Page 98 of Live Like Legends

Willa shook her head. “Honey, we don’t have to go with?—”

“No, if Daya is going to know me, then she is going to have to know you as well.”

I scanned the three women, discovering that nothing more was going to be said and the decision was made. I huffed out a laugh. “Well, then I guess I’m not flying.”

My father opened up the door, ready to embrace me in a hug, when he stopped. His eyes glanced over my shoulder at Beeteeand her moms behind me. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he looked back at me.

I clucked my tongue. “It’s a long story, but it’s an interesting one.”

My father moved to the side without another word, ushering us in. Daya and Alex sat on the couch, empty plates littered with crumbs on the coffee table in front of them. There was a soft grumble that came from my stomach. I could admit that I had wanted to come here to talk to my fatherandbecause I was hungry.

“Nicholas, it is so good to see you.” Daya smiled at me and then looked over at Beetee. “And you brought friends?”

I pointed at her from over my shoulder. “Uh, yeah, you all remember Beetee and her moms, Louise and Willa.”

The two women awkwardly waved, while Beetee plastered a friendly smile on her face.

Alex snorted. “Oh yeah, no one can forget the giant fucking snake in our backyard.”

Beetee’s lilac eyes bulged, her face turning red as if she was embarrassed. “Oh my…I’m sorry, Ariel was just…and I….”

My father came over, placing his hand at her elbow. She stopped stuttering and pressed her lips together, giving him an apologetic expression. “Sweetheart, it’s alright. You got Ariel to flee with his tail between his legs. I’m kind of impressed.”

“I second that. That was probably the second best moment of my entire life. It comes in right behind getting to play with a hellhound for a few hours,” Alex chimed in, propping her hand under her chin as she rested her arm on the back of the couch.

Daya bit her bottom lip, peeking over at Beetee. “I’m not the biggest fan of snakes, but as Maurice said, you are an impressive sight.”

I had a feeling that all Beetee got from this interaction was that Daya didn’t like snakes, therefore, Daya didn’t likeher. Itwas irrational thinking, but Beetee was the type of creature that was all emotion.

She shuffled over to me, her moms close behind her. Her voice was low, like a whisper.

“Nick, I don’t think I can do this,” she said at the same time my father announced, “you all don’t need to stand, we have enough chairs and food if you’re hungry.”

I looked from my father to the pink-haired demon who looked like she wanted to bolt out of my house at any moment.

Daya got off the couch and sidled up next to me. “Are you alright, honey? I’m sorry if what I said offended you in any way.”

Beetee shook her head, turning her head to give her moms a swift nod as if confirming something silently between the three of them. She took in a deep breath, letting it settle in her chest before she blew it out. “There is something you need to know…or well, that we need to talk about.”

Daya tilted her head to the side. “You need to speak to me about something?” Her voice was light and filled with understanding, even though she was about to be hit with something that would alter her life.

Willa cleared her throat. “Actually, Louise and I are the ones who really need to speak with you, first and foremost.”

I could see my father from across the room, his eyes narrowed. Iknewhe wanted to pull me outside for answers but for now, he would just listen. Alex did the same, but her body was currently bent over the back of the couch, intrigue written all over her facial features.

“What exactly is going on?” Daya asked, worry laced in her voice.

Louise spoke next, “I’ve never been the type to try to make things sound pretty, so I’ll just say it. When we were looking for a way out from under Lilith’s reign, she asked us to do one last task. She wanted us to go find a baby and remove it fromexistence. We couldn’t go through with it, so we raised it. We raised that beautiful baby girl away from Lilith and never looked back.” She brushed Beetee’s pink hair away from her shoulder, so that she could stroke her cheek.

“I don’t understand what that has to do with me. It’s a beautiful story and I commend you on not doing something so horrendous, but…” Daya started, but her whiskey-colored eyes moved to Beetee. She started to look as if she was rearranging all the puzzle pieces she had just been given, continuously placing them in different spots until something made sense. “Did you say Lilith wanted you to take a baby?”

Beetee’s moms nodded. Beetee herself remained quiet.

“And you brought it to Purgatory to raise it….raiseher?” Daya moved so that she was now right in front of Beetee. The pink-haired demon looked down at the ground, fiddling with the ends of her dress.

“Lilith told us the hybrid child would ruin her. Our Beetee would never do such things. If she wanted to showcase the immense power she had then we would let her, but she didn’t. Thank Satan for it, because raising a snake shifter is difficult enough,” Louise said, squeezing her daughters hand.

“Hybrid…” Daya’s words halted when I heard her voice crack. Her eyes were glassy as she tucked her fingers under Beetee’s chin, lifting her face upwards. Daya pressed her lips together as she examined Beetee’s features. My father’s girlfriend tore her eyes away from Beetee to look at me, silently asking if it was true. She was asking if the suspicions her mind was conjuring up were authentic.

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