Page 63 of Crown of Serpents

“Don’t worry … we will help you look. What does your friend Gale look like?” Medusa asked.

The girl peered at Medusa with bright violet eyes. It wasn’tthe child’s unusual eye colour that made her breath hitch but the hope and gratitude that shimmered in her silver-lined eyes.

“Gale is … very small and … she has brown eyes and fur … and her tail is very puffy.”

Perseus and Medusa exchanged confused looks before he crouched in front of the child. “Your friend Gale is … an animal?”

“A polecat! For now, at least … she hasn’t always been one, but now she is. That’s why I am so worried. Many people are hunting in this region, and I fear that …” A tear streamed down her rosy cheek.

“It’s okay. We will find your … pet … before any hunters, okay?”

As he got up and patted her shoulders, Perseus shot Medusa a suspicious glance. Medusa shrugged and followed the small figure that had bolted ahead deeper into the underbrush.

“So … you said Gale wasn’t always a polecat? What was she before?” Medusa asked causally while turning over a hollow log.

She schooled her features into neutrality, attempting to hide her concern for the lost child in the woods. Had she run away from her home? Was Gale a figment of her imagination that helped her cope with her solitude? How long had the spindly child wandered through the underbrush?

“Gale was a human woman once. A midwife who angered Hera by delivering a baby the goddess had cursed. Hera was jealous because Zeus was said to be the father, so she ordered Eleithyia to prevent the birth. But my Gale is very clever … so she told Eleithyia, the goddess overseeing all childbirths, that the baby had already been born. So, Eleithyia let go of the womb, and the baby came out … but when Hera found out about Gale’s trick, she cursed her as punishment … and that’s when she found me.”

Medusa and Perseus had gone quiet at the incredible tale.

Perseus broke the silence, his eyes brimming with curiosity, “Is that why you are here? To seek help at the temple so Gale can be transformed back?”

“Oh no … nobody there can help me. Only the goddess who cursed Gale can undo it,” the child said while attempting to climb a branch to search a knothole for her friend. Medusa hovered nearby in case she slipped.

Suddenly, Perseus bolted as he spotted a trap laid by a fallen tree. A furry creature writhed and squealed in it. It was a polecat, streaks of blood marring its soft fur.

Instinctively, Medusa held the child back, unsure how badly injured her animal friend was.

Perseus freed Gale from the trap with nimble hands. The creature looked at the hero with beady eyes, nuzzling his hand in thanks, before it rushed toward the little girl, not minding its injuries. The child opened her arms as the polecat lunged into them.

“Oh, Gale! There you are! I’ve been so worried. Haven’t I told you that you mustn’t run too far away?” the girl turned toward Medusa, wrapping her short arms around her middle. “Thank you, Miss. Thank you, Sir!“

Medusa could not help but smile as she regarded the child. It had been long since someone had treated her with such utter lack of suspicion — as if she were mortal. The only other person was Andromeda.

She glanced at Perseus, who observed the scene, an unreadable emotion flickering across his face. Silently, Medusa motioned toward the child. They couldn’t leave her alone in this forest. Perseus seemed to share her concern, though he, too, hesitated.

When Medusa turned toward where the young girl had just been moments ago, the child was gone. Medusa searched the underbrush, but there was no trace of her — as if she had vanished into thin air. The forest was eerily silent, the wind rustling the pine trees the only sound. No sign, footprint, or broken branch indicated that the child and her polecat had ever existed. The only thing that lingered was the story of the polecat that had been a woman once. Only the goddess who cursed Gale could undo it.

She had noticed the flicker of hope in Perseus’ eyes when he thought another deity could undo such a curse. For a moment, Medusa’s own heart had begun pounding faster at thepossibility, but her hope had been snuffed out as quickly as it had come.Only the goddess who spoke the curse could undo it.

Medusa knew that she would remain trapped in this prison of a body for eternity. Athena was not a forgiving goddess. Once she passed judgment, in her eternal wisdom, it was final, as unwavering as the foundation of the Parthenon.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

The temple of Athena stood tall, its marble columns reaching up toward the starry sky as if yearning to touch the divine. Perseus took a deep breath and climbed the stairs to the hallowed halls. Medusa lingered behind him, her gait cautious as she kept glancing over her shoulder. An owl cooed in the distance, and she flinched.

He knew of Medusa’s complicated past with the goddess of wisdom. Still, Perseus was unsure how to comfort her. His hand itched to reach out, but he didn’t know if she would let him.

They had not spoken a word about what had happened last night — neither of her terrifying cries nor how he had cradled her to sleep. The memory of her trembling voice begging for mercy echoed in his mind, haunting him. She had sounded so vulnerable. He suspected that she had not told him the full story that had led to her expulsion from the temple. It must have been horrid, for he knew how cruel the gods could be. Yet, he would not pry for details. Medusa would share her truth with himwhen she was ready — if she ever were.

Perseus frowned, guilt gnawing at him for dragging her into this as their steps echoed against the cold floor.

The temple was illuminated by an eery silvery glow, shadows dancing in the flickering light of the torches lit at the feet of the marble statue of Athena. The goddess was beautiful, her face sharp and severe, her body clad in armour, a spear and shield in each hand.

He sank to his knees, his heart pounding.

Perseus’ voice echoed through the temple, “Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Warcraft, hear my prayer. I have vowed to slay the beast plaguing the Lesbos Strait to protect my mother, yet when I encountered Medusa, I could find no monster. Therefore, I seek your wisdom. How might I save my mother while sparing the Medusa’s life?”

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