Goddess Secret

by M. W. Muse

  “Mixed signals?” What in the world was that supposed to mean?

  “It’s just a feeling that something is off. I don’t know how to explain it.” Lissa waved her hand. “What about dreams? Maybe she’s tried reaching you in your dreams.”

  “No, but there is something I don’t understand.” Honestly, this little tidbit had been gnawing at her. “Remember me telling you about my dreams before the banquet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I thought I had figured them all out, but I dreamed them both again last night.”

  Lissa’s expression immediately altered. Where she was worried before, now she was more speculative, almost inquisitive. “Maybe you should think them through again.”

  “The first one was about Adin telling me to be careful with 1887 and lightning glittering from the sky. But I know the meanings behind 1887, and I know the lightning symbolizes my father’s love.”

  “Do you remember what you told me when you discovered the meaning behind the lightning?” Lissa asked with another peculiar look on her face.

  “Yes. I said the lightning bolt was Zeus’s symbol, and that I inherited that ability from him.”

  Lissa nodded with the same cautious expression like the last time Legacy had told her this. She figured then that Lissa knew more, but wasn’t going to tell her. Legacy guessed her guardian wanted her to figure this out on her own too.

  “I’m missing something about the lightning,” Legacy mumbled. That’s where the connection had to be. But what was it?

  “What do you think?”

  “Hmmmm…I’m supposed to be a powerful goddess when I ascend. Since I was created in the likeness of Persephone, I should acquire her abilities.”

  “Go on.”

  “I don’t have anything else to add. If there’s more, then I think you need you to spell it out for me.”

  “No. You can do it. If you can’t then it’s not time.”

  Huh? “I know the lightning has to mean something.” And with the feeling of some unexpected external force, she gasped. She didn’t need Lissa to explain after all. Legacy did know. She knew all along. She really did understand the full meaning of her change. It just hadn’t clicked before now. “I’m not just acquiring all of Persephone’s abilities.” She didn’t ask Lissa. She was telling her. She had absolutely no doubt.

  Lissa just smiled.

  “River told me that every now and then a new god is created with the pure abilities of the original god instead of several muted abilities from the gene pool, and that his mother believed Demeter created such a god in me.”

  Lissa stared at her, keeping her smile on her face.

  “But that’s not entirely true.”

  Lissa smiled wider, and Legacy kept going.

  “Persephone herself had a combination of earthly powers that were predominately acquired from Demeter, so even though Persephone was an original pure god, she too had muted abilities. She couldn’t create lightning, but I can. Which means I’m going to inherit everything. Not just all of Persephone’s abilities…but everything from both Demeter and Zeus.”

  “We believe so, yes.”

  “That’s why you stared at me when I casually mentioned inheriting the lightning ability from Zeus the last time we spoke about my dream.” Wow. Now she understood why Adin hadn’t wanted to tell her everything that he knew in the beginning. He wanted to help her figure things out, but he wanted her to be the one that put the pieces of the puzzle together. Just like Lissa had just done. Discovering this on her own made her feel powerful already.

  Lissa nodded.

  “So I’m going to be more powerful than the king of gods.” Amazing.

  “Yes. But the combined abilities of both Zeus and Demeter do not equal all the godly abilities out there. There are still going to be gods that can do things that you can’t. But with you being more powerful than Zeus, you can now understand the need to keep you safe. If another god destroys you before you ascend, that god will acquire your rightful powers—the equivalent of all Zeus’s powers and all Demeter’s powers—so you can imagine how tempting your destruction is to a vengeful god and how much more tempting you would be to Hades than what he already believes.”

  “Hades,” she mumbled, shaking her head.

  “You know Hades is one of the three gods that looks over the world. Zeus and Poseidon are the others. Hades only has to take you to the underworld to make you his, but he doesn’t have to take you in order to make you a queen like he did with Persephone. You’ll be a queen in your own right by acquiring Zeus’s abilities. If Hades takes you away, he’ll be able to control you, which means he could possess what Zeus currently controls, making Hades more powerful.”

  “And the only one left is Poseidon—River’s dad. Hades could find out a way to use River to gain those powers as well; then there’d be no stopping Hades.”

  “That’s just a theory, but not one we should be concerned with.”

  “If I’m going to be a queen in my own right, am I’m going to be the queen of gods because Zeus is the king of gods?”

  “Yes.” Lissa smiled.

  This was cool! “So, who all knows this about me?”

  “Your parents and their attendants. No one else knows, so it’s imperative that you keep this knowledge to yourself. Your true abilities must remain your goddess secret. Indefinitely.”

  What? “I can’t even tell Adin?”

  “No. Everyone else who knows anything about you believes you’re Persephone’s likeness, which is true, because you have her spirit and will inherit all her abilities. But no one suspects how much more powerful you’ll be, and it’ll be safer for everyone in your life if they continue to believe this.”

  Legacy gaped at her. “Why?”

  “Because River and Adin love you, but one of them will be scorned. There is no way around that. You may want to tell them both, but one could purposely hurt you with this information, if not both inadvertently hurt you in some way.”

  “How so?”

  “They both need to be able to protect you from Hades. If either of them knows this information, it could taint their objective.”

  She shook her head. Neither would lose sight of protecting her. But since she couldn’t tell Adin, she wanted to run and tell Calli. Since Calli didn’t descend from the Greek gods, she figured it’d be safe to tell her. She just wouldn’t ask Lissa in case she disagreed. And she would have to take Calli someplace safe to talk about this.

  “I really am going to be powerful.”

  With a smile, Lissa simply said, “Very.”

  Chapter Four

  “Shut up! Are you telling me that you’re going to be able to do everything that Demeter and Zeus can do?” Calli screeched when Legacy spilled the beans over sales racks at the mall. “And you really can’t tell Adin or River?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, that sucks.”

  “No doubt. I don’t like keeping anything from either of them. I mean, River has helped me so much, so it doesn’t seem fair that I can’t go to him about this. And Adin…he’s my rock. I want to tell him everything about me. I hate not being able to share this with him.”

  “I won’t say anything to anyone.”

  “Thanks. I had to tell someone, and you’re the only person I know that isn’t tied to this Greek god mess. Plus, you are my best friend.”

  As Legacy perused the clothing racks, Calli glanced over her shoulder to look at her. “Did you talk to Adin about helping out with V.D.?”

  “Yes, and he’s not going to.”

  “Why?”

  She explained Adin’s stance on the topic of ferreting out information directly from Venus.

  “I think Adin’s right. He doesn’t want the added pressure. I’m with him on that,” Calli said.

  “I know. I understand where he’s coming from, but I’m going to keep him posted on any information I do find out.”

  “That makes sense.”

  They each had their ar
ms filled with clothes that had made the cut and headed to the dressing room.

  “Are you ready for the pep rally tomorrow?” Legacy asked

  “Oh, yeah. Our routine is sick. Can’t wait for you to see it.”

  “I’m sure it’s cool. Hopefully, we’ll win the season opener.”

  “That’d be nice. Since Thad and Seth are on the team, we should have a pretty good shot.”

  “I guess Ellen and Kate will be in the stands watching tomorrow night.” Gods, Legacy didn’t really like this thought because she knew who they’d plant themselves next to.

  “I’m sure they will, but you could always invite Adin to come.”

  “I’ll ask. He’s probably going to pledge to a fraternity, though, and this is rush week. I’m not sure if he can get away.”

  “Well, if he can’t come, I know someone else who’d love to spend some extra time with you.” Calli smirked.

  “Uh-uh. I’ve seen River every day this week at school. He takes me to all my classes and tries to carry my books. I think maybe weekends should be utilized as a breather from him, at least until the newness of all this extra time together wears off.”

  “Legacy, he goes to this school too. Do you really think he’s not going to come to the games, especially if he thinks you’re going to be there?”

  “True. I guess I need to tell River when Adin will be there, so River doesn’t just assume that I’m going to come to the games without my boyfriend.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Calli said, chuckling.

  They finished trying on and choosing the outfits they were going to buy. Calli looked awesome in hers and Legacy just felt plump. Ugh. Oh well. They paid for their clothes and headed back to Calli’s car.

  “Are you going to invite Zach?” Legacy already told Calli what Adin had said about Zach’s wandering eye. Calli wasn’t too shocked, but Legacy could tell she was a little hurt by it.

  “I don’t think so. If he calls me tonight, I might bring it up, but I’m not going to call him out of the blue and ask him to come watch me perform at the game.” She shrugged.

  “You haven’t said anything to Zach about what Adin said, have you?”

  “No, of course not. I wouldn’t do that to you or to Adin.”

  “You know, maybe Zach is just getting used to college life. This could blow over.”

  “Adin is getting used to college life, too, and you don’t see him acting like a hungry man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.”

  Yep, Calli was still pissed. Rightfully so.

  After her BFF dropped her off at home, Legacy turned on the radio and tried on her new clothes with some of her existing clothes to see how they’d blend. I thought the mirrors in the store were supposed to make you look thinner? At least I don’t look like a cow anymore—

  She was in mid-thought when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

  “Who is it?” she asked as she quickly fastened some of the buttons on her shirt. Who the heck could it be? Her heart pounded as her fingers fumbled with her shirt. Very bad timing, whoever it was.

  “It’s me, sweetheart,” Adin replied.

  Legacy lunged to the door and unlocked it, her heart racing with renewed effort. “Come in,” she said as she leaned to the radio to turn it down.

  Adin walked in, and she went up to him, licking her lips.

  “Hi,” she murmured and threw her arms around his neck.

  “Hi,” Adin breathed as he put his arms around her back and squeezed her.

  “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

  “We got finished early,” he said, stepping out of their embrace and looking at her with a crooked smile.

  “What?”

  “What have you been doing? Your hair is all tousled…” Adin leaned in and put his lips at her ear. “And some of the buttons on your shirt are undone.”

  She gasped and jumped back, putting her hands on shirt to feel which buttons she had missed. “I, ummm, was trying on some clothes.” She rushed to the mirror to watch herself fasten the buttons.

  “I’m sorry I interrupted.” Adin chuckled as he stepped into her room and sat on her bed.

  She laughed nervously. “It’s okay. Calli and I got a few things this afternoon, so I was just testing them out.” She shrugged. “Luckily, I’m finished.”

  “Lucky for whom?” Adin smirked.

  She turned to look at him. His eyebrows were raised, and his lips were parted. Then he bit down on his lower lip while she stared at him. His playful mood was shifting to an intense one, but she just smiled at him. “Lucky for you.”

  “Hmmmm, I don’t know about that,” he said, shaking his head and standing up. Then he walked over to her and put his hands on her shirt where she had another button unfastened. Her heart tried to break free of her chest. “Let me help you with that,” he whispered, and then he buttoned it slowly while he leaned his head down to her ear. “That’s better. Leaving it unbuttoned was too, um, distracting.”

  “Thanks,” she mumbled, but was trying to maintain some level of composure. She was too shocked to process what just happened.

  “My pleasure,” Adin whispered in her ear while he ran his hand down the length of her arm.

  She needed a subject change and fast! “Er, how did everything go at school?”

  Adin chuckled as he stepped away. “Fine. I should be free tomorrow night.”

  “Good.” She put her hands on her desk and leaned against it while Adin sat back down on her bed. “Calli wants me to go to the game tomorrow night and watch her perform. I’d rather not go alone.”

  “That sounds like fun.” Adin smiled and rubbed his hand on her bed next to where he was seated. “Why don’t you come over here and sit next to me?”

  She nodded timidly and stepped over to her bed to sit next to Adin.

  “Is everything okay? You seem awfully nervous,” he teased while he stroked her hair. She kept her face down with her eyes locked onto her fidgety fingers.

  “Yeah, I think I was just, um, I wasn’t expecting you to see me with my shirt unbuttoned.” She looked up at Adin. His eyes were glowing.

  “It wasn’t completely unbuttoned. Besides, I tried to help you with that,” he murmured while gazing into her eyes.

  “Having your hands on my shirt buttons didn’t really help my nerves,” she confessed.

  Adin chuckled. “Well, it’s not like I was unbuttoning your shirt.”

  She knew he was only joking, but the thought of Adin unbuttoning her shirt transformed her mood instantaneously. She was no longer feeling the nerves in the pit of her stomach. Her breathing accelerated, and her mouth fell open. She reached her hand up and stroked his face. He processed the change in mood almost as quickly as her mood shifted, and his eyes bored into hers.

  “Have you thought about unbuttoning my shirt?” she whispered.

  “Legacy….” Adin shut his eyes and shook his head.

  Oh, yeah, he was resisting. He was such a gentleman—damn it. She’d cure him of that eventually. She slanted in his direction and tilted her head up so that her lips were near his ear. “Is that a no?”

  Adin turned his head so that his cheek was against hers. He put both of his hands on her hips and lightly clutched her. “Not exactly.”

  “So you have thought about it then,” she breathed while she slid her hand into his hair, twisting her fingers in his sandy locks.

  He leaned his head down and kissed her neck, working his way up to her ear. “Yes,” he said slowly right into her ear.

  Her other hand slid down his face and into his hair too. “How far did you get?”

  He groaned and squeezed her tighter. “Pretty far.”

  She slid one hand back down to caress his cheek while her other hand traveled down the back of his head. When she reached his shoulder, she squeezed it, and he started kissing her ear. “How far is pretty far?”

  Adin panted into her ear. “Umm, well, since I plan on spending the rest of my life with you, I hope I ge
t to show you some day.”

  “Mmmmm, I hope you get to show me some day too. Someday soon.”

  Adin moaned as he traced his lips across her cheek until they met hers. She threw her arms around his neck, and they kissed passionately. Yes! Adin was ravishing her with his mouth and they both held onto each other as if they couldn’t get close enough fast enough. Just when she thought she’d broken down his defenses, Adin eased up, delivering short kisses, and then peppered gentle pecks along her cheek. They kept their arms wrapped tightly around each other while their breathing slowed.

  Then Adin looked at her with a sincere smile on his face. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable earlier.”

  She shrugged. Who cared about that? “I shouldn’t have been nervous with you seeing me like that. You have seen me in a bikini. There was much more skin that time than what you just saw.” She chuckled.

  “True, but still, I never want to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Well, since we are on the topic of comfort, can I ask you something without you feeling uncomfortable?” She looked down. She and Adin had never really talked about this particular topic, but after the shirt incident, and her new challenge to push his limits, it seemed like this conversation really couldn’t be put off anymore.

  “You can ask me anything.”

  She wasn’t so sure about that, but she needed to figure out a way to ask what she needed to ask. “The things that you’ve, um, thought about it…”

  “Yes?” Adin whispered with a crooked smile on his face.

  “Have you done those things with other women?”

  “Are you asking me if I’ve ever had sex?”

  Good. At least she didn’t have to spell it out for him. “Uh-huh.”

  “No. I haven’t.”

  She sighed. She didn’t really think he had since he’d already told her he’d been in love with her for years. But she needed to know for sure. He was a man after all. Love and sex were mutually exclusive to some men. “Good.”

  Adin loosened his arms and freed one hand to stroke her face. She could feel his fingers trembling as he caressed her cheek. “What about you?” he whispered.