Goddess Bared: Goddess Series Book 5 (Young Adult / New Adult)

by Muse, M. W.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  River glanced at Calli. “We’re ditching Monday to go to the sheriff’s office in Pike County.”

  “Yeah, okay. We can all meet up here and head out,” Calli said.

  “No,” River said, looking at her. “Let’s meet at Legacy’s. I don’t want my mom getting suspicious. You can ride with me.”

  “But what about Olive?” Legacy asked.

  “Just causally mention that Calli’s car is in the shop, so we’re carpooling until it gets fixed.” River put his hands on her face and tilted it up. She met his gaze. “But please be careful around Olive. Until we can rule her out as a pawn, we need to treat her like she’s the enemy.”

  “And if you’re a pawn?” She whispered, scared to even hear the words on her lips.

  “Hopefully, I’ll be strong enough to resist.”

  Legacy and River left Calli’s house with the intention of meeting bright and early Monday morning. They were going to get to the bottom of this mess, and she hoped they’d succeed. It seemed Medusa was right when she’d said Legacy wouldn’t see her plan of attack until it was too late. If she’d been working River against Legacy, she could very well have won. Now they needed to figure out everything and devise their own plan of attack.

  When Legacy got home, Olive and Lissa where eating a late lunch. She turned down the offer to join them and headed upstairs. Once in her room, she saw the flowers again and wanted to cry. She’d hoped they were from Adin—her dead boyfriend. She was crazy to think he’d sent them to her. As she stared at them, she remembered talking to River about this and realized she probably should mention the flowers to Lissa. With a grunt of effort, she headed back downstairs to spread the news of her Valentine’s Day delivery.

  “Change your mind?” Olive asked as Legacy walked into the kitchen.

  She looked at her and feigned indifference, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Olive was somehow involved with Medusa’s plan to destroy her.

  “No, I’m not hungry,” she mumbled.

  “Legacy, is something wrong?” Lissa asked as she put away the leftover chili.

  “Yeah,” she breathed, slumping onto the nearest chair.

  “Well, what is it?” Olive asked.

  “Do either of you have a boyfriend or a man in your life that’d send you flowers today?”

  They both frowned and shook their heads.

  Lissa eased her way over to where Legacy was seated. “Why do you ask?”

  She twisted her head to the side to look at her. “Because flowers were delivered here this morning. Roses. Seventeen of them. I’m sure you remember how many roses Adin gave me on our first date.” She stood up, keeping her eyes on Lissa. “So you can see—I’m not sure what to make of that.”

  “Legacy,” Olive said, and she met her gaze. Her expression was controlled. “Who do you think sent them?”

  “Well, that’s the million dollar question now, isn’t it?” She hoped Olive could hear the irritation in her voice, though she knew she shouldn’t wish that.

  “You don’t think Adin sent them, do you?” Lissa asked.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I mean, no, I don’t think that. He’s dead. He can’t send me flowers.”

  “Well, Legacy,” Olive started, “Adin did go out of his way to make sure you were taken care of in the event of his death. Maybe he arranged to have the flowers delivered…I mean, before he died.”

  Hmm. She had an excellent point. Adin could very well have done that. But if Olive—or someone Olive was aware of—was behind the flowers being delivered, she could have been prepared to give Legacy that excuse, to keep her looking innocent.

  “I guess that’s true, but he also wanted me to move on with my life. He’d have known I’d be upset about this because it’s just a reminder of what I don’t have anymore.” Her eyes started to water. She would give anything to have Adin back.

  “Legacy, maybe he just didn’t want you to feel alone today,” Lissa murmured.

  She shook her head because she could feel the sob coming. “I’ll be upstairs.”

  She quickly made her way back to her room while she cried. Once inside, she stared at the flowers and sat down beside them, smelling them. She noticed Adin’s journal sitting beside the roses on her nightstand, so she picked it up. She remembered reading an entry about Valentine’s Day last year, so she turned to that entry. He’d written about spending the afternoon watching the sunset, thinking about her. She put the journal down, grabbed her purse, and left. It was still a couple of hours before sunset, but she wanted to spend this holiday the way Adin had spent it last year.

  She drove up to their picnic spot, watching the bare trees, their limbs swaying peacefully in the wind. She remembered these same trees were beautifully lush during the summer, full of beautiful, green life. In the fall, they were an array of breathtaking harvest colors. Now, they were barren. Yet without their mask of beautiful foliage, they still looked striking. Each tree could be appreciated for its individual beauty—its strength. The cycle of life in is simplest form, shining as a beacon to remind her of the beauty that was nature. But as she thought about life and death, she started to cry again. For these trees were not dead—they were just dormant. In the spring, their bountiful leaves would replenish and blooms flourish.

  Oh, how she missed Adin. He was everything to her. She wanted the flowers to be from him, even if he had planned it before his death. Eternity seemed too long, unendurable without him. She tried not thinking like that since she’d first read Adin’s journal, but today, right now, she couldn’t help it. She remembered the moment she considered the flowers were from him—she didn’t want to think he could be alive because she didn’t want to hope for something that wasn’t possible. But she hoped anyway. If she were truly being honest with herself, she still hoped he was alive. She hoped the dream was about him. If it meant he was evil, she didn’t care.

  Not that she really believed he ever was. She still didn’t—not really. It was just a silly piece of hope she was clinging to. If only she could have a sign that he might actually be reaching out to her, whether or not he was dead.

  As she got closer to her destination, it seemed as if the naked branches were guiding her, beckoning her with unyielding determination.

  She pulled the car into the field when the road ended, and she headed to their tree. She walked slowly, remembering every time he brought her here, smiling through her tears. She walked up to the tree and sighed as she leaned against the side, staring out over the horizon. The chill in the air was symbolic of her emotional state, her alone heart. The wind gusted again and the leaves rustled on the ground around her feet. She looked down to watch the leaves dance in the wind, but she gasped.

  When the leaves moved, they revealed a single, lonely rose.

  A fresh rose that someone had to have put here today.

  Could this be a sign? And then she remembered what Adin had written in the last entry of his journal. If you see a rose, think of me.

  Chapter Eight

  Legacy stared at the rose, too shocked to pick it up—at first.

  As the wind moved the leaves around it, she knelt down, keeping her gazed locked onto it, and wondered what this could mean. She ever so slowly reached out and took the rose into her hand. She stood as she brought it to her face. She inspected it. The petals were soft with no darkening, and the stem was green with a clean, still moist, slanted tip.

  Freshly cut, freshly placed. Just as she had suspected.

  She’d just asked for a sign that Adin was reaching out to her, and now she found this rose. A rose that was placed at their picnic spot. The seventeen roses could have been planned before Adin had died, but not this rose. He couldn’t have put it here months ago in anticipation of his probable death and have it still be as fresh as this.

  She smelled the rose absentmindedly as she thought about the possibilities. Her dream warned her some man wasn’t dead. She’d hoped it was talking
about Adin, but she knew it was just hope. Now, she couldn’t help but wonder if he truly was alive.

  She needed to get some answers, but she knew she couldn’t talk to Lissa or Olive about this. She didn’t really think that River or Calli could be helpful either. They believed the dream was warning her about Casey, and she still believed that possibility was likely. As she thought about who she could turn to about this, she thought of Adin. Who would Adin go to if he needed help?

  His grandmother.

  It seemed more than fitting for Legacy to talk about a rose with Rose, and she knew she could keep this from Lissa and Olive because she hadn’t yet been by to see Rose since Adin’s death. She’d been avoiding her because she wanted to give Legacy Adin’s things. She wasn’t ready to disturb his room or his belongings. She liked the idea of knowing his things were exactly where he had left them.

  Now her reluctance to accept his death could be her excuse to speak to Rose without igniting suspicion where she didn’t need it. It was a good plan. One she couldn’t wait to initiate. She was eager to go to her house, but she’d come to this spot for a reason. She took a deep, calming breath, and leaned against the tree where she’d found the rose. She held it to her as she watched the sun, feeling its warmth though the chill of the evening. Having the rose to hold made her feel even closer to Adin on this day, which reinforced her eagerness to get answers.

  After the sun had set, she jumped in the car and headed home. She parked the car in her driveway and went inside to announce where she was going. She used the excuse of today as her reason to finally get Adin’s things. She could see Lissa’s sad expression, but she hadn’t discouraged her idea. In fact, she’d told her she was glad she was doing it today. Olive, on the other hand, barely acknowledged her. Her indifference was to be expected, though.

  Legacy walked over to Rose’s house to get the help she sought and knocked the door a little too anxiously. She shook her hand loose and rolled her neck, trying to relax her muscles. She knew she was getting too agitated at the possibilities, but the calm part of her was trying to keep that jittery part in line.

  “Good evening, Legacy. I’m so happy to see you,” Rose said as she hugged her. “Please come in. I was just making some cocoa.”

  They walked into the kitchen, and Rose poured her a cup of homemade white chocolate cocoa.

  “Mmm…this is good, thanks.”

  “Dinny always loved it when I made it. Of course, I didn’t make it often—I’m supposed to watch my sugar—but when I did, he’d always get a cup.”

  She smiled and nodded as she took another sip.

  “So how’ve you been, dear?”

  Legacy sat the cup on the table, leaving her hands around it, feeling its warmth and trying to calm her nerves. “Okay, I guess.”

  Rose gave her a pleasant smile. “I haven’t boxed up Dinny’s things yet. I was waiting until you were ready. Cookie?” Rose asked—she assumed to lighten the subject—as she pushed a platter of homemade white chocolate macadamia nut cookies toward her. “These go great with the cocoa.”

  “Thanks,” she mumbled as she took a cookie from the platter.

  “So, are you ready to box up Adin’s things? I haven’t been in his room much. Only to dust. Everything is as he left it.”

  Legacy swallowed down the cookie and then swallowed again for good measure. “Er, I’m still not ready to go through his stuff. I, um, I’d rather leave his things how he left them, for now. I mean, if that’s all right with you?”

  “Yes, of course.” Rose smiled as she took a cookie.

  They both nibbled in silence for a few minutes before Legacy continued talking. “I’m actually here because I need your help.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. I need to talk to someone, and I don’t know who I can trust.”

  Rose put her cup down and leaned toward her. “Is everything all right, Legacy? Are you in any kind of trouble?”

  “Um, no, I don’t think so. You see, I’ve been having a dream that tells me a man, who I think is dead, really isn’t. Then there were seventeen roses delivered to the house this morning.”

  Rose stiffened in her chair.

  “In Adin’s journal, he wrote he’d spent Valentine’s Day last year at what became our picnic spot, so I wanted to spend tonight the same way. I was thinking about the flowers, trying to make sense of them, and I wished that I could just get some sign that Adin was actually trying to reach out to me. When I got there, I found a rose up against the tree where we had our first picnic. Besides the fact that Adin loved giving me roses, as you know, um, he wrote a note to me in his journal asking that when I see a rose to think of him.”

  “My, my, my, this really is something, Legacy,” Rose mumbled, taking another sip. “Have you told this to anyone?”

  “Parts. Lissa and Olive know I’ve been having a dream, but they don’t know about the part I just told you. I also told them about the flowers. My friends know about my dream and the seventeen roses, but I haven’t told anyone about the rose I just found.”

  “Do you think Dinny is trying to reach you?”

  “I…I don’t know. I mean, I know he’s dead, and under normal circumstances, that’d be the end of it. But this time last year, I believed I was a regular girl living with a guardian because my parents had died. I know now things aren’t always as they seem. In fact, Adin himself has told me that many times.” Could Adin have been talking about his demise when he’d said that? She hadn’t considered that before.

  Rose sighed, looking down. “Legacy, you don’t know how many times I’ve…wondered if Dinny was retrievable.”

  “Retrievable? What do you mean?” Legacy’s body trembled as she considered what this could mean.

  “I’m not sure if I should tell you this. I know Dinny wouldn’t want me to do anything that could encourage you to court danger. Besides, I have no basis for my thoughts. It’s just my way of dealing with the grief, I think.”

  “Rose? Please.”

  “The thing is, Legacy, Dinny wasn’t a god, but his father is. If he were a god, then it’d be different. There may be a chance.”

  “A chance for what?” she asked quickly, her voice shaking.

  “Hades is god of the underworld. When mortals die, that’s it. There’s no coming back. But gods have been known to exit the underworld through various means.” She paused, staring at her. “I can’t help but wonder, since Dinny was killed by a new god and if that new god—or her father, the king of gods—makes the journey to retrieve him, if he could be released, freed.”

  “Is that possible?” she asked, too shocked to really grasp what that’d entail.

  Rose shrugged, looking down.

  “H-how can we find out?” she almost shrieked.

  She looked up at Legacy, almost timidly, through her lashes. “Legacy, it’s too dangerous for you.”

  “I don’t care!” she roared. If she could do anything, anything, to have Adin back, she would do it. No questions asked.

  “Persephone was queen of the underworld, dear. I’m sure you realize she wanted Adonis to herself, and he stayed with her part of the year and part of the year with Aphrodite.”

  “So?”

  “If Hades ensured the safety of Dinny’s soul—his survival—upon his death, then Hades could have done that just to lure you down there.”

  Legacy felt the blood fall out of her face as she shook her head frantically. “Because he knew that it’d work. I’d do anything to save Adin if Hades had him trapped.”

  “Legacy, we don’t know if that’s what happened. Like I said, Dinny wasn’t a god. He may not be retrievable, and if not, Hades could lead to you believe that he is. The seventeen roses and the rose tonight, that could’ve been Hades doing that.”

  “But how would he know?”

  “I don’t know, dear, but I’m sure he’s been keeping tabs on you. If he has Adin, then his job is much easier now.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She ha
dn’t considered the possibility that Hades would use Adin to his advantage after he’d died. She needed to figure out a way to determine the plausibility of such of a thing.

  “I need to go,” she said, standing up. She had too much to think about and she couldn’t do that freely here. “If Lissa or Olive ask about my visit, tell them I changed my mind about going through Adin’s things, and please don’t tell anyone what I’ve told you tonight. I’m not sure who all I can trust.”

  “All right,” Rose said, scooting her chair and rising.

  “Thanks for the cocoa and the talk,” she said as she hugged her. “It helped a lot.”

  “Anytime, dear. And don’t you be a stranger.”

  “No, ma’am, I won’t.”

  She half-ran back to the house, her thoughts moving faster than her legs. She busted through the door, intending on going straight to her bedroom.

  “Legacy?” Lissa asked, and she turned.

  “I changed her mind. I-I just couldn’t. Not yet.” she said, shaking her head. She didn’t stop her when she continued heading upstairs. She was sure she looked as frantic as she felt, but at least Lissa would think it was for a different reason.

  Legacy didn’t have any idea how she could look into this possibility, but she knew she needed to figure it out. She had to. She tried not to hope that Adin could somehow be saved from the death that she’d brought upon him.

  But she knew if she could right that wrong, she was going to. No matter what the cost.

  Chapter Nine

  Legacy awoke Monday morning and got ready for “school” like she normally did on a school day, but today was her rendezvous with River and Calli to look into Casey’s death. She grabbed her books and made her way to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Lissa was already eating. Olive was still asleep.

  “Good morning. You’re ready a little early,” Lissa said.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled, grabbing some fruit. “Calli’s car is in the shop, so River suggested we all ride together.”