For The Love Of A God by Rosanna Leo (ebook reader for comics .txt) 📕

"Watch it,” Eric growled from the door.

Confused as all hell, Maia turned back to the door and watched a couple walk through. They had to be the most beautiful people she'd ever seen in the world, a blond man and a dark-haired woman. They were holding hands and looking at her through appraising eyes. They sat down together, moving in sync, their hands always linked.

The man was dressed like a surfer, complete with board shorts. His T-shirt had seen better days, but seemed molded to his perfect figure. The woman was stylish and classy, wearing leggings which accentuated her long legs and a form-fitting tunic that was draped so well across her hourglass figure it had to be custom-designed. Like their wine-soaked friend, they were too incredibly lovely to be real.

And they, too, looked eerily familiar. Which was odd, because Maia knew she'd never met such perfect people in her life.

Until Eric.

Her sense of growing unease was heightened by the fact that the couple carried bows and arrows. Golden ones, for the man. Silver, for the woman.

Eric closed the door and looked at her with great concern. He walked over and put a hand on her still-trembling shoulder. “Maia, honey, I need to do some introductions."

"Don't bother, Eryx,” said the man who smelled like the inside of a winery. “She knows who we are. It's written all over her face.” He leaned in toward her. “You know us, don't you, sweetheart?"

Bristling because the man had called Eric “Eryx,” perpetuating the cruel game, she spoke with a defensive tone, “I don't know what you mean. I've never met you before."

"Not in person, no,” said the woman with the silver arrows. “But as a student of Greek myth, you've seen countless images of our faces. You've heard our histories ad nauseum. You know us, Maia Douglas, just as you recognized Eryx the first moment you saw him."

As much as the woman's silky voice soothed Maia, her words made her tremble with fear. “His name is Eric Lord. Stop calling him that."

The blond man with the gold arrows laughed, and Maia could swear she saw little dancing suns in front of her eyes, twinkle lights which seemed to emanate from him and which almost blinded her. “We all take on an alias from time to time when it suits us. My sister here always laughs when I tell people to call me ‘Paul.’”

The woman rolled her eyes, but grinned. “It's just so predictable."

Maia sniffed. “Paul, as opposed to...?"

He looked her right in the eye, making the little dancing suns grow brighter. “I think you've already guessed."

"Enough of this conversation,” Eric interrupted. “We're making Maia uncomfortable.” He joined her on the couch, linking her hand with his. “That wasn't my aim."

"Who are these people, Eric? Tell me."

"If I tell you, will you suspend your disbelief for just a moment? Will you try to believe me, Maia?"

She stared back at him, her eyes stinging, wanting to believe, wanting to trust. And unable to do so. “I can't. I'm sorry."

He looked disappointed, but cupped her cheek to let her know he understood. He knew he was asking the impossible. “Well, then, we'll just have to show you."

Eric nodded at the others. As one, they stood and lined up in front of her. Eric frowned at her. “You'll need to shield your eyes. The room's about to get a little brighter."

There was a blinding flash, as if the sun had exploded right there in the room. Maia hid her eyes. Behind the insufficient shelter of her shaking hands, she saw only spots. It reminded her of the time she'd had mild sunstroke and had seen green dots beneath her eyelids. It took a moment for the feeling to subside, and even when it did, she was afraid to remove her hands from her eyes.

She knew it instinctively. Something had changed. Her world was changing. The air was crackling with tension all around her, and she thought she heard a faint buzzing sound.

Little by little, she pried her hands from her face, keeping her eyes closed. She finally opened one eye, then the other, and looked slowly up from under her dark lashes.

The sight which greeted her was so overwhelming she didn't know where to look first.

Beginning on her left, she turned to the dark-haired man. “I,” he said in a voice which seemed deeper, more penetrating than before, “am Dionysus. God of wine. Oh, and I like to think of myself as the god of sex, too. But then, they go so well together."

Maia's jaw dropped. His appearance had changed. He was still the same gorgeous man, but his modern clothing had disappeared. He was outfitted in gleaming white robes, and had laurel leaves entwined in his long, dark curls. And he was drinking from a seemingly ancient goblet which had materialized out of nowhere as well.

She gulped and turned to the blond man. His tanned skin glistened, as if lit from within. And there was plenty of it on display. His surfer attire had disappeared too, and he was only wearing a short toga-style robe that barely covered his golden assets. His feet were encased in gleaming, golden sandals, and his smile was the brightest she'd ever seen. He was beautiful.

Just as beautiful as the woman next to him, holding his hand. But where the man was impossibly fair, she seemed even darker and more exotic than before. Her perfect, strong body was garbed in a robe matching his, tied at the waist with a shiny silver braid. Her black hair was tied in bands that were so sparkly they could have been fashioned with moonlight. And her dark brown eyes seemed outlined in silver.

Maia realized they were the couple in the picture at Eric's condo. The heavenly twins. “Apollo and Artemis."

"God of the sun and goddess of the moon,” Artemis confirmed in her enticing, sing-song voice. “But then you already knew."

The biggest shock was still to come. Maia was afraid