You’re just born that way.”
“So - Amphitrite is Queen of the Nereids because she is the wisest, and Mom was the Leader of the Tydes because she was the most powerful?”
“Exactly. But, being the strongest two Nereids, they naturally gravitated towards each other.
Amphitrite was on Thetis’s counsel, along with Natasha and Dr. Campbell. But, Amphitrite was your mom’s right hand woman - her confidant. And your mom was the same for Amphitrite. Kind of like a best friend you’ve known your whole life - except for Thetis and Amphitrite, ‘your whole life’ meant centuries.” Zara smiled.
“Then why didn’t she become the leader of the Tydes after my mom died? Why Keto?” I examined. Something moved in my field of vision and I snapped my head to the front door. I could have sworn there had been someone standing there. I blinked several times, but all I saw was the door. I shook myself mentally and tried to focus.
“Finn, do you want to take a shot at this one?” Zara held her mug of cider up to her nose and breathed in the sweet aroma before taking a long sip.
“Well according to mom, in the absence of a Chosen leader, the next strongest Nereid is the rightful Leader of the Tyde Order - which should have been Amphitrite. Even though Keto had broken away from the Nereids centuries ago, being Leader of the Sirens wasn’t enough for her; which is evident by the death of Thetis at Keto’s command. She had always planned to rule over the Tydes as well as the Sirens. So once Part One of her plan had been carried out, Keto challenged Amphitrite to prove that she was stronger. It wasn’t much of a challenge, however. Planning her challenge years in advance, Keto had some…help. She almost completely destroyed Amphitrite, until the Nereids came and carried her away to ensure that she lived. Therefore, Keto declared herself the Leader of the Tydes because technically she was the strongest Nereid, with no one to challenge her position.”
“Until you came back,” Zara’s green eyes regarded me warmly. “You’re the Chosen leader and you’ll be the strongest Nereid, hands down. Only problem is that Keto could care less about the Nereid’s rules. You’ll have to meet Keto’s challenge and prove that you’re stronger than her, as well as the rightful, Chosen Leader of the Tydes. That is…”
“That is, unless she finds me before my birthday and brutally murders me,” I finished for her with chagrin.
“Precisely,” she confirmed with an encouraging grin. If nothing else, at least she was honest.
Chapter 27
“Three?”
“Three.” Zara nodded in confirmation. After lunch, I had slipped away for another nap while Finn and Zara discussed my training regimen. Once I awakened, we had reconvened in the living room to continue the lesson before our ‘special guest’ had arrived to kick off my training. The smoldering sun was just beginning to sink towards the horizon, although the clock only read 5:00pm.
Its pacifying light radiated across the cottage, enhancing its cozy atmosphere. Sunset was quickly becoming my favorite time of the day; a gentle farewell, replaced by the spellbinding arms of twilight. Finn lightly poked me before I realized I’d zoned out. I cleared my dry throat and focused on the coffee table that still showcased the contents of my valise. I back tracked my thoughts in an effort to sort out the answer to her question.
“Well I have three keys,” I deduced first. Apparently the number three had some kind of significance, and I was supposed to figure out what that might be in relation to me. “I’m a tri-goddess which means I have a connection to the three elements of the ocean - the shore, sea, and wind.”
“That’s right…” Zara urged. She tucked a strand of amber hair behind her ear, which resembled simmering embers amidst the sunset’s orange tint. The eager way that she leaned my direction and the captivated focus of her emerald green eyes begged me to provide the right answers.
Unfortunately, I was failing miserably at her first question of the first lesson. Not too promising.
“Any chance you could give me the answers?” I murmured sheepishly. I hated tests.
She shook her head vehemently, “Not for this. The only one who has these answers...is you.”
“We might be here awhile, then.” I snickered and diverted my gaze to my hands, when Finn slowly ran a caressing finger over my trace. Suddenly, understanding smacked me across the face.
“Oh! My trace! It has three spirals,” I testified proudly. Seeing right through his sneaky hint, Zara sent Finn a stern look. He just smiled back innocently and continued to rub my wrist, sending tingles up my arm.
“And how many traces do you have?” Finn whispered without moving his lips. Zara caught him once again and shook a finger at him.
I did a quick count, “I have…three. Interesting,” I thought out loud. “So, there are three keys.
I have a connection with the sea, shore, and wind. I have three main abilities-that I know of-and I have three traces.” My incongruent thoughts rambled out of my mouth uselessly as they came to me.
Finn quietly offered me several taunting uh-huh’s to let me know I was on the right path.
Unfortunately, that was also the exact moment I ran into the proverbial brick wall. “And…that’s all I’ve got.”
“You’re getting closer,” Zara tapped her chin knowingly. I had the feeling she enjoyed my self-discovery because she wanted me to succeed, but I also sensed she took pleasure in stumping me.
Which incidentally, she was extremely talented at. She sat back with contentment and chuckled lightly. “Well, you’ve collected all of the major pieces, I suppose I can spare you the agony and connect the dots for you.”
“Oh thank God,” I sighed in relief. “My brain was a mere two seconds away from popping off and exploding.”
“That would be fun to see, actually,” Finn inserted with his typical smirk.
“Not to mention the mess it would make,” Zara added at my expense. Before I could smother them both with a pillow, Finn stood reluctantly and nodded his head respectfully at Zara.
“Is my unerring intellect intimidating you that much?” I teased him. Surprisingly, his usual witty comebacks were replaced by his eyes dropping to the floor as he shuffled his feet; suddenly uncomfortable.
“I need to...take care of something. You know…Prime stuff.” He shrugged his shoulders but wouldn’t meet my gaze. I could tell he was hiding something, but I couldn’t reconcile nervous behavior with the Finn I knew.
“And miss all of the excitement?” I countered, hoping to elicit more information. “The possibility I could single-handedly sink the entire island is never far from my mind.” The corner of his lips lifted and he took my hands tenderly; pulling me up into an affectionate embrace that left me wanting more.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.” He leaned back and I was drenched in the undeniable magnetism of his blue eyes. “I’ve come to realize it’s physically impossible for me to be away from you for more than twenty four hours. Without you…I can’t breathe. You give me my reason to live.”
He kissed me passionately and my legs turned to jelly.
“And you’re giving me a cavity with all that sweet talk,” Zara giggled. “Now get outta here so I can make our girl into a goddess.” With one final breathtaking kiss, Finn left the cottage and I moved back to Zara while she continued as if my entire body wasn’t steaming from the heat of his touch.
“Okay, think about what you just said - especially your abilities,” she tapped her chin. Finn’s touch had erased all thoughts pre-kiss, so it took me a second to recall what I had said.
“I have Antiquity - which is seeing into the past, Reveries - which are always in the present, and then visions of the future.” Only after the words came out did I realize I’d just solved my own mystery. I clapped a hand over my mouth as it dawned on me. Zara leaned even farther forward and grinned expectantly. “Past, present, future! I can see all three of them!” I touched the infinity trace that decorated my cheekbone. “I have three traces -this one’s for Antiquity-and I’m guessing the one that’s on my wrist and around my finger stands for reveries and visions?”