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?”
“Very good!” she exclaimed. “So you have a connection to the past, present, and future as well as possessing abilities that parallel with each. Over the next few weeks, you’ll be learning more about those three main abilities that essentially can take you different places within the past, present, and future.”
“That makes sense,” I agreed calmly, although I was jittery with excitement.
“Now, everything - and I mean everything - has essence; us, the trees, the sea, the rocks, everything. Right?”
“Right.”
“You have a connection with the three main elements of the ocean: the shore, sea, and wind which all possess their own separate essences. Which means…” she paused for effect. “You don’t just have an essence, you have essences.”
“Did you say essence-ES? As in plural - more than one? Meaning multiple?” I clamored in disbelief.
Zara’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Because you’re a Tri-goddess, you have three separate essences. You can’t harness your essence as a whole until you learn what they are and how to combine them. So far you’ve been experiencing them separately - whether you knew it or not. What we need to help you do is meld them all together into one massive ball of mind-blowing power.”
“A massive ball of mind-blowing power sounds ideal,” I chuckled. “So if what you’re saying is true: I’ve been using one essence to connect with the sea, another to connect to the wind, and even another to connect with sand and the shore? And that includes the animals living on the shore, in the sea, and on the wind?””
“Yes and yes.”
“Wow,” I breathed in amazement.
“Even though your abilities are aligned with your essence, the types of abilities you have will also depend on the amount of essence you have in your soul. Since you’re a Tri-goddess, you have three essences. Since you’re Chosen, each of those essences will be at their highest level possible.
Throw in the potent goddess blood that runs through your veins, and its Game Over. That, my dear, is why you’re so powerful. You’re the definition of a triple threat.”
“Wow,” I said for the second time. Words were few and far between at this point.
“Now one thing I want you to remember is that you’re not a goddess yet,” she attested and leaned forward. “Your essences haven’t reached their paramount levels. Your abilities will be infinitely easier to control and harness once that happens, but for now it’ll be a good learning experience.” Someone knocked on the cottage door and Zara’s face lit up with excitement.
“That must be our special guest!” she proclaimed. She literally jumped off the couch and swung open the door so quickly, the hinges creaked. Her excitement boiled over when she laid eyes on the person standing at the doorstep.
“Welcome!”
“I’m Olivia Campbell. I’m here to help-“
