Page 108 of Live Like Legends

Zane sneered at her. “The High Priestess allows you to seek shelter here, this is not…”

A throat cleared and Natalia came up beside him. “Oh calm down. You know you have a soft spot for the snake shifter and do not even try to deny it.”

The large Enchanter kept his face neutral, not giving into Natalia’s teasing. The sound of children laughing had me blinking in confusion. Axel wagged his tail and ran around us, bounding up the stairs. Another sound, a familiar male laugh, had me rearing my head back.

“Is that my father?” Nick asked, as if he read my mind.

Natalia nodded. “Yes. They’ve all been here for quite some time.”

“They?” Nick and I both said in unison. Natalia winked at us and turned to walk down the hall, Zane following at her heels.

We all trailed behind them, letting Natalia lead us into a sitting room that was covered in gold wallpaper. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling and a large circular window brought light into the room that bounced against the golden walls beautifully.

A collective silence filtered through the room when I took in every person that looked back at me. Garrett and Leah sat closely on one of the couches, while their children played with Axel at their feet. Beetee and her moms stood near the windowsill, huddled closely with Daya and Alex. Maurice Cassial came into my view when he walked over to us. He looked from his son to me and smiled. He patted Nick’s shoulder like there was some silent conversation between them.

I felt a warm hand against mine and fingers threading through my own. Mr. Cassial looked down at where we held hands and he chuckled, more to himself than to anyone else.

“You’re all here?” I asked, my voice smaller than I wanted.

“Where else would we be?” Leah answered, giving me an encouraging smile.

“You can’t scare us away,” Beetee chimed in.

Maurice smiled. “Whatever happens we’re with you. When all Hell breaks loose, we’re with you.”

“Plus, I personally am always going to fight on the side with two hybrids, especially when one is a snake shifter.” Alex gave me a thumbs up, getting a sigh from her mother, before she walked over and sat on the couch.

Elise pushed past us to sit on the arm of one of the couches. “Ah, let’s not forget that Dani wields some shadowy fireball of light that could melt all our flesh off.” She blinked innocently at Nick. “You would know about that wouldn’t you, since she nearly melts yours off every time you make her com…”

“Oh my god, please shut up!” Nick shouted, but not before Daya let out a choked cough at the same time Reese held his stomach trying not to keel over in roaring laughter.

Nick shot him an unamused look. Reese held up his hands. “I’m sorry. The grumpy psycho and I don’t get along much, but that was funny.”

I squeezed Nick’s hand and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. “He likes my burns.”

Alex made a gagging sound before kicking her feet up and resting them on the coffee table.

Nick let out a slow breath, regaining his composure. “Are you all here about Ariel?”

“Well, Ariel and anything else that needs to happen with the Dimitri situation.” Maurice leaned over the back of the couch, resting his elbows against the top.

I tentatively touched the scars on my arm. That was going to be a nervous habit, I could tell. “Well, Dimitri…”

“We know he got dealt with, but Lilith was there, right?” One of Beetee’s moms, Louise, asked.

“Yeah.”

“Is she going to be a problem?” Daya inquired, her whiskey eyes staring at me patiently.

I thought this over. I wasn’t really sure how to answer the question since Dimitri had been the real issue. Lilith was anafterthought since she had been pushed down several pegs when Dimitri had decided he would be calling the shots. “I wouldn’t think so. Dimitri was the one they all wanted to look up to, not her. It would be pretty hard for her to get the same sort of loyalty she had previously after Dimitri became her handler.”

“No one to do her bidding, means no play time for the queen of darkness,” Elise added.

“I suggest we stay vigilant but not let the idea of her threaten our lives,” Garrett said, but he spoke while he gazed at his children. “Besides, with the way your leader is handling things, if she did come and propose a fight, I don’t know how this realm would fare.”

“So, are you suggesting we all fight Ariel head on?” I asked.

“If you do, it will be sooner than you think,” Reese said, pressing his tongue into his cheek.

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