Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(33)

The servants scurried back to the kitchen.

"Aren't you going to join us?" Lina asked Iapis, looking from him to Eurydice. Did the dead eat? She had no idea, but it seemed rude not to ask.

"No, Goddess," Iapis said.

"Iapis and I have much to discuss," Eurydice added eagerly. "We are going to get the drawing supplies."

Lina smiled at the girl, glad that she appeared to be so at ease.

"Go ahead. I'l see you tomorrow," Lina said around another mouthful of pomegranate seeds.

"Oh, but you must cal for me when you retire tonight so that I may help you ready yourself for bed!" The panicky edge had crept back into her voice.

"I'l be sure I do," Lina said quickly, not wanting to disappoint the child. Satisfied with her Goddess's reassurance, Eurydice was smiling happily as she curtsied to Persephone and Hades before fol owing Iapis from the room.

"She wil become more secure with time," Hades reassured her.

"I hope so. She's going to wear me out." Lina sighed.

"The dead require a great deal of care."

Lina nodded in agreement. "It's like the jewels - I had no idea until now." Hades smiled, charming and relaxed again. "Which is why I have had the food of the Underworld set before you. Refresh yourself, Persephone, so that the little spirit need not be concerned that her Goddess is wasting away here below the world of mortals."

"Ha!" Lina began heaping her plate full. "It's not likely that could happen, not surrounded by" - she gestured with the long silver spoon - "al of this."

"It pleases me that you appreciate the beauty of the Underworld," Hades said, helping himself to the olives.

"Who wouldn't?" she said between bites, and was instantly sorry when she saw his expression begin to change again. She thought suddenly that it was as if he placed a blank mask over his face so mat he could cloak his emotions at wil . She kept glancing nonchalantly at him, waiting for him to discard the mask and become approachable once more. For the next several minutes they ate in silence, until she noticed that the tension in his shoulders seemed to be easing and his features had begun to thaw. She took a sip of wine, considering. Yes, he definitely appeared more at ease with his fork full. Her lips twisted. He was a God, but he was stil male.

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions about the dead?" Lina asked. His eyes shifted from his plate to her and back to his plate again. He chewed and swal owed. "I do not mind," he final y said.

Lina hurried on. "It's just that I don't know simple things, and I don't want to say something that would embarrass Eurydice, or upset her again, like when I mentioned her drinking from that river, urn..." She floundered.

"Lethe," Hades provided.

"Right, Lethe. See, that's exactly what I mean. I don't know enough about the Underworld."

"Ask as many questions as you desire," he said.

"Okay, well , the delicious food that we're eating makes me wonder if the dead can eat."

"No, the dead do not thirst and hunger as do the living, but their souls do retain the essence of their mortal life, so they carry with them into eternity their unique needs and desires. You have witnessed some of that with your little Eurydice. She carries with her fears and insecurities from the World of the Living, even though the things that troubled her there cannot touch her here," Hades replied, trying to hide his surprise at her question. Persephone was certainly not what he had expected. Unlike any other immortal he had ever known, she appeared to be honestly interested in his realm and the spirits of the dead.

"That makes sense." She frowned as she nibbled on a sugared white petal. "It's obvious that memories from her life are definitely bothering Eurydice. Poor kid. I wish there was something I could do."

"There is, Persephone, and you are already doing it. The little spirit needs to feel security and a sense of belonging. She would have eventual y found those things in Elysia, but you have brought them to her by giving her a place at your side. She feels comfortable now and useful, and much less apt to obsess about lost chances and what might have been." Hades smiled encouragement to the young Goddess. She had done well by the little spirit. Too many immortals would have believed that noticing Eurydice's distress was beneath them. She was no longer among the living; therefore, she could no longer worship them. So the spirit was no longer of interest to them. Persephone's actions thus far told him that she did not adhere to that type of cavalier belief system. Hades watched Persephone ponder his words as she sipped her wine. The goddess was a mystery to him. She had the beauty of an immortal, but she seemed so different.

"That makes me feel better," Lina said, tel ing herself firmly that she was talking about Eurydice and not about the warmth of Hades' smile. She was quickly becoming fascinated with the dead -

and not just with their God. "Do they sleep, too?"

Hades' eyes crinkled at the edges in amused reaction to her unusual questions. He had never had a conversation like this before, and he was surprised to realize how much he enjoyed talking with the young Goddess about his realm.

"They do not sleep exactly as we do, or as do living mortals, but they require rest."

"Are your servants like Eurydice? I mean, did they choose to stay here with you rather than go on to Elysia?"