Free Island Tango (Silver Goddess Series, Book One) by Anisa Claire West Page B

table.  “The spell promised eternal life , and foolishly we let ourselves be bewitched.  We lived for a while on the Island of Vinova.  But things were never the same again.  It just wasn’t natural.  Our love died, and one day she banished me from the island.  I have never been back since then and cannot ever return.” Pedro hung his head in misery.
    “Yes, t he Silver Goddess.” Pedro muttered maliciously.  “She was my sweet Mathilda before we conducted the spell, but after we became immortal, she chose silver as the paint of her eternity .”
    “ The paint of her eternity? What does that mean?” Herculea asked, confounded. “And why silver?”
    “ I never knew why she chose silver.  And I don’t care now.  All I know is that I am doomed to live forever.  No reprieve.  No oblivion.  Just endless days ahead.  It’s enough to drive a man insane.   The Immortality Abyss warned of misfortune, but I didn’t believe it.  I thought eternity would be perfect. ”
    Pedro twisted his fingers into locks of wavy hair and yanked masochistically.  The nurturer in Herculea wanted to comfort him, but she was too afraid.  Reeling with the information he had given her so far, she felt like he still had more to say.
    “Is there anything else?” She asked expectantly.
    He looked at her with the same brazen intensity that had first captivated her in California.  “Yes.  I want you to spend eternity with me.”
    Herculea backed away in horror as he continued, “Please don’t be scared.  I know you didn’t directly consent.  But I think you will understand my predicament.  I cannot possibly spend eternity alone!  For almost a century, I have been searching for a woman to convert to immortal status and be with me forever.  Herculea, you are that woman!  I will not search for another hundred years, or another hundred days!  You are the one.”
    For all of her adult life, she had dreamed about hearing a man tell her she was the one.  But it sounded grotesque under these circumstances.  His words were hollow to her ears, like air escaping from a stray seashell.
    Clinging to the last thread of her composure, Herculea looked unblinkingly into Pedro’s eyes and asked, “What have you done?”
    He averted his eyes towards the coffee table where the book rested, but said nothing.  Herculea would not tolerate his silence.
    “What have you done?” This time, she asked the question through gritted teeth, refusing to take her eyes from his face.
    She would stare him down like an animal all day and night if that’s what it took to extract an answer from him.
    “Tell me!” She shouted.
    Pedro squirmed under her gaze and continued to focus his eyes on the book.
    “It was in the juice.” He whispered.
    “What was in the juice? The rum? ” She asked slowly and deliberately.
    “The mixture!  The herbs and spices!” He said, exasperated.
    “What are you talking about?  What herbs and spices?”
    “The same herbs and spices that the Silver Goddess blends in her wine every day.  The same herbs and spices that made me immortal when I drank the wine with her. The same herbs and spices that I put in your mango juice so you will be immortal with me!   That’s why you can’t go after the Silver Goddess now!  No other woman is allowed on the island.  Now that you are immortal, and my lover, she will see you as her enemy and try to harm you!  I only told you about her back in San Francisco to see what your reaction was.  All along, I knew that I would make you immortal once I could get you alone here in Brazil. ”
    Herculea flinched and gasped audibly .  Indignant tears welled up in her eyes, and she blinked to prevent them from rolling down her cheeks.
    “So, you fixed some kind of a diabolical potion and presented it as an innocent glass of juice?  And that witch’s brew has now made me immortal?   Is that what you are saying?”
    Herculea knew the answers to her questions, but she asked them