Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)(89)

Pea looked up to see an exquisitely elegant woman standing in a little halo of light beside her. She reminded her of Venus, even though she looked nothing like the Goddess of Love.

"If you mean Vulcan, then yes I do. I love him very much," Pea said. The woman nodded her head. "I knew it. You are his eternal love - the true mate of his soul. I am Hera."

Pea didn't need a schoolbook knowledge of mythology to know who this goddess was, she only needed the instincts of a woman. "You're Vulcan's mother."

The goddess smiled. "I am. And I owe you a debt of gratitude, Dorreth Pea Chamberlain. Before Vulcan knew and loved you, he was only partially alive. You saved him from eternal loneliness and more. You have given him a happiness I never thought he would know. I find his immortality a small price to pay for such a blessing."

Pea wasn't sure she'd heard the goddess correctly. "His immortality? What does that mean?

What happened tonight?"

"My son is not the only immortal who has been observing your modern world. I knew Griffin DeAngelo had become beloved of Venus. Tonight DeAngelo was dying. I saved him by having my son take his place. Vulcan breathed the one remaining spark of immortality that clung to his spirit into his mortal shell. Now Vulcan is Griffin - a mortal man. He will live one mortal life. And Griffin has become Vulcan, God of Fire, for eternity."

Pea's body began trembling. "He remembers? He's still Vulcan?"

"In all but body, yes he is."

"And he'll live?"

"Yes. My son will live a long and happy life. You and he will have many children. I will be a grandmother and great-grandmother over and over again, and for generations the spark of the God of Fire's spirit will shine in the DeAngelo family."

Pea began to cry. The goddess approached her and touched her face. "My son chose wisely."

"What about Venus and Griffin?" Pea said, wiping her eyes while she still tried to comprehend the enormity of what the goddess was telling her. "What will happen to them?"

"That, my sweet mortal daughter, will be up to the new God of Fire and the Goddess of Love."

A commotion in the parking lot interrupted Pea's next question for the goddess. The two of them glanced behind them in time to see four distraught young women hurrying toward the ER entrance.

"Griffin's sisters. The oldest and most reasonable is called Sherry. Speak with her first and the rest will follow her lead," Hera said. "Now go to them. You will soon be a part of their family."

"You aren't leaving, are you?"

"There is nothing more for me to do here, but do not worry. I will return often to visit my grandchildren." The goddess raised her hand regally. "May my blessing stay with you eternally."

Hera silently disappeared.

Pea drew in a deep breath, willing herself to be calm. Vulcan would be okay. She had a goddess's word on it, and that was good enough for her. She met the four girls as they got to the ER doors.

Pea picked out the woman who looked the most in control of herself. She had long, dark hair and Griffin's startling blue eyes. "Sherry DeAngelo?" she asked.

The four women stopped short. "I'm Sherry DeAngelo. Who are you? Do you know what's happened to our brother?"

"I do. He's been in an accident." The women gasped, and the one who was clearly the youngest started crying. "They've taken him to surgery, but he's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

"Who are you?" Sherry asked.

"My name is Dorreth Chamberlain, but everyone calls me Pea. And I'm the woman your brother loves. He and I are going to be married."

All four sisters gave her mirror looks of confusion. Pea smiled. "I know it seems odd. You probably thought he was in love with Venus, the beautiful blonde, right?"

They nodded in tandem.

"Well, it's a long story. Actually Venus is a good friend of mine. But our little soap opera isn't what's important right now. What's important is getting Griffin well. Come on. Let's go together to the surgical waiting room; we'll talk more there...." And Pea led the confused sisters into the hospital while she hurriedly concocted a reasonable "Griffin and Pea" love story. Well, one thing was certain - her overactive imagination was certainly going to come in handy. Maybe she even had a future in writing fiction....

"Goddess, Zeus and Hera send word that they will see you now." The nymph bowed low as Venus swept past her.

Where was Vulcan? It had been a full day. She'd sent word to his realm that his parents had agreed to hear their petition this evening during the gathering of the immortals in the Great Hall. But had Vulcan deigned to send her a response? Even a brief message via nymph or satyr or wood sprite saying that he'd be there? No. How totally annoying. Of course if she were being honest with herself, she would admit that everything in the past twenty-four hours had annoyed her. The opulence of her temple bothered her. Her servant nymphs got on her nerves. The wine was too warm. Or too cold. Prayers from her subjects had stacked up until the very air around her was filled with a deafening cacophony of irritating sound. But all of that chaos could have been borne if her heart and her spirit hadn't been pining for Griffin.

Venus had to admit it: She missed him dreadfully, and it had taken all of her will to go on about her divine duties and not rush directly back to Tulsa and confront Griffin again. Give him another chance. Try to show him that she hadn't changed, she hadn't misled him, she was still the woman he'd fallen in love with. But she hadn't gone back. She'd stayed in Olympus and pulled her pride around her like an expensive robe.