P. C. Cast - Goddess of the Sea

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"WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO BE A GODDESS? You'll enjoy the compelling world Cast creates."*

Praise for the Goddess Romances of P. C. CAST

"Goddess of the Sea is, without doubt, one of the most innovative fantasy romances I've read. From beginning to end, the surprises on P. C. Cast's new page-turner never stopped. Its poignancy resonates with both whimsy and fantasy, leaving the reader with a childlike believability in the impossible. I loved it!"

Sharon Sala, New York Times bestselling author of Out of the Dark

"Fantasy lovers who have always wanted to make snide remarks as they galloped about the magic rings and evil princes are going to have a great time with this book. A fun read."

Christopher Moore, author of Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story

"A high-spirited fantasy romp, wickedly funny and filled with action. P. C. Cast turns traditional fantasy elements inside-out for a story you won't soon forget. Highly recommended!"

K. D. Wentworth, author of Stars Over Stars and This Fair Land

"Who wouldn't want to be a goddess? If you liked Outlander, you'll enjoy the compelling world Cast creates The interesting love story (her hero is a centaur!), witty dialogue, and sharp characters are a bonus."

*Romantic Times (4'A stars)

"Funny, sexy peppered with humorous dialogue. In the battle of good against evil, modern conveniences against ancient culture, and a bit of Beauty and the Beast tossed in, readers will enjoy being transported into this fantasy world."

The Romance Reviewer

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.

GODDESS OF THE SEA

A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Sensation edition / October 2003

Copyright 2003 by P. C. Cast Excerpt from Goddess of Spring 2003 by P. C. Cast

Cover design by Erika Fusari

Cover art by Lisa Desimini/Matt Mahurin

Book design by Kristin del Rosario

ISBN: 0-425-19279-2

A BERKLEY SENSATION BOOK

Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

BERKLEY SENSATION and the "B" design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

For Kiwi Dower,

Muse and friend.

Thank you for being the perfect problem solver.

The Valley Spirit never dies.

It is named the Mysterious Feminine.

And the doorway of the Mysterious Feminine

Is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang.

It is there within us all the while.

Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry

From the Tao te Ching

Thank you, Meredith Bernstein, for being a wonderful agent. Your support and belief in me are priceless.

Christine Zika, you are a pleasure to work with. Your insight is invaluable; you truly are the Goddess Editor.

Thanks, Mom, for letting me borrow your maiden name.

Rachael Ryan, thank you for your enthusiasm, you're a great first reader.

And a special thank-you to the students in my second-hour Creative Writing II class for the helpful brain-storming. Hope you like your cameos!

Arms filled with groceries, CC struggled to pull her key from the lock and push the door shut behind her with her foot. Automatically, she glanced up at the clock in the foyer of her spacious apartment. Seven-thirty already. It had taken her an eternity to finish things up at the Communication Center and then stop by the package store and the commissary. After that, fighting the traffic from Tinker Air Force Base had been like driving through axle-deep mud. To add to her frustration, she had tried to take a shortcut home and had ended up taking a wrong turn. Soon she was hopelessly lost. A kind soul at a Quick Trip had given her directions, and she had felt compelled to explain to him that she was lost only because she had been stationed at Tinker for just three months, and she hadn't had time to learn her way around yet.

The man had patted her shoulder like a she was a puppy and asked, "What is a young little thing like you doing in the air force?" CC had treated the question rhetorically, thanked him and driven away, face hot with embarrassment.

Understandably, her already harried nerves jumped at the insistent sound of her ringing phone.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" she yelled and rushed into the kitchen, plopping the bags unceremoniously onto the spotless counter and lunging for the phone.

"Hello," she panted into the dead sound of a dial tone that was broken only by the rhythmic bleat of her answering machine. "Well, at least they left a message." CC sighed and carried the phone with her back to the kitchen, punching in her message retrieval code. With one hand she held the phone to her ear, and with the other, she extracted twin bottles of champagne from one of the bags.

"You have two new messages," the mechanical voice proclaimed. "First new message, sent at five-thirty p.m."

CC listened attentively as she picked at the metallic casing that covered the wire-imprisoned champagne cork.

"Hello, Christine, it's your parents!" Her mom's recorded voice, sounding a little unnatural and tinny, chirped through the phone.

"Hi there, Christine!" More distant, but similarly cheerful, Dad's voice echoed from an extension.

CC smiled indulgently. Of course it was her parentsthey were the only two people on this earth who still insisted on calling her by her given name.

"Just wanted to say we didn't actually forget your big day."

Here her mom paused, and she could hear her dad chuckling in the background. Forget her birthday? She hadn't thought they haduntil then.

Her mom's breathy voice continued. "We've just been running ourselves ragged getting ready for our next cruise! You know how long it takes your father to pack." This said in a conspiratorial whisper. "But don't worry, honey, even though we didn't get your box off, we did manage to fix up a little surprise for our favorite twenty-five year old. "

"Twenty-five?" Her dad sounded honestly surprised. "Well, good Lord. I thought she was only twenty-two. "

"Time sure flies, dear, " Mom said sagely.

"Damn straight, honey," Dad agreed. "That's one reason I told you we should spend more time travelingbut only one reason." Dad chuckled suggestively.

"You certainly were right about that reason, dear." Mom kidded back breathlessly, suddenly sounding decades younger.

"They're flirting with each other on my message," CC sputtered. "And they really did forget my birthday!"

"Anyway, we're getting ready to leave for the airport"

Dad's voice, even more distant, broke in. "Elinor! Say good-bye, the airport limo is here. "

"Well, have to go, Birthday Girl! Oh, and you have a nice time on your little air force trip. Aren't you leaving in a couple of days?"

Her little air force trip?! CC rolled her eyes. Her ninety-day deployment as noncommissioned officer in charge of Quality Control at the Communications Center at Riyadh Air Base in Saudi Arabia to support the war on terrorism was just a "little air force trip?"