"Who do you think it is?" Athena questioned, acting jittery for her old age.
Zayn looked around again and shrugged. "Will you just tell me? We have less than an hour to find her."
Athena peered at him over the top of her glasses and rested a hand on her hip. Zayn stared back. "Nana."
"Oh for goodness sake boy. It's me!"
"You what? Oh!" Zayn's eyes looked like they would pop from his skull. "OH!"
"Shush!" Athena hissed and looked around when Arzhel and Zyaire glanced their way.
"Come with me." She guided her dumbstruck grandchild out of the Kitchen, grinning at Carlos along the way, who nodded to Zayn with an apologetic smile. She led him into the living room.
Zayn was starting to think it would suit a new title: confession room. He sat on the couch, gawking at his grandmother. "Please explain. My brain has exploded already today."
"Here's what you need to know. I can explain the rest later." Athena settled herself on the coffee table next to an old shoe box. She pushed it aside, not aware of its content. "So, I'm the God of wisdom."
She paused to see Zayn's reaction, but he didn't move an inch. His face was set like concrete. "I have been the God of wisdom this entire time. Well not the entire time. I forced myself to turn human, like Vincent. I just never woke my powers for the Lunar cycle. I wasn't sure if they would be passed to Eirene because they didn't pass to her when she turned eighteen, though it does explain her gift. I thought she would know. Maybe she does."
Zayn thought about how his mother knows everything and anything before it's even said out loud.
"It kinda makes a lot of sense," he muttered, wanting to fall face first into the couch and sleep for a million years.
"Yes. You've even said yourself that you wouldn't be surprised if I were hundreds of years old, and you always come to me for wisdom."
Zayn leant his back against the cushions. His body stopped tensing and he visibly deflated.
"Why?"
"Why did I keep it a secret?" She asked. Zayn nodded. "Well, you've always had way too much to deal with, and not even your mother knows. Granted, I should have told you all when Aiolos got his powers, but I didn't see the point. I had buried my powers so farI didn't know how to reach them and telling you wouldn't make any difference. I knew there would be a day when I sat you all down and spoke about my past, and it looks like that day has come." Athena hauled her frail body from the table to the couch.
"Of course, Vincent knows. We have always been best friends, and it was crucial that I was there for him when Aiolos got his powers." Athena patted Zayn's knee when he started to look lost.
"Did it not dawn on you that something was happening? I had the Enchiridion which belonged to Vincent. The God of Wisdom was the last God to write in it."
Zayn's skin tingled.
"I uh-" He cleared his throat and wished to splash freezing water over his head.
"I guess I didn't really pay attention." He finally connected their gaze. His Nana's eyes were like looking into the core of the universe. Their sapient shine leaked knowledge and love. "I don't even know why I'm surprised."
"You're surprised by my secret, not what the secret is about." Athena rubbed the back of his hand with a smile. "Im sorry I kept this from you, but deep down, I'm sure you've always had your suspicions."
