Page 47 of Legendary

“Isabel? Isabel wasn’t there, Dani.”

“She was, just not to you. Just like before, she wanted to be only visible to me. Taunt me like the fucking trash that she is. She’s just pissed she can’t kill me. Mommy’s orders.”

I flashed back to that look the hellhound gave me, like it knew me so well. Like we were so familiar with each other. Lilith always had her methods. She had never been the biggest fan of hellhounds, she never liked cleaning up after them, but she knew they had their uses.

“Another one of Lilith’s calling cards. Isabel is just her eyes on the ground, while she occasionally tries to fuck with my head.”

“I figured that might be the case. Pretty sure you might have even scared Elise, just a tiny bit. If that makes you feel better.”

I laughed and got up, tucking my legs beneath my thighs. “And what about you? Do I scare you?”

He held my gaze for a minute and his eyes went from skeptical to honest and heartfelt. They melted into this kind of adoration that I knew he couldn’t help but exude whenever he looked at me. He made that very apparent. Nicholas shook his head. “No, Dani. Youdidscare me today, but not in the way you think.” I could feel his need for me like a creature starving for water after centuries of not having it. He maintained his self-control well, but a storm was brewing inside of him, and I was eager to see it. I couldn’t help but want him to figure it out, but I was a demon who was fine with playing the long game if that’s what it took. I did love instant gratification and we would both be happy if I kissed him and let him use my body in all the ways I knew he could, but what would that really mean?

He started to reach for my hand, but I moved out of the way and off the bed. Nicholas didn’t have to shout to the entire world how he felt; that I was simply enough for him, but I needed him to fucking say it tome. Preferably on his knees. Then I’d consider getting on mine and making him regret all the time he’d spent away from me. He seemed caught off guard, but he regained his composure, eyeing me as if he was trying to figure out my next move.

“Are they still here?”

“Uh, yeah. I know Beetee told them they could stay here as long as they needed, so they might have gone to their room, or they might still be downstairs with her and Elise. I know Reese already passed out for the night.”

I started making my way to the door when I stopped and turned on my heels. “I’m not a parent by any means, but what parent in their right mind wouldn’t be livid about someone trying to murder their child.”

Nicholas let out a choked laugh. “Oh, they were livid, believe me, but umm, they understand the whole weird connection you have with Lilith. They obviously don’t love it, but they know you didn’t do it on purpose. They know you aren’t some kind of monster, Dani.”

I flinched at that word. It was used way too often for my liking. I was happy to be a monster, but on my own accord, not someone else’s. It made me curious though. “What do you mean, they understand?”

He leaned back on the bed, his hands resting behind him on the comforter. “We all tried to explain it, but in the end, only one personreallycould.” He had one of his eyes closed and the other open as if he was cautiously using his words as I waited for him to continue. “Elise.”

I didn’t say anything when I left the room, especially since the memory of my dagger in Elise’s shoulder appeared in my mind so vividly, it was like I was there all over again. Out of all the memories of course that one was the most colorful. My dagger started to manifest in my hand, but I put it away. I didn’t want to play right now, I actually wanted to talk.

I walked down the stairs, hearing an array of voices. There were a few I recognized, like Beetee’s but then there were others that were unfamiliar. When I got to the last step, I noticed that the reddish orange coloring of the sky was now black. It was a comforting kind of dark that I looked out at, but it also made me realize that I had been out longer than I thought. The lounge area had a few occupants that gave me wide-eyed looks, but I paid them no mind. The door opened and two very drunk demons stumbled in and one of them laughed as they passed me, nudging my shoulder. The amount of annoyance I had to push down was lethal.

“Dani.” I heard Beetee call my name. I turned my head and watched as she tentatively walked towards me, stopping at the threshold between the dining area and the small kitchen. I rolled my shoulders and made my way over to her. I reached up behind me and ripped the tie from my hair, letting my ponytail lose. My head felt lighter as my curls fell down my back and I ruffled them out. Beetee gave a small very cute smile, but I knew it was a smile that was holding back something. She didn’t know how to approach this situation.

As I got closer, I saw Leah and Garrett seated on one side of the long table. Elise sat on the other, her feet up on the table as she leaned back in her chair. I kept my face neutral when I was finally in front of all of them. I had never been so fidgety and—regretful—in all of my existence.Regretful.

“How was your beauty sleep, princess?”Elise asked, inspecting her nails.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her.

“What she means to ask is, how are you feeling?” Beetee gingerly touched my arm.

“I’m good. Everything is coming back in pieces,” I admitted. I couldn’t look Leah and Garrett in the eyes, not just yet. I could feel the tension coming from them. It wasn’t a tension filled with hate, but it was the cautious kind, which I understood.

“How about I relay everything to you really quickly, huh. We got attacked by hellhounds, Yuri got yanked away by one, and you tried to play hero and almost killed him. Luckily you came to your fucking senses,” Elise explained, counting each thing off on her fingers.

Beetee nearly growled under her breath before swiftly turning around and stalking over to Elise. Before I could even blink, she swatted her on the back of the head and grabbed her legs, ripping them off the table. “I told you to be nice, Ellie. So benice! And how many times do I have to tell you to get your feet off my table.”

I held my breath waiting for Elise to pounce on her, but she just arranged her face in a look of disgusted agitation and groaned. Beetee turned back to me, just for Elise to give her a middle finger to her back. “Have a seat, I mean if you want.”

“I’m okay standing.” I leaned against the doorframe. I cleared my throat, finally looking over to Leah and Garrett. “I’m sorry.”

Leah let out a soft sigh. “We know you are, it’s just a lot, Soul Seether. That’s our child.”

“How is he?”

Garrett tapped on the table. “He was shaken up, along with Jasmine. Leah tried to glamour their memories as best she could, but some things can be so frightening that it’s hard to fix. They’re asleep upstairs now.”

I flicked my brown eyes to his golden ones. “Glamour their memories?”

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