Medusa's Desire (The Fate of Eros #1) (The Fate of Eros Series) (29 page)

Perseus sat in the chair next to the bed. "One of the villagers gave me some medicine that he thought might help. Sit up, so I can give it to you."

Andromeda struggled against her pillows. Her arms trembled as she raised her body. Despite all of this, she gazed at Perseus with love. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better queen for you." Her voice was hoarse. "I tried to do the best I could, but you were always too good for me."

Perseus shook his head. "Don't talk that way. Drink up instead."

Perseus pressed the goblet to her lips. She took one whiff and winced. "It smells disgusting."

"Just close your eyes and swallow," Perseus said.

She shut her eyes obediently and consumed it in gulps. Medusa held her breath as she drained the cup dry. Medusa was shaking in anticipation. Either she was the cause of another person's death and she got everything she wanted-or she saved someone's life and destroyed her own in the process. She would regret it either way. She crossed her fingers, not sure which she was wishing for.

Andromeda coughed so hard her face paled. Perseus grabbed a rag from the table and handed it to her. Soon it was covered in blood and her raspy breathing grew worse.

She grasped Perseus' hand as she collapsed onto the bed. Her eyes fluttered open and closed as she struggled to remain conscious. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I think this is the end."

"Hold on." Perseus squeezed her hand as she went into convulsions. Images of the girl in the cave flashed through Medusa's mind. She had been young and innocent like Andromeda. Her broken ankle as she fought to get deeper into the underworld to save her lover was a vivid picture of the pain even human girls suffered through sometimes. Andromeda had fought for Perseus, too, and had lost her family like Medusa had.

She wanted to mock Perseus for the tears in his eyes, but there were some welling up in her own.

"Goodbye," Perseus said. He kissed the knuckles of one of her hands.

As soon as he said it, her face bloomed with color. Her eyes brightened and her cheeks filled out. She looked beautiful and alive. Health poured into her.

Medusa watched the turn of events stoically. Her tears had dried up. She had known what she needed to do long before now, but this confirmed it. It was time to give Perseus the kind of life he deserved to have. This time, when she left, she'd make sure she could never come back.

She had nowhere to go, but it didn't matter. She had to leave anyway and let life take her where it wanted to. It was an excuse not to leave–an excuse she could hold on to no longer.

News spread around the village that Andromeda was better. Danae was pleased to announce that the baby was still alive, but they wouldn't know whether it were healthy until birth. Medusa knew. If the blood hadn't killed the baby, then it was better. Danae pronounced the whole thing a miracle. Andromeda's friends held a large feast in celebration of her health returning. Perseus got no moment of peace to talk to Medusa and she preferred it that way.

They all looked so happy. It gave her the strength to accomplish what she needed to do.

That night when Perseus went to sleep, Medusa put her plan into action. She wasn't sure which was going to hurt worse: the physical pain or the breaking of her heart.

First, she needed to find one of the statues made to resemble her. She remembered one, about her size and made of stone, that would be dipped in bronze soon, placed in one of the corners of the dining hall. People would question what happened to it when she stole it, but would probably brush it off in the end as Fortus destroying his own work because he was unhappy with it. He threw tantrums sometimes when he was feeling insecure about his art. He'd get drunk, black out, and lay in a mess of rubble. He'd make a new one to take its place.

She carried the statue into the backyard. Too large to disappear with her like other things she held did, she'd have to be sneaky. A normal man couldn't have lifted it, but she was stronger than that. She made as little noise as possible and avoided the route of the night guard. The last thing she needed was rumors about a ghost haunting the castle and making the decorations float around.

She crumbled the body of the statue into small pieces, but preserved the head. She scattered the pieces around in the woods so no one would find them and then clawed out the eyes of the face with her nails.

She hid the head in the woods, and then she fetched a spoon from the kitchen. She also retrieved the endless wallet with a needle and some thread. This would be the worst part. She counted her steps until she found the head and then gripped a tree with one of her hands. She needed to be far away from everyone so they wouldn't hear her howls of pain.

She took the spoon and dug behind her eyes. The tendons that held the first one in place ripped and she was blinded. The pain was so bad that she forgot to catch the eyeball as it fell out. It shocked her that she had been able to free it so quickly. She flayed the tree in front of her with her claws and gripped her face, desperate for relief, until her suffering dulled into a slow throb. She wasn't sure whether this took minutes or hours.

At first, she was terrified that she had destroyed her eye. Her suffering would be for nothing if that was the case. She felt for it in the dirt, blood drying on her cheeks. She placed it in one of the empty sockets of the statue. Pain radiated across all the nerves of her face, but she ignored it.

She took a deep breath and placed the spoon behind her other eye. Her hand shook as she freed this one. She wasn't eager to be blind or to feel fiery pain burning through her face as blood gushed from the other socket, but she got through it. She placed her second eye inside the socket of the statue. They both fit perfectly.

She wished often that she had the regenerative powers of her sisters. She wouldn't have been biting her hand, curled up into a ball, sobbing on the ground from the pain if she had them. At the same time, though, a weight lifted from her chest. She was finally free from the curse. No one could look at her and turn into stone anymore. Thank Hades, she didn't have the regenerative powers of her sisters. She was now free!

If anyone found this stone head, they would assume it was hers. Hard like her real head was and with her eyes inside, it would have the ability to turn people into stone. Even if people could tell the difference, they'd never live long enough to share the information.

She took the needle and thread, which was soon covered in blood as she sewed her eyelids back together. The sting of the needle was barely noticeable compared with the pain she was already experiencing. She should have washed out the wounds, but she didn't care enough to.

She placed the head inside the endless wallet where it belonged. It would protect Perseus whenever he needed her and no one would doubt the validity of his story. She washed the blood from her face. She might as well look a little presentable as she said goodbye to her lover.

For the first time in her life, even though she knew she was still ugly, she didn't feel like a monster. She couldn't hurt anyone anymore. A part of her mourned, while another part rejoiced. People could look at her now without dying. It was wonderful, except for the fact that she couldn't show her face too much or the gods would catch on to the truth.

She entered the room where Perseus slept. He was waiting for her and she knew this because he had moved none of his stuff into Andromeda's room. Even though he promised to be with Andromeda now, Medusa knew he couldn't do it. She'd have to keep the promise for him.

She took the helmet off her head. Bloody tears streamed down her cheeks. She must have been a horrific sight to see.

She approached Perseus. Her snakes, now free, roamed across his face, loving and rubbing him. He stirred as they tickled his skin.

She took the necklace she kept off her neck. She pricked her finger with the needle and spilled one drop of her blood into it. She needed to hurry before he woke or her plan would be ruined. She stroked the necklace in her hand and hugged it to her chest. She remembered Cithara, who had given it to her. She cherished it and the water she kept inside it: water from the Lethe. She thought of all the times she wished to drink that water and forget all the horrible things she had suffered. She had put her blood in it, so that it would know which memories should be forgotten–all those associated with her.

She considered the irony of the situation. She would be the one to remember everything. Her lover would forget that she ever existed. She had never been destined to drink from that river.

She poured the water down Perseus' throat. He choked on it as he swallowed and jumped awake.

A contented sigh left Perseus' lips as the first memory emerged like a ghost from behind him. It was one of the times they'd made love out in the woods. Perseus had picked her a flower and instead of sniffing it, she had eaten it. He laughed at the misunderstanding. They kissed as they watched the sun set. She stroked the memory as it left his body and the images of it played back in her mind, except she saw all of it from Perseus' perspective instead.

Medusa didn't understand. Usually people screamed when they lost their memories, but Perseus didn't seem frightened. Maybe because all the memories he was reliving were happy ones.

Perseus looked straight at her. She could feel his eyes taking her in, even though she couldn't see them. For the first time ever, he was truly gazing at her. Her heart leaped into her throat. She had dreamed of this moment forever.

He stroked her cheek. His voice grew breathless. "It's all on your face. Every moment you've suffered and every smile you've cracked. I can see the full effect now and you're beautiful. There's nothing like you in this world. It's like finding a pearl. I'm lucky to have found you."

Medusa shook. These were the words she always wished to hear. He was making it harder for her to leave.

"Thank you," she murmured.

More memories burst from him. Medusa saw him explaining his life story to her and holding her hand before they charged in the castle to fight Polydectes. The birth of her children faded. She wanted to shove these thoughts into her bottle and keep them forever, but they couldn't be grasped or caught. Her hands went through them as if they were fog.

He grabbed her by the face unexpectedly. Her heart leaped into her throat as their lips met one last time. They moaned as they tasted each other's warm flesh. She wished to swallow some of the water but he had drunk it all, leaving none for her. The melting of her heart as their lips fought to devour each other's passion would be something she'd never forget.

She pushed him away. "This is the last time you'll ever see me."

Memories of them making love in the castle before the Olympics and of the heated argument that occurred afterwards when Medusa attacked Andromeda left him. She was glad to see the last one go.

Perseus grabbed her tightly, shoving her face against his chest. He was hyperventilating. "No! Please don't leave! I love you more than anything."

Medusa twisted out of his grasp. "You don't, though, because you never really met me."

She reached behind Perseus' head and sensed the memory of him seeing her in the mirror for the first time disappearing.

Confusion filled his voice. "I didn't?"

"No, in fact, you killed me. We never talked or made love. You did your duty and kept my head inside your endless wallet, where it still resides now. All those people that were turned into stone-you did it, not me."

Perseus shook his head. She wasn't sure whether he'd remember things the way she wanted him to, but she figured it couldn't hurt to try to put new memories in his mind where the old ones were disappearing.

The memory of the first time they made love burst from him.

Medusa tried to hold back her sobs. She could cry all she wanted to later. She'd have a lot of time to reminisce and regret. "You're a hero. You rescued Andromeda on your flight home. She's a beautiful woman and you're in love with her. It's why you rescued her. You two will have a family together and she'll be your queen."

"Sounds nice." Perseus lay back in bed, eyes drooping. He'd probably think this whole experience was a dream. "I like your stories. Your voice is so soothing."

Medusa nodded her head and tucked him in. "The only reason that you didn't touch her this whole time was because you were intimidated by her beauty. She looked too pure and perfect to taint with your touch, but now you can't keep your hands off her.

"She's a gift given to you by the gods whom you love because they gave you every good thing you have now."

She knew now that Perseus wasn't meant to fight the gods beside her. He was meant to live a long and happy life, while she fought off their curse and tried to reverse their tyrannies alone.

The last memory of her disappeared into thin air.

She kissed Perseus on the forehead. "It's time for me to leave now," she whispered.

Perseus' breathing grew heavy. "Will you be back? I like you."

"I'm sorry, but I can't return. Don't worry, though-you'll be happy without me."

Perseus drifted off to sleep and as quietly as she could, Medusa left the room.

Medusa flew so far in one day that her wings cramped. She had no idea what direction she was traveling in; she just wanted to leave. She was surprised that she didn't hit anything on the way to her destination, but there wasn't much in the air besides birds.

She eventually made her way into the desert after a week and decided to live there. She liked the warm climate; it reminded her of her sisters in the underworld. The sun felt good on her skin and because there were few living creatures around, she could walk without wearing the invisibility helmet. Whenever she took it off, she replaced it with a cloak she had stolen from one of the cities she passed through.

She expected one of the gods to appear in front of her and point, shouting: "Aha! You're alive!" She'd be flung down to Tartarus, where she would be killed slowly and tormented for all eternity. She had been hiding for so long that it was frightening doing anything else, but soon the fear was replaced with peace, although she was also lonely.