“You didn’t tell me I was grounded!” I snickered at Finn and then took a sip of cider. I was only half kidding. He draped an arm around my shoulders and I felt the warmth of his darkness wrap around me as well; soothing my anxiety.
“Well, not yet…” she predicted through a clever sneer. “Give it time.”
“I can promise you, I won’t be any trouble,” I persuaded, unsure whether she was kidding or not.
Shifting forward in response, Zara patted me on the knee. “Now, don’t go making promises!
What fun would it be if we didn’t cause a little trouble?”
“Don’t worry, trouble follows Stasia around like a sick puppy,” Finn quipped easily. I nodded.
“Yeah, and that puppy’s name is Finn…” I countered in all seriousness, leaving Zara chuckling.
“Now,” she began, “I’ve made sure that there is a protective shield around the house to keep any unwanted guests out. Me, Finn, your suitemates, and a handful of other people are the only exceptions. And you, of course.”
“Really?” I didn’t bother to hide my enthusiasm. “I don’t know what to say!” The validation that I would be staying there warmed my heart. My own house? And it’s protected from the long list of people who would like nothing more than to chop my head off? Where do I sign up?!
“It’s only until your birthday, but I’m more than happy to have you. During your training you’ll need to be extremely focused and have a safe, peaceful place to meditate and practice your abilities. Not to mention, we can’t have any psychotic fire-breathing princesses chopping you into bits and pieces now, can we?” She set down her mug while I picked my jaw off of the ground at her candor. I heard Finn laugh under his breath when she got up to collect something from the kitchen.
“All of your clothes are hanging in the bedroom closet, and I had a couple of your personal items brought over. I believe this belongs to you?”
She placed the valise that my mother had bestowed upon me onto the coffee table. I admired its intricate detail again, and delighted in the beautifully engraved trace that covered the lid. Zara unlatched it with hands of certainty and laid its contents across the table; very much like my roommates and I had done before travelling to the Underworld. Unlike our subpar guesses, I had a feeling that she knew much more about the items held within, for which I was genuinely grateful.
“My mom left it to me,” I asserted wistfully. “I found a letter inside. She said all of these items would help me in the quest to fulfill my destiny.”
“And she was correct,” she reinforced with approval. “But before you go fulfilling any destinies, we need to talk about a couple of things. Not only will you become a goddess and a Nereid -
if you receive the required approvals from your future sisters, that is - on your birthday, but you’ll be up against a very powerful ex-Nereid to claim your rightful place as Leader of the Tydes.” Before I had the opportunity to throw myself off the roof, she elaborated. “So as you can see, your training and preparation are high on the priority list…right below Mr. Paramour over there.” She rubbed her chin and regarded Finn almost scientifically before declaring, “He loves you. You love him. So he stays.”
“Agreed,” parlayed a very self-assured Finn.
She gifted him a knowing smile before continuing, “I believe we can also agree on the fact that Keto is definitely not planning to uphold her faulty claim to wait until after Stasia’s birthday to challenge her. I think the possibility of an attack before January 1st is pretty high.” She shifted her attention towards me, “That being said, I’ll teach you to protect your body and mind, but you need to stay on high alert at all times, understand?”
I nodded at Zara earnestly. “Especially now that we’ve cut off Keto’s ability to get mine or Finn’s essence…she knows it’ll be easier to defeat me while I’m still half-human.” I was all too aware that my use of the word ‘defeat’ actually meant ‘slaughter’, but I liked the sound of defeat infinitely better. Zara’s stunning features stiffened to severe and her smile vanished.
“Finn told me what happened on the Isle of Slaves while you were sleeping. I’d like to think that Keto would have used her better judgment and waited to challenge you, but I’m afraid she’s too far gone for that. So from now on we’ll move forward with the assumption that she could attack at any time.” The depth of her sadness bewildered me, but she hastily masked it behind a mischievous smile. “Which leads me to the contents of your valise.”
I inspected the items on the table while Zara took a sip of cider, tucked her legs up under her, and settled in. A broken compass, a jeweled dagger, a piece of rope, the eerie conch shell, the hematite stone, and three skeleton keys all dumbfounded me with their mystery.
“I think I should hang on to the dagger for safe keeping…” Finn informed us wickedly, and attempted to hide it behind his back.
“You have your own bedazzled weapons,” I scolded him. “This one stays with me.”
“My weapons are not bedazzled,” he spit out, almost choking on the word ‘bedazzled’.
“Of course they are!” I smiled at him happily.
“They’re jeweled, not bedazzled,” he corrected me.
“Definitely bedazzled,” I muttered under my breath, until Finn playfully poked at my stomach; sending me into a full blown giggle fit.
“Alright, lovebirds…” Zara reprimanded us affectionately. “It’s time for a quiz.”
I elbowed Finn in an attempt to dissuade him from any further attacks, which only got me a retaliation elbow to the ribs. I suppressed another giggle and forced myself to pay attention to Zara.
She gave Finn a warning look and he finally sat still.
“What type of goddess are you and will you continue to be?” she questioned me plainly. I peeked back at Finn, but he was watching me; waiting on my answer as well.
“Um…a good one?” I guessed pathetically.
Zara made a buzzing sound, “Wrong. Try again. What type of goddess are you and will you continue to be?”
“A Tri-goddess,” I answered with assuredness.
“And what does that mean?” she pressed further.
“That means…I have a connection with the sea, shore, and wind.” Thankfully, I had inherited a good memory and could remember the first time Finn and I had sorted through the valise on the Fortunate Isle. The triskellion symbol necklace that still hung from my neck had come with a label, which explained that the symbol stood for the Tri-goddess. Unfortunately, Finn had failed to expound upon what that meant for me specifically.
“Very good. There’s only one other Tri-goddess of all the Nereids. Your mother was actually very close with her,” she looked at me pointedly. “Her name is Amphitrite, and she’s the Queen of the Nereids.”
“There’s a Queen of the Nereids?” I established, causing Zara to nearly choke on her cider at my next question. “She doesn’t happen to have a tainted, demonic daughter as well, does she? I don’t think I can handle another blood thirsty princess.”
“Not that I know of,” she crowed. “Blood thirsty and demonic aren’t usually qualities the Nereids strive for.”
“Tell that to Keto…” I inferred under my breath.
“Now, the queen was second only to your mom in power and strength, but she’s by far the wisest. The fact that she’s a Tri-goddess helps. Once you become a goddess, Nereid, and Leader of the Tydes, there will be two Tri-goddesses.”
“If Mom wasn’t a tri-goddess, how did I become one?” I contemplated.
“Well, Amphitrite and your mom shared the same mother, your grandmother, but she wasn’t a Tri-goddess either. How it happens is unknown, because it’s not inherited and can’t be bestowed.