Page 32 of Crown of Serpents

“Let go of her.”

“You do have a soft spot for her, don’t you? What will you do, fish boy, if I drown your girlfriend?” Linus cocked his head in challenge.

Perseus gritted his teeth as he stalked closer, sword outstretched before him. He would kill Linus for this, gut him like a fish if he dared to drop Medusa. She washisprisoner.Histo protect.

“Let go of her, now!” Perseus repeated, lightning flashing in his eyes.

For a few agonising moments, nobody moved, Perseus’s heart thundering in his chest. His every muscle was flexed, ready to lunge should Linus dare to disobey him. Medusa had stopped writhing, her body still, as she awaited her fate.

“As you wish,Captain,” Linus finally grinned, letting go of Medusa as she fell with an agonising scream into the dark waves of the Aegean Sea.

Perseus lunged after her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Medusa was drowning. She had not been able to take a deep breath before the waves of the Aegean Sea had crashed over her head. Her terrified scream, cutting through the raging wind like a knife, had prevented that. There was no point in struggling now. The weight of her chains dragged her to the bottom of the sea. She would decay in the black depths — alone and forgotten. That would be the best-case scenario. Medusa would embrace the darkness when the fates finally cut her thread of life, and death claimed her. It was not that she wanted to die, but it was better than the alternative. Even the eternal torments of Tartarus, which probably awaited her, could not compare to the misery awaiting her at the bottom of the ocean — ifhefound her.

Medusa frantically looked around her, but she could not make out any circling shadows in the pitch-black water. Fear began to spread in her gut. How long until Poseidon would realise she was drifting helplessly in his waters? Would he send one of his creatures to claim her? She could almost feel a sea wraith’sspindly hand close around her ankle to return Medusa to her master’s watery court. Sea wraiths were among the most wicked courtiers in Poseidon’s realm. Their undying loyalty and delight in drowning mortals secured them their spot in the ranks of Poseidon’s guards.

Medusa began thrashing, trying to swim despite the shackles. She would never — could never — become his prisoner, mistress, plaything. She would rather be gutted by one of the savage men who had imprisoned her for these past weeks. Her limbs grew weak, and the icy water numbed her senses, but she would not stop moving.

Phantom hands burned her skin. She could still feel where he had touched her. His handprints lingered on her wrists, her throat, and her thighs. Even after all these years, her skin still seemed to be scorched where he had gripped her to spread her legs for him.

With renewed vigour, Medusa fought to get just an inch closer to the surface, but the chains continued to drag her down. She kicked with her legs even as her lungs burned like they had been set ablaze.Soon, she would pass out. Her muscles buckled against the strain, but for now, Medusa kept swimming against the relentless current.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the gloomy water around her. Medusa opened her mouth in shock, swallowing seawater. She choked, saltwater burning her throat as her vision narrowed to a tunnel of fading light. The raging thunderstorm above cast an eerie, silvery glow upon the water, illuminating the dark shadow that plunged toward her like a predator.Poseidon.

She attempted to fight, to swim away, but her muscles seized.

Black spots dimmed her vision, and a silent sob escaped her lips as her lungs filled with more water.

Still, the shadow raced toward her. Still, she was unable to move.

This is it,she thought, her consciousness flickering.The end.

But the shadow was faster than death. Mere meters away, it reached for her with a long, powerful arm. Medusa’s eyes widened one last time, a kaleidoscope of fear and despair beforea strong hand clamped around her limp wrist. The world went dark as she was yanked upwards, away from the suffocating embrace of the sea.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Perseus’s knees collided with the deck, splintering the wood beneath them, as they hauled him and Medusa’s limp form aboard. His body shivered, clothes dripping with saltwater. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his knees trembling. Somebody rushed to steady him, but Perseus snarled: “Stay back! All of you!”

His eyes flashed dangerously as thunder rolled overhead, the sky darkening further. He had had enough. These men had disobeyed his orders, tossing his prisoner into the sea as a barbaric sacrifice to Poseidon — all because of a summer storm. Perseus’s blood roared in his ears. They may have attempted to soothe the god of the sea, but they had incurred Perseus’s wrath in the process.

He retrieved his adamantine sword from where he had flung it before jumping after Medusa into the waves. Perseus drew an invisible line in the air between his crew and the gorgon’s unconscious body. They would not harm her again — not even asingle strand of her emerald hair.

“I will only say this once. If you disobey me again, you will suffer the consequences,” he pinned each man with an angry gaze, his voice lethally quiet as he continued. “I am leading this mission, not Linus, not Aetos,I am. It was Kleos and me who captured the gorgon while the noble king’s epetae fled from the cave, pissing themselves in fear.”

He levelled his stare at Linus, who had retreated toward the back of the line of men. Lightning flashed in Perseus’s hazel eyes, a silent threat. The sentinel took another step back.

“Medusa ismyprisoner, and all of you are undermycommand. As such, no one will touch, talk, or even look at her unless I order you to do so. And, in the end, when we will claim her head, it will be me who orders her death. It will be me who wields the blade that kills her. Is that understood?”

None of his men met Perseus’s gaze; their eyes lowered to the ground, shifting uncomfortably. It was not good enough of a response. Their fear was insufficient to calm the storm raging inside him, mirroring the swirling clouds overhead. His limbs were trembling with rage now, not the icy cold from his recent dive.

“Is that understood?”

Lightning crackled overhead, sizzling energy striking the ship between Perseus and his crew. The sailors’ eyes widened as they beheld Perseus’s angry frame, illuminated by the blinding light. Thunder rolled overhead, and they dropped to their knees, muttering that they understood.

Perseus's breath came in ragged gasps as the adrenaline subsided, leaving behind a bitter taste of remorse. The lightning strike had blasted a gaping hole into the middle of the deck, surrounded by an angry scorch mark. Even Linus kept his mouth shut, eyes full of disbelief and apprehension. Perseus had not intended to lead them with fear, but if that was what it took for them to follow his demands, then so be it. Another rumble of thunder punctuated his resolve.

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