Goddess Legacy: Goddess Series Book 1 (31 page)

She heard River at her side, crying and holding her hand. From the weight of his words, she could tell he was in so much pain.

“I’m so sorry,” he kept repeating over and over again.

She wanted to comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be all right, but she couldn’t. And she didn’t really know if everything
was
going to be all right. She didn’t know if she was going to live through this. Medusa tried to kill her. She was sure of it.

She wondered where Lissa was. Surely the hospital would have contacted her. She also wondered if she’d contact Adin. Legacy knew River wouldn’t. Not out of malice, but because he wouldn’t leave her side. The bond he’d always talked about, she was beginning to feel it. It had always been there. When she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, it was because of the bond. He was right. She was fighting it. She knew she’d have to continue fighting it because she didn’t want to be with him like that. But she could no longer pretend it didn’t exist.

While she lay in the hospital bed, she started to drift. She felt as if she were falling asleep, but couldn’t really tell since her eyes were already shut. The voices in the room—River was one and the others were probably nurses and doctors—faded. Then she began to panic. What if she was dying?

“You’re not dying,”
a beautiful voice said. “
You are part of this earth, like me. You are changing, my beautiful Legacy. Every season is your legacy. That’s why I named you that.”

“Mom?”
She thought to herself since she could not move her lips.

“Yes. You will be fine. But you will need to be careful, my beautiful Legacy. River and Adin do not understand, but they will. You must be patient with them.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are changing. In some ways, you have already changed. They will not understand how you feel about the other, but fate has a plan. They will both be there for you in the end. Medusa will try to interfere with your change, but I will try to stop her. Your greatest fear is Hades. He knows. He has a plan. If he gets his way, you will not be with River or Adin. I don’t want that to happen to you again.”

“Again?”
she wondered.

“Yes, you are my beautiful Persephone. Not the original one because Hades drove her to the afterlife. But you are a reincarnation of her. You are a new body but an old soul. I am Demeter, the goddess of nature. As will you be. When you are ready, we will watch over the seasons together.”

“Why can’t I see you?”

“Because you don’t remember what I really look like. You have no true memory of me. You’ve seen photographs, but you’ve seen the photographs that I wanted you to see.”

Wow. She was really talking to her mom. Well, sort of. But she needed to try and get all the answers to the questions she had while she finally had this opportunity. “
What about my dreams?”

“That’s your old soul trying to help you cope with everything. The little girl in your dreams is you. That’s why you wanted to protect her in the beginning and that’s why she was scared. You wanted to protect yourself from the unknown, and you were scared of what was coming.”

“Are you Pandora? Did I open Pandora’s Box?”

“Yes. I am all things Mother Nature. As for the box, it was there for a reason. However, you should focus elsewhere for now. Understand your destiny is not yet decided, but your actions will decide it for you. If you are not careful, you will repeat your original destiny and your legacy will not be fulfilled.”

“The prophecy? Why would I stay with River if Adin lives? I want to be with Adin.”

“I know, my darling. Stay strong, and you will have what you want. No matter whom you want in the end. If you do not stay strong, you will have neither. Embrace this life and live your legacy.”

The beautiful voice faded into the blackness of her mind. It was surreal to hear her mother’s voice, but hearing it helped. She knew everything she’d been told and what she’d discovered had put her on the right path. As she felt the rightness of it all settle, she could hear River’s weeping more clearly now. He was alone with her, and she was okay with that.

“Legacy?” she heard Lissa call after a few minutes. She must be here now.

“She still hasn’t…” River started to say, but he cried.

“Legacy, it’s Lissa.” Her voice was right by her, and she felt another hand on her.

“I’m Lissa Borne. I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Um, I’m River Rysaor. Legacy works at my mom’s store.”

“Of course.”

She couldn’t comprehend her tone, but her voice had definitely changed.

“Have you called her friend Calli?” Lissa asked River in a regular voice.

“No, ma’am,” he choked.

Lissa seemed very calm for what was happening. Legacy figured she knew she was going to be okay, but couldn’t really come out and say this to anyone. Or Lissa hoped she would be and didn’t want any negative feelings to cloud those hopes.

“I’m going to call her,” she said.

Legacy heard Lissa leave the room.

“Baby, can you hear me?” River whispered in her ear, stroking her face. Then she felt his head lean down onto the side of her face, and he cried into her ear. “Please…wake up.”

“She’s on her way,” Lissa said as she heard the door open to her room.

She heard a chair pull up beside her bed next to where River was sitting.

“You have to stay positive,” Lissa whispered, but not to her.

“I-I-I don’t know how to be positive. I love her so much. It’s hard enough not being with her, but I-I…” He starting crying again, and Legacy was shocked to hear him say that he loved her. She knew he cared about her, but this went way beyond that. River took a deep breath. “I don’t want her to be hurt. I’d rather never have her and she keep on living without me than to ever see her hurting.”

“You know who’s responsible for this.” Lissa said. It wasn’t a question. Lissa knew it was River’s mom.

“Yes,” he hissed. “I know. She doesn’t understand.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s not going to allow it to happen. You know that. I know you know that.”

“I know. I can stop her.”

“You already failed.”

River started crying again. “I didn’t expect it to be so soon. I thought she’d wait until Legacy got stronger.”

“Your mom doesn’t need to wait. In her mind, she has less than a year to take down a god, defying other gods in the process. This isn’t going to be easy. She’s going to take every chance she can get.”

River kept stroking Legacy’s hand in his. “Why does this have to be so hard?”

“Because you’re not a regular human. Regular humans wouldn’t be able to handle this. You’re changing too. She is linked to your change. You may not realize it, but she was helping you when you thought you were helping her.”

“What do you mean?” His hand stopped moving.

“I mean you have both been helping each other cope with the changes in your lives. I can’t tell you if she will love you in the end. Only she knows the answer to that, and she doesn’t know that answer yet. You’ll have to be patient with her.”

That was what Mom just told her. That she’d have to be patient with Adin and River. Apparently, they’d all have to embrace that virtue.

“I don’t even want her around Adin, much less in love with him,” River muttered.

“She can’t stop the way she feels just like you can’t. He’s not your enemy. You both want Legacy safe and happy. He may not see that yet, but now you do.”

She heard the door open.

“Lissa?”

It was Calli’s voice.

“Oh no! Legacy?” She heard Calli run to her side, and she felt her rub her arm. “What happened?”

“She got electrocuted,” River whispered.

Calli gasped, but she could tell it wasn’t from the news. She must have seen River’s face.

“Um, I called Adin,” she said gravely. “He should be here any minute.”

“Good,” Lissa said. “She needs to hear his voice.”

River sobbed, holding her hand up to the side of his face. “I can’t leave her.”

“No one’s asking you to leave,” Lissa said calmly.

She heard the door swing open, and the person’s breath caught. No one said anything, but she heard footsteps coming around to the other side of her where no one else sat.

She felt a familiar hand on her face. It was Adin. He leaned down and put his lips to her ear. “Legacy? Sweetheart, can you hear me?” His breathing was jagged. He must have been crying before he even got here. “Please…” he cried.

Adin reached over and took her free hand. Now, he was holding one, and River was holding the other. She heard Adin sigh. He put her hand on his face and held it there.

“Your hand is so cold,” he whispered, but he was taking comfort in that. He leaned down and put his forehead onto hers. His momentary comfort disappeared.

“Legacy, please wake up,” Adin pleaded through tears. “I love you so much. I need you more than anything. You
have
to be okay.” After several minutes of Adin crying with his head down on hers, he finally spoke to the others, but he didn’t move from his position. “What happened?”

“She was electrocuted,” River whispered.

“How?”

“The storm.”

“She thinks your mother controls things like that.”

“I know.”

“Do you think that?”

“Yes.”

Even though they were being short with each other, they were keeping their voices low and trying to be civil for her.

“She should have tried to kill me instead,” Adin whispered. “Not her…not her,” he cried.

It seemed like the two men in the room where the only ones crying. Lissa and Calli must be sitting there watching the two of them fall apart.

She wanted to console them. Her love and her friend. They were all bonded together. But Adin wasn’t the link.

She was.

If she hurt, they all hurt. If one of them was hurt, she’d be the only one suffering. It was her all along.

“She no longer works for you,” Adin whispered, his head still down. It wasn’t a request. It was an order.

River didn’t say anything. She was sure he agreed with Adin on this.

“Excuse me, we need to examine the patient,” she heard a male voice say as he entered the room. “Only her family can stay in here while they do that. It’ll only take a minute.”

She felt River’s hand slip from hers, but Adin didn’t move.

“I love you,” Adin whispered into her ear, and she wanted to tell him that she loved him too. She wanted him to stay. She didn’t want him to let go of her. He lifted his head off hers and placed her hand back at her side. He started to release it, but she squeezed his fingers.

“Legacy?” Adin asked frantically. “She just squeezed her hand,” he said quickly, talking away from her.

“Adin…” she barely breathed, not sure if he could hear her.

He was right back at her ear. “Yes, Legacy, I’m here. We’re all here.”

“Don’t go…”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he cried, but she could hear a hint of relief in his voice.

“Adin, I’m hurting.”

She heard several people gasp. Now that she was able to speak and move a little, she realized she was in excruciating pain.

“Where are you hurting, sweetheart?” Adin was panicked.

“Everywhere.”

She lost the grip she had on his hand. She could no longer speak or move.

“Legacy?
Legacy!
”

“Everybody out,” someone ordered.

“I’m
not
leaving!” Adin said, and from the tone of his voice, no one was going to argue with him.

“He can stay,” Lissa mumbled. Since she asked him not to go, Lissa wasn’t going to make him leave. Thank the gods.

“C’mon, River,” she heard Calli say.

She heard River’s breathing spike, and she knew he wanted to stay too. But he left quietly.

She felt hands all over her. Adin let go of her hand, but he was right by her head, talking to her, letting her know he was right there with her.

“Why is she in pain?” he asked angrily.

“This is normal. It’s actually good that she’s in pain. It means she can feel. Now, we need to treat her pain. We’re giving her some morphine. She’ll be asleep for awhile.”

The voice turned away from her, she guessed to talk to Lissa. “Now that she woke up, we’re treating her pain, but the medication she’ll be on will cause her to be out of it for a few days. She’ll wake up here and there, but only briefly. The medication will help her pain while her body heals itself.” He lowered is his voice and said, “Because of who she is, it’s the best way.”

“Okay,” Lissa murmured, and she realized the doctor was in on the family secret.

When he spoke again, he used a regular tone. “After a few days, we’ll start to taper her off the medication to see where she’s at in the healing process. If she’s in a great deal of pain, we’ll start all over again. Hopefully, her pain will be less, and we’ll be able to manage it while keeping her conscious.”

“So how is she?” Lissa asked.

“All her vitals are good. Her blood pressure is up, though, but that’s probably because of the pain.”

They must have given her more morphine because the next thing she remembered hearing were monitors beeping. She heard some voices in the room, and she could feel both her hands being held. She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t.

“Ouch,” she mumbled.

“Legacy?” she heard Adin ask. “Get the doctor,” he muttered.

The other person dropped her other hand and left.

She moaned again, trying to move her body.

“He’s on his way,” she heard River say, and he held her hand again. “Lissa’s on her way back up too.”

The pain was building slowly, getting more intense. “I’m really hurting.”

“The doctor will be in here in a minute,” Adin whispered. “Your pain medication is wearing off, and they need to check on your healing progress.”

She started crying. “It hurts. It’s getting worse.” Was she on fire? Flames licked all over her.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

She felt Adin’s hands on her face and River’s hand stroking her arm.