Drake glanced at Vulcan. “Is this true?”
Vulcan nodded. “I wish you could have been here to see it.”
“Seriously, Vulcan?” Mother Nature cocked her head like she was talking to a foolish child. “If you want him to see what happened, just show him.”
“If you don’t mind…” Vulcan seemed reluctant. “You don’t usually like us to show anyone your reactions.”
“I’ll make an exception.”
Vulcan gave a slight bow, and then with extended arm and index finger, he drew a circle in the air. Appearing in the circle were tiny exact replicas of himself, Mother Nature, and Zina. He snapped his fingers, and the picture came to life.
Drake watched the whole interaction with alarming clarity. The whole thing really was my fault. If only I had told Zina up front I wasn’t interested, maybe I’d still have had a couple broken ribs, but none of this would have happened to Bliss.
He brought his attention back to the movie playing in front of him. Mother Nature had punished the dragon for her crimes, and it sounded as if Zina wouldn’t be bothering him or Bliss again.
The picture stopped with only Gaia and Vulcan in the frame. Then the vision and circle dissipated as if it had never been there.
“You sent her to Siberia? And made her infertile?”
Gaia crossed her arms. “Yes, and I took away her fire and flight. Why? Do you disapprove?”
Drake let out a sigh of relief. “No. I approve wholeheartedly.”
“Good. I like you, Drake. You’re not like some dragons who think they’re above the laws of nature. I’m giving you back your immortality.”
He placed a hand over his heart. “Thank you. I couldn’t be more grateful, but…”
Mother Nature raised her eyebrows. “But? There’s a but?”
“I–I have a mortal girlfriend. Actually, I plan to make her my wife, and I can’t see going through eternity without her.”
Gaia smiled. “Good to know. Because I actually have a favor to ask of you.”
Uh-oh. It’s never good when a deity wants a favor. “What is it?”
“Your girlfriend…” Mother Nature began.
“Bliss? You want Bliss?”
Gaia rolled her eyes. “Everyone wants bliss, stupid. I just want to know more about your girlfriend.”
“Well, for starters, her name is Bliss.”
Mother Nature burst out laughing. “Oops. Who’d have thought… well, never mind. What kind of person is she?”
“Honest, loyal, she’s one of the bravest women I know. She’s been under incredible pressure and didn’t crumble once. She even saw my alternate form and didn’t faint or run.”
“She saw you as a dragon?”
“Yes. She didn’t believe me and I really needed her to. I wouldn’t have been able to warn her about Zina if she didn’t take me seriously. If something happened to her because I hadn’t warned her properly, I’d never forgive myself.”
Mother Nature clasped her hands behind her back and started to pace again. “So, she doesn’t believe in things she hasn’t seen with her own eyes?”
“I don’t know about that,” Vulcan interjected. “She seemed to accept my help without protesting my nonexistence.”
Gaia narrowed her eyes at him. “Cute.” She pointed to a spot on the floor until a small sofa and armchair appeared.
“Have a seat, Drake. I think your Bliss might be just the kind of woman I’m looking for.”
Crap. Drake lowered himself onto the couch slowly. He sat on the edge in case he needed to jump up and run. Run where? That was a good question, and hopefully he wouldn’t need to answer it.
“Relax, dragon. I’m not going to do anything to your human… that is, if she doesn’t want me to…”
“Can we make this conversation a little less ambiguous?” Drake asked bravely. He didn’t want to upset the goddess, but she was upsetting the heck out of him.
“Here’s the thing… I need a few new muses. The world’s population has grown and evolved over the centuries. Some of my current muses are complaining that they can’t handle all the challenges, especially when it comes to new technology. Your girl seems pretty savvy and modern. Isn’t she?”
Drake nodded slowly. “She is.”
“Do you think she’d make a good muse?”
Drake couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Bliss… a muse? “That would make her immortal. Wouldn’t it?”
“Yes. I know you didn’t want to go on alone after she died, but are you worried about being with the same woman for eternity?”
“Not at all. I’d love to be with Bliss forever. She never fails to surprise me. I doubt very much I’d ever get bored.”
“Good. Then I don’t see any reason not to make the offer. Do you?”
Drake wished he had more time to think about it, but inevitably this would be Bliss’s decision, not his. “I can’t think of anything. She’ll tell you if she’s not up for it.”
“Good. So now that we have that cleared up, go back to your nice, normal life, and I’ll contact her.”
“You might want to wait a few days. She’s in the middle of a big competition right now, and her focus needs to be in one place.”
“And you think me making her a minor goddess might be a distraction?”
“Just a bit.”
“Fine. I’ll wait. But not long.”
Chapter 20
Bliss nervously chewed on her fingernail, a nasty habit she thought she’d beaten, but the competition was bringing out the worst in everyone. Candy, one of the other finalists, was twirling her hair, and Dick, the third, was tapping the tabletop. If he didn’t stop it, Bliss was going to strangle him.
“What’s taking so long?” the other female finalist asked in her soft, little girl voice.
No wonder she designs inspirational cards.
“I don’t know, Candy. Why don’t you go ask?” Dick had earned his name during the competition. Every reality show seems to have one.
“Well, whatever happens”—Candy reached out to grasp the hands of the other finalists—“it’s been a privilege, y’all.”
Dick yanked his hand away.
She giggled. “Why, bless your heart. You must be more nervous than you look.”
The door to the windowless room in the New York TV station opened, and Judith poked her head in.
“Is everyone ready?”
Candy clapped her hands rapidly. “Oh, goody! This is it.”
Dick rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding? We’ve been ready for hours.”
“Sorry. The judges wanted to meet your families.”
Bliss leaped up. “Our families are here?”
“Of course. It’s part of the show and the viewers love it. They want to see the winner’s family react with pride. Unfortunately, we had to tell a few of them how to do that.”
Bliss pinched the bridge of her nose. “Probably mine. I didn’t invite them for a reason.”
“Your family seems to be behaving themselves, Bliss. Don’t be too hard on them for speaking their minds. Families show their love and support in different ways. It’s obvious your parents are thrilled for you.”
Bliss slapped the side of her head. “Oh, no. My boyfriend is coming and doesn’t know how angry they are with him. He’ll be walking into an ambush.”
“They’re still angry that he disappeared? I thought it was obvious why he left.”
Dick leaned forward. “This sounds interesting. What happened?”
Bliss tried to wave the incident off like it was nothing. “Oh, they were just being their usual overly talkative selves and they accidentally insulted him.”
“Really? What did they say?”
She turned on Dick and spat out, “Nothing. Forget it!”