Goddess of the Rose.avi, page 1
part #4 of Goddess Summoning Series
Goddess of the Rose
By
P. C. Cast
Dear Reader,
Okay, I’ll admit it—authors have favorite books. I know, I know, books are like children and we don’t always want to admit to liking one better than another, but it’s true. The Goddess Summoning books are my favorite children.
As with my bestselling young adult series, the House of Night, my Goddess Summoning books celebrate the independence, intelligence, and unique beauty of modern women. My heroes all have one thing in common: they appreciate powerful women and are wise enough to value brains as well as beauty. Isn’t respect and appreciation an excellent aphrodisiac?
Delving into mythology and reworking ancient myths is fun! In Goddess of the Sea I retell the story of the mermaid Undine—who switches places with a female U.S. Air Force sergeant who needs to do some escaping of her own. In Goddess of Spring, I turn my attention to the Persephone/Hades myth, and send a modern woman to Hell! Who knew Hell and its brooding god could be hot in so many wonderful, seductive ways?
From there we take a lovely vacation in Las Vegas with the divine twins, Apollo and Artemis, in Goddess of Light. Finally we come to what is my favorite of all fairy tales, “Beauty and the Beast.” In Goddess of the Rose I created my own version of this beloved tale, building a magical realm from whence dreams originate—good and bad—and bringing to life a beast who absolutely took my breath away.
I hope you enjoy my worlds, and my wish for you is that you discover a spark of goddess magic of your own!
P. C. Cast
“Outstanding... Magic, myth, and romance with a decidedly modern twist. Her imagination and storytelling abilities are true gifts to the genre.” —Romantic Times
Praise for Goddess of the Sea
“Suspense, fantasy, time travel, all topped off with a very healthy dollop of romance... The good news is that this is just the beginning.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Captivating—poignant, funny, erotic! Lovely characters, wonderful romance, constant action, and a truly whimsical fantasy... Delightful. A great read.”
—The Best Reviews
“A fun combination of myth, girl power, and sweet romance [with] a bit of suspense. A must-read... A romance that celebrates the magic of being a woman.”
—Affaire de Coeur
“[An] adult fairy tale... the audience will cherish.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Vivid and colorful... Splendid blend of fantasy, history, intrigue, and passion... Outstanding. Watch out for this author.”
—Rendezvous
“Most innovative... From beginning to end, the surprises in P. C. Cast’s new page-turner never stopped. Its poignancy resonates with both whimsy and fantasy... I loved it!”
—New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala
“Sweet and funny.”
—Huntress Reviews
Goddess of Spring
“One of the top romantic fantasy mythologists today.”
—Midwest Book Review
“As always, there’s a dash of humor and lots of meltingly hot sex.”
—Affaire de Coeur
“Enchanting... Lovely.”
—The Romance Readers Connection
“A veritable feast for readers who just can’t get enough fantasy dished up with their romance. Mythology has never been so fun!”
—Romance Reviews Today
Goddess of Light
“A charmer... Cast continues her unique brand of delightfully mixing a modern-day romance with a mythological legend... Creative.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Pure enjoyment... Anything can [happen] when gods and mortals mix.”
—Rendezvous
“A fanciful mix of mythology and romance with a dash of humor for good measure... Engages and entertains... Lovely.”
—Romance Reviews Today
Goddess of Love
“Sexy, charming, and fun, Goddess of Love is the fantasy romance of the year! You will fall in love with this book. (I did!)”
—New York Times bestselling author Susan Grant
“Touching, clever, and an excellent heiress to the Goddess Summoning series. Cast’s ability to subvert misogynistic mythology... and reaffirm what makes women wonderful, is always worth celebrating... I bestow my snarky blessings on this book.” —Smart Bitches Trashy Books
“Scorchingly sensual, utterly delicious! P. C. Cast is a true master of her craft.” —New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter
Sensation Titles by P. C. Cast
The Goddess Summoning Series
GODDESS OF THE SEA
GODDESS OF Spring
GODDESS OF LIGHT
GODDESS OF THE ROSE
GODDESS OF LOVE
WARRIOR RISING
Anthologies
MYSTERIA (with MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, and Gena Showalter) MYSTERIA LANE (with MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, and Gena Showalter)
001
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2006 by P. C. Cast.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY® SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
eISBN : 978-1-440-69987-0
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / February 2006
Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / January 2009
The Library of Congress has cataloged a prior edition under LCCN: 2006576706.
http://us.penguingroup.com
This book is for everyone
who fell in love with the Beast,
and then was truly disappointed when he
turned into a handsome prince.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Mark Stelljes, the rosarian I consulted as I researched this book. Mark, your information was invaluable! Any rose mistakes are mine and mine alone.
A special thank you to my goddess editor, Christine Zika, for understanding that the beast really did need to be a beast. (And thanks for that lovely horn scene, too!)
An adoring thank you to my amazing agent and friend, Meredith Bernstein.
A wink and a thanks to the fabulous “Lunatics” who helped brain-storm the personification of Dream Stealers.
And thank you to my high school students whose brains I picked for the dream-weaving scenes. See? Teenagers really do have brains!
Prelude
ONCE upon a time, when men still believed gods and goddesses walked the earth, Hecate, Great Goddess of Night, was granted dominion over the crossroads of man. The dark goddess took her charge seriously, for not only did she stand watch over mortal roads and byways, Hecate guarded the crossroads between dreams and reality... between the corporeal and the ethereal. Her dominion was the place from which all dreams, and the magick they create, originated. Thus, the Goddess of Night became Goddess of Magick as well as Goddess of Beasts and the Ebony Moon.
Ever vigilant, Hecate called to her service a monstrous beast of olde. Willingly the beast swore to be the goddess’s Guardian of the Crossroads and to do her bidding. This creature was the perfect melding of man and beast; son of the Titan Cronos, he was a being like no other. As reward for his fidelity in answering the goddess’s summons, Hecate gifted her Guardian with the heart and soul of a man, so although his appearance was monstrous, Hecate felt secure, entrusting him with the protection of the boundaries of the magickal crossroads, which the goddess christened the Realm of the Rose, as well as the Priestesses of the Blood, who served Hecate there. For centuries, the Guardian stood faithful, following the dictates of his sacred trust, for he was as honorable as he was powerful and as wise as he was mighty...
...Until one Beltane. The Guardian kne w his duty. But alas, even a great Guardian can grow weary. Our beast did not err because of cruelty or greed; his only mistake was in loving unwisely. He broke trust with his goddess, and in a flash of rage, Hecate cast a spell over her Guardian and the Realm of the Rose. The realm would have no High Priestess, and the Guardian would sleep eternally unless the beast was awakened by a woman who carried the magickal blood of Hecate’s priestess and was wise enough to see the truth and compassionate enough to act upon it.
And so the Realm of the Rose despaired and the Guardian slept while their goddess waited...
Part One
CHAPTER ONE
“I’ve been having those dreams again.” Nelly straightened in her chair and gave her what Mikki liked to think of as her Clinically Interested Look.
“Would you like to tell me about them?” she asked.
Mikki shifted her eyes from her friend. Would she like to tell her? She uncrossed and then crossed her long legs, ran her hand nervously through her hair and tried to settle into the wingback chair.
“Before I answer that question, I want you to answer one of mine first.”
“Fair enough,” Nelly said.
“If I tell you about my dreams, how will you be listening? As my friend or as my shrink?”
The psychiatrist laughed. “Please, Mikki! We’re at a coffee shop, not my office. You’re definitely not paying me a hundred and twenty dollars an hour to sit here with you. And let’s not forget”—she leaned forward and exaggerated a whisper—“you’ve been my friend for years, but you’ve never been my patient.”
“True, but that hasn’t been because of my lack of issues.”
“Oh, definitely,” Nelly said with purposeful sarcasm. “So you gonna tell me, or do I have to use my secret shrink tricks on you to get you to divulge?”
“Anything but that!” Mikki raised her hands as if to fend off an attack. Then she shrugged her shoulders. “Well, they’re the same as the others.” Noting Nelly’s knowing look coupled with her raised eyebrows, Mikki sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, maybe they have changed some lately.”
“Could you see his face this time?” Nelly asked gently.
“Almost.” Mikki squinted and stared at a spot above the cozy brick fireplace in the corner of the coffee shop. “Actually, I think I could have seen his face this time, but...”
“But?” she prompted.
“But I...” Mikki hesitated.
Nelly made an encouraging sound.
“But I was so preoccupied I couldn’t make myself concentrate on his face,” she finished in a rush.
“Preoccupied with... ?”
Mikki stopped staring at the hearth and met her friend’s eyes. “I was preoccupied with having the most incredibly erotic dream of my life. I really didn’t give a damn what his face looked like.”
“Well, well, well...” She drew out the word. “I don’t remember you describing sex in the other dreams. Now I really am interested in the rest of the story.”
“That’s because they weren’t... or maybe I didn’t... oh, I don’t know. For some reason they’re changing.” She struggled to describe what was happening to her. “I’m telling you, Nelly, the dreams are getting more and more real.”
The joking sparkle went out of Nelly’s dark eyes, instantly replaced by concern.
“Talk to me, honey. What’s going on?” she asked.
“It’s like the more realistic the dreams get, the less real my life is.”
“Tell me about your latest dream, Mikki.”
Instead of answering her, Mikki twirled an errant strand of thick, copper-colored hair and bought time by sipping her cappuccino. She and Nelly had been friends for years. They’d met at the hospital where they both worked and had been instant girlfriends. On the outside they had little in common. Nelly was tall and slender—dark with an exotic beauty—a gift from her mother’s Haitian blood. She towered over Mikki’s five-foot-seven-inch frame. Where Nelly was dark, Mikki was fair, just as where her friend was slender and graceful, Mikki was voluptuous and earthy. But instead of being jealous of or put off by the differences in their exteriors, the two women had, from the moment they’d met, appreciated each other for their uniqueness.
It was a solid friendship, founded in trust and mutual respect. And Mikki had no idea why she was so hesitant to tell Nelly about the dreams, especially the last one...
“Mikki?”
“I’m thinking of where to start,” she prevaricated.
Nelly gave her a little half-smile and sipped her own cappuccino before taking a delicate bite from her chocolate biscotti. “Take your time. All good shrinks have one thing in common.”
“I know, I know... you’re all annoyingly patient.”
“Exactly.”
Mikki fiddled with her coffee cup. She really did need to get this dream stuff straightened out. It was becoming too weird, in a hypnotic, seductive way.
But she was stalling, and not just because she was hesitant about revealing such intimate details aloud, but also because part of her was afraid her friend—who really was an excellent psychiatrist—would have some kind of magic words that would cure her.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to be cured.
“Hey, it’s just me,” Nelly said softly.
Mikki gave her a tight, appreciative smile, drew a deep breath and began. “Okay, this one started the same as the others.” She picked nervously at her fingernail polish.
“You mean in the canopy bed?”
“Huge canopy bed in the enormous bedroom.” She corrected and then nodded. “Yeah. It was the same place, only it wasn’t as dark as it usually is. This time a little light was coming into the room through a whole di
Nelly nodded. “Mullioned windows.”
“Right, I think. Well, whatever they’re called, I noticed them this time because they were letting in some light.” Mikki’s gaze was trapped by the cheerily burning fire as she relived her dream. “It was a soft, pink-tinted light that must have been dawn,” she said dreamily and then caught herself and continued, “Anyway, it woke me.” She hesitated and a small, half-laugh escaped her throat. “It even seemed odd in the dream—having my dream self wake up to experience another dream.” Mikki shrugged her shoulders. “But I woke up. I was lying on my stomach, and I could feel someone brushing my hair. It was wonderful. The ‘whoever’ was using one of those big brushes with soft, wide bristles.” Mikki grinned at her friend. “You know there are few things better than having your hair brushed.”
“I’m with you on that one, but hair brushing is not sex.”
“Okay, it’s been a long time, but I’m fully aware that hair brushing is not sex. I’m not at the sex part yet, I’m just at the why-I-was-so-relaxed-and-happy part,” Mikki said, giving Nelly an impatient look.
“Sorry for interrupting. Just pretend like I’m not here.”
“Is that shrink-talk stuff?”
“Nope. It’s I-want-to-hear-about-the-sex-part stuff.”
Mikki grinned at her. “In that case, I will gladly continue. Let’s see... I was so relaxed that I could feel myself drifting. It was bizarre—like my soul had become so light that it lifted from my body. It was then that everything got freaky.”
“Explain freaky.”
“Well, there was a rush of wind. It was like the breeze had all of a sudden picked me up and carried me someplace. But not really me. Just my spirit me. Then there was a settling feeling. It startled me, and I opened my eyes. I was back in my body, only now I was standing in the middle of the most incredible rose garden I have ever seen, ever even imagined.” Mikki’s voice lost any hint of hesitation as she fell into the description of the scene. “It was breathtaking. I wanted to drink the air like wine. Roses were all around me. All my favorites: Double Delight, Chrysler Imperial, Cary Grant, Sterling Silver...” She sighed happily.
