A deep sense of peace settles over me, it is done. That part of me is over. I can move on in death and figure out the lies of my life that I have been told.

"How do you feel?" I jump startled I forgot that the sometimes gold sometimes bronze stranger was still here with me.

Turning my head to face him "I don't really know honestly." I begin. "I feel strangely at peace like everything was meant to be like this." Saying the words out loud feels weird. How can I think that I was meant to be dead? I have well and truly lost the plot.

"Well it could be because you aren't really dead." He blurts out.

"What? How can I not be dead, I felt it, it hurt like a fucking bitch. I am dead."

"You aren't really dead." All he does is shrug and close his eyes as his head continues to rest against the trunk of the tree.

I turn my entire body to sit facing him properly, "How can I not be dead? I died, you are literally right here! We were just watching my body burn!" I exclaim fury beginning to make its way through my bones.

"Do you have a heartbeat?" He asks me smugly, only opening up one eye to look my way.

"Huh?" I look down to my chest, do I have a heartbeat? Have I even stopped once to notice my heartbeat? I place a hand over my chest and wait for a moment until I feel it, yep definitely a heartbeat. Goldy must have been watching me because in my awe I can hear him laughing at me.

"Death isn't really death. It is just another stage of life for mortals, although you aren't exactly a mortal now are you?" He arches an eyebrow at me, making me face certain thoughts that I don't want to face.

"Who are you?" I ask him trying to change the direction of the conversation.

"Who are you?" He retorts eyeing me, eyeing me like he knows exactly who I am. The smug bastard probably does, he probably knows more about me then I do. Everyone else seems to.

"You tell me, you invited me here. I felt the call and I came."

"And I still have no idea how I did that, I didn't even want anyone here with me." Frustration courses through me, I just want answers. I just want someone to tell me the truth.

I look at him, for the first time I really look at him, his skin still shines like gold but in the shade of the tree it can be confused with bronze, his hair is definitely gold with warm honey eyes, but nothing about him stands out to me like I would know him.

I let out a huff of annoyance and let myself fall back to the ground.

He sighs as if sensing my mood. "Well I am handsomely good looking, amazingly if I do say so myself-"

"Modest as well." I cut him off sarcastically.

"Extremely." He responds, he just sounds so cocky.

"I'm fun, the life of the party I'm told, and we share some common DNA, the best bits-"

I sit straight up so quickly that I'm dizzy but I pay no attention to that. He continues talking but I'm still stuck on the word DNA that no other words he speaks after it make it into my brain. "Does that make you my..." I can't even get the word out, Selene spoke nothing of him,

"Oh gods no. But you do get all of the best bits from me." He winks at me while I fail at processing this.

"How?"

"Well I have this twin sister you see, besides the obvious differences between us our DNA is the same, and that has been passed to you."

"Holy shit, I have an uncle! So who are you?"

He looks a bit confused but nonetheless he tells me. "I'm Helios, the God of the Sun." He gives me a look that screams I should know this fact about him.

"Oh yeah! I heard about you." I exclaim hoping he believes the lie.

"Really? Do you? Because the look on your face right now says that I have 5 heads, 20 arms and 3 legs. Do they not teach you anything on earth anymore?"

"Well you aren't exactly our goddess, the one responsible for us, and to be honest I didn't pay any attention in school." I start plucking at the grass under me, pulling it all out. "I didn't exactly believe in any of you until I died if I'm being honest."

I expected him to be mad at me, furious but instead he just has a puzzled look on his face.

"Well, if I wasn't a God myself I believe I would feel the same as you. No one remembers me anymore since that." He cuts himself off, shaking his head. "This is not the time for that." He mutters softly to himself.

"We will get along just fine as long as you leave my prized cattle alone."

"Your what?" Cattle? Why would someone have prized cattle that makes zero sense?

"My cattle and also my sheep, but I house them elsewhere."

I just sit staring at him with a look of utter confusion, none of what he is saying makes any sense to me.

Maybe I should have paid more attention in classes.

"Everyone has their thing, this is just mine." He shrugs, I guess he will tell me in his own time.

"So where are these prized cattle?"

"In this meadow, it's the safest place for them, plenty of food, water and shelter."

"Well I mean I guess you're fine then, this is the only time I'll be allowed here."

"That isn't entirely true. You are a Goddess, you are the heir to this world, you can come and go as you please." he pauses. And the meadow itself is actually open to everyone; it's just this time at the windows that is a one time thing. Or at least that is how it's meant to work." Helios shrugs like it doesn't matter to him either way, which I mean I guess it doesn't.

What my mind refuses to move on from is he is the first person to say it, to speak the words out loud that I am a Goddess, deep down I knew I am, I have to be if my mother is but no one ever said it.

"You're the first person to say that you know."

"Say what?"

"What I really am, everyone else just beats around the bush, ignoring it. No one is telling me the truth and that is what is making me angry, I can see the looks people share, the words they swallow." I sigh letting it all fall out. "It's like they think I'm too fragile, but all I want is the truth. So thank you."

"Nothing good can come from lies." His tone is strong and he believes this fully. "This isn't going to be easy for you, you know. Everything is about to change and mayne, just maybe this time when you are taught about the Gods you may pay attention."

He chuckles which causes me to laugh as well, something about his presence eases me, mayne it has something to do with his continuous ray of sunlight.

"Do you think you are ready to leave?"

"No." I sigh. "I don't think I want to face anything yet."

"You can't hide away, if you want answers you have to seek them out." He moves to stand up. "And don't blame your mother, she had her reason, you may not agree with her but you haven't given her a chance. I don't need you to tell me you haven't spoken to her, it's written all over your face."

He is right. As much as I want the truth I am also hiding from it.

"Stay as long as you need, you'll know when its time to leave." With that he walks off leaving me to my mind again.

I am happy I had him here for me, I needed someone but sometimes it's easier to deal with your emotions with a stranger who isn't there to judge you.

I lay back down in the grass letting the warmth of the sun lull me to a peaceful rest.