex giggled, earning a swat on the back of the head from her mother. “What? You can’t tell me Lilith is just going to stand down, all because they made a show of coming to Purgatory. Brave, but you’ve put a pretty gnarly target on your back.”

Daya sighed, her nose ring twinkling as she turned to her daughter. “Honey, please stop talking.” She shook her head. “Zane portaled us in. He didn’t want to make your father fly us all the way here.”

I nodded in understanding. “Can we have a minute?” I pointed to my father, who raised both his eyebrows, as if he wasn’t expecting to have a one-on-one conversation with me.

Daya waved nonchalantly at me. “Yes, yes, of course. We’ll be right outside.” She gave me a warm smile, and I almost wanted to blurt out thatBeetee was right down the hall if she wanted to see her, but then that would involve me telling the whole story and I wasn’t quite prepared to dive headfirst into that can of worms. Beetee deserved some grace, so we would all give her that. Daya ushered her daughter out of the room, before leaving after her and closing the door.

“What’s up, son?”

I reached up and scratched my jaw, not knowing where to start, so I just dived in. “Umm, Dani died in Purgatory, Dad. Just like Jonah, right in my arms and it was a little debilitating after what happened to Jonah. I’ve been struggling with that for a while and I’m okay now, so don’t freak out, but obviously she’s not dead anymore.” I blew out a breath, letting that first part soak in.

He leaned against the counter. “Okay. Natalia told me that Garrett fellow is a necromancer. Did he bring her back?”

“No, Dad, he didn’t. I did.”

His brown eyes widened at my admission. “You?”

“Listen, it’s a fucking shock to me. She was dead, Dad. She wasn’t fucking breathing and then I wanted her back with everything I had, and there she was, as if nothing had happened.”

My father opened and closed his mouth as if he were a fish. No words came out, but his eyes told me he was blown away by the news. I kept going, kept talking. “Natalia told me that it was likely transferred to me when I was a kid. If that’s true, that means you are the most likely person to know who I got it from, or anything close to that.”

“Nicholas…”

I pointed my index finger at him. “No, no! You promised me that when I got back you would tell me everything. This is part of that somehow and I’m tired of being in the fucking dark about it. Be honest with me—full honesty, not the half truths you think will hold me over.”

His shoulders sagged as he slowly walked over to the bed. He perched himself at the end and buried his face in his hands. I tentatively walked over to him, not knowing if I had hit a nerve or not. He threaded his fingers through his dark hair and sighed as if he was defeated. Defeated and a little tired.

“I was going to tell you when you turned ten, but then you met Reese and life was good for you. Then, I was going to tell you when you turned sixteen, but you were so invested in preparing yourself for The Skies and all their tests that I didn’t want to interfere. I decided to tell you when you turned twenty, but you were so content, so confidently yourself, and I wasn’t going to ruin that. I selfishly thought, oh, well maybe you didn’t have toknow. Maybe I could just leave it and let your life run its course. You were happy, and as your father, that’s… that’s all I wanted.”

I remained silent. I couldn’t move. I was transfixed by his speech as if everything I’d been wanting to hear was about to be put on blast, at full volume, and I didn’t know if I was prepared to hear any of it. “I had everything planned out how I was going to tell you, from start to finish, but nothing ever seemed right. It always felt like I was telling someone else’s story, and in a way, I would have been.” He ran a hand over his mustache and down his mouth. “She made me promise that I wouldn’t tell you. She didn’t want you seeking vengeance, stifling all the good you could do, so I told her I would keep it to myself. I would let you grow up with an open mind and an open heart. I would bring you up in the best way possible and you’d be okay.” His eyes started to get glassy, and I noticed goosebumps gracing my arms.

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