Inflexible | Fated Four: Book 1

Chapter Eight

*Clarissa*

Over the next few days, I fell into a routine at the lake house. I would wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, and then, around nine, I'd meet Arrow and Soren outside for training. The three of us would hike to the edge of the barrier and I'd offer salvation to the souls there. After that was combat training, which Ryder was solely responsible for and he was brutal. I swore that I left his training session with more bruises each time.

But finally it was the weekend and I entered the living area to find a woman with dirty blonde hair and pale green eyes sitting on the couch. I recognized her right away. Nemesis.

"My Lady," I greeted her, unsure of how to address her. How was one supposed to address a Goddess?

"Oh please," Nemesis said as she rolled her eyes, "That My Lady nonsense is for Hera, Demeter, and the other Olympian Goddesses. Call me Nemesis."

"Okay," I agreed, "What are you doing here, Nemesis? I didn't think you lived here."

"I don't," she replied, "I'm here for the party."

"The one Aphrodite is hosting right?" I asked, recalling the conversation we had in the restaurant.

"That's right," Nemesis replied, "She's invited all the eligible minor Goddesses to the party. I guess she's hoping one of them turns out to be Arrow's soulmate."

"And Arrow's going to go?" I asked.

Part of me was freaking out. What if Arrow did go? And if he went, what if he found his soulmate in one of the minor Goddesses? The blood in my veins turned to ice at the mere thought of that happening.

But why did I care so much? It wasn't as if I was in love with him. Was I? No it couldn't be.

"Yeah. You know, you should come with us, Clary," Nemesis told me.

"Why?" I asked, "Aphrodite didn't invite me."

That was true and I wasn't sure if I wanted to offend the Goddess of Love and Beauty by showing up to her party uninvited.

"True, but it could be fun," Nemesis told me.

It could be fun, but it could also hurt...a lot.

I felt something for Arrow, I wasn't sure how to make sense of my feelings yet, but there was something there. His mysterious aura had drawn me in and his beautiful soul had made me stay. I just questioned if he felt something for me. Part of me severely doubted that he did. His soulmate was probably some minor Goddess.

So the question became, was I willing to risk going to Aphrodite's party and having my heart broken in the process? No, but Nemesis really seemed to want me to go. And part of me still had hope that maybe...just maybe I could spend a few moments with Arrow before he had to declare who his soulmate was.

"I'll go," I agreed. Nemesis smiled.

"Then you'll need a dress," she told me, "I've got a few you could borrow if you want."

"Thanks Nemesis, I appreciate that," I told the Goddess. I don't know what I was expecting from her, but the Goddess of Retribution was really nice. She smiled and led me to her room.

Nemesis' room was on the first floor at the back of the house. Her room was fairly big as well. Granted this whole lake house was rather roomy inside. The Goddess of Retribution went straight to her closet and started rifling through it. I was amazed at how many dresses she had. Then again I shouldn't have been surprised, she was a Goddess after all. She probably went to parties like this all the time.

"Why do you have so many dresses?" I asked.

"Olympus has a very formal dress code," Nemesis explained, "But that's not important right now. Right now, we need to find you something to wear to the party."