Goddess of Light (Goddess Summoning #3)(32)

Apollo shrugged and pulled his wet shirt away from his body. "An accident."

"An accident! But what of the seduction?"

"It comes along well."

"Well!" Artemis almost shrieked in frustration. "How could it be coming along well if I can still feel the bond of the invocation upon me?"

"These things take time, Artemis. Pamela is not a city to be breached, or a fortress to be attacked and sacked. She is a mortal woman who desires romance."

"I understand that all too well. What I don't understand is why you have not yet bedded her."

"Because it is not truly what she desires," Apollo said.

Artemis' eyes narrowed at the odd, introspective tone of his voice. "Having the God of Light in her bed is not truly what she desires? I find that hard to believe, brother."

Apollo sighed. "What would you say if I told you that bedding her tonight is not what I desire?"

She would say that that was easier for her to understand. She had thought that her brother had found the mortal attractive, but apparently that had changed. "Well," she said slowly, "this really is Bacchus' fault. He's just going to have to be involved in fixing it. Perhaps he can use the most potent of his wines to drug her into a desirous state. He is a god; I supposed he has seduced mortal women before, no matter how repulsive it is to imagine him engaging in such an act."

"No!" The word exploded from him. "That toad will not touch her!"

Artemis' slender brows knit in confusion. "Apollo, be clear! One moment you say you do not desire the mortal, and the next you are ready to defend her against another god as if you were that fool Paris, and she your Helen."

"I simply said I did not wish to bed her tonight, not that I didn't desire her. She injured herself tonight," he blurted as his sister stared silently at him. "Of course I healed her. Without her knowledge," he added quickly before Artemis could speak. "But to take her to bed after that would have been an ignoble act."

Artemis' sharp eyes saw the veiled discomfort on her brother's face. He was not being entirely truthful - not with her and perhaps not even with himself. Either way, she could tell by the stubborn set of his jaw that he would admit no more to her.

"Tomorrow?"

Apollo nodded tightly. "Tomorrow."

"Good. Let us retire to Olympus. I find that I am weary of the mortal world."

Apollo opened the closet door and motioned for her to precede him through the shimmering, shell-colored portal. He was returning to their world, but he had no intention of retiring to Olympus. He bade his sister a distracted good night and then transported himself to the one place he knew in which he could find aid.

Chapter 11

It had been as much a surprise to Apollo as to the rest of the Olympians to discover that the goddess who had won Hades' supposedly cold heart wasn't really a goddess at all. That Demeter had instigated a swapping of her daughter Persephone's soul for the soul of Carolina Francesca Santoro, a mortal from the modern world. Demeter had wanted to tame her carefree daughter, and the trade had seemed an excellent opportunity to mature Persephone. It also presented the lovely side benefit of having the more mature mortal businesswoman bring a calming female presence to the Underworld. It had been a totally unexpected development for the Lord of the Underworld to fall hopelessly in love with the mortal masquerading as a goddess.

Although, Apollo thought, once he'd met Carolina, or Lina as Hades called her, it didn't take long for him to understand why the God of the Underworld had become so smitten with her. She was wise and filled with a kind of unique exuberance that shone like a beacon from within.

Apollo had always been drawn to Lina's laughter, and now he finally understood why. It carried the sound of her mortal soul within the voice of the body in which she temporarily inhabited - that of the Goddess Persephone. And within that mortal soul he heard the echo of Pamela's earthy joy.

"So this mortal woman has already driven you to Hell!"

"Carolina, do not torment him." Hades smiled fondly at his soul mate.

"You're showing your sensitive side again, my love," Lina said in the teasing tone that only she could use with the God of the Underworld.

Hades snorted. "It is not that I am sensitive, it is simply that I understand very well the havoc a modern mortal woman can wreak in a god's life."

Lina pointedly ignored her husband's words and turned her attention back to Apollo. The golden god had discarded the wet clothing he had arrived in and was now wrapped comfortably in one of Hades' robes. She and Hades lounged in their private chamber, sipping ambrosia. Apollo had visited them frequently since it had become common knowledge that a mortal woman had become Queen of the Underworld, and the three of them had grown into good friends. The God of Light should be relaxed and at home with them. Instead he looked like a wound spring. He couldn't sit still. He paced restlessly in front of the wide picture window that looked out upon the beautiful gardens in the rear of the palace. But Apollo paid no attention to the lovely view.

"I don't know what you're so worried about. From what you've told us, Pamela seems to be very interested in you," Lina said.

"That is exactly what I am not sure of! Is it me that interests her, or is it the damned power of the invocation spell?"