Page 71 of Crown of Serpents

Her lips began trembling again, but Medusa scooted closer to him, letting him envelop her in his familiar musk to drown out the scent of another. Thyme and leather instead of salt andseaweed.

They lay in silence for a while, Perseus stroking her hair.

When her breath steadied, he finally said, “You don’t have to tell me now, but I need to know … who did this to you.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Perseus needed to stay calm for her. This was not about him — neither the retribution boiling his blood nor the guilt gnawing since Medusa had begun to tremble.

Perseus had never meant to hurt her. On the contrary, for longer than he liked to admit, he had longed to see her cold eyes brighten with laughter, to cradle her against his chest, to worship her. Yet, none of that had mattered when she had collapsed beneath him, whimpering and begging for him to stop. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but he had.

He should have known better.

I can assure you that I have never murdered an innocent man.Her words echoed in his head. She had spoken them with such fury burning in her eyes.

Perseus tightened his grip around Medusa, who lay nestled in his arms, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Her eyes were firmly shut, yet he could see her eyeballs darting. What horrors was she reliving?

Her voice had sounded so young when she had started crying — just like the day Linus had dragged her on deck in that wretched storm.Please, don’t give me to him.She had been willing to die rather than be thrown into the raging waters of the Aegean Sea.

Perseus’ stomach turned at the realisation. The raging storm of emotions within him was suddenly too much. He needed to know the full story so he might understand the extent of her trauma. So, he could be better for her.

Before he could speak, Medusa opened her eyes, tears shimmering as their gazes met. “I have never told anyone,” she rasped.

He stroked her hair. “I told you that you can trust me.”

Medusa’s lower lip quivered. “You already know that I was mortal once …”

He began rubbing her back in calming circles, silently urging her to continue.

“But I was not born to human parents. My parents are Phorcys and Ceto, minor sea gods at Poseidon’s court. My siblings are like them — immortal and cruel. Many monsters lurking in the depths of the sea are related to me: Echidna, who is half nereid and half sea serpent, and even Scylla, who plagues the Strait of Messina, feeding on sailors who venture too close. Even Stheno and Euryale, with their great wings, fangs and scaled skin, could paralyse a man with terror. But I was different … born into the body of a mortal girl, without any strength or power. I was my parents’ biggest disappointment until …” Medusa broke off again, pain shimmering in her eyes.

Witnessing her vulnerability almost broke him, but he dared not speak lest she stop. Still, the words burned: her parents were blind fools for not seeing the formidable woman she was.

“One day, I must have been twelve, I was playing on the shore of the island where my parents had hidden me … somehow Poseidon spotted me … I was quite beautiful as a girl, even though I had grown up on my own in the wilderness … my hair was of a deep auburn red, and my eyes were said to be brighter than the Aegean Sea on a sunny day … so when Poseidon saw me, he decided that he wanted me for himself.”

Perseus’s stomach turned. She had been all but a child when this nightmare had ensued.

“That evening, my parents visited me for the first time … sometimes Stheno and Euryale had flown by to check on me, but Phorcys and Ceto had never set foot on Aegina again since they dumped me there. At first, I was excited, but then they told me I'd go to Poseidon's court, serve him, bear his children, hoping he'd marry me ... the first time I saw pride in their cold eyes, but ... I couldn't. I was just a child, didn't want to be anyone's wife, or a mother.”

“So, you ran?” Perseus asked, thinking about his mother, forced early into motherhood. Anger flared within him, recalling his grandfather, who had imprisoned Danae in a tower and later sought to dispose of her — all so Perseus would never get the chance to murder him. Currently, Perseus longed for nothing more than killing his grandfather — except for murdering maybe Poseidon.

Medusa nodded. “I ran. I had heard that some gods and goddesses required their priestesses to live in chastity … the only way I could escape the bargain my parents had struck was with the protection of another Olympian — someone even Poseidon would respect. There was only one such goddess with a temple on Aegina, where I had grown up. So, I ran up the steps of the temple, never stopping as a sea storm brewed behind me, and threw myself to my knees before her altar, begging to be taken in … to my surprise, the priestesses did, even though I was too old to become an acolyte.” A sad smile spread across Medusa’s lips, and her gaze drifted off as if she was lost in memory.“I was happy there for a few years, even though I never saw anyone from my family after that again. I enjoyed studying the sacred texts and even made some friends. After some time, I felt safe within Athena’s sanctuary … so safe that I started venturing out, like when I was a child. One day, I dared walk to the beach. I couldn't breathe underwater like my parents, but I'd always longed for the ocean. The salty breeze reminded me of a home I never knew. I returned often to walk along the waves, collect shells ...” Medusa faltered, her breath hitching. She swallowed hard, wrestling with panic.

Perseus felt her pulse race, felt her slipping away again as a storm brewed inside her.

With a shaky voice, she continued, “One day, I spotted the tall figure of a man standing amidst the surf … I assumed that he was a fisherman looking after his nets, but he started following me. I walked faster … only he was closer each time I turned. Finally, I ran back to the temple, sure he would turn around once he realised I was under the protection of the goddess of wisdom and warcraft.” A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Only, he didn’t … somehow, the entire temple was abandoned that day. I don’t know how the other priestesses knew to stay away. When he entered, towering over me, I knew instantly it was Poseidon. He said he had come to claim me and that I was to come with him immediately. I told him I had already sworn to serve another goddess, assuming he would respect Athena’s claim over me.”

Perseus admired her courage. She had defied Poseidon, a powerful god, as a young girl with nothing but faith in her goddess.

“Only he … he said there was an easy way to get out of my oath to Athena. Somehow, I dared to tell him I had no intention of breaking my vow, but he …”

Tears streamed down Medusa’s — too many for Perseus to wipe away. He squeezed her tight, partly to comfort her and partly to hide his own eyes in her hair.

“I offended him with my second rejection… so he … he raped me on the marble floor beneath the altar of my goddess and left me lying there … forever ruined.”

Perseus thought he had known hate. He grew up despising his father and grandfather for how they had treated Danae, but that was nothing compared to the burning hatred that flared inside of him now. The image of Medusa’s small frame pinned against the temple floor was forever brandished in his mind.

When he looked at Medusa, her face red and swollen from the tears, her hair tousled, Perseus could see that she believed it. She thought she was ruined. It made him want to punch the cabin wall again until his fists bled.

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