Free The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter Page A

car, his eyes on me. I waved, and he flashed a pained smile.
    The road was lined with trees that were evenly spaced, and it sloped upward. It took me a few minutes to walk over the hill, but when I did, I stopped, my mouth agape. Whatever I’d expected, it wasn’t this.
    A huge manor sat sprawled across the grounds, so large that I couldn’t see what lay behind it even from the top of the hill. The road I was on became paved, and it circled around to the front of the manor, forming a perfect oval.
    I’d only seen buildings like these in pictures of European palaces, and I was sure that nowhere else in the Upper Peninsula—maybe even the entire state—did a place like this exist. It gleamed white and gold, and everything about it looked majestic.
    As I stood there, it took me a moment to notice that I wasn’t alone. A dozen gardeners and workers stared at me, and I suddenly grew self-conscious. I was inside the gate; now what?
    In the distance I saw a woman bustling toward me, holding up the hem of her skirt as she climbed the hill. Rather than taking a step back, I stood my ground, caught between awe, fear and determination. No matter how beautiful his home was, I still needed to see Henry—and soon.
    “Welcome, Kate!” said the woman, and upon hearing her voice, I did a double take.
    “Sofia?”
    Sure enough, as she drew closer, I recognized her as the day nurse who’d helped me take care of my mother for the past few weeks. I stared at her, shocked, but Sofia acted as if none of this was a big deal. When she reached me, her cheeks were pink and she smiled ear to ear. She took my arm. “We were wondering if you’d ever show, dear. How’s your mother?”
    It took me a second to find my voice. “Dying,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
    “I live here.” She started to lead me toward the house, and I let her, trying hard not to stare.
    “You know Henry?”
    “Of course I do,” she said. “Everyone knows Henry.”
    “Can you raise the dead, too?” I muttered, and Sofia clucked her tongue.
    “Can you?”
    I clenched my fists. “I need to see him.”
    “I know, dear. That’s where we’re headed.”
    I glanced at her, uncertain if she was being patronizing or evasive or both. She ignored my look and led me down the oval drive until we reached the large French double doors, which opened without any prompting from Sofia. Instead of following her inside, I stopped and stared.
    The outside was nothing compared to the magnificent entrance hall. It was simple and tasteful, not at all gaudy, but it was far from ordinary.
    The floor was mostly white marble, and I could see a hint of plush carpet on the other end of the hall. The walls and ceiling were made of mirrors, and they made the massive hall look larger than it already was.
    But it was the floor in the center of the room that caught my attention. There was a perfect circle made of crystal, and it was by far the most incredible thing about the hall. It shimmered, colors seeming to swim together, blending and dividing as I stared. My mouth hung open, but I didn’t care—everything about it was surreal, and I could hardly believe that I was still standing in Michigan.
    “Kate?”
    I tore myself away and finally paid attention to Sofia. She stood a few feet ahead of me and gave me a hesitant smile.
    “Sorry,” I said. I walked toward her, stepping around the crystal circle as if it were really water. For all I knew, it was. “It’s just—”
    “Beautiful,” she said cheerfully, taking my arm once more and steering me past a grand spiraling staircase that led up to a part of the manor I couldn’t see. I didn’t dare try to look, not wanting to waste another minute.
    “Yeah.” It was the best I could come up with, but I was otherwise speechless. Whatever I’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this.
    She led me through a series of rooms, each uniquely decorated and exquisite. One room was red and gold; another was sky-blue, with murals