Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(57)

"Eurydice, you are a genius. Tonight I put myself in your capable hands."

The little spirit had turned into a mini dril sergeant. From the second they reentered the palace she had been firing orders and directing a bevy of flitting servants. She wouldn't al ow Lina to do anything except sit on the edge of the vanity chair and sip ambrosia.

"The Goddess would prefer to bathe on the balcony."

Mid-gulp of ambrosia, Lina sputtered. Bathe on the balcony? What was Eurydice thinking? The spirit was using the voice that Lina was rapidly coming to recognize as her formal, she's-myGoddess-you-better-mind-me tone as she tapped one slender foot thoughtfully against the marble floor. Without giving Lina a chance to speak, Eurydice barreled on.

"Yes, mother always used our inner courtyard. No! Not there!" She snapped at two male servants who were struggling to carry a large basin into the bathing room. "She pointed to the door in the middle of the wal of windows. "Take it through there."

"Um, Eurydice, why are we going out on the balcony?"

"You are not to worry, Persephone. Al wil be perfect." She frowned at one of the servants who jostled the basin a little too roughly against the marble floor of the balcony.

"Goddess," Iapis entered the room and bowed politely to Lina before turning his attention to the spirit. "You have need of me, Eurydice?"

"Yes," Eurydice said, hooking her long, wispy hair behind her ears. "The Goddess is going to bathe on her balcony, and - "

Here Lina had to interrupt. "Wait, I think it's a lovely idea for me to bathe on the balcony - I mean, the view is spectacular - but I'm real y not comfortable with, well ," Lina dropped her voice so that the daimon and Eurydice had to lean forward to hear her. "I don't want a bunch of guys seeing me naked." Even if they were dead guys, she added silently.

Eurydice squinted at her as if she didn't fully understand what she was saying, but Lina was relieved to see Iapis nodding his head.

"It is also true of the Goddess Artemis. She wil not al ow her nakedness to be glimpsed by any mortals except for her handmaidens. But that problem is easily remedied, Persephone. I shal simply command that al spirits stay away from your wing of the palace and the surrounding grounds."

Eurydice gifted the daimon with a smile fil ed with warmth, and Iapis looked inordinately pleased with himself. Lina felt like she had been caught in the middle of a well -meaning tornado. It was whirling her around and around, and was determined to spin her clothes off.

"I real y don't want to cause any trouble," Lina said helplessly.

"It is no trouble at al ," the daimon assured her.

"You are the Goddess of Spring," Eurydice said.

Apparently, that was the final word on everything.

Resigned, Lina settled back, deciding not to care if she got nectar al over the silk-lined chair. She was, after al , the Goddess of Spring. She watched the whirlwind of preparation for her bath. They appeared to like cleaning up after her. Eurydice shook her head severely at an insubstantial servant who had failed to retrieve the correct number of towels from the bathing room. Or maybe they were just scared of Eurydice. At least the little spirit didn't seem to have been traumatized by the day's events. Lina sipped her ambrosia, considering. Had it only been that morning that Orpheus had descended into the Underworld? It felt like it had happened so long ago. How could she only have known Hades for a couple of days? What was it that Demeter had said? Something about the passage of time being measured differently by the gods. Her instincts told her that Demeter's words rang true. The passage of time was different in the world of the gods, as different as her borrowed life. Her heart felt different, too. The veneer of cynicism that had muffled it the past several years didn't seem to have transcended worlds. Lina's stomach tightened. To lust after a god... wouldn't that be the ultimate stupidity?

"Goddess, I wil leave you to Eurydice and the maiden servants. Let your mind be eased - no mortal male wil gaze upon you." Iapis bowed to her.

"Iapis!" A sudden thought made Lina cal him back. "You said no mortal male would see me, but what about Hades? Where is he?" Lina pretended that she didn't know her cheeks were blazing with hot color.

lapis' face remained impassive. "The Lord of the Underworld has gone to the Elysian Fields. He spoke of seeking out Dido and escorting her to the River Lethe." Even though Lina was pleased at the news that Hades had fol owed her advice, she frowned and pointed out the open glass doors to the balcony and beyond.

"Aren't the Elysian Fields that way?"

"Some are, Goddess." Then his eyes flashed with understanding. "I wil go to my Lord and guide him back to the palace by a different route. Rest assured, Persephone, Hades would not wish to disturb your privacy."

"Oh, no, of course not," Lina said nastily.

"Enjoy your bath, Goddess." Iapis bowed again.

Eurydice fol owed him to the door.

"If your Goddess requires anything else, you need only send one of the maidens for me, and I wil see it done," Iapis said.

Eurydice tilted her head in acknowledgment. "That is most gracious of you, Iapis," she said, stepping into the hal . There she lowered her voice so that Persephone could not hear her. "Did Hades real y go to Elysia?"

"Yes," Iapis whispered.