Page 52 of Crown of Serpents

She lunged, swinging for his head. Perseus dodged her first assault and raised his hands to block her second strike. He caught her wrists and almost grinned in triumph when she aimed her knee for his groin. In the last second, he clasped his hands around her incoming knee, but he was not prepared for her near-immortal speed. With her free hand, she struck him square in the face. Perseus stumbled back, blood trickling from his nose. Even Kleos had never hit him with such force.

Medusa was not done.She tackled him shoulder-first, and they crashed onto the floor, sending wood splintering.

“Come on, Perseus! You’re going to have to try harder if you want to kill me!” She taunted, scrambling to her feet. “Where was the man that defeated me in that cave? Or do I need to threaten your precious Kleos before you finally fight back?”

Perseus’s anger flared. “What is wrong with you?! I didn’t come here to fight!”

“Too bad, because if you don’t fight me, you and all your men will die!”

Perseus seethed, knowing that whatever he had come to say would not matter until he subdued her, “Fine. If that’s what you want.”

He wiped the blood off his nose and rose. They circled each other, each looking for a weak point to exploit — just like when they first met. It was more for show than anything. They had spent the past weeks analysing each other, and both already knew where to strike.

Medusa lunged, but he sidestepped, catching her wrist and pulling her off balance. With a swift leg sweep, he sent her tumbling to the floor. He was on her in an instant, pinning her arm behind her back.

She thrashed beneath him. “Get off of me!”

“Not until you listen,” Perseus's voice was a low growl. “No one on this ship dies today. And that includes you.”

Medusa stilled, her eyes wide with surprise.

He finally had her attention. “I am not going to kill you,” he repeated, his grip loosening slightly. “You're not my prisoneranymore. I was wrong to capture you in the first place. That is what I came here to say, and you would have known that sooner if you weren’t so bloodthirsty and stubborn!”

She remained silent though her snakes had stopped snapping at him. Slowly, they calmed until emerald curls spilt from Medusa’s head once more. Perseus released her arm, lifting his weight off her entirely. “Now, can I apologise and explain without you trying to kill me?”

Medusa didn’t respond, but the tension in her body eased. He sat beside her, their shoulders brushing.

“I am sorry for everything I’ve done to you,” he began. “For ambushing you, imprisoning you, for my crew's cruelty. You have my deepest apologies, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Her face remained unreadable as he spoke, but she was listening.

“I’ll beg for your forgiveness if you want me to.”

The slightest hint of a smile bloomed on her face. Perseus struggled to suppress a satisfied grin. He was not done yet.

“And nothing I’m about to tell you is meant to justify what I did. It doesn’t change anything about me being a selfish prick.”

Medusa cocked her head, her eyes questioning.

He told her everything — his exile with his mother, the tournament, Polydectes's lecherous demands, the desperate bargain for Medusa's head.

“I went to plead with King Polydectes to forgive us … but that bastard delighted in seeing me beg. He mocked me and demanded my mother become his mistress as compensation for our debt.”

Perseus broke off, struggling for breath as he tried to suppress the simmering anger that threatened to overwhelm him whenever he spoke of his bargain with Polydectes. To his surprise, Medusa reached for him, her hand smooth and cold as she squeezed his hand. The same wrath was mirrored in her face.

“So, I offered a bargain he could not resist. He had put a price on your head, ten times what I owed him, and I promised to kill you for him so he might claim the glory.” Perseus gripped herhand tighter before he continued.

“I thought you were a mindless beast,” he confessed, “a creature deserving of death. But I was wrong. I know now that you are not a monster at all. You are the farthest thing from it. You’re just trying to survive in this world — just like me. I am so sorry for ever treating you otherwise.”

He gulped as he met Medusa’s beautiful, sad eyes.

When Medusa finally spoke, his heart leapt in his chest, “Your mother must be very beautiful to catch Polydectes’s attention. It’s a pity that beauty often condemns women to the worst fates in this world.”

He nodded, a lump forming in his throat. “She is.”

“She is lucky to have you protecting her.”

Warmth spread in his chest. He would protect Medusa, too, if she would let him.

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