Page 72 of Becoming Monsterous

Maybe I should turn him back to flesh and blood then puthimin this glass coffin for centuries.

"Her body is fading," I note, trailing my fingers across her prominent collarbones. "Whatever magic he used to keep her body alive isn't cutting it anymore."

As if from the depths, Medusa rises up to chime in.All bodies need a soul to keep going. Even the body of a god.

"He must have known that she was dying, so he thought he'd find a new source." Morpheus delicately pulls Athena's hair to the side and combs through it, looking sad as it tangles in his fingers. "Aphrodite's blood wouldn't have given him the same long lifespan—she was reborn in a human body too many times. But he could've used her power of love to attract other gods and take one of them for himself."

Not to mention, he could've taken that god's power for himself, if he managed to trap their spirit instead of letting them ascend. No wonder he was willing to give Aaron the power of love while simultaneously enslaving him—he never intended to have those powers himself. What he wanted must've been something much bigger.

It disturbs me to think that there could be even further depths to his plans. There are so many things I don't know about the deities, even now that I have the memories of two inside my head.

The old gods, the first gods, were unbelievably powerful. If he had his sights on one of them and believed that enslaving all the First Children would somehow make him powerful enough to enter the god realms and take one of them down...

I shudder. "Let's make sure Percy's body is in a very dark place very far away from everyone."

"Agreed," Morpheus says swiftly. "And I don't want to kill him just yet. We have no idea who else may have been involved in his plans."

I hope the answer is no one.

But in this brave new world, who knows what else could happen next.

I just know that I'm glad I have my allies—and there's none I have to thank more than the goddess who started it all, and saved me in the end, not once but twice.

Reaching out, I touch Athena's still-warm cheek. Her breath is fainter now, as if she senses that the end of her torture is near, and is ready to fully let go of her body.

"Medusa..." I close my eyes and feel for her. "Do you think you'd like your life back now?"

Surprise answers me.

Followed by warmth.

I think I'd like that, yes.

"Good. Just let me say goodbye? For a bit."

When I open my eyes, Morpheus is staring at me in wonder. "You really are amazing. You're going to give up all that power, just like that?"

"It was never mine to keep," I point out, reaching up to pat Cornelia's head with an ache in my heart. "Some gifts have to be given back."

About that.An image forms in my head, courtesy of Medusa: me, with a sword in my hand, my dark hair loose at my back, and a single snake wrapped around my neck.I think there are some things I may be able to let you keep.

Chapter45

Epilogue

In the end, Medusa takes Athena's empty body. It fits her well. They were both warrior women, and it shows in their physique.

Once a spirit is back inside the shell of the goddess of war, her scars heal nicely, her body grows plump and strong, and, according to Medusa, she can "sense that her spirit is at rest."

It's strange to see her mannerisms reflected in a new body, with a new face. But the tall, Roman nose fits her, just like the wide, flat nose did before. Even the hair fits—especially when she lets her goddess form flow out, and copper snakes slither from her head.

I get to keep Cornelia, which warms my heart. She doesn't stay in my hair, though. Instead, Medusa turns her into a bracelet that wraps around my arm and comes to life with the power of my love. For the most part, she drapes herself around my neck. I think she feels comfortable there.

My triumvirate and I spend the first few days after opening the gates going back and forth between the Shadow World and Occult House. At first, much of that time is spent rounding up as many dangerous monsters as possible and finding places to keep them for now.

After a while, we start to spend more time "taming" the monsters that we can. Dustrikes, for instance, turn out to be very amenable to calming down and perfectly capable of turning their three snake heads into one, so long as they're promised delicious, delicious mice. Some of those, we move to a section of the Shadow World where they have access to Earth.

There are others that are on the line. Most of Osseus House is impossible to reach, even with the power of love. The undead, it seems, have very little use for hearts.

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