Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(36)

Eurydice tried unsuccessful y to stifle her giggles with her hand.

"Then I wil have to see that I pay special attention to that slight something." lapis' eyes were warm with good humor, and, Lina thought as she watched Eurydice's pale cheeks pinken, perhaps something else. She gazed thoughtfully after the daimon as he bowed to her, and this time successful y left the room.

"Oh, Persephone, I have had such a day!" Eurydice skipped over to the nearest wardrobe. She hummed a lively tune and pulled open drawers until she found the Goddess's nightdresses. "Iapis found some wonderful parchment and charcoals and I have already begun a preliminary sketch of the palace."

"That's nice, Eurydice," Lina said. Stil considering the warmth she had seen in the daimon's eyes, she wasn't real y listening as she absentmindedly nodded and al owed the girl to unwrap her robe and help her step out of it She held out her arms and Eurydice slipped the long nightie over her head. Lina ran her hand down the length of the material. It was white satin that had been intricately embroidered with narcissus blossoms. It felt like water against her skin.

"Come over to the table and sit down while I brush out your hair. You look exhausted," Eurydice said. She had been studying her Goddess and she hadn't failed to notice the dark smudges under her violet eyes.

Lina sank into the padded vanity chair, breathing a sigh of pleasure as Eurydice began brushing her hair with long, even strokes. She hadn't realized how tired she had become. The girl chattered happily about the process of mapping the palace while she worked. The sound of her young voice was almost as soothing as the touch of her hands. Lina felt her shoulders relax and her mind wander.

After Hades had stormed out of the dining room, she had finished her meal and the rest of the bottle of wine. No. The truth was first she had cursed and grumbled about men in general, then she had decided that she wasn't going to let another man's lapse in good manners ruin a perfectly good dinner. When she finished the scrumptious meal and the excel ent bottle of wine, she had simply said lapis' name aloud. In what seemed like seconds he answered her cal , ready to escort her back to her bedroom. During their walk he had made vague, nonspecific references to the lack of visitors in the Underworld and to how little practice he had in entertaining and conversing with guests. He had said that he hoped she wouldn't judge him, or the Underworld, too harshly or too hastily.

Lina heard the real message loud and clear. The "he" was, of course, not Iapis but Hades. He was obviously apologizing for the God's behavior. The wine she had finished by herself and her riled temper had made Lina want to tel Iapis to take a particularly colorful message (in Italian) back to Hades, but the remnants of her good sense had, thankful y, kept her mouth shut. Hades was a god and she was staying within his realm. It was not smart to antagonize him and now that she was out of his presence and had time to think about the evening, Lina was regretting her little temper tantrum. Hades wasn't a middle-aged divorce' with sweaty palms who had asked her to dinner so he could whine about his exes and then grope her for dessert. He was a powerful immortal, a being she knew little about.

And, just exactly why had she been so pissed off at him? Okay, he had been moody and unpredictable at dinner, but he had also been interesting and sexy. lapis' explanation about his God's lack of manners made sense. He wasn't used to visitors. Obviously, his social skil s were a little rusty. As an immortal being, just how polite did he have to be? She thought about Demeter's imperious manner and Eirene's rudeness. Actual y, Hades' temperamental behavior seemed to fit right in with those two.

Eurydice finished brushing her hair, but the little spirit obviously felt Lina's tension because her soft, cool hands began gently massaging her shoulders. Lina sighed happily and closed her eyes, letting the girl's touch soothe her nerves and clear her mind.

She'd real y had no reason to snap at Hades. He hadn't been making her the butt of his joke, he'd simply been treating her like the naive young goddess she was masquerading as, and her sil y show of temper had done little to prove his opinion of her wrong. If she wanted him to treat her like a mature adult, she real y should try acting like one.

Merda! She'd been there less than a day and she was already messing up. Had she completely lost her mind? She was, after al , in the Underworld to do a job. At least she'd had sense enough to say yes when Iapis had extended the invitation to join Hades the next morning to hear the petitions of the dead. She needed to get her head on straight and think of it as nothing more than just another part of the job Demeter had sent her there to do. She needed to be visible to the dead so that her presence could bring them comfort. It had nothing to do with the fact that she wanted to spend more time with Hades because the dark God intrigued her, which was real y ridiculous... sil y...

foolish.

Yet undeniably true.

She knew it. As Eurydice soothed her frazzled nerves she could even admit it to herself. Hades fascinated her, but so did everything about the Underworld. She felt drawn to him, but it was probably because she had been displaced and everything in that incredible world was so new and unique. How could she not feel curious fascination about the magic that surrounded her? And that magic natural y included the God in charge. It was a perfectly normal reaction for her to feel compel ed to find out more about him.

At least that's what she told herself.

"Persephone, you're almost asleep," Eurydice said. She tugged on her Goddess's arm, pulling her toward the canopied bed. "Lie down. I wil sing to you. Just as my mother used to sing to me." Too tired to protest, Lina al owed the young spirit to tuck her into the voluptuous, down-fil ed bed. Eurydice nestled next to her. Stil stroking the Goddess's hair, she began to sing a soft lul aby about a child who rode on the back of the wind to a many-colored land of dreams.