by Muse, M. W.
Maybe it was the exhaustion, but she couldn’t stop her thoughts from coming out. “Why are you pushing her away?” she asked weakly. Gods, she just didn’t know if she had the strength to deal with it anymore.
He opened his mouth, but shut it. It seemed as if he was going to give her the typical smartass remark, but had changed his mind. He stared at her for long seconds, and she could see the battle he was fighting…and losing. Finally, he said, “I don’t have a choice. Please leave it at that.”
He seemed so sincere and in that moment, she actually ached with him. She knew now beyond any doubt that whatever deal he’d alluded to that day was definitely about Calli. And from the way River acted, whatever was done, was just simply done. To him, it really was a done deal. She sighed, not wanting to push him right now, knowing his heart was hurting even more because of what Calli was doing with Zach. She stepped up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him. After a few seconds, he hugged her back, allowing her to give him some much needed strength.
When he leaned back to face her, his nose was wrinkled. “You smell rank, baby.”
She would’ve laughed at his attempt at distraction if she knew it wasn’t true. She was in bad need of a toothbrush and a gallon of mouthwash. “C’mon, let’s go home.” She stepped away, but left an arm around River’s back and reached for Adin’s hand with her free one. He took it with a smile. The three of them left together, hand in hand and arm in arm.
Tonight hadn’t gone how she’d planned, but as she’d learned last year, life never did.
Chapter Eighteen
The last couple of weeks had been filled with tons of activities of both the cerebral and competitive kind. The seniors were busy planning their float for the annual Oak Grove High School Parade and underlining competition between the juniors and the seniors. She figured the juniors would be busy with that task too, though there was no way the underdogs were going to win. The seniors took on an earthly spring theme courtesy of Legacy’s suggestion. Becoming Mother Nature did have its benefits, and she could use the goddess costume she’d donned for Adin’s Halloween party last year.
It was hard to believe that the school year and high school in general was almost over. Technically, for her and the other seniors, it was. Finals were completed a few days ago for them. Legacy had studied her butt off in preparation for the inevitable. Adin and River had helped her with some of her weaker subjects, but she’d gotten to the point that as long as she passed, she didn’t care if she aced the final. Now that testing was over and all that was left was the formality of the graduation ceremony, which was just a few hours away. It was surreal that she had made it to this point. She remembered wanting to be finished with high school, and now that she was, it just didn’t seem real. Regardless, she was ready to close this chapter of her life and see what would entail after she ascended.
She turned to the side as she gazed into the mirror to examine her gown. Good, no wrinkles. She picked up her cap and tassel off the dresser and took a deep breath. She had one thing to do before she went to the auditorium, and that was she had to go across the street to Lissa’s house to meet her parents. Gods, that seemed so odd to think of it that way, but even if she had already met them, she didn’t remember them. It would be as if they were meeting for the first time. She was nervous but excited.
Legacy went into the living room and saw Adin going through his wallet. When she walked in, though, he put it down and grabbed the camera. He took a picture of her quickly. “Now smile this time.” He chuckled.
“I would’ve smiled the first time if you’d have warned me.” She smiled and posed in a sexy, yet silly position.
“Nice,” Adin drawled. He took a few more pictures while she struck several more poses, some ridiculous and some more traditional. “Okay, let’s go. River is meeting us at Lissa’s house.”
She nodded at him and grabbed her purse. River’s father, Poseidon, had traveled with Zeus and Dora to watch River graduate. She’d wanted Calli to ride with her, but this day seemed to be even more important to their parents than to themselves. Her mom and dad had treated her to brunch at a posh restaurant downtown and they would be arriving at the school in a limo. She’d probably snicker at anybody else rolling up at a little country high school in a ride like that. Only Calli could get away with chartering one. They walked outside and Legacy felt her palms moisten.
“I’m nervous,” she mumbled.
Adin rubbed her back. “It’s okay, sweetheart. They’re just people.” He chuckled. “Well, actually, they are powerful gods, but that’s nothing for you to sweat over.” She gaped at him and he winked at her.
When they reached the door, she didn’t bother knocking. That the thought had occurred to her to do so on what just a couple of months ago was her front door was just more evidence that she felt as if Adin’s house was her home now. After pushing the door open, she saw River’s graduation-gown-clad back, but it was the booming laugh from an unfamiliar voice that stopped her in her tracks. Adin nudged her to the side, and he closed the door. The sound he made was deafening since he’d shut it just as the jovial sound had stopped. Adin was always one for perfect timing. River looked over his shoulder, smiled, and then turned to face her.
“Look who decided to show up. ‘Bout time.”
“You look so pretty in a dress,” she teased, seeking comfort in something familiar.
He mocked offense by putting his hand on his chest and fluttering his lashes. “It’s a gown, not a dress.” She chuckled and he stepped up to her to hug her. After her pulled her into his arms, he whispered, “Nervous?”
“Very.”
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “No need. C’mon, I’ll introduce you.” He looked up at Adin. “You too, ghost-boy.” He tugged on her arm, guiding her out of the entryway and into the living room he’d been blocking. “Look who’s here.” He smiled, but Legacy was pretty sure announcing they’d arrived was unnecessary. Once River had turned around, all murmuring from the living room had stopped.
“Hi,” Legacy muttered as she looked at the people in the room. She knew Lissa and Olive. They both smiled at her. Okay, Olive was a little more cheerful than that. She practically bounced with excitement. Then Legacy looked to the side and saw a woman and two men. “Mom,” she breathed. Her legs moved of their own accord. Dora walked toward her with her arms spread. As soon as she wrapped her warm arms around her, Legacy began to cry. All the years thinking her mother had died, and here she was in her embrace. She’d learned the truth almost a year ago, but seeing and feeling her brought everything home and shattered her reserve. She cried softly while her mother murmured soft words that she didn’t understand, but knew from the depths of her soul were soothing. When she looked up at her, Dora placed her hands on her cheeks.
“Hello, my beautiful Legacy. I have waited a lifetime, your lifetime, to see you. I am so very, very proud of you. You have shown courage when faced with fear, strength beyond weakness, and power. Gods above, my child, you have harnessed some amazing power. I knew you would be the one to inherit it all.”
She had no words. She just stared at her mom, touching her, grounding her into reality.
“I knew as well,” a deep voice said from behind her. It had been the laugher. She turned, but stayed connected to her mother, to face the man that had spoken.
“Isn’t she beautiful, brother? She is the light at the end of the darkness.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, dear sister.” He turned to face Legacy. “I am River’s father, Poseidon. You can call me Don.” He opened his arms, and she stepped toward him, allowing the hug. She knew Greek heritage was all wonky, but he was the closest thing to an uncle she’d ever have.
“Told you she was hot, Dad.”
Poseidon—Don—sighed. “You can be so ornery, son.”
“Are you two going to hog my daughter all day, or do I get a chance to hug her?”
Legacy looked toward the sound of the voice. Her mouth dr
opped opened. She’d seen him standing with the others when she’d come into the living room, but closer, he was much more imposing. She had to fight the urge to drop to her knees and bow before him. “Dad.” It wasn’t a question. She knew beyond any doubt that this was Zeus. He exuded raw power, greater than anything she’d ever dreamed. Her body was warring. Part of her wanted to curtsy and show respect to a man well deserving. The other part wanted to touch him, experience that power firsthand. Like a moth to the flame, she knew deep within her bones that anybody else would know sudden death for daring such a thing, but she was also just as confident that the power coursing through her would find peace within him.
“Come to me.”
She did.
“Easy, Zeus,” Dora warned.
Legacy wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t care. Not that she was careless, but because she knew there was no reason to fret. She took his extended hand. The power she felt was soothing, welcoming.
“Incredible,” someone said, but it sounded as if it were coming from far away.
She reached for Zeus’ other hand, and he allowed her to take it. “What do you feel?” he asked.
“Powerful.”
“Good, because you are, my child. This is but a taste of what you have stored within you. It will unleash within the first minute on the eighteenth anniversary of your birth.” He dropped her hands, but she kept staring at him. He finally smiled and looked to the side. “I told you she’d be just fine.”
Legacy frowned and turned to look at who he was talking to. She didn’t know her mother very well, but it didn’t take an expert to see she was mad. Legacy chewed her lip and looked at Adin. He was gaping at her. She looked at River. His eyes were the widest she’d ever seen and his mouth was trying to curve into a smile, but because it was wide open, too, he seemed to be having difficulty. “What?” She shrugged her shoulders.
Lissa stepped over and touched her shoulder, but looked to Zeus. “If I may, my lord?”
“You may.” He waved his hand and stepped to the side.
Lissa turned Legacy’s body toward her; she didn’t want to take her eyes off Adin or River, so her head was last to comply. “What?”
“No mortal can touch him and live. Gods can, but they suffer if he wills it. He willed it just then.”
“You mean he tried to hurt me?”
“No,” Zeus said suddenly. She jumped at the powerful voice echoing in the room. “I have no desire to harm my offspring. It was a test to see how much of me she’ll inherit. We assumed she would inherit everything. Other factors had indicated the probability of that occurring was high. I wanted to see if we were on the right track.”
“I told you we were. There was no reason to put her in danger,” Dora said, crossing her arms and glaring at Zeus.
“Well, yes, and if we’re correct then she would have been in no danger. Your point is moot, darling.”
“Don’t darling me.”
Zeus sighed and looked to Legacy. “You said you felt powerful. But how did you physically feel when you absorbed it?”
She wasn’t sure what answer he or her mother was looking for. She looked between the two of them, but decided to look at Adin while she answered. “I felt soothed, welcomed, completely accepted.”
Adin’s shoulders relaxed. “You were glowing.”
“Like a big white fireball,” River agreed.
“Fire isn’t white,” Legacy said, shaking her head.
“That’s what it looked like,” Adin said, nodding in agreement. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“You should prepare yourself to witness many a greater thing where she is concerned, Adin Sheppard,” Zeus said.
Legacy cleared her throat. “You can just call him Adin, um, Dad.” Gods, that felt weird to call him that.
Zeus smiled. “As you wish.”
“If you are through torturing the child,” Poseidon…Don—yeah that was weird to think of him like that—said as he looked to Zeus. “We should be heading to the graduation ceremony. I haven’t waited eighteen years to miss my son’s graduation.”
Zeus inclined his head. “Very well. I proud of your son as well and more than just for his matriculation achievements.”
“Yes, brother, I know what you speak of, and I am proud of him too.”
Legacy frowned and looked at River, wondering what their fathers were talking about. He gritted his teeth and refused to meet her gaze. She looked at Zeus. “I’d be interested to know what you’re talking about,” she said with a smile. “I’m always looking for reasons that show there’s a decent side to the big oaf.”
Zeus chuckled. “He is a bit of a character, isn’t he? You see, he’s the reason—”
“No,” River roared, fisting his hands at his sides. Legacy’s head whipped around to stare at him, but she didn’t miss Don visibly paling at his son’s outburst.”
“What?” she asked, but he was glaring at Zeus.
“He means no disrespect, brother. This has been a trying time for him.”
After several seconds that felt like an eternity, Don stepped closer to River in what seemed like a protective stance. Finally, Zeus inhaled, breaking the stiff silence. “I understand the sacrifice you made to save my child and sympathize over the hurt and anguish you must be feeling. However, if I decide to discuss matters with my child, it is my right. If you attempt to stop me in that regard or in any other fashion, I will take your stance on the matter as a threat from one god to another. You might be a young god, but you have ascended, and so any other threat will be treated as such. Do you understand?” The last bit had been said with cold finality. Legacy kept looking at River, Don, and Zeus. River didn’t seem to be backing down.
“Z, that is not necessary,” Don said as he lifted his hands in a placating gesture, effectively blocking River from Zeus.
Zeus looked at him. “We are on the verge of a major paradigm shift. We need focus, not trivial emotion born of teenage lust.”
“It is not lust,” River seethed.
“You will stop,” Don said, turning to River. “We are not the enemy here, son.”
“River?” Legacy said, taking a step toward him. “What’s going on?” When he looked at her, he seemed to age beyond his years. Where had the tired lines around his eyes come from? She kept walking toward him until she reached him. “Talk to me.”
“I had to give her up.”
“Who?” Though the numbing feeling traveling throughout her body told her she already knew the answer.
“Calli.”
“Why?”
He sighed, shaking his head. “I-I...can’t. Not now.” He turned to leave, and she grabbed his arm.
“Let me in. Let me help you. Please.”
“The oracle always has a price,” Zeus said from behind.
“She was offered laurel leaves,” Don argued. “That is always the price the oracle desires.” Legacy still didn’t understand what they were talking about.
“That wasn’t the Laurel she wanted,” River spat. He looked at Legacy. “Remember the discussion we had several months ago about how laurel leaves are offered to the oracle when seeking her prophesies?” Legacy nodded, and he continued. “Thousands of years ago, there was a nymph named Daphne who was inundated with sexual advances to the point of madness. She was turned into a laurel tree out of pity, and in effect supplied the oracle with the leaves she sought. She chewed laurel leaves to unleash her prophetic visions.”
“Okay. So the oracle needs the leaves to see whatever it is she sees?”
“Yes. And Laurel Kavanaugh is a Daphnaie, a tree spirit whose name derives from Daphne. But the oracle doesn’t just think Laurel is of that group of tree nymphs. She believes the Laurel we know is the reincarnation of Daphne.”
Legacy stared at him while she mulled this over. “But Laurel is a sluu..um, she’s promiscuous,” Legacy modified. “It sounds like Daphne wasn’t if she didn’t want the sexual attention she got.”
“Exactly,” R
iver said, narrowing his eyes.
“I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to spell this out for me.”
He sighed. “The oracle wanted us to offer Laurel Kavanaugh to help in getting you out of Hades.”
Legacy gasped. “She wanted to kill her?” She couldn’t get past that thought to even think about him seeking out the oracle for her rescue.
“No. She isn’t violent. She wanted her service. When I refused, she became angry.” River rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. Then he looked at his father. “It never should have happened.”
“I know son.”
Legacy grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her again. “Keep going.”
“I told her I wasn’t going to do her dirty work. If she wanted Laurel’s service, she had to find another way because it had nothing to do with me or what I wanted. I just wanted to know the best way to get you freed,” he muttered.
“And she didn’t like that.”
“Not at all.” He glowered. “She banished me from her temple, and my father had to talk her into seeing me again. Because I’d angered her, I had to provide a personal sacrifice to get the information I’d come for. You know me. I told her to fuck off. I wasn’t giving her shit.” Legacy gasped, but he continued. “Mistake. Not that it really mattered. She said my options were to bring her Laurel or to give up Calli.”
“Give up Calli? What does she have to do with it?”
River’s face fell as sadness crept over it. “She knows how I feel about her, and she wanted a personal sacrifice.”
“And you chose to give up Calli over helping the oracle get Laurel? I’m sorry, but she’s not worth it. She’s nothing but a hateful, spiteful heifer.”
“It was a trap.”
“Trap?” Adin echoed, coming to stand beside Legacy and putting his arm around her.
“Yeah, man. I didn’t give her an answer. I just said I’d do it. She gave me the information about Hecate and said she would set her free. After I got the news, I was about to ask how she wanted me to help her with Laurel, but then she explained it more in depth.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “With Laurel gone to aid the oracle, Calli would be tasked to take her place here.”