Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)

Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)
P.C. Cast


Prologue

Venus was restless.

No. It was worse than restlessness. Restlessness could be calmed by a lovely chilled goblet of ambrosia and ordering a nymph to amuse her. (Which meant anything from plaiting the goddess's hair into an intricate crown of blond braids to receiving a full body massage from a water nymph - a deliciously sensual experience that was best performed on the seashore. Naked.) But Venus didn't feel like summoning a nymph. And she was already sipping a glass of this season's excellent ambrosia, newly harvested from the Elysian Fields. Venus sighed and tapped her elegant foot against the smooth marble floor of her chamber in Vulcan's underground palace. She'd retreated from her own golden temple located high atop Mount Olympus (she did have a spectacular view) and come down to her husband's palace for the same reason she had for centuries: to find peace and solace from the exhausting duties of being the most beautiful, most desirable female ever created - of literally being love personified. It usually worked to hide away from the demands of being the Goddess of Love deep within the bowels of Vulcan's realm. After all, it wasn't as if there was anything romantic going on between Vulcan and Venus. The very thought made a musical little laugh escape from the goddess's perfect lips. That had been the point of marrying Vulcan. Well, not the whole point. For her, marrying Vulcan had given her an escape from the exhausting job of personifying love. For Vulcan, marrying the Goddess of Love had been validation, an attempt to show the rest of Olympus that he could fit in and be one of them.

Apparently their passionless, loveless marriage had worked better in theory than it had in actual application.

Venus put down her crystal goblet of ambrosia. Now where had that ridiculously cynical thought come from? There was nothing wrong with the arrangement she had with Vulcan. It had been working for centuries, and for centuries more it would continue to work. With a sudden inspiration, Venus stood up and hurried from the opulent chamber. That's it -

she'd find Vulcan. They were, after all, friends. Perhaps he could help her figure out a good love match for Hermes. It was past time the Messenger God had those wings on his golden sandals fired up. Plus there was nothing like a little illicit love to brighten one's day. Vulcan wasn't hard to find. (Like there were any surprises about him - big or otherwise?) He was, as usual, in the center of his realm where the forge of Olympus and the great pillar of flame were located. She entered the room quietly. He was standing before the column of fire with his arms raised. Venus studied him with detached interest. He really was a splendidly built god, though not typically blond and lithe and graceful, as were most of the Olympians. Vulcan was dark and powerful. The rest of the gods shunned him because of his physical imperfection - the limp he'd had for eons. But his lameness was slight. It would hardly be noticed at all if he didn't live amidst the perfection of the golden gods.

Yes, physically he was definitely attractive. Not that she had ever felt any desire for him (or he for her, as far as she could tell, and naturally, had there been desire, Love would be able to tell). Venus cocked her head to the side, considering how true it was that desire and passion often had little to do with the physical and much more to do with something as nebulous as a spark that passed between two spirits. And that spark was definitely missing between the two of them. Venus shook herself mentally. Such thoughts were a waste of time. She was, after all, Love. She could command that spark whenever she wished. So why not command a little fun and games for the flamboyant Hermes? It would be a good diversion for Vulcan, too. He was far too serious and too often did nothing but work, work, work. Venus moved closer to the dark god so that she could see just a little over his broad shoulder where the yellow and orange flames in the sacred pillar of fire were swirling in response to the magic the god was working - whatever that was. Within the flames she caught a brief glimpse of something that looked like the night sky filled with glistening constellations, which was odd but not particularly interesting. Venus had never understood what was so fascinating about the pillar of flame. Of course that might be because Vulcan had never shared details about his magic with her. Hmm...She stood there, chewing her lip. She'd never really thought about that before. Then she shrugged mentally. What difference did it make?

"Vulcan!" she called cheerily at his back.

He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a distracted smile. "Have you been resting well?"

"Actually, darling, I'm terribly bored today." She walked languorously over to the stone bench positioned near the flaming pillar and reclined gracefully. "How about you and I cook up something delicious between Hermes and say..." She hesitated, considering. "Between Hermes and Aeolus?"

His attention still on the roiling flames, he answered her in a vague, preoccupied voice. "Aeolus?

But doesn't the God of Winds prefer young nymphs, young female nymphs to other immortals?"

Venus waved a hand dismissively. "Such a small detail. I'll decide on the spell, you decide on the flame that will carry it, and - "

"Forgive me, Venus, but I'm in the midst of some rather important..." - the god hesitated, choosing his words carefully - "research." He did look at her then, but only long enough to give her a distracted smile. "Perhaps another time."

Venus glared at him, although it wasn't as if he noticed her irritation. By Neptune's phallusshaped trident Vulcan was dull! He'd never been wild and passionate and fun - like, say, Apollo or his twin, Artemis - and that had, in truth, been part of the reason she'd married him. To be safe from passion. Then why did she suddenly find their arrangement (as well as the god himself!) so annoying?