The Oracle of Delphi (Greek Myth Fantasy Series) (25 page)
Read The Oracle of Delphi (Greek Myth Fantasy Series) Online
Authors: Elizabeth Rose
Andromeda watched the sadness on her husband’s face as they laid his grandfather into the ground. Perseus had been so happy to be back in Seriphus, so happy to see his mother again, but that was before this tragedy.
“I am sorry,” she said, coming to his side and taking his hand in hers. “You could not have known.”
“He did know,” said his mother, Danaë, walking over to join them. “The oracle foretold this many years ago. There was nothing you could do to escape your fate, my son.”
The last rock was placed upon the gravesite by Perseus’s own hand. The people then dispersed, going back to the house of Dictys for a feast he had offered to the visitors of Argos.
Perseus looked down to his grandfather’s gravesite. With Dictys permission, he had buried him next to Iris, keeping the family together. So many people dying needlessly. So many people he was unable to save.
“Come,” Dictys told him, motioning for him to join the rest. “We are having a feast to celebrate the newfound freedom of Seriphus.”
Perseus didn’t feel much like celebrating, but at the insistence of his mother and wife, he followed along. “I do not understand what Acrisius was doing here to begin with,” he said to the women. “He belongs in Argos. Why was he sailing to Seriphus?”
“I can answer that,” said his mother. “His crew members told me he had heard of your victory in slaying the sea serpent in Thessaly. He was frightened you would come to kill him next. He never knew we were still alive after he had set us out on the ocean to die. His desire was to get as far from you as possible, not knowing he sailed directly to the island you had returned to. As far as he knew, you resided in Thessaly. You see, son, he could not escape his fate.”
“But I feel as if I have murdered him,” he told his mother. “And worse yet, I had promised you I would not harm him.”
She looked at him with understanding in her eyes and nodded. “I once thought like you. I could not accept the fact my son would some day murder my own father. I thought you would be nothing more than a murderer, killing those I once loved. But now I see it is not so. You were nothing more than a pawn in the game of life, Perseus. You have done nothing more than fulfill the oracle’s prophecy. You should feel no guilt over the death of Acrisius. It was an accident, foretold by the oracle years ago. The act was destined to happen before you were even born. There was nothing you could have done to change it.”
Perseus felt somber, but his mother’s words helped put his mind at ease. He would live his life the best he could, and make choices and decisions, hoping he could shape his future. But where the oracle was involved, he knew he had no control. He would accept his fate and release his guilt eventually over time.
Some cheery music started up, and Andromeda pulled him forward into the midst of the celebration to dance. His spirits lifted just being near her.
The wine flowed freely, and the music played into the night. The food diminished little by little, and long into the evening someone shouted, “we need to choose a new king to rule Seriphus!”
“Yes,” agreed another. “I choose Perseus!”
“Perseus, did you hear that?” asked Andromeda, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “They want you to be their new king.”
“I heard,” he told her, “but it means nothing now.”
Someone pushed him forward into the center of the crowd and another slapped a crown upon his head. The crowd cheered their approval.
“No,” said Perseus, removing the crown. “I will not be your new king. My wife is already heir to the throne of Thessaly.”
“But I have no desire to return to Thessaly to claim that honor,” she told him with a smile. “I feel this is my home now, Perseus. If you would like to stay in Seriphus, I will gladly stay with you.”
Perseus knew his heart belonged to this island, even though he tried to convince himself they would be better off in Thessaly. The islanders never wanted to leave, and though his mother would at his insistence, he knew she felt a loyalty to stay with Dictys since Iris was dead.
“Then I will stay in Seriphus,” he announced, pulling his wife into his arms. “This is our home now, and you are all our family.”
Andromeda kissed him. “Yes,” she agreed. “I consider each and every one of you a part of my new family. I am happy our child will be raised on Seriphus. This will be his or her new home as well.
“Yes,” said Perseus, “but I will not be your king.”
Andromeda looked up to him questioningly, and the crowd stilled with just a few mumbles among them.
Perseus walked to Dictys’ side, bending on one knee, humbly handing him the crown.
“I think this honor belongs to you, Dictys. As brother of the king, you will be our leader and new King of Seriphus.”
The crowd went wild, clapping and showing their agreement. Dictys accepted the crown, and the crowd raised him to their shoulders parading him around the island.
“That was noble of you, my son.” Perseus’s mother smiled softly at him, her eyes glittering in the firelight. “I know how much you wanted to be someone of importance some day. What better way than to accept the crown?”
“But I am someone,” he told his mother, pulling Andromeda into his arms and resting his hands on her stomach. “I am a husband and soon to be a father as well.”
Pegasus nudged him from behind and Perseus laughed, running a hand over the horse’s soft nose. “I did not forget about you, boy. You will stay with us forever and give rides to all of our six boys.”
“Six?” Andromeda asked in surprise. “Why, Perseus, that is a lot to expect of any woman. I am not even certain I will make a good mother to just one.”
“I am a man with high hopes,” he told her with a smile. “And I have no doubts that you will be the best mother ever. I can only hope I will have the discus throw perfected by the time our boys are ready to participate in the games. I love you Andromeda and know we will be together for a long time.”
“You will,” his mother reassured him with a wink. “I did not tell you all of the prophecy, son. Try adding six daughters to your dream of six sons and you will be right on target.”
Andromeda’s eyes opened wide, and Perseus could not help but laugh.
“It is as well as done,” he told Andromeda in reassurance. “After all, as we have already seen, no one can change a prophecy foretold by the
Oracle of Delphi
.”
* * *
From the author
:
I hope you enjoyed the story of Perseus and Andromeda.
Medusa has always been one of my favorite myths - just think of the power of one woman’s gaze!
Follow my journey into Greek mythology with the other books of the series as well.
Greek Myth Fantasy Series
:
You may also enjoy my other medieval series:
The Legacy of the Blade Series:
And my
Elemental
Series
:
The Dragon and the Dreamwalker
Book 1: Fire
The Duke and the Dryad
Book 2: Earth
The Sword and the Sylph
Book 3: Air
The Sheik and the Siren
Book 4: Water
Please visit my website at
elizabethrosenovels.com
to read excerpts and receive updates as I have new books being released every month. And remember, there are other authors by the same name, but my novels have my trademark of a red rose on the cover!
I have included some excerpts from each of the series for your enjoyment. Thanks for your support and enjoy!
Elizabeth Rose
Excerpt from
Thief of Olympus
: -
Greek Myth Fantasy Series
(Lysandra is an Amazon warrior and Zarek is the King of thieves.)
He would make the seed of a strong warrior baby...
“Let go of the chains,” demanded Lysandra, and the Amazons dropped them to the ground.
“Lysandra, don’t be foolish,” warned her mother. “He is not to be trusted. He may run before the union is consummated.”
“He’s too proud to run.” Lysandra circled the man, seeing by the twitch in his jaw that her comment was true. “This man needs to be taught a lesson.” She grabbed his chin in her hand, squeezing as she brought his face closer to hers. “Tonight you’ll learn how to treat an Amazon properly.” She released her hold, seeing the marks of her fingers upon his skin. The man never even blinked at her action. “Take him to my tent,” she instructed….
He turned to face her, his head scraping the ceiling. The candlelight lit up his body, enabling her to see each and every muscle. She twirled the amethyst stone ring on her finger - the jewelry that identified her as the princess of her tribe. She spun it around with her thumb, staring at his face, not letting her eyes travel lower. His dark gaze encompassed her, mesmerizing her in a way she never thought possible. She was drawn to this man. An attraction she didn’t understand. She’d been trained and raised to hate all men, but this one intrigued her. He held a secret deep inside of which she couldn’t decipher. A dangerous secret that was well guarded.
“Perhaps you need help disrobing?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Your hands and legs are chained,” she pointed out. “I hardly think - ”
She never finished her sentence. His arms shot out from behind his back - unchained. He rubbed one foot against the other in an awkward motion that somehow unlocked the manacles around his ankles. He stepped forward, free from his confinements.
Excerpt from
The Dragon and the Dreamwalker
: Book 1- Fire, in the Elemental Series:
(Brynn is an elemental of fire, and Drake is known as the infamous Dragon’s Son.)
Brynn took a moment to focus her vision in the semi-darkened room. Though she feared the man in the shadows, she still had the odd sensation of being comfortable with her surroundings.
She looked up to the velvet draperies that hung from iron rods around the bed. Her heart beat faster and she sat upright, barely breathing at all as she recognized the carved spindles at each corner. Her father had carved these spindles - engraving his love for his wife in the vines and faeries that wrapped around and around, climbing to the top and ending in a moon or star. She knew now why she felt at home. She
was
home. Resting in her parents’ bed.
“No!” she exclaimed, not wanting to believe it were true. She placed the candle on the bedside table. Her eyes shot to the wall looking frantically for her father’s banner - his crest of sword and shield, a mighty arm holding one, a feminine arm the other. But it was no surprise when she found it missing. Instead, a banner with a fierce fire-breathing red and black dragon consumed the spot.
“You act as if you’ve seen a ghost. As if my castle’s dwellings could speak to you.” He still stayed hidden in the shadows.
“Every stone in the walls, every rush on the floor - they cry with anguish for the lives that have been lost here recently. And if you are so bold as to call this your castle, then it can only be you who is responsible for the blood that’s been shed on these grounds.”
“I claim many a triumph of the men I’ve conquered or the fiefs I hold, but I cannot put my mark on the lives lost here. I claim the castle only.”
“’Twas you who killed my parents! ’Twas you who stole my family’s wealth.”
“You’re parents?” he asked, sounding bewildered. As if he didn’t know who she was when he saved her from the dragon only to claim her as his prize.
She grabbed the coverlet from the bed and wrapped it tightly around her, easing herself to the floor and hoping her father’s ivory-handled dagger still lay hidden under the loose floorboard. She would never be the spoils of war. She’d kill him before she lived at the side of the man who murdered her parents.
“I’ve heard it said that the former lord and lady of Thorndale Castle had a daughter. A daughter who befriends fire and has magical powers at her command,” he answered from the darkness.
“And I’ve heard it said that the man who leads the Klarens into battle, killing and ransacking everything in sight is a black-hearted man who gains his power at the hands of others’ misfortunes. His reputation is known throughout the hills of Lornoon. He’s the one mothers warn their daughters about. He’s the one they mention to threaten their children when they’re bad. Yet his name is never spoken aloud, for fear the darkness that possesses this man’s soul may follow his name, striking down dead the one who spoke it.”