Goddess Legacy: Goddess Series Book 1 (12 page)

“So what was she mad about?”

“She was mad at me.”

“You? Why?”

“It had to do with the things we talked about the other night.”

“You mean the stuff you told me about Greek mythology?”

“Yes, but she was really mad I mentioned your mom. I told her about it last night. She was furious.”

“Why?”

“Because she doesn’t want me talking to you about it.”

“Does she know my mom?”

“Legacy,” River trailed off, shaking his head.

“Please tell me what you know.” It felt as if he wanted to, but was struggling with whether he should.

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please,” she tried again, staring into his eyes. “I want to know what you know. I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense to you. Just please tell me so I can try to make sense of it myself. I’m already taking a huge leap of faith by entertaining any of this.”

“Okay,” he whispered. He put his arm on the table to rest his head in his hand.

“I’ll tell you everything, but please keep in mind that some of this is going to be incomprehensible.”

“I’ll try.”

“And we can never talk about this in front of my mom or Lissa. We can’t even talk about it at either of our houses. I’m not entirely sure if it’s safe to talk about it here, so after today, the store is off limits too.”

“Okay.”

“There are stories today about Greek gods during the mythological times, but those stories eventually came to an end. In reality, the gods created a new generation, and with each new generation, descendants are created from the likeness of the previous generation, but they’re different. Not all the special
traits
of their creators are passed to the descendants. Over time, the power given to one god blended with other powers, so instead of a new god with one powerful ability above all others—like the original gods—the new gods created had many, less powerful abilities.”

“The abilities you’d mentioned before?”

“Yes. If you think of the thousands of years that have passed, you can see how a gene pool can become a melting pot of abilities. Usually, no one can be certain who has what abilities until each new god reaches adulthood. At which time, those powers are solidified. But since these offspring were created by gods, there are those who know exactly how new gods will turn out. Every once in awhile, a new god is created with a pure ability. The sole ability from the original Greek god. That new god is extremely powerful, and sometimes the other gods become
jealous
. Those who are in the know keep this knowledge to themselves out of safety for the new god, but there are some that know who do not have the best intentions.”

“What do you mean?”

“An old god does not die off like a mortal would, which is how they get a horizontal lineage in addition to a vertical lineage.”

“Lissa told me about that.”

“Okay, so you can see that although new gods are rarely created, over time they would still have too many gods. Less powerful ones can move up the ranks, so to speak, by preventing a new god from fully developing. If any god prevents the transformation of another, then he assumes the abilities of that would-be god.”

He paused to make sure she was grasping everything. She nodded for him to go on.

“There are many different families that descended from the gods. These families are all over the world. Some are extremely powerful and don’t even know why. They’ve been away from the homeland for many generations, and their abilities are so diverse that they haven’t made the connection. They don’t think of themselves as gods, only magical. But those of us who do know understand the importance of those born of a pure ability.”

“What does this have to do with your family or with me?”

“Do you think it was a coincidence that there was a tornado warning when you were here with my mother last week?”

“You think your mom did that?” she asked bleakly.

He nodded. “Like I said, those of us who do understand what they are, know the importance of a god being created with a pure ability. I think,” he hesitated, “that’s why my mom doesn’t like your mom. She believes your mom created a god with a pure ability.”

“What?” So now it wasn’t just some less-powerful abilities…it was a pure ability?

“Legacy, I’m still trying to figure out the specifics of who you are and who especially your mom is. There are too many variables right now.” He sighed, shaking his head. “But I do know mine. I think my mom will stop at nothing to keep you from attaining your full power. She’s been emotional lately, and it seems like the weather is connected to her emotional state, but I’ve never seen it as strong as this before.” He sighed. “There’s more.”

More? She gaped at him.

“There was another reason my mom was mad that I talked to you about this,” he said as he looked down to the table.

“What was the other reason?” she asked with an even voice. His qualms didn’t matter now—how much weirder could this get?

“She knows that we’ll…er…be
together
. If—”

“Huh? If what?” she asked as she shook her head. She was wrong, this did get weirder.

“If Adin stays alive,” he whispered.

“What does this have to do with Adin, and what do you mean exactly that we’ll be together?”

“You asked me the other day if there was anyone special in my life, and I told you there was.”

“And?” What she really wanted to say was
so what?

“You’re that special someone, Legacy,” he said as he looked back up and met her gaze.

She stared back at him in total disbelief.

“I don’t know when we’ll be together,” he continued, “but it has been prophesied that if Adin stays alive, you and I will be together. The three of us are bonded by that. Some action will break it, which I think Adin is that link. I can only guess since I don’t know much about him, but if he dies, I think you’ll be too distraught to be with me. If you stay with me, then I guess he’ll continue to live a long life as any other mortal.”

“That is absurd!” she roared.

“Legacy, you asked me to tell you what I know, and that’s what I know. You can believe whatever you want. I found out about the prophecy the night before you came in the store and got the job here, so I’m still dealing with all this too.”

What? “You found out last Friday night?” she asked, puzzled.

“Yes,” he responded, but seemed confused at the change in her tone.

“That’s the same night I found out about my mother.”

“I know.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird that we both found out things about our lives on the same night?”

“I’m sure it wasn’t a coincidence. There are no coincidences.”

“I don’t understand any of this.” And she couldn’t. Just when she thought she’d gotten a handle on the goddess stuff, her mind would rebel.

“I’m not sure if I believe it completely myself, but I know when I saw you here that Saturday, I knew there was something special about you. When we went out and you told me about yourself, I realized why. I feel attached to you, like I need to protect you, which is why I don’t like my mother’s hatred toward you or your mother.”

“What do you mean you feel attached to me? We just met!” There went any politeness she was trying to maintain.

“Don’t you see? This is why I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this. I needed to give you enough time for our relationship to develop naturally. I’m not playing with the same advantages Adin has.” He half-smiled and sighed, looking up. “He’s known you for years. You’ve had time to be friends with him first. If he weren’t in the picture, then maybe I wouldn’t have needed time; I could have just flirted a little and asked you out.” He blinked and looked at her with more conviction. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you about this just yet. But you pleaded with me, and I can’t refuse you,” he said shaking his head, watching her eyes. “I already feel like you belong to me. I can only assume Adin feels the same way. He just doesn’t understand why he feels so strongly for you now. This is out of all our hands.”

She slumped back into her chair. “That’s insane,” she said, barely a whisper.

“My mom will be back any minute, and I have one more thing I need to say to you before she gets here.”

“What?” she asked, but was distant.

“Legacy, look at me. I need you to pay attention.”

She forced her gaze to meet his.

“My mom doesn’t like you or your mom, so she’s not happy about this prophecy since it’s about the two of us being together. I don’t know Adin, but I don’t have any ill feelings toward him either. I don’t think you should talk to him about this because he will not understand, but I think you should watch out for him. If the only thing that keeps us apart is his death, I wouldn’t put it past my mother to make sure that
that
happens.”

The bell sounded as the front door to the store opened.

“That’s her,” he said quickly. “Remember, we can’t talk about this with her around.”

She nodded and picked up a stack of papers to shred, and he dug into another box. Ms. Gorgos walked in with bags of food and put them on the table.

“Did anything happen while I was away?” she asked River.

“Nope,” he responded, seeming uninterested while he separated the papers out into different piles.

“I’ll be in my office,” she said, and turned to walk out the door.

Legacy ate quickly without another word to River. Once they were finished eating, they went back to the menial task in silence. She caught him staring at her a few times, but he tried to play off those moments as nothing. She wondered what he could be thinking. She already knew what she was thinking.

“Are you okay?” River finally asked.

“Fine,” she said without making eye contact.

“I’m really sorry,” he whispered. “More than you know.”

She took a deep breath and looked at him. “Don’t worry about it,” she said matching his tone. “I’ll be fine.” She shrugged and turned back to the shredder.

She heard his chair move, but didn’t turn around. Then she felt his hand on her shoulder, which startled her.

“You know you can talk to me about anything,” he whispered, being careful not to mention the specifics.

So he felt like she could talk to him about anything, but she didn’t think so. To her, he was still someone she hardly knew. But he was right in that he was the only one who’d offered her any explanation. She couldn’t deny that. She didn’t want to close off this source of information, but she didn’t want to encourage him either. He already felt a connection to her, but she didn’t feel one for him. She knew who she wanted to be with.

“I know,” she said, nodding her head.

He went back to his seat, and they finished going through all the boxes. Ms. Gorgos came in while they were on the last one and was so pleased at their progress that she told her she could go home after they finished. But as she thought of her through River’s eyes—with the belief that she didn’t like her or want her to be with River—Legacy could see an ulterior motive. Letting her leave when finished meant she wouldn’t have to spend any more time with River than what was necessary. But she really didn’t know what to think.

As she got up to leave, River stood and stretched. “I’ll see you later,” he said, stepping over to her.

She nodded at him at left.

With more questions than she had answers.

Chapter Seven

Skirt or no skirt? That was the question. Legacy stood in front of her closet wearing a robe, her damp hair still dripping, trying to decide what to wear on her second date with Adin. The weather had been unpredictable lately, and if Legacy were to believe River’s theory that his mother had something to do with affecting the weather, then there was no way to know how the weather would be today. Or any day for that matter. So if the wind started howling, wearing a skirt to the botanical garden would be out of the question. She wanted to feel pretty, not pretty embarrassed, which was exactly how she would feel if her skirt flew up and revealed the secret she’d acquired from Victoria.

She opened the window and felt how calm it was. She really wanted to go with a skirt. She’d had on jeans last time, but now she wanted to show some leg.

But definitely no heels if they were to be walking around a garden for who knew how long. She selected a pale-colored, floral skirt with a nude top and espadrille sandals and set them all side before heading downstairs to eat breakfast. Adin had sent her a text late last night when he’d gotten in, and they’d arranged for him to be here at ten this morning.

As she grabbed some cereal, she thought back over the night. She’d awoken from a heavenly slumber this morning and hadn’t remembered any of her dreams, though she was sure she’d had them. And with how bizarre they’d been lately, there was no telling what they could have been about last night.

Olive came into the kitchen yawning. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Legacy said right before she took another bite. Olive retrieved a bowl from the cabinet and a spoon from the drawer before joining her at the table.

“How did you sleep last night?” she asked after swallowing another bite of cereal.

“Fine. You?”

“Fine.”

Olive poured milk over her cereal and dug in. “So another big date today, huh?

“Yep.”

They sat in silence while eating their cereal. But it didn’t last long enough.

“How do you like your new job?”

“Oh, it’s great. Kinda slow at times, but it’s easy work. Could be worse.”

“How well do you get along with the Gorgos family?”

Odd question. “We get along fine.”

“When you said you had a date this morning, I thought maybe you were going to say you went out with that guy River.”

“Why would you think that? I didn’t even know you knew of River or the Gorgos family.”

“Word gets around. The Gorgoses are ridiculously rich.”

“But why would you think I’d go out with River?”

“It seemed logical. I assumed you just met him, and you’re working with him at his mom’s store. Sometimes people who work together play together. Logical.”