Deep Water (22 page)

Chapter
Nine

 
“But she never did,” Poseidon said, lost in
thoughts of the past. “And then Perseus slew her. Until then, I had hopes that
she would change her mind eventually and come back to us. After that, however,
all hope was gone. Both my
agapetos
were lost to me, Amphitrite as much as Medusa.”

At some point during
Poseidon’s explanation an incongruously bald, elegant
mer
had swum in soundlessly with a sealed flagon and what looked like a pair of
deflated bulbs. He’d decanted wine from the flagon into each bulb, swelling it
into an oval shape and handing one each to Poseidon and Griffin.

Griffin had held
his wine bulb without sampling it throughout Poseidon’s monologue. He glanced
at it now, as if it could provide answers. “Why are you telling me all this?”

What was the human
phrase?
Oh, yes—rip the bandage off.
“Because,
Griffin, it turns out that you were Medusa in a past life,” Poseidon said
quietly. “You were meant to be
agapetos
to Amphitrite and me. But in my drunken lechery I raped your former self. For
fear of being forced into my bed again, Medusa chose to become one of the most
fearsome monsters the world has ever seen, and was slain by Perseus as a
result. Amphitrite has never forgiven me for it, and has barely spoken to me
since.”

Griffin stared at
him, then at the wine bulb again. Then held up a “wait” finger as he stuck the bulb’s
straw in his mouth and drained it.

After a very large
final swallow he said, “Shit. The weird thing is, that explains a lot. Why I
love the sea so much, why I keep dreaming about being Medusa. Why I want to
jump you when I’ve never wanted a bloke before in my life. Oh, fuck me.”

Poseidon knew the
last part wasn’t an invitation. He stayed quiet while his mate worked through
the mountain of new information that had just been dumped on him.

“What am I
supposed to
do
with this?” Griffin finally
said. “I mean, if I was Medusa in a past life, does that mean I’m still your
agawhatsis
?”

“
Agapetos
, and yes, you are, to both
Amphitrite and myself.”

Griffin nodded at
that. “Except that she’s not talking to you anymore, is she? Fuck, Dunn, why
did you do that?”

“To Medusa? I have
no excuse,” Poseidon said heavily. “I was drunk and wanted her. And in my
drunkenness I thought she wanted me.” He took a mouthful of his wine, wishing
it could ease the bitterness in his gut. “I was far too arrogant and full of my
own self-importance. Even after Amphitrite left me, I couldn’t give Medusa the
true and humble penitence she deserved.”

“And now?”

“Now I know I was
wrong. I know the pain of being hated and feared by those I love. After seven
thousand years I finally I understand that none of us, not even a god, can ruin
someone’s life and not pay a price for it.” He stared at the bulb in his hand,
unable to meet Griffin's gaze. “Now? I would do whatever she commanded to earn
her forgiveness. I would sacrifice my own existence if it would restore her to
life and her mortal form. I would do the same for you, Griffin. Gladly, I would
crumble into dust if it meant you would live.”

“No,” Griffin
snapped. “Dammit, I don’t want you to die. I don’t want either of us to die.”

The reminder of
his love’s mortality was painful. “You will not die, beloved. I swore it,” Poseidon
said, still staring at his wine bulb. “You will live, and I will bring you
together with Amphitrite if it’s the last thing I ever do. She did nothing to
deserve this pain and loss. She should be with you, not me.” His throat
tightened. “And Gaia, she would love you so.”

“But it’s supposed
to be the three of us.” Griffin's voice held both anger and a plaintive tone. “Dammit,
Dunn. Look at me.”

Poseidon did,
although he dreaded seeing the disgust that had to be in his
agapetos
’s
eyes.

****

Griffin tried to
make sense of what Poseidon had just told him. The god’s confession and apology
was something he had never expected to hear. Worse, the drunken attack had
happened to himself, albeit in another life. The idea of rape had always sickened
him, and now he knew it wasn’t just a civilized reaction to a criminal assault.

What he did was horrible, there’s no getting around
that. But he’s not trying to make excuses for himself. He knows he was wrong,
and he admits it. And Christ, he’s been punished for it.
Griffin couldn't even imagine being left on his own
for thousands of years, tormented by endless grief and regret over something
that could never be set right.

The question was,
could he forgive Poseidon for something that had happened thousands of years in
the past to a life he’d only seen in dreams? He wished he could talk to his
former self, get some feedback from the handmaiden who had borne the brunt of
the god’s sodden attack.

But that was,
literally, a lifetime ago.
I may have Medusa’s
soul, but I’m also me. I can only do what I think is right.

Then he realized
what he should have asked. “Why are you telling me all this now?”

Poseidon took a
deep breath of seawater, his massive chest rising with the inhale. “Because I
want you to know who you were, and what you mean to me. I don’t want there to
be any secrets between us.”

Griffin sensed
something else underneath the words. “You want me to judge you.”

And now the god
exhaled. “I suppose I do. And punish me, if you choose to do so. I wouldn’t blame
you if you wanted to leave and never see me again.”

“Christ.” Griffin
let his wine bulb sink to the couch so that he could rub his face. “I’m not
Medusa, Dunn. At least, not anymore.”

“I know.”

“Don't get me
wrong, I’m fucking horrified at what you did to her. And I don’t blame
Amphitrite at all for leaving you.” He stared at the man he had fallen in love
with, trying to reconcile Dunn the man with Poseidon the God. “But I don’t want
to punish you. And if I’m not the same person I was, then neither are you.” He
paused, listening for a cry of rage from the past, anything that would indicate
he was doing the wrong thing.

There was nothing.

He nodded. “I have
to ask you something, and I need the truth.”

Poseidon bowed his
head. “I will tell you whatever you want to know.”

“Do you genuinely
regret it?”

The god’s head
snapped back up, eyes filled with remorse. “
Yes
,”
he breathed. “Yes, I regret it, every second of every minute of every day for
the past seven thousand years. I regret it so much, Griffin.”

Griffin steeled
his heart against the agony in those blue eyes. “Will you ever do anything like
that again? Not just to us, but anyone?”

“No.”

“Swear it to me.
Swear by Gaia, just like Amphitrite did.”

Poseidon's fingers
opened, digging into the fabric of the divan. “I swear by Gaia, Mother of All,
that I will surrender my essence back to her before I ever take someone against
their will. I will never touch either of you without your permission. You and
Amphitrite are my world. Order me from you, and I’ll leave. Command me to
perform the basest tasks for you, and I will do them with deepest gratitude.
Allow me to stay with you, and I will never give you cause to regret it.”

Griffin swallowed,
feeling the weight of the moment. “All right. I accept your oath, and I forgive
you for what you did to my former self.” He leaned forward. “But I swear, if
you ever do anything like that again I will personally ask Athena and whatever
other gods I can round up to kick your ass all the way to Tartarus.”

It was impossible
to see tears underwater, but Poseidon's blinking was indication enough. “Understood,"
he said roughly.

“Good.” Griffin
picked up the wine bulb, then remembered it was empty. “So I’m the
reincarnation of Medusa. And she was supposed to be with you and Amphitrite.
That's why I’m so bloody attracted to you?”

The god looked
abjectly grateful that he was changing the subject. “Yes. You are my
agapetos
, my destined mate, along with
Amphitrite.”

“Three mates? Isn’t
that kind of unusual?’

“Not really.
Reproduction requires a man and a woman, but love takes many forms. Three mates
isn’t the strangest by far.”

Well, that explains why things tanked with Miranda and
Leilani.
The idea of being
in a three-way relationship was something straight out of one of those saucy
erotic romance novels, intriguing and a bit worrying at the same time. And he couldn’t
even say he was a stranger to the concept, having indulged in a few threesomes
in the past. But they were always fun weekend things, and always with two women.
To be married in effect to a man and a woman...

“Wait, what about
Amphitrite? How is she going to feel about me coming back like this?” He waved
a hand at his body. “I mean, I’m not exactly the person she fell in love with,
am I?”

Poseidon shook his
head. “To have you back has been her dearest wish.” His expression eased,
turning appreciative. “And your current form is quite handsome, after all. She’ll
be overjoyed, once she gets past the shock of it.”

A dark voice in
the back of Griffin’s mind said
not for
long.
The reality of the situation came back to him. It didn’t matter if he
was supposed to be in a triad with a couple of gods. He was still mortal, and
he was about to die.

He sighed, sagging
back against the divan. “Dammit, this just isn’t fair.”

“I’m sorry,” Poseidon
said, sounding contrite. “I know it’s a great deal for you to accept, but—”

“No, that’s not
it. It isn’t fair that I find out about this now. Why couldn’t we have met a
year ago, when I still felt decent and—” He stopped, feeling the pressure build
behind his eyes. At least crying while underwater meant that the seawater
carried away the tears. “I want more time with you. I want to meet Amphitrite.”
He slammed a fist onto his thigh. “Fuck. It’s not fair!”

A hand wrapped
around his, stilling it. “Calm yourself, beloved. I have a plan. I know someone
who can heal you. My brother Chiron is searching for him now."

Griffin stopped
breathing for a moment. There it was—the thing that had been floating in the
back of his mind since Poseidon had revealed his true identity. The hope that
somehow, the God of the Sea could get rid of the damned tumor in his head. “Chiron—wait,
you mean the centaur? He’s your brother?”

“Half-brother,
yes.”

Griffin remembered
the family tree of the Greek pantheon was less tree and more kudzu vine. “You
said searching. For who?”

“Apollo.”

Poseidon, Apollo, and Chiron, oh my.
“I thought he was the sun god.”

“He’s also the god
of healing. Unfortunately he’s also become quite the wanderer in the last few
centuries, so it may take Chiron some time to find him.”

Griffin deflated a
bit. “Time is something I don’t have.”

“Not on your own,
no. But I can help sustain you until Chiron returns.”

“How?”

Poseidon
hesitated. “Divine seed carries its own power,” he said. “Quite apart from
turning our children with mortals into demigods and heroes, the substance
itself is quite potent.” He took a deep breath. “And if it is placed inside a
mortal body, its effects are beneficial, indeed. My son-in-law Ian survived an
ilkothella bite for hours because he had been taking in Bythos and Aphros’s seed.”

Griffin wasn't
sure, but he thought he saw the god blushing.
Yeah, well, no one really wants to think about their kids doing the
deed, I suppose.

And then the
meaning of “seed” dropped. “Wait. Wait, wait,
wait
. You’re
talking about
cum
?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re saying
if I,” he stumbled over the words, “take in divine seed...”

“It will sustain
you, just as it sustained Ian,” Poseidon confirmed. “I don’t know if it will
cure you, but it will halt the progression of your tumor and keep you alive
until Chiron returns with Apollo.”