Goddess Sacrifice (7 page)

They climbed into Adin’s bed, facing each other. They weren’t touching, but they stared. After a few minutes, Adin reached over and stroked her hair. She shut her eyes at his gentle touch and felt tears slide down her face. Adin scooted closer, but they still were not touching.

“I’m sorry I was mean to you earlier,” Adin whispered, and his voice broke. She opened her eyes to look at him. His eyes were red; he was fighting his own tears. “I didn’t want to push you away. I just knew if we talked about it tonight, you would be upset.”

“We don’t have to talk about that right now,” she murmured as she scooted closer to him. She kept her eyes on his and half-smiled at him. “Hold me, please,” she murmured.

Adin scooted against her and wrapped his arm around her. She wrapped her arm tightly around him and slid her leg on top of his. His knee moved up, draping his leg over her bottom leg while her other leg stayed on top. Adin stroked her back as he leaned his forehead against hers.

“I love you, Legacy.”

“I love you too,” she whispered.

He leaned his head over and gently kissed her. They kissed softly for several seconds before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

That night, she dreamed her familiar dreams again. But another new element was present. After River came charging for Adin and before Adin told her that he would always love her, she said something to him.

“What we should do and what we want to do are two different things,” she said, staring at him.

She woke up the next morning thinking about the dream. Adin had told her that exact same line when they were making out in his car. She wasn’t sure why she was the one saying it in her dream, but she figured it wasn’t necessarily related to sex.

After she and Adin got out of bed, they started talking. And they talked for hours, clearing the air about everything.

“I think our problem is that neither one wants to hurt the other’s feelings, so we’re keeping our emotions bottled up when it comes to River and Venus,” she said.

“I think you’re right. I know I never want to say anything that could hurt you.”

“Well, I think we need to talk about everything—the things that we do with them and how they make us feel—without worrying about hurting each other.”

Adin nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Maybe if we stop avoiding what’s happening to us, our relationship will grow stronger.” He was right. Denial wasn’t working.

“Yeah, we need to be able to turn to the other and vent without anyone getting defensive.” They would both need to work on that.

And so they did just that. They talked about the two people in their lives that neither one of them was happy about. It was very hard for Adin hearing how much River meant to her, and it was shockingly devastating to hear Adin talk so nicely about Venus.

But they kept talking, and that felt good. Since they were being so open with each other, she thought about the night she’d met Venus and Adin mentioned she wasn’t the only thing he was keeping from her for her protection. It was time to put all their chips on the table.

“What else have you been keeping from me because you didn’t want to hurt me?”

Adin gave a puzzled look. “Umm, I’ve already said everything there is to say about Venus.”

“I know, but after your banquet, you told me she wasn’t the only thing you were keeping from me.”

Adin’s eyes grew wider. “Sweetheart, I’d really rather not talk about that.”

“If we’re coming clean about everything else that bothers us, then I think we should talk about what you know, so we can deal with it together.”

He sighed and looked down. “It’s about the prophecy.”

She gasped. “What about it?”

“Well, you said that River told you the two of you would be together as long as I’m alive, and besides the fact that I don’t believe you two will ever be together anyway…umm…there’s a possibility I don’t have to worry about you being with him
because
of the prophecy.”

“What do you mean?”

Adin hesitated, looking away from her. He took a deep breath and faced her again. “Legacy, my father believes I’m going to die soon.”

“What?” she gasped.

“He thinks I’m going to die protecting you. Protecting you from Hades, Medusa, River, Venus, anyone who is a threat to you.” He stroked her face. Tilting his head to the side, he said, “I
would
die for you.”

Legacy breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. She stared at Adin, trying not to cry and not doing a very good job. “I don’t want you to die,” she whispered.

Adin put his arms around her as she started to sob. He held her while she clung to him. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you,” he murmured.

She pulled away from him, looking into his eyes. “We have to be really careful, so nothing happens,” she said frantically, shaking her head.

“Please don’t worry about this, sweetheart. I’m not. You’re my number one priority.”

“I’m glad you didn’t come over to River’s yesterday looking for me. If Medusa saw you there, she could’ve killed you. She believes in the prophecy too. If she killed you, she wouldn’t have to worry about me being with River.”

“I wasn’t coming over there,” he muttered. Then an exasperated look crossed his face. “Even though I really wanted to, especially since you wouldn’t answer your phone.”

What? His comment distracted her from her train of thought. “I never got a call from you, Adin. I even told Calli on the way home that I usually hear from you by that time even when you were busy with fraternity stuff.”

“Legacy, I called you several times yesterday, and each time you didn’t answer, I got more anxious. My grandma was the voice of reason when she saw the look in my eyes that showed I was considering going over there.”

“Sweetie, my phone was in my pocket all day. I figured you never called because you were busy with your fraternity obligations.” Then she gasped. “I wonder if Medusa did something to interfere with my reception.”

“Hmm…it’s a possibility. If she’s the reason Venus is here and she knew you were over at River’s house, she could have tried to start an argument between us in hopes that I’d turn to Venus.”

“No, Adin,” she said, shaking her head. “She could have interfered in hopes that you would come looking for me…so she could try to kill you.” Legacy stared into the blank space of Adin’s room, contemplating that grave possibility.

“Sweetheart, we don’t know what happened, but now that we’re talking about everything, I think we shouldn’t worry about what could’ve happened.”

“How can being open with each other keep you safe?” she whispered as tears leaked over.

Adin wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Your safety is all that matters to me. If you’re safe, then I’m safe. Not because I’m worried about dying while protecting you, but because your safety is the only thing that matters to me.”

Adin held her until she stopped crying, and they continued to talk. They both talked, laughed, and cried, but by the end of the day, she felt more secure in her relationship with Adin than she’d ever had. She felt like they were united.

She just hoped that unity wasn’t short lived.

* * * * *

River was beyond giddy when Legacy saw him at school on Monday. She was sure it was because they’d danced together at homecoming and she’d spent the day with him on his birthday. He walked her to all her classes like normal, and they talked a lot at lunch. They were both too busy to visit during seventh period, but she did catch him checking her out when she practiced her tennis serve.

Her coach was late dismissing them, so she was still changing when the bell rang. Since it was the end of the day, she took her time. She knew Adin was going to be busy this week getting ready for the Halloween party, so he wouldn’t be coming over until late.

When she walked out of the gym, she saw River leaning against the wall by the door. She half-smiled at him. She should have known he’d be waiting.

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” she said as she walked toward him.

“I wanted to make sure you got safely to your car.”

He took her backpack and followed her out to into the parking lot. When they got to her car, he opened her door, which was right by his door. River always backed into his parking spot so that their driver side doors would be beside each other. When he got her door open, he tossed her backpack onto the passenger seat.

“Drive safely,” he whispered as he started to wrap his arms around her in a hug.

She stepped back against her car. “What are you doing?”

“I was, er, giving you a hug.” River shrugged.

“No, River.” She shook her head as she started to get into her car.

“Legacy,” River said, and she turned back to him. “I thought after the weekend you were dropping the no physical contact rule.”

“No.” She turned to get into her car, but her door slammed shut. She hadn’t touched it and neither had River, but she knew he’d caused it. She turned around and glared at him.

“Why not?” There was a slight edge to his voice. He didn’t sound mad, really. He was more shocked than anything.

“Because nothing has changed, River.”

“That’s not true. We danced Friday night, and you let me touch you at my house.”

“It was your birthday.” She shrugged as she turned to open her door.

River’s arm flew up to her car, blocking her from moving and opening the door. “It wasn’t my birthday Friday night.”

She sighed as she turned back around to look at him again. “I just wanted to dance with you.”

“Legacy,” River whispered, stepping up to her and putting his other hand on her car beside her so that she was pinned. “I have already proved to you that I can keep a healthy distance. I’m not going to act inappropriately toward you. There’s no reason to keep me at arm’s length.”

“You think pressing yourself against me while we were playing pool was appropriate behavior for friends?” She laughed sarcastically.

“No, but it was my birthday.” River shrugged with a crooked smile.

“And your birthday’s over.” She turned again to open the door, but River didn’t move his arm. She looked up at him, and his eyes were pleading.

“Please, ba—ummm, Legacy…I, er, can’t go back to how it was before,” he whispered, shaking his head and shutting his eyes.

“Why, River? Everything was great. You respected our friendship, and I didn’t have to worry about how you’d act around me.”

“Because it’s not just me who doesn’t want the no contact rule.” River leaned closer to her, putting his lips by her ear. “Why should there be no contact when neither one of us wants that?”

She put hands on his chest and shoved him away from her. “Move!” she screamed. River flew against his car and stared at her. She’d shocked him. But as he stared, a playful smile crept onto his face, and he stepped back up to her.

“You were much stronger that time. But I think you can do better.”

He threw his arms around her so fast, but unlike the night when River and Adin were fighting and she couldn’t keep up, she was able to see his arms in clear detail. They were slicing through the wind, and she could see the gusts he was creating as he moved closer to her. She threw her arms up against both of his and knocked them away. Then she pushed her hands up against his chest, and he flew back again without her exerting any force.

“Ahh!” River half-yelled, half-laughed as he hit his car. He stood up, staring at her. “That was much better, baby. Want to go for three?” he said, stepping up to her again.

She put her hand on his chest. “If this is your idea of foreplay, you’re sick!”

“Mmmm…” River’s eyebrows raised as a crooked smile formed on his face. “Is that what we’re doing here? I thought I was just helping you with your abilities.”

“What you’re doing is proving my point! You can’t handle physical contact with me. I set aside the boundary for twenty-four hours, and instead of being grateful for what you got, you’re cocky because you think I gave in.”

River sighed, shaking his head. “No, Legacy. I didn’t think you gave in. I just thought you were letting it go. I honestly did. When you corrected me just now, I admit I got a little carried away, but when you shocked me, that distracted me. I just wanted to see if you could harness it.”

Legacy leaned against her car and folded her arms. She just stared at him.

“You did a good job, baby,” he said timidly. “You harnessed it, shocked me, and didn’t even cause any clouds to form in the sky. You kept your energy centered and focused.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to touch me, River,” she whispered through her teeth.

“I’m sorry, baby. It’s hard enough sticking to that rule when I think you want me to.” He stepped closer to her. “But it’s next to impossible sticking to it when I
know
you don’t want me to.”

“I’m not playing with you, River.”

“I know, Legacy,” he sighed. “You’re fighting our bond, but you’re not winning. I can
feel
your energy. When I get close to you, it’s like you’re drawing me in.” He stepped closer, and he was breathing heavily. “I could feel your energy before…at times, but now that I’ve ascended, I can feel you everywhere. Oh, Legacy, it’s amazing how good you feel.” He shut his eyes.

“If I feel so good to you now without you touching me, then it shouldn’t be a problem keeping your hands to yourself,” she snapped.

River chuckled, but then sighed. “Nothing compares to the feeling of your touch,” he whispered, opening his eyes and staring at her.

“I’m going home.”

He stepped aside so she could get into her car. She drove home irritated at River for his behavior. But for the first time, she didn’t worry about talking to Adin about it. With their newfound understanding, she was eager to talk to him to see what he thought about her harnessing her abilities.

But she also wondered if Adin felt this energy that River talked about, and if so, how long had he felt it?

Chapter Six

Since Adin was busy preparing for the Halloween party—and midterms—he left their costume selection up to Legacy. She and Calli had spent the first part of the week brainstorming on ideas, but didn’t have much luck. After coming up empty, they decided to venture out in hopes of finding inspiration, and they were at a costume store when Calli found the perfect idea.