Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(102)

"Carolina is more discerning than most mortal women."

"And more faithful, too. She has refused the suite of at least one man since returning to her world." Apol o looked at Hades appraisingly. "And though he is only a mortal, he is definitely younger than you."

"You have been watching her?" Hades growled.

"Is that not what I already said?"

"No!"

"I think perhaps your dreary lamentation for your lost love has affected your hearing. I distinctly remember saying - "

In two strides Hades reached Apol o. He grabbed the God by the throat and lifted him off his feet.

"Tel me how you can see her!" he snarled.

"Through Demeter's oracle," Apol o squeaked.

Hades dropped the God of Light and rushed from the forge. "Saddle Orion!" he bel owed. Inside the forge Apol o rubbed his throat and rearranged his rumpled robes. "Good deed accomplished. You owe me, Demeter," he muttered before disappearing.

Chapter 29

" It's February, but it feels like April." Lina sighed happily. "I love it when Oklahoma weather does this," she told Edith Anne, who trotted contentedly by her side. Rol erblades had taken some getting used to. It wasn't that her body didn't know what to do, it was Lina's mind that kept repeating thoughts like yes, that pavement is hard and slow down, we're going to fal and break something. So, even after several months of practice, Lina stil took it slow, stroking the wide cement walkway that ran along the Arkansas River with control ed, careful strides.

"On your left!" someone shouted behind her and Lina moved closer to the right side of the pavement.

"Thanks," she yel ed as a racing bike streaked past.

"No problem," the rider cal ed back.

"I real y appreciate it when they do that," she said to Edith Anne, who continued to keep pace with her in the grass that was just beginning to hint about future green off the side of the walkway. Edith snorted.

"Wel , you know it scares me when someone just busts past us without any warning. That big yel ow-bike guy almost knocked me over last week." Lina reached down and flipped Edith's ear. The bul dog hutted at her and licked her hand. "I guess I should pay better attention, especial y when it's quiet like it is this evening, but sometimes it's just so beautiful..." Lina smiled. Evening was her favorite time of the day to rol erblade. Oklahoma sunsets were glorious, and sometimes, just as the sun was fal ing beneath the Arkansas River, the light would glint off the water, mixing pink and orange with blue and gray - and she would be reminded of the magic of Elysia. It didn't make her sad. Time had helped her with that. She liked the remembrance, in little doses. It helped to keep the emptiness at bay.

Edith Anne stopped to sniff at a particularly interesting clump of weeds.

"Hey, keep up with me! If you get mud or thistles on you, expect to get a bath when we get home." Edith snorted a couple of times at the weeds before gal oping after Lina. Lina slowed to let her catch up. She thought she heard the clop of a horse's hooves in the distance. Interesting, she thought, the weather must be nice enough for the riverside stable to have opened early. Horseback rides along the river were big business during good weather, but the business didn't usual y open until April. She wondered how she'd missed the notice in the paper. Usual y she liked to post things like that in the bakery. She made a mental note to check on it the next day. The bul dog by her side again, Lina picked up her pace. She had already gone four miles, and her breath was stil coming easily. Her legs felt strong. Lina was glad she had added rol erblading as a regular part of her weekly routine. Not only did it keep her body in shape, it helped her think. And she'd had a lot to think about since Persephone's visit.

Merda! She'd been tempted by the Goddess's offer. How could she not have been? To return to the Underworld as its Queen... she would like nothing more. No, Lina corrected herself. What she would like more was what was keeping her from taking Persephone up on her offer. She'd wrestled with it over and over in her mind during the long winter months. She'd even wished she could cal her grandmother and ask her advice - without her grandmother thinking she needed to be committed.

Sometimes she thought that maybe Demeter had been right and she had just made a mistake. Then al she had to do was to remember how Hades had turned away from her when she had revealed herself to him. " Leave my realm" had been his response to seeing the real Carolina. Time had helped to heal her, but remembering his words stil caused her soul to ache. And it was almost spring. Persephone would return soon for an answer. Lina breathed deeply and kept a steady pace while she considered, for what must have been the thousandth time, her answer. Unconsciously, Lina's hand found the amethyst narcissus that always hung around her neck.

She couldn't return. She wanted to. She even dreamed about it. But she couldn't do it. Maybe she was a coward, but she couldn't take the chance. It had taken her so long to heal. Lina couldn't break the wound open again. She would tel Persephone no. Maybe Persephone could find another mortal to exchange places with. Dolores was active in the Society for Creative Anachronisms. She'd probably be very interested in hanging around Mount Olympus and frolicking with nymphs while Persephone baked bread. The thought made Lina laugh. She could even plan a long vacation and leave the bakery in Dolores/Persephone's capable hands. Italy was nice in the spring...