Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(64)

She glanced up at his dark profile. Who would ever believe that she had found such desire and romance in the Land of the Dead? As if he felt her gaze he looked down at her. Hades' lips twitched and then curved up.

"You look as if you have many questions playing through your mind. You know I have already given you leave to ask me anything, and I promise you that this time I wil remember my manners and not insult you as my guest."

Lina felt herself blush and she hoped that the dreamy darkness hid her suddenly pink cheeks. She had completely forgotten about snapping at him and his instant withdrawal from her. It seemed like it had happened an age ago, and that they had been two total y different people then. She leaned into him, loving the strong feel of his arm and the way he bent attentively over her.

"It was a magical thing we watched tonight," she said.

"Yes, it was the most perfect type of magic - that which is created natural y by the soul and not contrived by the gods."

"The gods don't bring soul mates together?"

Hades snorted. "No. Mortal souls find their own match; they do not require the meddling hands of the gods."

His words brought another question to her mind.

"Can the dead fal in love?" she asked, thinking of the shy looks Eurydice had begun giving Iapis.

"Or is it only soul mates that have the ability to love after death?"

"You can answer that question yourself, Persephone."

Lina glanced sharply up at him, but his tone was instructional and not patronizing.

"Think, Goddess. What is it that loves? The body or the soul?" He prodded.

"If you're asking about real love, and not just lust or infatuation, I'd have to say the soul." Hades nodded. "The body is just a mantle, a temporary covering for our true visage."

"So that means that the souls that exist in Elysia, or even in your palace, can fal in love?"

"Any of the unnumbered dead who are capable of it may find new love." Hades frowned. "But you should know that not al souls are capable of that emotion."

"Are you talking about mortal souls, or do you mean the souls of the gods?" Hades stopped walking and turned to face her. They were standing very close and her hand stil rested on his arm. The God hesitated before answering her. Then his fingers brushed her cheek in a familiar caress.

"I cannot speak for the other gods, only for myself. My soul longs for its eternal mate." He bent and brushed his lips against hers. He gestured to the space behind her. "It seems we are back where we began."

Lina looked over her shoulder and blinked in surprise.

They had stopped at the mouth of the little path that led to her balcony. Without speaking, Hades cupped her face in his hands in such a gentle gesture that Lina expected the kiss to be sweet and brief. When his lips met hers she realized that she had been very mistaken. The God took his time tasting her, splaying his fingers into the thickness of her hair until he was caressing the sensitive nape of her neck. Lina ran her hands up his arms, thril ed anew by their muscular strength. He nibbled at her bottom lip before ending the kiss. Stil holding her he spoke against her mouth, "Wil you ride with me tomorrow?" His voice was husky with desire. Heart fluttering, Lina nodded.

"Yes."

"Until tomorrow then." He released her reluctantly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Then he bowed to her, turned and strode away.

Lina climbed the steps to her balcony and entered her room on shaky legs. As she sagged onto the bed she caught a reflection of herself in the mirror situated over the vanity across the room. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair looked wild. Hades' cape had fal en down around her waist and her sheer nightdress was smudged, a couple of pine needles clung to the side of her hem. And even from across the room she could see the clear outline of her aroused ni**les.

" Misericordioso madre di Dio!" she said, using her Grandmother's most potent exclamation.

"You're forty-three years old," she told her reflection. "And you haven't felt like this since... since..." She shook her head at her strange, youthful image. "Since never. No man has ever made you feel like he does. And he wants eternal love." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, Demeter. What am I going to do?"

Chapter 19

" Honey, I think you have the makings of a real artist." Lina studied the charcoal sketch on the parchment. She had expected Eurydice's map to be a crude little drawing, but when the spirit unrol ed the parchment Lina had immediately been impressed by the quality of her work. The palace blueprint was laid out with strong, clear lines, each section labeled in a flowing script, but what impressed Lina the most was the meticulous detail with which Eurydice had symbolized each section of the palace. To mark the main dining room she had reproduced in miniature the ornate table, complete with candelabrum. The Great Hal had been labeled with a dais on which she had drawn Hades' throne. She had even sketched in the flower-fil ed courtyard and outlined the massive fountain in its center.

"Do you real y like it?" Eurydice asked breathlessly. "It is not completed yet. There are stil many finishing touches I should add."

"I love it. Have you always been an artist?" Eurydice's face was animated with excitement. "Yes! I mean, no, not actual y an artist. My father did not believe drawing was a proper pastime for a young lady - even as a hobby. But I used to draw things in secret. I sketched pictures of flowers on dry patches of ground with a sharpened stick. I dipped a bird's quil in my mother's dye and drew animals on old rags." She grinned impishly at Lina. "My father would have been very upset if he had known."