Goddess Legacy: Goddess Series Book 1 (Young Adult / New Adult Series)

by M. W. Muse

“Besides the fact that you are connected to her, how can I compete with a goddess of that stature? With her power over love, she could have any man she wanted. I couldn’t stop her if she wanted you.”

  “If you’re worried about repeating the destiny of our original gods, then there are some stories that said the original god who I’m like spent part of his time with Persephone.”

  “The god that Persephone spent time with was Hades. Are you telling me you were created from him?” She started to cry again. This could not be happening to her. She was in love with Adin. Mom said Hades had a plan. If his plan was for her to fall in love with Adin, then he was already winning. She wanted to be with Adin no matter who he was created from or similar to.

  “No! No, I’m not like Hades. He is a real threat to you. I’m not going to take you away from your family, and I’m not going to allow him to do that either.”

  “So why didn’t you just tell me everything?” she demanded.

  "I wanted you to find out for yourself. I mean, I wanted to help you—like when I brought up Lissa babysitting you on the night of your parents’ accident—but I wanted you to be the one to put the pieces together. I wanted you in control of your destiny.

  "We all have our own destinies to fulfill. We don’t have to repeat the ones of our creators or the original gods we are like. And even if we are destined to do that to a certain degree, we still have a good chance of being together all the time since our similar gods were together part of the time." She took a deep breath, trying to rein in her anger. “The only other god I remember reading about that was with Persephone was Adonis.”

  Adin smiled at her.

  “Adonis?” she asked incredulously.

  “Yes. I’m not the original Adonis. I was created in his likeness, but I didn’t ascend to a godly status when I turned eighteen.”

  “And this Aphrodite, have you met her?”

  Adin sighed. “No. But she does exist, and that’s one of the things my dad and I argued about. But she’s with Adonis. They’re happy. There’s no reason for her to come looking for an alternative.”

  "Speaking of arguments, I take it you and River argued because he found out about you and believed you should’ve been honest with me. How long has he known the truth?"

  Adin’s eyes narrowed. He clearly didn’t like her bringing up River. “We opened up about what we knew while you were in the hospital. We were alone with you for hours and hours every day, so we had to talk about something. Until then he had no idea that I was a part of his world. I probably wouldn’t have said anything then, but I was too upset to think clearly. Obviously, if I had been in my right mind, I would have thrown him out of your room as soon as I got there. He cannot be trusted.”

  And she wouldn’t have known to confront Adin. “How can you say that? He hasn’t lied to me!”

  "Legacy, I have not lied to you! I love you, so I did what I thought was best for you, not what I thought was best for me, and River is a selfish bastard who’s only looking out for himself!”

  She stood, stepping away from the table. “I think you should leave.”

  Adin’s jaw dropped, and her heart ached to see the pain that formed on his face. "Sweetheart, please," he whispered, standing up.

  “I heard what you had to say, and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact you kept this from me and discouraged me from getting information from River when you knew the truth all along.” Her breathing hitched as tears leaked down her face.

  He stepped forward. “I’m sorry,” he breathed. “I thought I was doing the right thing for you.”

  She looked down, not able to stare at his watery eyes. "I know. I just need time to think.”

  And mend her heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  She woke up on the last Saturday of summer vacation thinking about everything, and she started with the most recent event—her fight with Adin.

  She’d spent two days lost in her thoughts, trying not to cry at feeling betrayed by Adin. At times, she’d understood what he said, but at others, she’d felt let down by him not confiding in her. He’d called her several times, but she wasn’t ready to talk. His messages had professed his sorrow and love, which made her a little too emotional to deal directly with him just yet.

  Calli had brought over chocolate ice cream, and Legacy had cried on her shoulder. She couldn’t discuss this mess with her other best friend. Legacy knew River meant well encouraging her to talk to Adin about this, but talking to River would just keep open the wound she’d been trying to close.

  She knew she needed to wrap up this unfinished business with Adin since his banquet was coming up. She’d finally accepted the truth, which was Adin had no idea the Gorgos family was in town or that she’d confided in River about anything until long after the fact, so he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been forthcoming with information.

  With River and his mom out of town, Legacy could run by the store to get her last check. It didn’t take long for her to get dressed and get to the store. She parked and ran in for probably the last time.

  "Hey, Legacy. What are you doing here?" Yale asked.

  "Came to get my check."

  "Oh. It’s in the break room by your timecard. C’mon."

  Legacy followed her while Yale chattered on about the things she’d missed, which hadn’t been much, and about Legacy’s accident and time in the hospital.

  "And Ms. Gorgos got the ceiling fixed fast. I think she was worried you’d sue her for your accident. I mean, I don’t think you can do that since it wasn’t her fault. It was an act of God, you know."

  Oh, was it an act of a higher power, all right, but this power had been evil.

  "That storm was nasty. Good thing you didn’t get stuck hiking in it," Yale went on.

  Legacy felt her scalp prickle, the hairs on the back of her neck standing. "I never told you that."

  Yale turned around with an innocent expression. "Never told me what?"

  "About hiking," Legacy said slowly.

  Yale’s innocent expression morphed to a cocky one. "Oops."

  It was her only warning. She lunged for Legacy as the ground started to shake. She tried to fight Yale off, but she was strong. Legacy didn’t even have time to contemplate what was really happening. Other than she was fighting for her life.

  Yale grabbed her hair and banged her head against the wall. Legacy saw stars and tried to stay conscious, the metallic taste of blood turning her stomach.

  “I never think before I speak,” Yale sneered.

  Legacy elbowed Yale in the gut, straining to create enough momentum to knock the deranged chick off her feet. She hadn’t been completely successful, but Yale stumbled back enough for Legacy to grab hold of something. She looked to the side to see what she’d grasped.

  A chair. Thank the gods!

  Yale drew back her fist to punch Legacy when she flung the chair at her attacker.

  "What ‘s wrong with you?" Legacy screamed as Yale dodged her attempt at retaliation. Legacy swung it at her again, but Yale eluded her blow.

  “Oh, come now…you know if I kill you, I’ll get your powers.”

  Legacy charged her with nervous energy. Yale was apparently a part of the myths, but she couldn’t think about that now.

  “You can do better than that,” Yale said, laughing as she flipped over Legacy and landed behind her. She grabbed Legacy’s hair, yanked her head back with one hand, and wrapped an arm around her with another. Legacy was trapped. “You opened that box,” Yale whispered, dangerously calm. “Before, your ascension would’ve been difficult. Now, it will be impossible. You set us free, and soon we will take your hope too.”

  Legacy elbowed Yale in the gut as hard as she could while she stomped on her foot. Yale screeched and slightly loosened her grip on Legacy’s hair. She steeled herself against the coming pain and whipped her body around, hair ripping from her scalp. But she was free. She ran around the table and grabbed a letter opener that had been left fro
m the day she and River had shredded all those documents. She wielded it like a sword. “Who are you?” Legacy panted.

  “Euryale.” But the word hadn’t come from Yale’s lips. Yale jerked her head up, looking for the source of the sound. Then she glared at Legacy.

  "This is only the beginning!" she screeched. Then Yale’s body dissolved into a bunch of snakes that slithered away.

  What the hell?

  Legacy didn’t stand around figuring it out. She ran for her car, using her shirt to wipe the blood from her busted lip as the ground tremors stopped. Was Yale even real? Was she Medusa’s pawn the whole time? She had to get out of here. First, the lightning strike, now the attack. Medusa was really gunning for her. She felt too rattled to explain what happened, but she knew she needed to call Adin. Not talking to her in two days, he answered on the first ring.

  "Legacy? Sweetheart, I’m so—"

  "Yale just tried to kill me," she screamed into the phone as she tried to contain her sobs.

  "Son of a…? Are you okay? Where are you?" She heard him rustling with his keys.

  "I—I’m in my car, heading home."

  "I’m across town, sweetheart. I’ll be there as soon as I can."

  Legacy screeched to a stop in her driveway and flew through the front door, right into Lissa. She grabbed Legacy’s arms to stabilize her, staring at her face while Legacy rattled off the details of her attack, her voice getting louder, and by the end, she was screaming mad.

  As she yelled, thunder crashed outside, and she gasped, looking around the room with nervous energy coursing through her. Had Medusa just try to kill her through Yale? Was Medusa trying to kill her now with another storm? Legacy was borderline hysterical.

  "Legacy, you need to calm down before you hurt yourself again!"

  She frowned at Lissa, momentarily stunned by her words. "Again?"

  All her dreams flashed through her mind while Lissa stared at her, waiting for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place.

  "Medusa?" Legacy couldn’t even finish the question. She couldn’t even finish the thought because she didn’t know what she was trying to ask.

  Lissa shook her head, watching her eyes.

  Why was she thinking about her dreams? She already knew why she was having them. She was standing under the tornado. She wasn’t scared of it, but she didn’t want it to come. When she’d yelled no up at it, she’d thought she was yelling at the person responsible, which she’d later discovered was Medusa.

  Legacy gasped, her dreams connecting to form a beautifully completed puzzle.

  She’d been wrong. That was why she’d had that new dream again. She hadn’t figured everything out like she’d thought.

  "Medusa isn’t causing the weather problems?" Legacy asked blankly.

  "Not all of them."

  "Who?"

  "You know who."

  "Me," she whispered. She knew, but she didn’t understand.

  "Legacy, were you angry when you got hit by lightning?"

  "I was fighting with River about Adin." Legacy exhaled slowly. "I hurt myself by accident because I was mad?"

  "Yes. When you’ve been here and the weather’s been beautiful, you’ve been happy—"

  "And when I’ve been sad, it’s been rainy or gloomy," she finished.

  Lissa nodded.

  "But what about the tropical storm in Florida when Adin?"

  "That wasn’t you. I believe that was Medusa’s doing. Either she tricked Poseidon into doing that, or River did it."

  "Why would River do that?"

  "To get back at Adin for asking you out. I don’t know for sure. And if he did do it, he might not have consciously done it. He may not know what he’s capable of. Just like you didn’t know you could control the weather, he probably doesn’t realize his emotions are manifesting into his abilities."

  Legacy stared at Lissa, feeling a sense of understanding wash over her. "I can control the weather."

  "Not yet, not really. You have to learn how to control your emotions, or the earth will suffer. If the earth suffers, everyone suffers. This is the change you are going through. You need to accept this and learn to deal with your emotions properly. If you are unable to control yourself, the consequences could be devastating. And not just for you."

  Everything was clicking now. "That’s why Medusa had the red herring in my dream. She was distracting me from the truth that it was me all along causing the weather here, not her."

  "Right. And she’ll keep messing with you, Legacy. You said you heard the word ‘Euryale’ when you asked who Yale was. That’s the name of one of Medusa’s immortal sisters. This has Medusa’s handiwork written all over it. She wants your powers, and she wants revenge against Poseidon. He is the reason the original Medusa was killed. Demeter and Poseidon are siblings, of sorts, and they both have earthly abilities. If she kills you, it would devastate Demeter, which will sadden Poseidon. Plus, she’ll gain some of those abilities when she destroys you, making her more powerful than Demeter. I think that’s what she’s really after. The revenge angle is an emotional reason. She’s a monster. She’s incapable of true emotion."

  "But why would this new Medusa create River with Poseidon if she wants revenge against him?"

  "Because she’s a monster, Legacy. You’re looking for logic from an entity incapable of being reasonable. But from an outside perspective, I would think that maybe she wanted to cover all her angles of attack against you and your mother. Poseidon probably hoped the new Medusa had more heart than the original one, and she used his kindness against him."

  Since Poseidon and Demeter were siblings, that’d make River her cousin. "Why would there be a prophecy involving cousins being together? I know this is the south and all, but that’s gross."

  Lissa chuckled as they finally sat down. "I said they were like siblings. When gods create new gods together, it isn’t always a romantic creation. I’m sure you’ve read some of the stories on Greek mythology. A god doesn’t even need another god to create a new god."

  That made sense. Now that she didn’t have to worry about being romantically bonded to a type of cousin, she needed other answers. "Why did you tell River when I was in the hospital that Medusa hurt me when she hadn’t?"

  "Because my job is to help you, and it was what he needed to hear. He needs to be strong for you because he’s your best ally when it comes to stopping Medusa. He’s going to be powerful soon."

  "So you know River is going to be powerful, but what about Adin? He told me he descended from the gods too. That he was created in the likeness of Adonis. His parents told him he’d ascend, but when he turned eighteen, nothing happened."

  "Everything isn’t always as it seems."

  Hmmm, Adin had told her the same thing. "Okay, what about Hades? Mom said he knows, and he has a plan."

  "Hades is a real threat to you. He’s always been, though. He may now have a plan to take you away, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t tried before. I don’t want you consumed with fear. Adin and River will protect you. You just have to be careful with them."

  "Why do I need to be careful with them? Shouldn’t I be careful about Hades?"

  "That’s not what I meant. Obviously you need to be wary of Hades. But Adin and River both have very strong feelings for you. Your safety is their main objective, and I don’t want their feelings to cloud their judgment. They both want to be with you, but you can only be with one of them. One will get hurt." She paused and stared directly at Legacy. "There is no way around that. But if they let their emotions get the best of them and Hades gets to you, then both will get hurt. I think you knowing this—how much River and Adin are hurting—will be what ultimately destroys you if captured. They can love you, but they cannot lose sight of what’s really important. You have to be careful with their emotions, Legacy."

  That made sense, but she suddenly realized that Lissa always talked about her mom, never her dad. "When you told me my mom was alive, why didn’t you tell me my dad was too?"r />
  "I am your mother’s priestess. I was created to serve her."

  Okay. As Legacy internalized that bit of information, she thought about her dreams again, searching for answers, completing the rest of the puzzle. "The lightning in my dreams." And it clicked right there. She smiled. "It’s not real lightning. It falls from the sky like confetti and glitters, but it never reaches me. Why is that?"

  "Why do you think that is?" Lissa smiled too, apparently knowing where Legacy was going with this.

  "Because my dad is Zeus. The lightning bolt is his symbol, and in my dreams, the lightning symbolized him. It fell from the sky and glittered down as a gesture. It was as if he were showering me with his love." There was no doubt in her mind that this was the reason.

  "Very good," Lissa whispered.

  "So I inherited the lightning ability from him."

  Lissa nodded cautiously. She obviously knew more, but wasn’t going to elaborate. At this point, it didn’t really matter. She’d been attacked not fifteen minutes ago, and here she was relishing in understanding.

  Lissa took Legacy’s hands into hers. “You have been given a great gift, Legacy. Not the abilities or the chance of eternal life. You have an opportunity to live your our legacy.”

  “What happens when the legacy I seek isn’t the one I’m destined to have?”

  “For now, just know that it’s your free will to live your life the way you chose. You can develop a relationship with Adin or River and seek that happily ever after."

  "I have relationships with both of them." She immediately felt defensive.

  "And that’s your decision, but Legacy, you’re going to have to make a choice before someone makes it for you."

  "I’ve already decided." Legacy pulled her hands away from Lissa and rubbed her aching face. She needed some Tylenol. And her scalp was on fire. “Any insight as to what happens now?”

  "You keep changing. You’ll get stronger, and with the help of the people who love you, you’ll get more controlled the closer you get to eighteen. You’ll be experiencing things you have no idea how to accept. At times, it’ll be very difficult for you to understand what is happening, but you’ll need to learn how to harness your abilities."