Goddess Bound: Goddess Series Book 6 (Young Adult / New Adult) (13 page)

Chapter Fifteen

If they kept talking about this, Legacy was seriously going to start puking, and no way would she be able to blame whatever was going on in her belly. “Can we please change the subject?” She picked up her fork and took a bite of the ham.

“Excellent idea,” River said. “I’m gonna grab some food. You want me to get you some, bro?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Adin said, obviously not ready to walk away from Legacy. Or maybe the shock had stopped his legs from working. River headed to the tables with the food, easily weaving through the crowd. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was arrogant or if his godly status produced an aura. Aura? She wondered if she was pregnant if her aura would look any different to River. She’d have to ask him when he returned.

“Your parents went all out. This is yummy,” she said as she ate the ham slowly, making sure she wouldn’t get sick.

“It
is
pretty good.”

River walked back, and slid a plate to Adin as he sat across from them again. “So no presents then?” he asked.

Calli looked up. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “We’ve done the singing and the cake thing. Usually presents are somewhere in the mix.”

“Oh, um, everybody’s here on spring break. I don’t expect presents now.” She turned to Legacy. “But you’re more than welcome to get me something when we get back home.” She chuckled.

“Already got it covered.” Legacy winked at her.

“What about your parents?” River asked.

Calli looked at him again, still cautiously. “They, um, pulled me aside a few minutes ago and gave it to me. Apparently, the land in the Everglades was for me.”

Legacy almost choked on her beans and started coughing. When she could breathe again, she gaped at Calli. “Your parents bought you real estate for your birthday? Are you kidding?”

“No. I mean, yes, they did buy it for me. No, I’m not kidding.”

“But you said yourself it’s nothing but swamp land.”

River made a noise that sounded as if it had come from the back of his throat. Legacy turned to face him, but he was watching Calli. “Water is nothing for a nymph,” he said, answering Legacy but not taking his eyes off Calli.

“Yeah, well, they still haven’t said anything about it to me. I’m not sure if I should say anything to them.”

Legacy looked at her BFF. “You can live under water?”

“Hell, I don’t know. It’s weird.” She shrugged. “Besides, I’d ruin my favorite Christian Louboutins if I did.”

She rolled her eyes and looked at Adin. “You didn’t get any real estate for your birthday, did you? I was at your party, but I don’t recall it happening. Is this the new Greek mythology thing?”

Adin laughed. “Nope. It could just be a nymph thing.”

“Ah, at least she doesn’t have any creepy uncle who’s a man of peace at her party. Thank gods that’s not the cool thing to do.”

He frowned at her. “Hector? He’s not my uncle.”

“Whatever.” She waved her hand as she took a book of her bread. “He was still weird.”

“Hector who?” Calli said.

“Hector of Priam?” River asked at the same time.

Legacy glanced back and forth between the two of them before turning her attention to Adin.

“Yes, Hector of Priam.” He looked at Legacy. “And he’s of no close relation to me...very distant. My grandma visits with him from time to time since he’s thought to be someone without a dark side. If not for her, then there wouldn’t really be any association with him.” He shrugged.

“You’re grandmother is friends with that leech?” River shook his head.

“He seems nice enough,” Adin said.

“He’s weird,” Legacy muttered. “He kept staring at me.”

“You shouldn’t trust him,” River said. “That good guy stuff is just an act. He’s out for number one.” He turned to look at Legacy. “The original Hector of Priam was the brother of Paris. And he was a shitty sibling at that. It was his fault Paris went after Helen of Troy, which started the Trojan War.”

A year ago, Legacy would’ve been completely lost, but she recognized the war River mentioned. It was a battle between the Greeks and Trojans with the Greeks being victorious after many years. She didn’t remember the specifics of it, though. “Wait. Paris? Seth told me while I was kidnapped that Alex over there is descended from somebody named Paris.” Legacy pointed to the guy in question.

River didn’t bother looking in the direction she’d indicated. “Before Paris was born, it was prophesied that if he lived to adulthood, he’d bring about the fall of Troy, which he did because his brother Hector pushed him into it.”

“Technically, it was Aphrodite who did the pushing,” Adin murmured.

Legacy whirled, gapping at him. “What?”

“Sorry, princess. I know you don’t like talking about her.” It’d be a cold day in Hades before Legacy wanted to even think about Aphrodite or her descendent Venus. That heifer had caused her a lot of grief when she’d tried to take Adin away from her. “According to our history, the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera were thought to be the most beautiful. Though, I know you have them all beat.”

“Oh save it, ghost-boy,” River groaned. “Blah, blah, blah, Paris was supposed to decide who was prettiest, and when he couldn’t, Aphrodite bribed him with Helen, the most beautiful on earth. But Helen was married to King Menelaus, so when he took her, it sparked the war.” He looked at Adin. “But he never would have never fallen prey to that vicious Aphrodite if Hector hadn’t belittled him so much that he was needy for acceptance. It was his fault.”

“I can’t argue that Hector was an ass to Paris. But this Hector isn’t the original. That one died a long time ago.”

“And that one had everybody fooled like this one does.” River’s fist landed on the table so hard they all jumped. “You need to find out why he was so interested in Legacy at your party,” he said heatedly.

“Not that I’m disagreeing with you, but why would Adin need to do that?” Legacy asked.

“Remember that little prophecy we were told while you were gone, ‘that which is thicker than water will rival to be her ultimate test.’ Everybody agrees that means someone who is blood related will fight you for your rightful place as the goddess above all others.”

“Shhh! Don’t say that so loud,” Legacy hissed. Then she arched her eyebrow. “For all we know, that could be you. We’re like really messed up cousins in the Greek mythological sense.”

River rolled his eyes. “If I wanted you dead, I would’ve killed you a long damn time ago. You like to nag a little too much for liking. But don’t tempt me to change my mind on offing you. You know I’m power hungry.” He wagged his eyebrows.

“Knock it off,” Calli sighed. “I still don’t understand what you’re all getting at.”

“You don’t think Hector is the link, do you?” Adin asked.

River shrugged. “I think it’s more plausible than Ellen. At least Hector’s lineage is known for deceit. Plus, he’s aware of his heritage.”

Legacy suppressed a shudder as the next thought crossed her mind. “But Ellen is the likeness of Helen. We know she’s like a sister to me.” She wasn’t able to stop the shiver just then.

“And,” Adin said, pointing his finger toward the crowd of guys laughing and carrying on behind them, “Alexander Paris is Paris. Do you understand that? The original Paris abducted Helen and started the war. What if it’s Alex stealing Ellen away from Thad that sparks the blood-ties prophecy?”

“This makes my head hurt,” Calli muttered.

River looked at her. “You think that’s confusion? Try this on for size then. Alex and Laos are always fighting. We know Alex was created in the likeness of Paris and Laos in the likeness of Menelaus. Well,
Menelaus
was Helen’s husband. Makes you wonder if Paris and Laos even know their deep rooted competition is based on a chick…a girl who is with neither one of them right now.”

“Ellen,” Calli breathed. “But she’s with Thad.”

“And Thad is one of the guys who wanted one of Zeus’ daughters,” Legacy said. It was starting to make sense—in a very roundabout sort of way. “Just like Ric thought he could rescue me from Hades to be his.”

“Sooo you think Thad is playing Ellen?” Calli asked, shaking her head. “They’ve been together for years. That doesn’t really make sense.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Adin said. “Thad might not be controlling his actions, just like Seth might not have been. Thad might think he actually likes her and her him.”

“So what does this mean about the latest warning y’all got while I was in Hades?”

“That the threat could be much bigger,” Adin said as he reached up and squeezed her hand.

“Definitely, because the prophecy didn’t say it had to be Legacy’s blood relation. It could be anybody’s relative that’s close to her. Besides, we’re all so interbred, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a missing link that connected her and whoever the culprit might be.”

River had a point, and gods, she hated when he was right.

* * * * *

Before Adin and Legacy headed down to the beach, he pulled out a brown paper sack, dug his hand into it, and produced the home pregnancy test he and River had run out and gotten last night after the party. The instructions said it was best to do it in the morning, so she and Adin had waited until now. It hadn’t been easy. She was a nervous wreck, and Adin had gone into super duper protective mode. He’d been walking beside her with his hands all over her like she was already nine months pregnant and would fall over her feet at any moment. If she hadn’t been freaking out on the inside, she might’ve found his behavior cute. But nope, she was a total disaster.

“Whatever it says, it doesn’t matter. If you’re pregnant, we will get through this together. If you’re not, we will still be together. I love you.”

She nodded at him, not trusting her voice to be even if she spoke instead, and grabbed the test. She took it into the bathroom, read the instructions again just to be absolutely sure she was doing it right, and then proceeded to pee on the stick. Once the task had been completed, she washed her hands and stared at it. Five minutes was an eternity, so she decided to walk away from it.

“Well?” Adin asked when she closed the bathroom door behind her.

“It’s not ready. I couldn’t stand in there and wait.”

“Do you want me to come in there with you?”

“In a few minutes. We can look at it together.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple. He felt so strong. She was shaking a like a leaf, and he was surprisingly calm. He obviously believed they’d be able to get through whatever the outcome was destined to be. She pulled him tighter against herself, hoping to absorb some of his confidence. She needed a healthy dose of it.

“What do you want to do today?”

“Calli sent me a text. She’s already at the beach. She wants her tan to be perfect for prom. Relaxing and soaking up some vitamin D sounds good. Unless you want to do something different.”

“River bought some skimboards last night on our way back from the store. They have all kinds of souvenirs and toys at just about every corner between here and the pharmacy. I figured we’ll be trying to master those if you and Calli are sunbathing.”

“Sounds good.” She lifted her head and licked her lips. “I think it’s been long enough.”

Adin gave a quick, short nod, took her hand, and pulled her into the bathroom. His no-nonsense approach made her feel a tiny bit better. If that test was positive, one of them needed to be strong. She was voting for him on that duty. They stopped in front of the counter and looked down.

“Negative,” Adin said just matter-of-factly as he’d been seconds ago. She could only nod while she stared at it. He turned to look at her. “Are you still feeling sick?”

She frowned at him. “Um, I don’t know. Been kinda stressed out this morning.”

He half-smiled at her. “True. We’ll keep an eye out this morning and see how your stomach does. If you don’t get any better, we’ll need to call Lissa and see if something else could be going on with you.”

She hadn’t thought about being sick as being related to her ascension. “Okay.”

He pulled her into his arms. “You okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, relieved.”

“Me too.” He kissed her cheek and pulled back to look into her eyes. “I still want a lot of alone time with you.” He smiled. “But I meant what I said earlier. When the time comes that you do get pregnant, I will be there with you every step of the way. You have nothing to worry about in that regard. All right?”

She nodded. “Definitely not ready to be a mom.”

He pulled her back into his arms and lowered his head so that his mouth brushed her ear. “I called my father last night. He said not to think about wanting to have a baby while we’re having sex. He hadn’t thought about warning me of that since he didn’t think we’d want children yet, but he said as long as we keep our minds off that topic during those times then we’d be okay.”

Legacy looked back at him. “So no wishing for babies while we’re doing the deed?” She almost smirked. She wasn’t in a humorous mood, but the idea of thinking of children while Adin was inside her seemed totally ridiculous.

“Hey.” He did chuckle. “Couples who want to conceive do that all the time.”

“True.” She took a deep breath and smiled. “Let’s head to the beach. I think some sun would do me some good.”

Adin took her hand and grabbed the towels off the shelf. He guided her out of their room and to the beach. They engaged in small talk as he walked her to the area that Calli had claimed. Legacy saw River running and landing on some flat thing…and then fell.

“Damn, he’s already trying to beat me,” Adin said. He dropped the towels, gave Legacy a hasty kiss, and took off jogging toward River. He pointed toward an area on the sand, and Adin bent down to pick up another similar device. Legacy rolled her eyes as she plopped down next to Calli, who’d been watching her intently.

“It was negative,” Legacy said without any fanfare. Calli threw her arms around her and tackled her to the sand, laughing.

“OMG, that’s awesome! I’ve been so worried.” Legacy struggled to get up, but Calli popped back up and was now clapping and bouncing up and down. Legacy looked around to make sure no one was paying them any attention. Well, Adin and River were. They were both standing beside each other, looking at the girls, when River reached up and clapped him on the back. He said something, and Adin threw his head back and guffawed. Seemed River had liked the news too. After giving her BFF a breakdown of every detail, they both lay on the beach and watched Adin and River trying to skimboard at the edge of the ocean. She and Calli laughed several times at their much inept ability to master the skill.

“The party was a big hit last night.”

Calli chuckled. “Definitely. My parents are bringing out the leftovers in a couple of hours for everybody to snack on for lunch.”

“Any more talk about that swamp land?”

Calli flopped around to her belly. She folded her arms and rested her head on them as she looked over at Legacy. “No, but something interesting did happen.”

Legacy shifted to face her better. “What?”

“I woke up to a birthday gift.”

“What else did they give you?

“From River.”

“Oooh.”

“Yeah,” Calli sighed.

“Well, it was your birthday, and he is your friend. What did he give you?”

Calli reached into her bag and pulled out a thin chain. She cupped Legacy’s hand and let the item fall into her palm. She grasped the side and lifted the delicate piece. An object dangled from it.

“A necklace?” She lifted what looked like a pendant. “Is this a coin?”

“Yes. The card said it was of Poseidon. His face is on one side and his trident on the other. River wrote that having it would protect me from dangers within any water source.”

“Wow. That’s really thoughtful.”

“I know, right? I was shocked when I found it this morning.”

“He didn’t give it to you himself?”

“Nope.” Calli took the necklace back and tucked it away in her bag. “The wrapped box and card where both on the table by my bed. After I opened it and saw who it was from, I asked my mom about it. She said River dropped it off last night.”

“Have you talked to him?”

Calli looked away, took a deep breath, and then faced Legacy again. “I tried to. He said it was a birthday gift, so not to thank him. Then he fled. He wasn’t as abrupt as he’d been before, but he’s still not himself when it’s just the two of us.” Calli glanced toward the ocean and stiffened before looking at Legacy quickly. “They’re coming,” she whispered.