“Keto, come on!” a brown haired girl called to her. “You need flowers!”
Her heart filled with happiness and she sat very still as they twisted her hair, pinning it up with beautiful blue and yellow flowers.
“It’s perfect!” a blonde girl with bright blue eyes squealed. “We should put-“
“Keto!” boomed a deep voice from the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat and she bolted off of the chair. She walked over to a brooding, monster of a man with white hair, highlighted with blue streaks. He squeezed her arm and yanked her into the adjoining room. He ripped the flowers out of her hair and stomped on them with frustration.
“How many times must I lecture you!” She began to shake as he scolded her. “You do not belong with the rest! The only place you belong is the blackest depths of the ocean. Your calling requires poison and darkness! Not flowers and pony tails!”
“But Daddy-“ she pleaded, as tears flowed down her cheeks.
“No!” he shook her a little too harshly. “Do not make the mistake of believing that you belong with your sisters. You are the Nereid of sea monsters! Now act like it! You will spend a fortnight locked in isolation to think about what I’ve told you!”
The memory blinked away and was replaced by another. A lonely Keto was perched on the sand looking on as her sisters practiced in the ocean with an older woman. They were laughing and splashing as she watched; her resentment changing to bitter hatred.
I wrenched my gaze away, unable to feel her sadness any longer. She stared at me in defeated silence as I processed what I had seen. She cringed in pain as a spasm shot down her back and finally went limp again, as her eyes rolled back in her head.
As I stared down at her beautiful face, I couldn’t help but see the monster she’d shown me just moments before. Which one was the real Keto? Was she truly a monster who only belonged in the depths of the ocean, cursed to endure an existence without family or acceptance? To be ingrained with such powerful self-loathing at that tender age could only be heightened by the isolation from her sisters. It didn’t surprise me that she never felt like she belonged. And maybe she didn’t. Maybe it was better for everyone if she remained separate and distant.
I sighed to myself and slipped my arms under her motionless body. I stood with her in my arms and turned toward shore. As I swam with her, the ocean’s song filtered through my ears and soothed my heart. Sea creatures of every shape and size followed our path to the beach, marveling at a helpless Keto. Their energy swirled around me and filled me with so much love and acceptance, I thought I would burst. As I approached the shore, I sent out a line of energy and split the waves so that I could walk easily out of the water.
Exhausted and drained in every way possible, I barely noticed my friends running towards us as I lowered Keto onto the sand and sat down beside her with my head in my hands.
“Stasia!” Finn was at my side first, and I latched onto the warmth of his darkness as he held me in his strong arms. I looked up at him and grinned.
“You defeated her?” he asked with obvious pride.
“I guess you could say that,” I chuckled. He helped me up the beach as Elina and Natasha carried Keto to a patch of soft sand where Zara was waiting. My roommates hugged me and I did my best to describe what had transpired in the ocean.
“The sea chose you?” Phoebe gasped.
“I don’t know how it happened,” I scratched my head. “I felt the dagger go in, and then I just stopped fighting and handed my essence over to the sea.”
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Zara piped up. “It takes a strong goddess to trust the sea with her essence. That kind of sacrifice isn’t left unappreciated.”
“Wow,” Carmen shook her head in disbelief.
“Speaking of appreciation,” Zara walked up to me and pulled me up from the sand. “I have something I need to give you.” I searched her blue eyes in confusion, but was nowhere near prepared for what she did next. Her image blurred in front of me and she began to change before my eyes. Her warm auburn hair shed its dark shade, in favor of a pale blonde color with long streaks of white. Her face became more heart-shaped and her body firmed up, presenting a very tone and very strong beauty standing before me. Her ordinary clothes were replaced by a white dress, criss-crossed with golden strands of rope which held it in place. Lastly, a crown of flowers appeared on her head and my eyes almost popped out of my head.
I tried to speak, but was completely speechless as I stared at her. Gasps and cheers from behind me did nothing to force my voice box to work. With a breathtaking smile, she took my hand and placed it in her palm, face up. She closed her eyes briefly as a single sparkling bead of essence puddled in my palm and lifted into the air.
“Echete Epilexei,” she breathed, as my heart fluttered with excitement and happiness. I was finally able to force my voice to speak.
“Amphitrite.”
Chapter 44
“The one and only.” She did a little curtsy before I jumped into her arms. I didn’t miss the fact that her voice had instantly lost its southern drawl.
“It’s been you this whole time?!” I screeched into her neck. “I knew something was off about you, but I never thought…”
“I knew you needed me,” she shrugged as if embarrassed. I unclenched the death grip I had on her neck and stood back to get a good look at her. I knew that she had meant the world to my mother, and I was excited about one day getting to know her as well. But it would appear that ‘one day’ was here!
“You shrouded yourself to…everyone? But I thought you could only show one person at a time? Oh! And you’re a tri-goddess! Just like me!” I jumped into her arms again and she chuckled.
“I have a lot more experience than you do, dear,” she admitted with a wink.
“I knew it!” Natasha put her hands on her hips and shook her head at her old friend.
“Now it all makes sense,” Carmen tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I couldn’t figure out how a Maven knew so much about tri-goddess abilities. We were starting to get a little curious as to who you really were.”
“I apologize for the deception; however, I needed Stasia to do this on her own,” she smiled tenderly towards the group. “She couldn’t know she had me here to depend on.”
Finn stepped forward and cleared his throat; his eyes remorseful. He bowed to her respectfully.
“Hello Finn,” she bowed to him as well. “You’ve grown up to be a powerful young man.” His face actually flushed and he looked down at his feet.
“I wanted to apologize for how I treated you back at the cotta-“ he began, but she held a hand up in protest.
“No apologizes needed. In pretending to be a Maven I should have remembered your position outranked mine. I suppose the goddess in me got a little carried away.” She placed a hand on his cheek and gave him a hug. “The little boy I watched destroy sandcastles on the Isle has turned into the best Prime the Sons will ever know.”
“Thank you,” he ducked his head sheepishly.
“And according to that mountain perched on Stasia’s finger,” she raised an eyebrow at my hand, and Natasha almost got whiplash she stood up so fast. “You’ll soon be bound to the best Leader the Tydes will ever know.”
The frenzy of squeals and happiness that followed filled my world with the promise of a bright future that hadn’t always been certain. As I sat back down in the sand to rest before making the trek back to the cottage, my eyes settled on a still form in the sand. The hollow body of my father was the most glaring reminder at what had truly been lost that night. Someone had wrapped him in seaweed, and I could have almost convinced myself that he was simply sleeping. The despair in my chest knew different, however.