Page 4 of Legendary

I stuck my tongue out and licked my lower lip, remaining silent.

“Dani, well, she seems like the type who values actions a great deal. She...” he started to say, but he stopped himself.

I walked over to him and returned to my place next to him on my bed. “She what?”

My father reached out his hand and stroked my cheek with his knuckles. “She oddly reminds me a lot of your mother: headstrong and unapologetic.” He raised his hands quickly. “I know you don’t want to focus on all that, I’m sorry.”

I looked down at my hands. “No, it’s okay. I think it’s nice they have some similarities.”

“Don’t wait for her to make a move, son. Do it yourself. I’ve never seen you back down from something you want.” He squeezed my shoulder.

What my father didn’t know was that I never once planned to back down. No, Dani had three months to decide I wasn’t worth her time, potentially making my efforts pointless. I could take rejection, but from her, it might just hurt more than anything. We weren’t even in an actual relationship.Fuck.

Damnit, he was right.

“Fine, fine. I’ll go and, I don’t know—put myself out there.” I was a whole adult angel who had killed a decent amount of his angelic friends and sustained a pretty hefty wound, yet I was nervous about laying my feelingsout to the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.

I walked back over to my closet and yanked a black bomber jacket off a hanger, my father watching as I put it on. “Daya and Alex are coming back over in about an hour, so we’ll be here regardless of how it goes.”

“You should really just ask her to move in,” I mumbled, and I knew he heard me when he grumbled his own noncommittal response. He moved to leave my room, but I caught his arm. “Dad, can you promise me something?”

He tilted his head to the side. “What is it?”

I let my eyes roam his face, taking in all our similarities. I knew this face, the one that I’d looked at for my entire life, the one that held so many secrets. I wondered if they were eating away at him as much as my questions ate away at me. We’d always had a bond, and I didn’t want to push so far that our relationship started to crumble because I couldn’t just let things lie.

On the other hand, there were things I just needed to know, and he would have to understand.

“When I come back, when we settle this, I want you to tell meeverything.”

His breathing stunted for a moment, and he pressed his lips together. He looked everywhere but at my face, the passing seconds increasing my anticipation for his answer. Finally, he looked at me, genuine fatherly warmth spread over his face. “You make it back like I know you will, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know. I promise.”

I heaved out a heavy breath, happy to have that settled when my door flung open.

Reese didn’t step over the threshold but instead pointed towards the living room. “Sorry to ruin your father-son moment, but we’ve been summoned.” He had changed into more comfortable clothes as well.

My eyebrows pulled down in confusion. “Summoned? By whom?”

Reese gave me a look that told me everything I needed to know.

“Ariel was here?” We’d always gonetoThe Skies and offered our help, but he’d never actually summoned us back.

My best friend snorted. “Fuck no, that man never leaves The Skies unless he literallyhasto. He sent a messenger. He wants us there now, like right now.”

I raised my eyes to the ceiling. Dani would have to wait. “Alright.” I patted my father’s shoulder as I walked past him.

“You could totally come too, Mr. Cassial. After all the stories about how much Ariel can’t stand you, I would pay a good chunk of my celestial coins to see you two in a room together, hashing it out,” Reese said, looking between us, as if his idea had a chance in Hell of happening.

My father shook his head, chuckling. The lines at the corners of his eyesdeepened and made him look dignified as if he earned them. “If you want this meeting with him to go smoothly, it’s best I’m not there. As long as he acts accordingly as he has been, we won't have an issue.”

“Oh right, sure,” Reese laughed. “The guy has been gunning to get his useless ass in Jonah’s chair. It’s really funny to watch.”

My father ruffled Reese’s hair as he passed him, heading towards the stairs leading upstairs. “Ariel has a tenacity I admire—one of the only things about him Idoadmire. Now, go on. We all know he’ll be upset when you’re a half a second late.”

I watched him climb the stairs to the second floor as Reese turned back towards the living room. I followed my best friend but stopped short, turning back and jogging towards my room. I opened my top desk drawer and pulled out the portal key Natalia had given me. I had removed it for the ceremony, but other than that, I hadn’t taken it off, not once.

I hooked it around my neck, tucking it into my shirt, returning to Reese. Once we were in the backyard, we released our wings and headed towards The Skies. Reese would have opted to use my portal key, but I hadn’t used it since everything happened. Personally, I liked the feeling of flying, even though it gave me too much time to think.

I knew where Oculus was from up here, but I had to stop myself from curving completely and heading in the direction I wanted. I had to focus, as impossible asthatseemed.

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