Chapter 9 Meet the parents

The next several days went by in a blur. I had gone on my first date with Alex, my first ever date. And as promised he made it the best, we went to a casual restaurant, nothing fancy but it was nice and intimate. After, he took me to a movie, ending the evening with a stole along the campus beach and giving me the sweetest kiss I could ever have imagined. A kiss I'd finally remember and may as well have been my first since I was blackout drunk before. Since then we had hung out more, often walking me to class, even if they were classes he didn't take.

I had no other dreams like the one with Damien, which was just as well since his cold gazes turned to straight glares. Along with irritated glances from Evander whenever he'd see Alex with me. Especially when Alex held my hand as we walked to classes. But when it was just me, he seemed to give me less attitude, though not as playful as he had been before.

My skills with the whip and archery took great leaps of improvement, my dagger skills too, though not as impressive. I hit bullseye the majority of the time, sometimes I miss entirely, but that was why Coach Mars decided I would spend my free afternoons on Friday, Saturday and Sunday working in the field house for extra practice before the coming meet.

She was impressed with my archery improvement, confirming it would be the division I'd compete in, along with the whip since I had become a pro at that above all others. The leather weapon like an extension of my arm. Though I was told it was a small division. Not many deities found a whip as their weapon as it turned out. As far as my sword skills, we don't talk about my swordsmanship. I often found myself wondering why the sword chose me. Wondered if it was only because it came with the set that it chose me. As if the four weapons had a vote and the sword had been out voted by the other three.

As far as my other classes went, my horticulture class had become slightly boring as I held back more than what felt natural. I currently sat under my tree in the garden attempting to coax the fruit to form from its buds. I still didn't know what fruit it would be, but with how little of my power I had been putting in its maturity had slowed significantly.

Professor Zohra praised me for it, claiming that I must have gotten control of my output, commenting on letting the infirmary know they didn't need to be on call for me much longer. Those comments bothered me the most. I felt my power inside me, felt the amount there, I was barely touching it, feeling more human than goddess. As if I was merely watering and pruning my tree to encourage its growth, not magically willing it to grow. But Zohra was pleased, seeing my trees progress as still fairly quick, though, appropriately so now according to her.

My Death Magic class wasn't much better, holding in all the power that wanted to be let out. The unrest, the ache to let out more than I was. It felt unnatural. I had read in one of Malachi's books that our power could fester in us if it wasn't released enough at a time. The balance of use was like a tight rope walk. Use too much and risk sickness or death, use too little and face the same results. I thought about saying 'fuck it' and use the amount that felt right, even if there would be consequences from the professors and another meeting with Nyctea and Malachi.

Maybe more tutoring added to my schedule. The idea actually didn't sound half bad if it was spent with Malachi. Though another lecture from Nyctea about my control didn't sound appealing. So, instead I just trickled a little more of my power out, not just to my tree, but to the rest of the garden that the others were tending to. Not as much as I would have wanted to release, but enough to ease the pressure I was beginning to feel. Enough that no one noticed some added power mixing with their own as their plant grew.

"You ready for Saturday?" Tamera asked, dropping down to sit beside me under my tree. "Oh, look at that, the blooms are forming. Looks kind of like apples to me." She added, admiring the blossoms of my tree as small round bulbs began to form.

Saturday, my first Weaponry Meet against the Canadian academy would take place. Then, next weekend would be another first for me. My first fundraising appearance. I was nervous for both, unsure what to expect from either.

I nodded, watching as Tamera's attention was now fully on my tree, not even noticing my answering gesture. I followed her gaze, looking up at my fruit that was in its infancy. "What's wrong?" I asked, concerned that she saw ailment in my tree I was unaware of.

Tamera shook her head. "Nothing, just trying to figure out exactly what it is." She answered turning her smile back to me. "So, the Weaponry Meet. Are you ready? I heard from Evander and Alaric that you will be participating in a couple areas. Archery, some whip skills and hand to hand combat."

I balked, "Hand to hand?" I hadn't heard this from Coach Mars. Was it like combat class or did they expect me to wield my dagger, or worse my sword. I looked to Tamera for answers only to find her equally confused face staring back at me.

"You didn't know you were doing the hand to hand portion?" She asked, concern sparking in her dark chocolate eyes.

Shaking my head, I gulped. "What exactly is it? I can't use my sword, I barely can use my daggers...or is it just hand to hand, no weapons? No that doesn't make sense for a Weaponry Meet." I rattled on, feeling a small panic over the new information.

"Calm down, it's okay. The no blade skills could put you at a disadvantage, but it's not just about weapons. For that part of the meet, you can use anything, brute strength for one." I gave her an incredulous look , I definitely didn't have brute strength. Laughing, she continued, "Weapons of any choice, you can even use your power no mater the type of power."

"Death magic?"

Tamera nodded, "Yeah, but there is a no killing rule. So don't do that."

I laughed with her as we both turned our attentions back to my tree again, laying down on the soft grass below it. The sunlight peeking through the leaves above as the breeze caught the branches.

"Seriously, what fruit is coming in? I don't think I've seen anyone grow this kind of fruit before." Tamera huffed, obviously annoyed that she couldn't tell what it was. She could join the party, at least she wasn't the one growing the unknown for a grade.

I sat in the locker room pulling on the team uniform that Coach had given me. The sound from the stand above around heads vibrating the ceiling as both cheers and stomps came from the students and faculty of both school, the arena at capacity. I could feel my nerves building, worried about messing up, embarrassing myself in front of such a large number of deities. I had never done any kind of performance in front of people, aside from elementary school holiday programs.

Another first, this last month is just full of them. My mind slipping back to the group home, to my entire childhood of going from foster home to foster home. I had never been on a team. Never participated in an activity. Never did anything that had me facing a cheering crowd, least of all one as large as this, or filled with such powerful beings.

"Hustle Ladies!" Coach Mars called as she paced the room waiting for everyone to dress before bringing the guys in for a team pep talk. Athena gave me a strained smile when our eyes met. Her own nerves getting to her, she had told me this was her first meet too, being a first year like me. Her family had come all the way from the East Coast to watch her today. She didn't want to disappoint them and waste their trip by not doing well. We finished dressing and Coach opening the door and calling in the guys who quickly filled the room and sitting with us on the benches. Some made jokes on being in the girls room, laughing at their own immaturity, probably hiding their own nerves of the meet. Or they were simply that immature and unfazed by the roar of people above our heads, chanting our school name.

Evander and Alaric each made their way over to me, taking a seat on either side of me. They didn't say a word, their faces set in uncharacteristically serious expressions. Especially Alaric, who usually would have been leading the immature jokes amongst the gods. Instead, he looked intense, eyes glued onto coach and his arms crossed over his chest tightly.

Coach gave us a pretty inspiring speech, emphasizing that we had been making her proud, putting in good work as expected of us. She promised that no matter the outcome of today, she knew we would make her proud. Ending it all by threatening seven days a week after school training for everyone if we lost.

Evander and Alaric cracked smiles at that, dark chuckles rumbling in their chests, before going right back to looking stoic. Evander helped me up when Coach called out to get out there, leading us all out of the locker room and straight into the arena. "Get ready Little Warrior." He whispered just before we stepped into full view of the large crowd, raising his hand to greet the crowd, some girls screaming out his and Alaric's names. They had their own fan section, signs raised in the air and personalized chants recited as they came into view.

I felt like I was in ancient Rome, looking up into the crowd, the urge to call out if they were entertained came and went quickly. I felt my hand shaking a bit from my nerves. Evander must have noticed, because he grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, drawing my attention to him. He still had that serious expression on his face as he looked up towards a VIP box where several gods and goddesses sat together, drinking wine, smiling and chatting with one another, all in rather formal wear for being at a meet. A god looking directly in our direction looked very similar to Evander, his attention split between a beautiful goddess he was talking to and Evander. I watched as he exchanged a nod, acknowledging Evander who then released my hand, marching to the front with Coach Mars and Alaric. The three of them making their way to the center of the arena.

There, captains and coaches met, shaking hands in greeting and offering luck to each other before returning to their respective sides. A man stepping forth and welcoming the crowd to the meet before announcing the order of the events to come.

"Welcome Gods and Goddesses! Students of both Deitus Academy and Celestial Academy. Give a cheer for our War Deities here to compete in the seasons first Weaponry Meet!" The announcer held out his hands towards us and the other schools team with a smile as the crowd erupted into cheers, stomping and clapping. "Our first event of the day will be round one of archery. Each teams archers will take turns shooting at their targets at a fifty foot range. Those with the highest points will progress to the second round held later this afternoon."

I gulped, Coach Mars drawing each of us forward. There were four of us in the archery event for our school. Unlike Celestial Academy who had six to participate joining their coach for a huddle. Mars noticed their numbers as well, telling us that we had to make sure that we all progressed to the next round for a chance at winning the event, her eyes focused on Athena and myself, as if telling us both that we were the strongest archers here, fueling my already shaking nerves.

"You got this Little Warrior." Evander whispered in my ear, walking past me to stand with the other melee users on the benches against the wall.

The ringing of the bell announced the round beginning. Following Athena and the others to the line. I watched her summon her long bow and a quiver of arrows, nodding to me to do the same.

My bow materialized in my hand, pulled from the core of my being where my power lay. My own full quiver appearing strapped to my back, the black tipped arrows singing with the desire to strike their target. Athena gave me a smile of encouragement, as if to tell me that we got this. As we both turned and faced the targets set fifty feet ahead of us waiting for the count down to fire. At the order of the announcer, we notched our first arrows, aiming as we waited for the bell to ring. I stroked a finger along the black feathered fletching as I aimed for my target, taking a breath in my nose and slowly let it out my mouth, closing my eyes as I calmed my nerves, steading my hands.

The bell rang the announcer yelled "Fire", and my eyes flew open, releasing my first arrow. It flew free of my bow, moving at speed down the arena and finding its mark with a thunk. I didn't pay attention to the exact placement on the target, quickly notching my next arrow and sending it flying on its own way to my target, the timer ticking down. The more shots I fired in the time span, the better my chances of getting a high score were. That's what I told myself as I drew another arrow back and released it. Aiming quick, only focused on the arrow in my bow at the time and picturing it hitting the bullseye of the target.

The bell rang again, just as I was about to notch my last arrow. Time up, we all turned to the judge table as they scored us on our speed and stance while firing before they stood and walked down to the targets. I didn't let myself look, I knew I've done well in classes. Most of my marks made, but I still had a long way to go. I didn't want to see any of my missed marks. The possibility they are planted in the ground around my target, or the wall behind it.

"Please stand before the judge table for your scores." The announcer called out. We all moved together, standing directly in front of the table lined with Elder War Deities.

Three Gods and two Goddesses sat, whispering and writing on score cards before them, their eyes falling upon us. The god at the very center stood, holding up a piece of paper in front of his nose and clearing his throat.

"Sixth place, Markus Alexander of Celestial." He began. Markus stepping forward, a roar of applause and cheers coming from the Celestial students as he waved to them with a grin. "Fifth place, Julius Salem of Deitus." I joined in with the applause as my classmate stepped forward, a smile on his own face as he waved to the crowd. "Fourth Place, Caitlin Ross of Celestial. Third place, Dante Bradford of Deitus. Second Place, Athena Marshals of Deitus."

At the sound of Athena I cheered louder, whooping as she stepped forward, her face glowing with pride. All that was left from our team was myself, standing with the four other Celestial Academy members to my left. I held my breath as I waited for one of them to be called out first place. I wouldn't delude myself into believing that I made it to first place. Not on my first meet, my first time competing in anything.

"First place, with fifteen bullseyes and a score of 276, speed score of 8 out of 10 and a stance score of 12 out of 12." The judge paused, from the look on his face it was for dramatic effect as he smirked at the silent crowd surrounding us. His display hinting that he was also a god of the arts as he left the crowd silently holding their breath, sitting at the edge of their seats. "Hadria Blake from Deitus Academy!"

I didn't move, frozen to the spot. Eyes all fell to me but still I didn't move, certain I had misheard. It wasn't until Athena reached back and pulled me forward with her that I realized I had not misheard anything. I won. First place. The judges all looked over my shoulder at the one remaining arrow in my quiver and the goddess to the left of the center god stood up, a smile playing on her lips.

"How many arrows do you keep in your quiver?" She asked with a gentle yet commanding voice.

"Thirty." I replied automatically, still in shock of my win, my eyes wide as I looked back at the judge.

"So, twenty nine arrows on the target, and one in the quiver. Very impressive. And your weapon. I do believe I recognize that bow and those arrows. Something so unique is hard not to notice." The goddess gave a dark smile as she nodded to my weapon. "Interesting." I met her eyes as she sat back down, smiling as she played with her necklace, a skull pendant swaying across her chest. A war goddess she may be but seeing that pendant told me that it wasn't all she was. She was a goddess of death as well.

We were dismissed back to our teams, instructed that the six of us going to round two of archery stay close if we had no other events to participate in. Then the announcer called out the Gun wielding event. Those participating in the event making their way to replace us at the center of the arena.

"Great job Little Warrior! You'll be hell on the battle field with the archery line." Evander cheered, pulling me into a tight hug as Alaric held up his hand for a high five.

"Too bad humans use guns and drones in war now." I replied with a laugh. "Did I- did that really just happen?" I was still in disbelief, glancing back at the judges, most of them focused on the gunmen as they readied for their even, but the death goddess still watched me, as if I was the most interesting thing here. She didn't look embarrassed for staring as our eyes met, only smiling and giving me a nod in greeting. It wasn't until the bell rang for the guns to fire that she looked away, watching the competitors.

Athena ran up to me, pulling me into a tight hug, "I'm so proud of you Hadie! We took first, second and third for Deitus! I can't wait to see what we get in round two."

"Good job kids." Coach Mars stepped to us with a smile. "Be ready for that second round. But don't forget your other events. Hadria, after the gun will be the whip event. They have two whip users in Celestial, so it's all you, be ready. Athena, bow staff will be just after that. And gentleman." She turned to Evander and Alaric. "You ready for your sword event? I'm counting on you both to show them what we're made of." Both gods grinned and nodded confidently, watching as Mars walked away to remind the rest of the teams of the coming events so they were ready for their turns.

The whip event was, well uneventful. I took first, but mostly due to my two competitors obviously not taking their whip training seriously. They were both melee users and their whip was obviously a secondary weapon to them. Where as for me, my whip was my best and my go to weapon when given a choice during class.

I watched in awe as the other events took place. Athena took first in bow staff, the round was mostly just showing skill and looked more like a dance routine. Athena explained that the first round for all events typically was hands off. Come the hand to hand combat we could show what our true ability with our weapons was as we were paired off. That part of the competition took up the majority of the day starting after lunch.

The final event before then was the swordsman event. Alaric and Evander stepped forward with the other swordsmen from both schools, yet they stood out, the others practically none existent in the presence of these two gods. Watching their weapons appear at their hips as the announcer gave instructions for round one of their event. Each taking turns to show their ability as their name was called. As biased as I might be for my friends, I was sure I wasn't the only one who saw that Alaric and Evander were the best of them all. Their movements fluid, calculating and powerful. As Evander performed, I found my eyes glancing up to the VIP box, finding the same older God smiling down proudly at him, speaking again to the beautiful goddess beside him, her own eyes on Alaric.

Alaric took first place, Evander second. The judges expressed that it was close with only a point difference, though Athena sighed that the point difference was simply because of who Alaric's father was. Claiming the judges were trying to earn brownie points, despite the fact that his father wasn't here. I still didn't know exactly who his father was. Just that he was some big shot Creator God. Alex and Ally's dad worked with him, so I assumed he was involved in the trying to find my bloodline, but that was as far as my knowledge of the god went.

With the swordsman first round over, the announcer called an intermission for lunch, reminding everyone of the time to return to the arena. "We will begin the second round for Archery at one. Deitus Academy will provide a free meal to all guests in the cafeteria. Should you prefer dining out, please be sure to make it back in time. Your guest passes will get you discounts at the cafes and restaurants in Deitus Shopping Pavilion just down the road into town."

"How'd I do?" Evander asked from behind me, surprising me for a moment before my face melted into a smile.

"Oh, you were amazing! I wish I could get a handle on my swordsmanship like you and Alaric." I answered, walking with him towards the locker rooms.

"Well, how about I help you. You're doing tutoring on weekends right? I'll come in with you." Evander put his arm over my shoulders, pulling me tightly to his side and rubbing my upper arm with his thumb as we reached the door. "I'll meet you outside." He said, letting me head into the girls locker room to change for lunch.

He waited outside for me, just like my first class with him, and walked to the cafeteria with Alaric and Athena. We all discussed what to expect with round two and the hand to hand event that would begin immediately after all the round two events ended.

"There's a good chance we won't be done till midnight." Evander said to Alaric, the two excited to begin the fighting portion of the day.

"Plenty of competition, they didn't look too weak. You could be right Vand." Alaric replied, popping his knuckles.

We entered the cafeteria, about to head to find a free table when the man from the VIP box stepped in front of us. "Evander, you did good son. Let's go get some lunch together. We can discuss tactics for round two."

Evander's face brightened at the sight of the man, "Yeah! Sure Dad, can I bring a friend along?" He asked, his father looking over at Alaric and smiling.

"As honored as I'd be for him to join us, his mother is inside seated already. I believe she wants to eat with him."

"Not Alaric." Evander chuckled then draped his arm over my shoulders again, hugging me to his side. "Dad, this is Hadie Blake. Hadie, this is my dad, Kijani Chevalier."

I held out my hand to his father, pinching Evander with my other hand covertly, though he made no sign of noticing it. I wasn't expecting the invitation in the least, and looking at his father, he was surprised but quickly trained his expression. "Aw, yes, I do believe I've heard about you. No one seems to know where you came from." He looked me up and down, ignoring my offered hand, before turning back to Evander. "As much as I would love to extend the invitation son. We also have some family business to discuss, pertaining to Aife Chanda. Please excuse us Miss Blake."

Evander's face paled, nodding stiffly, "I'll see you guys after lunch then." He didn't look at any of us, following his father out of the cafeteria.

When they were out the door Alaric scoffed and shook his head. "Don't worry Hadria, my mom would love to meet you and have you eat with us." He stated, replacing Evander's arm with his own as he lead us further into the cafeteria confidently.

"Oh, I was going to find the girls and eat with them." I said, ignoring the annoyance I felt at Evander's father's rejection. "What is Aife Chanda?"

"The girls are probably sitting with my mom anyway. Ally and Lily's mom is best friends with my mom." He stated, looking around the room and smiling to our right before steering us in the direction. "And Aife Chanda is not a what, but a who. Don't worry about her though, it's nothing Evander can't handle." We reached a table and he pulled out a chair for me before I could respond, smiling at the occupants of the other chairs. "Hello ladies."

Just as Alaric had claimed, my friends were all seated there with the beautiful goddess Evander's father had been talking to in the VIP box. All talking animatedly about the competition together. The woman looked up and gave a beautiful smile to not only Alaric, but to me.

"Oh my goodness, I was hoping I would get to meet you. Hadria, correct?" She asked, standing up and pulling me out of the seat I had sat in and into a tight embrace. "I'm Reina, Alaric's mom. I've heard so much about you. From so many too. You seem to have made a real impression on these girls." She smiled at each of my friends, all of them laughing and teasing Alaric as he sat in the empty seat next to his mother's.

Reina sat back down, pinching Alaric's cheeks and asking if he has been eating enough and praising him on his performance so far today. "Where is Evander?" She asked while we all settled down and waved over the waiter.

"His dad took him off campus for lunch." Alaric answered, leaning back and resting his arm across the back of his mother's chair. "Can you believe he turned down the company of Hadie here? Poor Evander looked so hopeful that his father would welcome her along with their lunch date."

Tamera let out a snort. "That's Uncle Kijani for you. Low life." She met my questioning gaze and shook her head. "I'll level with you Hadie, my uncle won't want anything to do with you until your bloodline as been found. And even then it will depend on what bloodline you come from whether he will tolerate your company or not. He's a purist. He doesn't even acknowledge my mom because she is part love and beauty deity, the product of an affair between his father and my grandmother. The family tree is nothing but pure war gods and goddesses."

Reina sighed and nodded. "We do have many of those in our community it seems."

I remained silent, working through the new information. "How do you know how pure of a bloodline you are?" I finally asked as our food was delivered to our table.

Reina thanked the waiter with another brilliantly beautiful smile before answering my question with a sigh. "Bloodlines are well documented. While there are affairs, such as between Tamera's grandparents, many bloodlines will only settle down with and marry a deity of the gifts as them. Evander's family, for example, is pure war deities, nothing else. No duel gifts, no exceptions. Their belief is that with each generation, they're gifts and abilities become stronger. Where as, they believe those of us who marry outside of our talents do not breed children as talented as they could be. That those with more than one gift have their power split into too many slices."

My brow furrowed as I looked down at my food then back up at everyone else. "So, since I have gifts in all the houses. He views me as infinitely lower? Does that mean my bloodline could be a lesser line then?"

Reina shook her head. "That is just their belief. There is no proof of that. And just because you have affinity to all the types of deities doesn't mean you come from a lesser house. Besides, we have investigated all the lesser houses in the US, none of them match your signature." She paused and looked me over. "Has anyone been communicating with you on any of this?"

I shook my head. "Ally's brother tells me what he hears from his dad, but that's all."

Reina nodded. "I thought as much. I'll talk to the school about setting up a limited personal guardian for you. Someone you can call to keep you informed on what we know. They can also help you access the finances that we have set up in your name."

"What?" I gaped, since when did I have any finances set up for me aside from the school allowance. "I already have my school allowance card."

"Ah, yet another thing no one has told you I see." Reina shook her head in disapproval. "It's simple basics that all deities no matter the bloodline are entitled to. Stocks in businesses mostly, though since you are a love and beauty goddess you also get paid for your photoshoots. The bank account was set up upon your enrollment and you should have gotten that information along with your allowance card. It's separate from what the school gives you monthly." Reina shook her head. "I'm going to need to talk to Nyctea as to why you haven't been informed on all this."

Her eyes swept across the cafeteria, as if looking for the Headmistress to settle the matter immediately. Sighing when she did not see her anywhere and turning back to me.

"Don't worry. I'll personally get all this handled. You are still under eighteen so someone should have been in contact with you to explain it. I'm not sure why this hasn't been taken care of."

The rest of lunch was spent with Reina asking each of us about our classes. Our grades, and what classes we enjoyed more. By the time lunch was over, Alaric and I said our goodbyes, heading back to the arena to meet the team back in the locker rooms. Reina wished us both good luck and gave Alaric the biggest, wettest, most motherly kiss on his cheek I'd ever seen before turning and doing the same to me.

"Your mom is nice." I said, as we headed down the path back to the arena.

Alaric chuckled. "Yeah, she is. She mothers everyone. Sorry if it embarrassed you or made you uncomfortable. She enjoys showing affection whenever she can."

I shook my head and laughed with him. "No, as someone who grew up without a mom. I enjoyed it. Thank you for making sure I met her."

Alaric smiled and threw his arm over my shoulder again, squeezing me into a side hug. "No problem Shortcake."

"Shortcake? Is that really going to stick?" I laughed.

"Will you be growing any taller?"

"No."

"Then is sticks." He declared, laughing as I elbowed him in the side. We both dissolved into a full fit of laughter before we disappeared into our respective locker rooms. Ready to start round two of the meet.