Medusa's Desire (The Fate of Eros #1) (The Fate of Eros Series) (20 page)

She floated over the box where the kings sat. They had the best view. A man with a wrinkled face and white hair shifted the golden crown on his head. A servant dusted his silk robes.

"Is that better, Acrisus?" the servant asked.

The name was familiar-so was something about his dark brown eyes and the way his hair curled.

That's when it hit her. This man was Perseus' grandfather.

Medusa wasn't sure whether she felt overjoyed or worried. On one hand, this gave Perseus the opportunity to reconcile with his family. Maybe he could work through some of the issues he had been struggling with earlier. Acrisus didn't have anyone who looked as though they were related to him around. He was probably lonely.

On the other hand, his grandfather might view Perseus as a threat still, especially now that he was a man and could slit the old man's throat easily. Perseus could wind up heartbroken again.

Medusa would have to decide after the Games whether she should tell him that his grandfather was there or protect him from being hurt again. She chewed her lip. It was a tough decision.

The wind started to pick up causing Medusa to struggle not to fly crookedly. Droplets from the sky landed on her, but no one seemed wet except her. Their hair wasn't blowing, yet the wind was strong enough to signal the start of a hurricane.

She wished she could talk to Perseus about what was going on. Maybe this was the wrath of the gods or something else supernatural chasing them. Had the gods figured out the truth and it was time for their punishment? Was it a big enough deal for her to ruin his concentration and try to whisper to him in the middle of the game? She decided it was probably better that she wait and see what would happen and only alarm him if it turned out to be an emergency. Besides, she couldn't fly well enough to keep from knocking him over while she floated next to him.

Perseus swung his arm and the second discus flew. This one was an inch behind the record holder. The crowd gasped, on the edge of their seats as he prepared to throw the third one. He had a chance at winning!

Medusa coughed, wondering why no one else was having difficulty breathing. The wind had kicked excess dust into the air.

Perseus took a few practice swings. Some children stood from their seats to get a better view.

Whatever was happening seemed to only be coming for Medusa. Maybe it was better that the gods got their wrath over with. They'd likely whisk her away into the skies and Perseus would never know. She'd stop being a nuisance in his life; she'd tell the gods she'd kidnapped him, so Perseus wouldn't get into trouble.

The dust clouds thickened and took shape. Black horses galloped around the arena, whinnying as if they were chased. They kicked their legs as they ran through the crowds. Their manes flew behind them and their hoofs beat as loudly as the thunder cracked.

They looked as if they were going to run over and kill everyone in the stadium. Their piercing white eyes screamed death, but no one ran for cover and they avoided trampling even the smallest children.

Their purpose wasn't to massacre a bunch of people. Something else, written in the stars long ago, was happening.

As soon as these thoughts entered Medusa's mind, she saw the Fates. She had never seen them in Hades, even though she knew they dwelled in a secret passage there like the Grey Sisters. They only showed their faces when something important was about to happen.

One of them was old and hunched over. She carefully measured yarn and arranged where each bit of it would lie on a loom.

A young woman sat next to her, not knowing what she was going to make, but weaving each strand together until they formed pictures of the great events of humanity. Medusa saw the games depicted on it. Wrestlers from earlier and discus throwers looked real enough to leap off the cloth. Medusa swore she could taste the food being drawn upon it and smell the battles that occurred over it. Amazed, she watched the woman weave the fabric of life.

The last Fate was a young girl who shook as her big eyes widened. She approached the two women, stroking one of the threads lovingly. She held a pair of scissors in her hands.

As sickly and pale as the little girl looked, she was the most terrifying Fate of all. The other two created and wrote life. She was the one who ended it. She destroyed young men and old. She toppled whole kingdoms if she wanted to. It took only one snip.

Someone's life was about to end. The horses marched around Perseus, until he was covered in a tornado of dust. Medusa's heart dropped. The life that was about to end could be his. She wouldn't allow that to happen. She'd throw herself in front of him if she needed to. Her lover couldn't die!

Perseus swung his arm back, ready to throw the last discus. How could the gods be so cruel? Was it because they had figured out their plan all along to destroy them? Were they killing Perseus because he had disobeyed them?

Medusa flew towards Perseus as he released the discus. Everyone cheered so wildly that no one heard her scream.

The young Fate licked her lips as she opened the scissors, positioning their blades over the taut string. Medusa wasn't going to make it in time.

The discus was carried in the air by the supernatural wind. It flew across the back of the running horses and away from Perseus. The discus sailed far past the farthest mark. He'd won! But people scattered as the discus made its way towards the crowd. It clunked Acrisus in the head. He passed out as blood gushed from him.

Medusa closed her eyes and heard a snip, a sound louder than the crunch the discus made when it came into contact with Acrisus' skull. He was dead.

A hushed silence fell over the crowd. Perseus killed his grandfather in his attempt to prove him wrong. He ran towards him and knelt in front of the man he didn't recognize as onlookers stared. He asked who the man was. They told him.

Medusa had never heard even a tortured animal shriek that way. Perseus yanked his hair and fled the stadium.

Medusa flew after him. Andromeda had abandoned Carius' sisters and was waiting for Perseus outside the stadium. He collapsed at her feet. He looked down at his hands as if they belonged to someone else. The disgust in his eyes was strong as if he thought he did the whole thing on purpose.

Andromeda stroked his arm and whispered. "I'm so sorry. Whatever happened, it's okay."

Medusa wished she could do the same thing, but was happy that at least one person was there to hold him. He shoved her. "This is exactly why you shouldn't want to be with a guy like me. You are too blinded by lust to realize that these are the kinds of horrible things that happen to the people I know. I killed my grandfather and you're next!"

Andromeda's mouth fell open and her lower lip trembled. He didn't give her a chance to respond as he pushed her and ran on. Several witnesses watched the exchange and glared at Perseus as Andromeda began to cry.

He had hurt Medusa as well, but in an entirely different way. He thought Andromeda was too good to be with him, that she deserved a better life. He had told her nothing of the sort. Did that mean he was only with Medusa because he felt he deserved no better? Was that the real reason he was attracted to her? She hoped not. Tears streamed down her face.

When Andromeda finally caught up with Perseus, he was packing all their stuff. She looked confused. "I know you didn't mean what you said earlier. You're not the kind of guy who'd try to murder me."

Perseus ignored her words. "We need to leave immediately."

She nodded her head. Clearly, Perseus wasn't in the mood to be argued with.

Medusa wanted to leave Andromeda there. After all they had gone through, they were better off without her. Besides, she knew people that could take care of her here, but after killing a king, accidentally or not, anyone Perseus associated with could be targeted.

Medusa didn't feel like flying anywhere at that moment. She had a lot of emotions she needed to vent, but was forced to hold in. She couldn't argue-she couldn't even speak without Andromeda hearing. He carried Andromeda in his arms this time rather than holding her in the bag. Medusa wondered whether he did it on purpose to keep Medusa from speaking to him and getting to the heart of what had just happened.

Medusa felt nauseous. She hadn't felt this sick since the last time she had gotten pregnant. She had to hold it in, though. Andromeda would notice if she threw up.

Medusa's heart pounded as she rubbed her belly. Could it be? Could she actually be carrying the baby of the man she loved this time? She had been wondering this subconsciously for a while, but was too afraid to contemplate it until that moment. The thought was a tiny ray of sunshine in their otherwise awful existence.

They didn't fly long. Perseus was depressed and so was Andromeda, so they didn't have the energy to travel far. Medusa decided to wait to go to sleep and then to comfort Perseus about everything, but Andromeda beat her to the punch.

Perseus started sobbing and she wrapped her arms around him and cried, too. Medusa immediately felt jealous, wishing she could hold her boyfriend openly like that.

Perseus' head drooped and his face fell into Andromeda's cleavage. Although it was considered a motherly thing for a woman to hold a man to her chest, it made Medusa shudder in disgust.

As Perseus fell asleep with a miserable expression on his face and Andromeda collapsed to the side of him, she realized for the first time that Perseus didn't always take things well. She had viewed him as strong enough to take anything, but he was crumbling before her eyes.

So after Andromeda went to sleep, she paced back and forth, waiting for Perseus to call her to him and ask for her help. Surely, he would want to speak to her after all that had happened. Then maybe she'd tell him everything she was thinking as well. The opportunity never came. He was in too deep of a sleep to reach out for her.

A hole spread in Medusa's heart. Why had he gone to Andromeda for help and not her? Was he shunning her now that he realized this trip was harder than it originally seemed? Did he blame her for what had happened? What was wrong? He expected her to tell him everything and she did, but she wanted the same amount of trust in return. She felt a great distance starting to tear them apart.

She was tempted to wake him up and yell at him. She wanted him to know how his rejection tore apart her insides, but he'd get angry, which would make her insecurities worse. She'd have to take it out on the only other person there. The problem had been Andromeda all along.

She stood over Andromeda, who looked like an angel as she slept. Weeks of running and pain had left her exhausted. She wasn't allowed to rest. It was only fair. Andromeda had singlehandedly stolen everything of Medusa's that she had come across. She didn't think of anyone but herself. She'd be punished for it.

It didn't matter to Medusa anymore that she had done none of it purposefully. She was tired of being emotionally tortured and having to keep a happy face in order to hide it from Andromeda.

She wrapped her arm around Andromeda and covered her nose and mouth with her hand. She dragged her into the woods, where she struggled. Medusa knew Andromeda could feel her scaly skin. Her widened eyes told her that all she knew was that she was being attacked by an invisible monster. This would be fun.

Bloody scratches appeared on Andromeda's arms as Medusa clawed her. Medusa punched her in the stomach until she was wheezing and spitting blood. Tears poured down Andromeda's cheeks. Her eyes begged for mercy as the flurry of her emotions made her limbs flop wildly.

Andromeda fought back against her invisible attacker–kicking and scratching, but doing no damage. Medusa laughed; she was powerless against her. Having control for once made her feel good.

Andromeda crawled from beneath her and Medusa allowed it, just to tease her into thinking she could escape. She screamed as Medusa pounced and continued to release her pent-up aggression.

Perseus jumped up from his sleep. He ran to Andromeda's side, only half awake, after noticing her disappearance. He roared as soon as he saw them. Medusa realized from the expression on his face that she had made a horrible mistake. She let Andromeda go.

He carried Andromeda in his arms back to camp and she described being attacked by an invisible animal. Blood stained both their clothes.

"You have to go back out there and find it before it attacks us again."

Perseus' mouth was straightened into a tight line. "It's long gone by now. I have no way to track it.

"Hide in the wallet where it's safe for now. I will keep watch just in case the monster returns. I have bandages in there that you can use."

Soon Medusa and Perseus were left alone.

Medusa opened her mouth to speak, but Perseus stomped away. At first she thought he didn't notice her, until she realized he had done it on purpose.

They both flew towards the sky. Medusa didn't know what to say and didn't feel that his anger was fair after all she had suffered.

"You hurt an innocent girl!" His voice cracked with emotion. "Isn't my love enough for you?"

Her voice was cold. "You're the one who broke a promise to me. You said we were getting rid of her and instead you were caressing her. I only agreed to bring her along because you promised never to touch her. You're going to leave me for her and you expect me to stand by and do nothing?"

"You're completely out of control." Perseus' hands were clenched into fists. "I don't care why you attacked her. The fact is, you still did it! I thought you were different from your sisters!"

Medusa burst into tears. "She took my mother from me and now she's trying to take the only thing I have left–you. I was the one who rescued her life, but she's been thankful to you and destroyed me. I killed my mother to save her and it's horrific that I attacked her?

"I'm not special enough for you to love or even confide in. I had to watch from a distance, painfully, while you buried your head in her breasts as she held you. Why do you expect me to view all that as if it's nothing?"

"Because it really didn't mean anything," Perseus said.