Goddess Secret

by M. W. Muse

  “That’s very sweet, Adin. I don’t mind if you call me that when I’m awake too.”

  He laughed. “Well, I wasn’t sure how you’d respond to why I picked that term of endearment.”

  “Your reasoning was better than the alternative.” She shrugged and then froze. Why had she just said that?

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing.” She shook her head.

  “Legacy?”

  “It’s nothing, Adin.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her and her big, fat mouth!

  “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

  “I-I can’t really talk about it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Crap! Crap! Crap! Now she had to explain to him what she was talking about. She got out of bed. “Turn around. I have to change.”

  Adin turned around. “Why?”

  She threw on some pants and a shirt, and Adin turned back around to face her while she put on her shoes. “Because we have to leave.”

  She grabbed his hand, and they left the house after Legacy told Lissa she’d be back later. They walked over to Rose’s house to get into Adin’s car.

  “Where are we going?” he asked after he pulled out of the driveway.

  She shook her head. “I’ll tell you later.” She remembered the night that she and River went out. He didn’t want to talk to her around her house for fear that someone was listening. If there was a chance that someone evil could tune in, she had to make sure they were far enough away before she even attempted to explain. It didn’t matter that Lissa had talked about stuff at home.

  Adin drove them to their hilltop where they went to watch the sunset. Once he parked the car, she got out and walked over to the tree with Adin following behind. Even though it was dark, the moonlight cast enough light to see each other.

  She leaned against the tree and stared at Adin. “There’s something you need to know, but I’m not supposed to tell you.”

  “What?”

  She took a deep breath. “You know how I’m inheriting all of Persephone’s abilities?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know anything about my change that you haven’t told me?”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “What all have you seen me do with the weather?”

  “Umm, lightning, clouds, thunder, rain, wind, temperature changes, stuff like that…why?”

  “Do you know what all Persephone was able to do?”

  “Not exactly. She was linked to the seasons like you are. I figured she could control the weather too.”

  “Well, technically, you’re right.”

  “Legacy, I’m not following you.”

  She paced for a few seconds, working up the nerve to spill. She finally stopped in front of Adin. “Persephone didn’t have the ability to create lightning,” she whispered.

  Adin stepped up to her. “Then why can you? You’re supposed to be inheriting all her abilities.”

  “I am inheriting all her abilities. But I’ll be able to do more than she did.”

  “How?”

  “I’m not supposed to say anything. Lissa said that it could be dangerous if people found out the truth. I wanted to tell you, but she said it was imperative that I keep this a secret. And except for Calli, I have kept it a secret. I figured since she wasn’t part of Greek god ancestry, I could tell her this. But if you figure it out on your own, then technically, I won’t be telling you.”

  “What am I supposed to figure out here?”

  She stared at Adin, and he had a blank expression on his face. If he made the conclusion on his own, then technically, she wouldn’t have told him. Yeah, yeah, it was a technicality, but it was the best she could do on the fly. “Think about the lightning—that’s how I figured it out.”

  “Okay. Lightning comes from Zeus, and…oh!”

  She nodded.

  “Legacy, you’re going to inherit more abilities from Zeus and Demeter than Persephone did?”

  “You’re almost right. But I won’t be inheriting more abilities—”

  “Oh. My. God. You’re getting everything.” Adin’s hands flew up to the top of his head.

  She nodded.

  Adin started pacing, tapping his finger on his chin. Then he stopped and looked at her puzzled. “Why did you tell me this now? We were talking about me calling you princess when your mood shifted. Something triggered it.”

  “It’s the reason why Lissa didn’t want me telling anyone. Since my father is the king of gods, and I’m going to inherit all his abilities and then some, technically, I’ll be more powerful than he is. I’ll be the queen of gods. Since queens usually start out in life as princesses, I wondered if you already knew this about me since you never called me princess when I was awake.”

  “Gotcha.” He went back to pacing. “Why did she want you to keep it a secret, though?”

  “Because Hades had to take Persephone to the underworld to make her a queen. The new and improved me will be a queen in my own right. Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon rule the world. If Hades succeeds with another abduction and I become his, he’d have control over me—a god more powerful than one of the other two rulers. With me as the queen of gods and as his wife, he could get Zeus out of the picture and be the controlling god, leaving only Poseidon to take out. If he even wanted to. I mean, why bother when you’re already the controlling entity?”

  “Because he’d control everything,” Adin said gravely.

  “I guess. But when I asked Lissa about River and Poseidon, she told me not to worry about that. They were not our concern. But I don’t know if that’s right. I’d like to find out a way to warn River—”

  “No! You cannot tell him this. If Medusa found out you’ll be more powerful than Zeus and Demeter, she’ll kill you the first chance she gets. Killing you will give her your rightful abilities and make her more powerful than Demeter and Zeus. She wants revenge against Poseidon, and with that level of power, she’d succeed. She could destroy your mother, which would torment Poseidon. Plus, she’d be more powerful than Zeus, so she could take him out and force Poseidon at her side while she ruled the world. That’d be icing on the cake for her. Not to mention the fact that she could bargain with Hades. Who knows what would happen then.”

  “I know I can’t say anything to him, Adin, but I don’t want him falling victim to Hades in his plot to take over the other gods.”

  “We don’t know if that’s what’s happening here. But I completely agree with Lissa. Your safety is our number one priority.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about this before.”

  Adin walked over to her and stroked her arm. “I understand, sweetheart.”

  “I really wanted to tell you as soon as I found out, but Lissa was worried that, umm, if you and River found out about this, it might complicate things.”

  “How so?”

  “Because she knows that I can only end up with one of you. One will be scorned. I know who that one is, but she’s worried that since I’m still going through my changes and I’m bonded to River and you’re bonded to Venus, then I’d be jeopardizing myself and the two of you by sharing this knowledge.”

  “I see.”

  She nodded. “I feel so much better telling you this, though. I’ve been worried about how you’d take this news.”

  Adin chuckled. “Just like the watch on your wrist is still the same watch—you just know more about it now—you’re still the same Legacy to me. I just know more about you now.”

  She smiled and hugged him. “You can’t tell anybody. Not your mom, your grandma, anyone.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it, princess.”

  She giggled into his chest and sighed. “I’ll always be your princess.”

  “Always.”

  * * * * *

  When Legacy heard a knock on her door, she knew it was River since he was supposed to come over today to tell her about his conversation with his dad. She opened door and
looked at him. At first, his face looked disturbed, but as soon as his eyes met hers, his face glowed.

  “I was wondering if you changed your mind about coming over,” she said as she held the door open for him, shutting it behind him.

  “Sorry. I didn’t sleep very well last night.” He yawned.

  “Come to the kitchen. I’ll make you some coffee.”

  River chuckled. “Nah, I’m straight.”

  “It’s a Keurig. Won’t take but a second. Now c’mon.”

  River followed her to the kitchen, and she brewed them both a cup before sitting across from him at the table. “Why didn’t you sleep well last night?”

  “I was thinking about my conversation with my dad.”

  “Did you find out anything?”

  “Oh, yeah,” River said as he sipped his coffee.

  “Well, don’t leave me hanging. What did you find out?”

  “Do you know who King Cinyras of Cyprus is?”

  She felt the blood rush out of her face. “Yes. That’s Adonis’s father. Well, his father is of his likeness.”

  “Well, one little tidbit that I found out was Cinyras thought Aphrodite engaged in…umm… lewd behavior, so he wanted to out her true activities to everyone. I guess he wasn’t pleased that his son was with her.” River shrugged.

  Legacy smiled. She liked this little bit of information. She knew Adin’s father wanted him to go to school in Texas to avoid Venus. She guessed his father kept Cinyras’s beliefs about Aphrodite and Venus.

  “Why are you telling me this? I figured this would be something you’d keep to yourself.”

  “Because I’m trying to be helpful to you and not let my own personal agenda of the last few weeks interfere anymore.” River looked down.

  “Thanks,” she whispered. “What else did you find out?”

  He looked back into her eyes. “Well, I found the connection between my mom and Aphrodite.”

  “What is it?”

  “Aphrodite was apparently jealous of Medusa.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Because she thought Medusa was beautiful.”

  “So, what happened between them?”

  “Well, Aphrodite is the one who made Medusa ugly.”

  Legacy gasped. “What?”

  “Aphrodite is the reason Medusa’s hair can turn into snakes and why she could turn people to stone.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “I’m totally serious.”

  Legacy leaned back in her hair and stared at River. “Okay, so if Aphrodite was jealous of the original Medusa, then why would your mom find Venus and bring her here? I mean, why would Venus come here to help your mom?”

  “We know that my mom wants to hurt you, so maybe she wants to hurt Aphrodite too.”

  “Then why help her by leading Venus to Adin?”

  “My mom wants to hurt you, so bringing Venus into Adin’s life is a way she can do that. But if Adin stays with you…” River hesitated, looking down because the thought of this obviously bothered him. “Venus will be hurt by that. Hurting Venus is a way for her to get back at Aphrodite. It’s a win-win situation for Medusa. Bringing Venus into Adin’s life will allow her to either get revenge against you or against Aphrodite.”

  “It doesn’t matter who Adin wants to be with,” she said gravely. “Someone will get hurt.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So what does your dad think about all this?”

  “Of course he’s furious. He’s like a sibling to your mom, so he doesn’t want Medusa to do anything to hurt you.”

  Legacy took a deep breath. “Is Venus a goddess?”

  “Yes. She’s just like Aphrodite.”

  “Ugh! So if she wants Adin, he’s not going to be able to resist her.”

  “I’m not sure if she’ll have the same control over men that Aphrodite has.”

  “But you just said that she’s just like her.”

  “I know. I don’t know what all she can do for sure, but she’s Aphrodite’s likeness, and she ascended when she turned eighteen. I just put two and two together, if you know what I mean.”

  “So we need to assume she has all of Aphrodite’s abilities then.”

  “That’s what I’d do. It’s better to be prepared for the worst.”

  Legacy sighed. She didn’t like this news, but as she stared at River’s sad eyes, she was happy that he was helpful. “Thank you so much for your help. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

  River took a deep breath, but kept his head down. “You know I’ll do anything for you,” he murmured.

  “I know.”

  They continued drinking their coffee without saying much. She tried to engage him in conversation, but his mood was too sad to stay focused on any particular topic.

  When they finished their coffee, River stood up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Are you leaving?”

  “Yeah, I have some stuff to do at home.”

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  She walked River outside and to his car, but he glanced over to her car. “Your tire’s low.”

  “Huh?”

  “Your front passenger tire is lower than the others. You should get it checked out.”

  “I will if I think about it.”

  “Legacy, it’s too dangerous to drive around with a low tire,” River said as he walked over to her car. “You don’t want to get stranded somewhere.” He opened the driver side door and popped the trunk. Then he walked over to the truck and started rummaging around.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Checking to see if you have a spare. Damn it, Legacy. There’s not one in here.”

  “I’ll go buy one.”

  “You need to have the tire looked at. I’ll follow you to the store.”

  “No, don’t worry about that. I’ll go one day this week.”

  “Legacy, please? I don’t want you driving around on a low tire and no spare.”

  “You said you have some things you need to do at home. I can call Calli.”

  “It’s no big deal. I’m already here. Now, let’s go.”

  He shut the trunk and opened the door for her to get in, not taking no for an answer.

  “I have to get my purse.” She ran in the house and grabbed her purse and keys. River followed her to the tire store. There was a nail in the tire and they were able to plug it. She also had a spare put in the trunk. When they finished, they handed her back the keys to her car.

  “Where do I need to go to pay?”

  “Your ticket has already been paid.”

  She sighed and looked out the glass door into the parking lot. River was talking to the mechanic, and she knew he arranged to pay for the work done on her tire. She walked back outside and up to River.

  “I could’ve paid for it.”

  He chuckled. “I know, but I did make you come out here for my own peace of mind. It was the least I could do.”

  “You still didn’t have to, but thanks anyway.”

  He smiled and nodded.

  “Are you going to follow me back home, or are you going home now?” she teased.

  “I’m going home.” He smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She nodded and got in her car. When she got back home, she called Adin to see if he wanted to come over. He sounded a little distant, but he was eager to visit. When he came over, they sat on the couch to watch television, and Adin rubbed her feet. He still seemed a little distraught, and she couldn’t understand why, but she wanted to. “What’s wrong?”

  Adin shrugged.

  “Adin?”

  “I, umm, had to run some errands this afternoon. I ran into Venus.”

  She shut her eyes and shook her head. “What happened?”

  “Nothing. She just talked about school.”

  Legacy nodded.

  “And I saw you and River at the tire shop.”

  Oh. “Yeah, he came over today to tell me about a conversation he had with his dad.
He talked to him about Venus and Medusa. When he got ready to leave, he noticed my tire was low and insisted I have it checked out.”

  “That’s good.” But he didn’t sound like he really believed that.

  “Adin—”

  “I’m fine, sweetheart.”

  “You don’t sound fine.”

  Adin sighed. “Seeing Venus and then seeing you with River…it was too much for one afternoon.”

  She put her feet down and scooted over to him. She wrapped her arms around him, and he put his arms around her, squeezing her tightly.

  “I’m sorry you had a bad afternoon,” she whispered.

  “Me too.”

  He pulled away and kissed her forehead. “So what did River have to say about everything?”

  She told Adin everything River had said. Adin wasn’t surprised about the information on Cinyras, but he was intrigued about Medusa’s connection to Aphrodite.

  “I guess River was right about his mother’s involvement. I’m surprised he admitted to that.”

  “He just wants to help.” She shrugged.

  “He just wants to help you,” Adin modified.

  “Yeah.”

  Adin cleared his throat. “Do you want to go out tomorrow night? I’m going to be busy the rest of the week getting ready for a charity event my fraternity is sponsoring, so I won’t get to see you much this week.”

  “Sure.”

  She put both of her hands on Adin’s face and kissed him, but he pulled back after only briefly kissing her back. “I should go.”

  She didn’t protest. Adin was dealing with so much, too, and she needed to give him the space he needed when he needed it.

  “You know I love you, right?” Adin asked after she walked him to the door.

  Her heart raced with confusion. “Yes.”

  He nodded and kissed her cheek for before walking out and not looking back.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next night, Legacy and Adin got takeout and went to their hilltop to eat for their date. Since it was windy outside, they stayed in his car and had the radio turned down low so that they could enjoy the background music while they spent the afternoon visiting. Adin seemed to have let go of whatever was bumming him out yesterday, and she was very happy about that.