Eirene knew by the glint in her eyes that denying this would just make Bia persistent, so she kept quiet.
"It's happening. So slowly you may not even notice it, but I can see it happening. The way you look at him, the way you act around him…"
Around who? Who's him? Where are you going with this? Eirene thought desperately, not daring to voice it out loud. She was keeping a poker face but she wanted this conversation to end, it was making her uncomfortable in a way she wasn't used to. Eirene had never loved someone, never been in a relationship or even had a crush on someone, she didn't exactly know what it felt like, but she had gotten bits and pieces of what she assumed it was while on this quest for both Andrew and Connor, but she didn't know which was stronger. And she hoped she never would.
"You're going to fall in love with one of them, Eirene. You won't be able to help it. And when you love somebody, you're going to want to tell them the truth. But you never can, Eirene. You can never tell any of them the truth."
It was something Eirene had unconsciously known, but always wondered why. Why couldn't she tell someone about her being the vessel for the Styx River? Why was it so wrong? "Why not? I know it's a taboo, but I don't understand why it is. If I could explain what I am, then I wouldn't have to keep so many secret and people won't misunderstand me—"
"No, no, no, Eirene. Listen to me." Bia drew closer, so close Eirene could see she had a small spread of freckles across her nose. "If you tell someone, you will die. Simple as that, saying you are the child of the Styx River is the same as writing your name in the book of death. If you want to live, you can't tell anyone."
Eirene pushed back her chair and stood up, challenging. "Zeus told me the same thing once, but he never explained why. Nobody ever explains why, they just plan things and expect me to fall into it and I'm sick and tired of never knowing anything. You said you're my sister. You said you were here to help and inform me, and if that's the case then tell me why telling the truth would kill me!"
Bia was silent for a very long time. She held Eirene's gaze but did not waiver or twitch. "Because the fact that you exist is a secret kept among only the gods. The creatures that attacked you before you came to camp only did because they smelt the scent of a demigod; they did not know what or who you were. But if you say those words, if you proclaim who you are out loud, they will know. It will echo, and all monsters, every single kind of monster, will come after you and try to kill you, without my siblings interference. Every second, of every minute, of everyday; you'll be lucky if you even have time to blink before they are on you, clawing at you, trying every trick in the book to try and kill you."
It was impossible to keep a poker face now and shock was shown on her face, but also confusion. "I don't understand. Why?" a theory was poking at the back of her head, but she didn't want to let it through.
This time, Bia was getting frustrated. "My gods, Eirene; you're a smart girl: think! Why would it benefit not only the gods, but demons and monsters alike if you were dead?"
The theory forced itself in, and Eirene sank back into her chair as realization set it. Swearing on the Styx River has always been an annoyance in the Greek community, it was a promise that couldn't be broken without serious repercussions and many people wish they could find a way out of that, heck even Zeus and Poseidon had broken their promise to not have kids. She'd imagine multiple people had tried to find a way to get rid of the river forever and had failed. But when she was created as a living breathing walking Styx River, others had reason to hope something that lives could be killed.
Now she understood, she understood Zeus's warning and the strange feeling in her stomach whenever she'd think of telling her secret. If she wanted to live, she had to keep quiet.
"But I'm…I'm immortal, aren't I? Or at least unkillable,"
Bia shook her head. "You aren't immortal. And even though you are supposed to be unkillable, there always seems to be a way."
Well, that wasn't reassuring. Eirene sighed and sat down, her head spinning. She was grateful to Bia for coming here to warn her and telling her all this, she had answered a lot of questions Eirene hadn't even asked and she had helped her see things more clearly. But she had also told her a lot of things she didn't want to know. Eirene was a strong person. She had endured being chased and hunted down by monsters on top of being a homeless runaway for six years, and all it had done was make her durable. Though in all those years, she had always thought she was alone; an only child without anyone to physically talk to or play with.
Eventually she became fine with that; when she thought Zeus cared for her. He had always protected her and provided for her. But with this new information, Eirene wasn't sure if Zeus has ever cared for her, or just for this 'essence' she was carrying.
Bia placed a comforting hand on Eirene's shoulder. "I'm sorry…"
"No! no, you've helped so much. Thank you, really thank you."
The goddess looked into her eyes, an intense emotion shown in them. "Please believe me when I say this—and don't just brush it off as a cliché pep talk; you are destined for great things."
Eirene was, understandably, still a bit suspicious and skeptical. Bia didn't have any reason to be so kind to her, to tell her all things information. Gods never did things without a hidden motive. "Why are you being so kind?"
A sad smile spread on her lips. "You remind me of Styx. I have three siblings, Eirene, and out of all of us, there isn't one I can see really resembles our mother. But you…you radiate her. Not physically, but in presence."
Eirene had obviously never met her mother. She had never really thought about her either, but at this moment she wished that she had known her; or at least been curious enough to research her. A bit teary-eyed, she pulled Bia into a hug.
When she pulled away, Bia handed her what looked like a golden pocket watch. "If you ever need my help, just use this. It'll allow you to communicate with me; though please do so in private." Eirene thanked her and the goddess smiled, her clothing faded back into that of a baker's uniform. As Eirene slipped the pocket watch into her pockets, the time freeze melted away.
Bia was behind the counter, using tongs to retrieve the cookies Connor had ordered. "Here you go, Hun!"
A few minutes later Eirene too had her cookies, and two of the three of them were seated and munching happily of their deserts.
"We really ought to be getting back to the quest." He murmured.
"You really ought to loosen up and have a cookie," Connor replied.
"I don't like sweets."
There was a pause in which Connor gasped. "Saying you don't like sweets is like saying you distaste happiness."
"Ironically enough, I haven't been visited by that emotion in about as long as I've had sweets." He said with a smile.
The sentence shocked Eirene so much that her knee jerked up and hit the table. Andrew steadied and her and hurried to apologized. "My gods, it was only a joke." He let out a nervous laugh. "I guess I should leave those to Connor then?"
Embarrassed at her overreaction, Eirene rushed to pipe up. "Well then, there must be a reason why you don't like sweets." She broke a cookie apart, the warmth of it causing the chocolate chips to draw and stretch like they were melting. Then she ate one half. "They're absolutely delightful."
He regained his stiff manner, drawing back quickly. "There isn't any deep reason to it." His eyebrows were drawn together, like the subject very much bothered him. When Eirene looked at him, his eyes were vacant and faraway. Sensing his evident discomfort, she abandoned the subject and stood up, announcing that it was time to leave.
"But I've barely finished my cookie!" Connor protested.
"We've taken much too many breaks, and it's only the first day of the quest. The sooner we find Dennis, the better."
So they left, Eirene giving a farewell glance at Bia, who winked in response.