Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning #4)(63)

If she allowed him near her again. He resumed his frustrated pacing. After the way he'd left her last night it would be understandable if she avoided his company completely.

But perhaps she would not always avoid him. She was so different, so unlike any of the other women. She had asked him if he would seal the gate! No other Empousa would ever have asked such a thing. Of course, she didn't know her fate. Didn't know that her only escape from it was through the rose gate and back to the world of the mundane that lay beyond the forest. Part of his mind whispered that even if she knew, she might still choose to stay for the roses . . . for him . . .

He went to the mouth of his lair. The sun was calling the sky awake with young tendrils of light. He could feel Mikado's thoughts slide away from him as she left the baths and then he could no longer feel her at all. He imagined that she was preparing to summon the Elementals and begin her day. He, too, must begin his. She had asked him to inspect the rose wall, and her request had been a wise one. He left his lonely lair and began his solitary trek along the boundary between worlds.

Choosing to remain invisible, Hecate watched her Guardian. His powerful stride was weary, and she clearly saw the strain of conflicted emotions in his dark, expressive eyes. The goddess smiled and let her hand absently caress the head of one of her great hounds.

"It goes well . . ." she whispered.

"See how I've divided the gardens into fourths?" Mikki had hated to tamper at all with Asterius's map, but it was necessary that everything be clear for the Elementals, so she'd had Daphne bring her a quill and some ink, and she'd drawn her own considerably less-attractive lines to quarter the blueprint. "As I said before, each of you will take the area that corresponds to the direction of your element. Nera, you'll be west; Aeras, east. Gii and Floga will, of course, be north and south. You'll each have your own group of women. Start by fertilizing the beds, like I showed you yesterday. I'll make my way through each area, checking to see if the roses need any other special attention. Do you have any questions about your areas?" Mikki asked the four Elementals. As she'd done the night before, she'd pushed the dishes aside and spread Asterius's map out on the dining table. The handmaidens were gazing at it raptly.

"This is a lovely map, Empousa," Gii said, touching the delicate sketch that represented the realm's central fountain.

"And accurate, too," Aeras said. "I think every one of the paths have been duplicated here."

"Your baths are even drawn in," Nera said, obviously delighted with the squiggly water lines that represented her element.

"Who did this for you, Empousa?" Floga asked.

Mikki lifted her eyes from her own contemplation of the map to meet the Fire Elemental's sharp gaze.

"The Guardian drew it for me," Mikki said, careful to keep her voice casual, her expression placid.

"The Guardian!" Gii exclaimed. "But how could he have - "

"She commanded it," Floga interrupted the Earth Elemental. "He would do whatever she commanded."

Unruffled by her odd tone, Mikki said, "Actually, I didn't command him. I just asked." She lifted a shoulder. "That's all. Apparently it wasn't that big of a deal. He has claws that he can extend and use as built-in quills. And he's been here for ages. No wonder he knows all the nooks and crannies of the realm." She gave Floga a tight smile. "But thank you for reminding me. I do need to command him to come here. I asked him to inspect the rest of the rose wall and make sure there are no other weakened parts of it we need to pay special attention to." Mikki didn't need to close her eyes to concentrate on him. After last night, he never seemed to be far from her thoughts. She turned her back to the handmaidens and looked across the gardens. "Come to me, Asterius," she whispered into the wind.

She only had time to wonder if he minded that she called him by the name his mother had given him, before the pressure of the air on the balcony changed. It felt heavier and thick against her skin. Then she heard his hooves pound forcefully on marble as he climbed the balcony stairs. Though his stride was powerful, that unmistakable mixture of animal and man with which he moved, Mikki thought he looked tired and was almost as annoyed as she was disappointed when he bowed and spoke formally to her without meeting her eyes.

"You commanded that I come to you, Empousa?"

"Yes. I was hoping you'd had a chance this morning to inspect the rest of the rose wall."

"I have, Empousa."

"And?"

"I see no area that appears particularly weak except that which surrounds the gate."

"So you agree that we can focus on the roses within the garden?"

Finally, he met her eyes. "Yes, I am in agreement with you."

"Good," she said briskly, ignoring the fluttering he caused deep in her stomach. She turned to the handmaidens. "So each of you collect your group of women and set up your own line of fertilizer baskets. Prepare the beds just like we did the area around the roots of the multiflora roses. I'll visit each area, and we'll go from there."

"Yes, Empousa," the Elementals chorused. They curtseyed and began to leave the balcony, along with the Guardian.

"Floga, Guardian - I need to see the two of you," Mikki said.

Mikki thought that though the Fire Elemental had carefully arranged her face into a blank expression, her eyes gave away her uneasiness at being singled out. She doesn't trust me.