Page 32 of Live Like Legends

I nodded, remembering all the times I’d felt like there was something missing or that something in me felt misplaced. I couldn’t help but be envious that Beetee had never had those feelings, but then again, her hybrid status was different than mine. Lilith had made me what I was and pretended to nurture me as if I was always meant to be that way, Beetee had been born out of love, but hidden away never knowing that. We were vastly different, but I liked to think our hearts were always in the right places.

Her voice came out in a whisper. “Lilith must have really had her claws in you deep to make you believe something for so long.” She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth. “How did it feel?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “How did what feel?”

She flipped her hands up, so we were both looking at her palms. “Being both, using both powers. Was it scary? Intense? Confusing?”

I placed my hands in hers. “All of the above. Like something I was always meant to do.

You could feel all those things too you know. I think your dark magic comes from your snake shifting, so we can focus on your light, see how to…”

Beetee put my hands back in my lap with a small smile. “Mm... I don’t know. Maybe someday when I see my moms again. That’s my priority. And of course, making sure you haveall the support you can get and if being a snake is how I can do that right now then, I will.”

I watched her lilac-colored eyes as they tried to hold back their sadness. “Okay, if not your hybrid abilities, then what about the Daya issue?”

“Nick’s dad’s girlfriend?”

I nodded, pulling at one of my curls to give my hands something to do. “She is your family even if I’m pretty sure she isn’t fully aware of it yet.”

Beetee’s chest and neck started to gain a reddish color as if she was slightly embarrassed. “I’m awful. I want to speak to her, I do. I just…I don’t want to take a step into Nick’s house with talks of a family reunion when his own family is still rocky and misshapen. I don’t want to create this bond with someone I’ve never known when the people I’ve known my whole life, the family I’ve known are still…” She sighed, “waiting for me to come back.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation, Beetee.”

She tilted her head from side to side. “Oh, I know. I guess I just want my moms with me whenever we do speak, just to make the transition easier. They know the story. They made sure I stayed alive. I think Daya would like to know them just as much as she’ll want to know me.”

“I think regardless of moms or no moms, she’ll be happy to know you’re alive, even if it means she starts hysterically crying in disbelief. You want to support me, so I suppose I’ll just have to do the same for you.” I nudged her with my shoulder and watched as her eyes became brighter.

“One thing at a time, Dani.” She nudged me back.

“Alright, reptile queen, as you wish.”

“That is still an awful…” Beetee looked past me at her window. I followed her eyes and watched as the sky did the same thing as the night before, but this time it was more intense. Theripple stretched out further and wider. You couldn’t see much but black, but a shiver went down my spine. The ripple stayed for a few more moments and then dispersed as if it wanted to make an impression.

Knock, Knock.

Beetee jumped at the sound, holding her hand against her chest. She shuffled to the door, opening it to reveal a very anxious Nicholas.

“Elise said this is where you would take her.”

Beetee shrugged, moving out of the way so he could get a full view of me.

“And so, you found me.” I turned to look out the window again. “Did you see the ripple?”

He started to rub the back of his neck. “Yeah, which means Ariel is going to be even more of an unnecessary prick. We should tread carefully.”

I groaned as I got off Beetee’s bed and walked over to him. I winked at the pink haired snake shifter, placing my hand on Nick’s arm. “I’m going to work harder than ever to be able to be the best hybrid I can be and then once this whole darkness in the sky thing is taken care of, I can burn Ariel to a tiny little crisp.”

Nick laughed, some of the tension leaving his body.

“Is she gone?”

His brown eyes flashed a panicked look but went back to normal. “Yeah.”

I beamed at him. “Good and don’t worry, I trust you with everything I have.” His face took on a look of relief. My smile fell when I spoke again. “You should know though, if she ever talks to me like that again, I’ll kill her.”

Dani walked into my room and started changing her clothes as if nothing had transpired in the last thirty minutes. She would occasionally look at me, throughout her trips from my dresser to the bathroom, but other than that, there was silence. I didn’t want to bother her until she spoke first, so I leaned against the wall near the door and watched her.

Her face was the picture of contentment, like she had had a normal day doing everyday things. For some reason I was prepared for the fight first, ask questions later attitude, but this—I didn’t know how to handle this. All this did was tell me that years from now she would still find ways of surprising me.

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