by Muse, M. W.
“What does that mean?” Legacy asked, putting her hand on her hip, feeling the need to suddenly protect her BFF.
“It means,” Zeus said, stepping closer to them, “that this incarnation of Daphne rather enjoys tending to the needs of man. Her assistance both calms them and makes them stronger. If the oracle were to take her away, there would be a void created that needed filling with another nymph. It is an honor to decide who takes the place of a nymph…an honor bestowed upon the one who creates the void. Since the oracle would create the void by calling Laurel to her service, the oracle would also decide who takes her place and duties here.”
“So if you gave her Laurel, she’d make Calli into a whore? Is that what you’re saying?” She knew her voice was getting loud, but she didn’t care. Her father nodded. She turned back to River. “And you wouldn’t allow that to happen.”
“No,” he sighed. “The only other option was to give her up. I had no choice since she’d already read her vision to me. I had to either allow Calli to become a sex slave…one who was very willing and able… or give up any dream of being with her. I chose to give her up, so she wouldn’t be forced into a life of free prostitution and risk losing her life.” When Legacy frowned at him, he said, “She’s a water nymph. Why do you think her parents bought the land with the pond on it and built a house out there? Why do you think she loves going down to the pond? She’s drawn to water; without the freedom to enjoy it, she could die. I had no other choice.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Nor am I allowed to discuss any of this with her by order of the oracle,” he gritted out. “Calli cannot know. Do you understand?”
She felt her eyes water. “You gave up your love for her to make sure I would get out of Hades. You’re suffering because of me.”
He grabbed her arms. “No. I’m suffering because I insulted the oracle. I had no way of knowing Kate would help you get out of there. Adin and I were ready to go to Hades ourselves and get you out. It would have meant death, but we didn’t care. Seeing the oracle saved our lives. This punishment is my doing. Alone. I was agitated because you’d been gone, and I didn’t want to hear a bunch of B.S. from her. It was a very hard lesson to learn, one that I’ll be living with for the rest of my life.”
She had no words. Instead, she pulled her arms free and wrapped them around him. He allowed the embrace and pulled her closer to him. “There has to be a way to fix this.”
“The damage is done. If you don’t know this already, baby, it’s time you faced the facts. When I fuck up, I give it one hundred percent.”
Why did she get a foreboding feeling that this would always be the norm for him?
Chapter Nineteen
The graduation ceremony had been typical, but still kinda sad. Legacy had looked around the auditorium with eyes clearer than she’d possessed yesterday. Some of these people had already peaked in life. Others would go on to achieve greatness. She’d become a goddess, but at least she knew where her life was taking her. When she’d watched Laurel walk across the stage, she wasn’t sure how she felt about her anymore. She wondered if the chick really did enjoy her lifestyle or if she was just caught up in what was expected of her and learned to like it later. Or if liking it was a complete façade. Either way, Legacy had more respect for her. Yep, she felt a big ol’ serving of crow coming her way. When she watched Calli walk across the stage to get her diploma, she found herself thinking about River. He really loved that girl. But he wasn’t the only one who’d learned a hard lesson. He would need to learn to think before he spoke…and so would Legacy. Regardless of the number of cocks in Laurel’s hen house, it was Laurel’s business, not Legacy’s. She would make a conscious effort to be nicer to her. She’d grimaced at that thought. Crow tastes gross.
Afterward, everybody had separated. Calli had met up with Kate and Ellen for a trip to the mall while Legacy and River had visited with their parents. It was still odd that she’d been talking to her parents in person when a year ago she’d thought they were dead, but she tried not to get lost in the strangeness of it. A few times they’d start talking about the future, but then stop. She and River had exchanged confused glances, but never pressed. Maybe they were both already learning when to keep their mouths shut.
Later that night, Legacy and Adin followed River to his house. He was throwing a massive graduation party, so she’d be surprised if everybody from school didn’t show up. She’d wondered about it throughout the evening as they helped him set up for the night’s event and people began flowing in. After about an hour and a packed backyard, she finally pulled River to the side. “Did you invite everybody?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I think so. There’s a ton of people here.”
She pursed her lips. “Then where’s Calli?”
He stiffened. “She knows about the party.”
“Did you ask her? Yourself, I mean?”
“No.”
Men. Legacy took a slow breath. “Don’t you think you should have?”
“I talked to Kate about it. She said they were all coming.”
“Kate is here, and Calli is not.” Why did she have to tell him the obvious? “Did you lose some brain cells during your ascension?”
He smirked at her. “Ahh, the ascension jokes. I’d be careful with those, baby. Yours is right around the corner.”
“Ha. Ha. I think you should walk over to Calli’s and invite her over.”
“You could do it.”
“It’s your party.”
“It’s everybody’s party.”
“It’s at your house.” Good grief! “She knows that, but isn’t here. I have a feeling it’s because she thinks you don’t want her here. Quit being a baby and go over there.”
He was smiling at her, which she’d missed seeing him do. She got the feeling that when he opened up to her, a weight had been lifted from him. He still couldn’t tell Calli why he couldn’t be with her, but at least he was able to get it off his chest to someone who’d understand his reasoning. She opened her mouth to demand he go over there when she watched the sparkle in his eyes fade. His mouth curved into a grimace. “She doesn’t need me.”
He turned before she could ask him what he meant by that, but it didn’t take her long to connect the dots. Calli stepped up beside her, wearing a cute little sundress, and Zach’s arm. Zach. Damn. She’d forgotten about him. Legacy had asked Calli how her night had gone after they’d left prom, and she’d been coy with her. Legacy wasn’t sure if Calli and Zach had hooked up or not, but since prom, the constant dates had pushed into overdrive. If she’d thought they’d been inseparable before, she’d been wrong. Now, she wouldn’t be surprised if they’d been surgically attached at the hip.
“Hey, Calli. Zach.” She pulled her BFF into a hug. “I’m glad you showed up. I was just getting ready to walk over to your house and see what the holdup was.” She thought it best to say she was coming over when she knew she was two seconds away from making River do it.
“Zach took me to dinner. We just got back.” She was smiling up at him. And it looked genuine. Good thing River stormed away. He didn’t need her rubbing salt in his wounded heart. She looked to side and saw him in the distance. He was talking to Adin. The fact that those two were friends now still seemed weird to her from time to time.
“Cool. I take it you’re not hungry. Do you want something to drink?”
“Nah, I’m good,” Zach said. Calli shook her head. “This is a sweet yard, though. What’s that over there?”
Legacy laughed. “It’s a fountain.”
“It’s a monstrosity.” Calli wrinkled her nose.
“I wanna see it.”
“C’mon,” Legacy said. Calli groaned, but followed. She took the couple to the huge fountain toward the back of the yard. “At least it’s quieter over here.” Most of the crowd stayed close to the house.
“Wow, this is really amazing.” Zach pushed his hands into his pockets and looked up. “What is it?”
“Poseidon,” Calli murmured. Lega
cy looked at her when she heard the sadness in her voice. Oh, yeah, Calli might think she was happy with Zach, but deep down, she was still connected to River.
Zach looked at her, also frowning. “You’ll never get over him, will you?”
Legacy’s heart raced as she looked at him. How did he know about River? Had Calli told him? Zach didn’t seem angry. Hmmm…he didn’t seem sad either. In fact, he seemed a little too casual.
“W-what do you mean?” Calli asked. Uh-oh, she looked like a scared animal. Caught. That wasn’t a look of someone who’d confessed anything. Legacy stepped closer to Calli.
“No,” Zach said so calmly that it was eerie. She didn’t understand why he’d said that. Until she tried to move.
And couldn’t.
“What’s happening?” Calli asked.
Legacy’s gaze darted to Calli, she was standing completely still too. She looked at Zach. “Who are you?” She knew no mortal could do this.
He looked at her with a bored expression. “Fall.”
She fell to the ground, landing on her hands and knees, but she couldn’t move. “What are you doing?” She tried to force her hands to move, but they wouldn’t. What was wrong with this man? She got the sneaking suspicion this was not going to end well.
He squatted down so that he was eye level with her. “Cough.”
And she did. Legacy began coughing so hard that she could barely catch her breath.
“Stop!” Calli cried.
“I am sorry, Calli. I didn’t want you mixed up in this. I tried to push you away before, but when I saw you at the mall, I didn’t want to anymore. Besides,” he looked at Legacy again, “it gave me the perfect excuse to get close to you,” he whispered. She would have tried to say something in return if she could. Her coughing fit was almost to the point of pain.
“Please,” Calli murmured.
Zach stood. “If I thought there was a chance you’d give me your heart, I’d set you free, but I realized when you fought with him the night of the prom that I’d never win you over.”
“I-I don’t understand.”
“My sweet, sweet Calli. I would have been perfect.”
Legacy gasped in a breath and tried to scream, but coughed instead. She felt wetness fill her throat. Oh gods, she was going to choke if she didn’t get a handle on this.
“Stop,” Zach breathed, and mercifully, Legacy stopped coughing. “Don’t choke. You’re defeating the purpose here. Take a breath.”
“Wh-why are y-you d-doing this?” Legacy asked between breaths. She couldn’t fill her lungs fast enough. In between words, she swallowed the moisture that was building. It tasted metallic, and she realized she’d started to cough up blood. She’d probably be sick to her stomach later. Then she understood. “You’ve been making me sick.”
He nodded once.
“Why?”
“You’ll see, sister.”
“Sister?”
“Break’s over. Don’t choke this time.”
“Wait!”
“Cough.” She gasped in a breath and started coughing forcefully. But as she did her best to keep her insides from being pushed out, she remembered back on the past few months. Each time a sickness had started, Zach had been around. The breakfast with the runny eggs, movie night; each and every time it had started with him being around. He had been doing this to her. And why had he called her sister? “That’s it,” he cooed.
Her hands moved, but only a little. She was able to beat the ground, but not push herself up. Even worse, the blood had filled her mouth. She spat as she kept trying to push herself up.
“Yes,” Zach hissed.
The ground shook and light suddenly streaked up from a fissure in the ground. Legacy scrambled back before she realized she had control of her limbs again. She pushed up to her feet, but stumbled as she saw Zach holding Calli in a chokehold. “Let her go.”
“You have done very well,” a menacing voice echoed from behind. She turned as she heard screaming in the distance. She figured people were running and panicking since the ground had been shaking. When she faced the person behind her, she stumbled back. Seth was standing beside a dark man and a three-headed dog.
“Hades,” she breathed.
“Yes. You’ve been a very bad little girl. I let you feel freedom at our home and you reward me by fleeing.” He tsked. “A mistake I won’t allow to happen again, love muffin.”
“Legacy,” Adin yelled. She turned and he was standing beside River, both of them braced for some kind of impact…or ready to pounce. Yeah, she hoped that was why. River inched to the side, and she figured he was trying to get closer to Calli.
“You can’t stop me. You have no choice,” Hades purred in the voice that had haunted her in her dreams several months ago. He looked to Zach and back at Legacy. “I see you’ve met my brother-in-law. Zach will be staying with us for a while.”
“I am not going anywhere with you.”
“If you don’t come with me now, I will let him have you.”
“Bite me!”
Everything happened so fast. Calli was thrown and River disappeared. Zach charged for Legacy, and she didn’t see Adin, but she heard a loud crash as Hades tumbled over. Zach’s fist flew and she blocked it in time to swing at him.
“Hit me while you can, sister. In ninety seconds, you’ll be paralyzed again.” He grunted and grabbed for his stomach after she punched him there. “Before, it took me ten minutes of straight concentration, but the closer I get to ascension, the faster I can make it happen.” He swung at her, clipping her ear as she turned her head. She stomped on his foot and then kneed him in the groin. If she was about to be paralyzed, she was going to do as much damage as she could beforehand.
“Why are you helping him?” she asked as they exchanged blows. She shocked him as hard as she could, but he didn’t react the same as others had. He only wailed or grunted, but that was the extent of his agony.
“Because he’s giving me what our father won’t!” Zach roared. He’d called her his sister and now he referred to Zeus as their father.
“What god?” she asked just before he grabbed her throat.
“Zagreus.” Of course, the other child of Demeter and Zeus, she one sibling she had learned about early on in her research. “I was created to be Zeus’ true heir, but our mother wouldn’t allow it.”
“’…but that which is thicker than water will rival to be her ultimate test.’ You are the blood relation the oracle warned will interfere with my ascension.” Not Ellen. Or Hector. Or Ric. Or anybody else. It was Zach. It had always been Zach.
“Seems that way.” He punched her, and she tripped over her feet. She screamed and charged for him. She channeled her anger and pushed against him with an electrical force she’d hoped would weaken him. If it did, it was very quick.
“Why can’t I incapacitate you?” She tried again and he stumbled a little, but grabbed her to stay upright.
“Because I want it more than you. I deserve to ascend our father’s throne. Not you. Never you!” He backhanded her, and she fell to the ground.
And couldn’t get up.
Oh gods, had it been ninety seconds already? He stood over her, hand open. “Now, I’ll take your beating heart out and give it to those sympatric to the original Titans.”
He was crazy! She screamed as his hand flew toward her chest, but then he was yanked to a stop seconds before his head—and only his head—fell to the ground beside her. His beheaded body crumpled to the ground, leaving a seething Adin standing in his place. She immediately jumped up, and he grabbed her.
“You okay?”
Legacy jumped when she heard a scream. She looked to the side and saw Kate. River ran at lightning speed to stand beside her, and pulled her away from Hades. Calli came limping from the wooded area on the other side of the yard. She gasped when she saw Zach’s lifeless body.
“He was going to kill you!” River roared. The exasperated tone, the hurt, was not lost on Legacy.
“Take your pet, Seth.” Hades pointed toward Kate. “I will take my bride.” Legacy didn’t know if Kate would go willingly just be with Seth again, or understand this freak show for what it was and try to fight. She wouldn’t wait to find out. Legacy lunged.
So did Seth. Just as she got ready to strike him down again, he ran passed her. She gasped, realizing he was making a move for Kate, but as she turned, she watched in horrified slow motion as he landed on Hades, something sharp sparkling in the twilight. Hades roared and fell to the ground.
Dead.
Legacy gaped at Seth. He was standing still, panting over his lord’s body. She looked at Kate, who had visibly paled. Adin grabbed Legacy and pushed her behind him. River stood beside him.
“Um, thanks?” River said sarcastically.
Seth slowly looked up. “I didn’t want this. I fought it. Now it’s mine.”
“What’s yours?” Legacy asked, peeking around Adin.
“The underworld.” He turned and started to walk away.
“Seth,” Kate said, her voice breaking.
He turned to look at her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you involved in this at all. I tried to keep you from getting hurt. I cannot ignore my destiny any longer.”
“And that’s what exactly?”
“I killed Hades. I was created in his likeness. The underworld is now my responsibility.” He looked at Adin. “You shouldn’t have killed Zach. You should have let Legacy do it.”
“I was paralyzed.”
“Then you should have died,” he said matter-of-factly.
“You want to join your pops?” River asked, folding his arms.
“You just don’t understand.” He laughed without any humor as he looked to Kate and Calli. Then he stared at River. “Seems we both get to suffer for our actions.”
“How did you—”