Free Deer in Headlights (Hearts and Arrows 1) (Good god series) by Staci Hart

swinging her arm in invitation for him to follow her. He limped after her, his mangled leg oddly weak, the contrast stark against his strong body.  
    Hephaestus had always been an outsider, preferring his workshop and automatons to social gatherings. For ages he lived underground with his cyclopes in relative solitude. Some of the gods didn’t take him seriously, though they were happy to use his beautiful mind when it suited them. He was the only one among them with physical flaws.  
    Hera conceived him on her own, jealous after Zeus impregnated one of his mistresses, but realized before he was born that it was a mistake. She feared retribution from Zeus, and when Hephaestus was born, she threw him out of Olympus and down to Earth, into the ocean, damaging his leg in the process. Thetis, a nymph, found him and raised him in Poseidon’s domain, where he learned smithing and cultivated his passion for the craft. Years later, he exacted revenge by creating a golden throne for Hera that imprisoned her the second she sat her proud ass on it. From that moment on, he’d earned respect from almost everyone, alongside earning his way back into Olympus.
    Dita and Heff walked through her bedroom and to the infinity closet that he made for her. The keypad mounted on the wall outside of the closet door beeped and booped as Dita tapped a series of numbers, then stepped back as the door whirred and clicked. When she opened it, an immense dressing room lay in front of them.  
    Lights shown down on racks of shoes that lined one wall, all displayed on custom shelves that Heff built. On the back wall hung an ornate mirror the size of a Buick, flanked by drawers of negligee and lingerie below hundreds of shirts, blouses and jackets. A floor-to-ceiling cabinet system displayed her jewelry, scarves, and purses on the other long wall of the room. A round, orange Dupioni silk bench sat in the center of the room under clusters of brightly colored paper lanterns in pinks, reds, and oranges.
    “It looks okay now,” she said, “but watch this … ” The keypad beeped again as she hit the numbers. “Now, it should pull up 1500 AD, but instead—”
    They stepped back as the closet whirred, and rooms spun around behind the portal of the doorway like a cracked out carousel. It came to rest in what was obviously 1500 BC.  
    The room made her regular closet look like a shoebox. It was at least three times the size, full of a century’s haul of keepsakes and clothes from the time. There were robes of deep purple, royal blue, shining gold. Sandals made of calfskin, embellished in gold, were shelved next to dozens of ornate necklaces and crowns, arm cuffs and rings. Pottery was displayed on shelves throughout the room, as well as ancient tomes, all created for her.  
    It was an archaeologist’s wet dream.
    Heff looked down at the keypad and furrowed his brows. “Seems like there’s a problem with the algorithm. Let me see what I can do.”  
    “Okay.” She turned to her room of treasures. “Is it safe to go in? It’s been forever since I’ve been in here.”
    “Yup,” he said with a sideways smile as he knelt down. “I’ll let you know when I have it fixed.”
    Her stomach fluttered as she stepped onto the white marble floor, feeling the cold, gold veined stone under her feet. She made her way across the room, running her hands through her robes as she walked by, pausing at a silk lavender robe embroidered with an intricate pattern of roses in gold thread. Most didn’t know that the thread was actual gold.  
    Every single piece in the room had a story. She stopped at the turquoise robe she wore when she gave her blessing to Pygmalion. He carved a beautiful statue and fell in love with it, then prayed to Aphrodite, asking that she make his creation real. His face was the picture of love in the moment that she gave the statue life. They fell into each other’s arms, the creator and his creation, perfect for one another.  
    Dita