Chapter 44
SHARA
Ihated the Dauphine. I hated her power. As I watched what she’d done to Basilia, my hatred burned and boiled with the destructive power of Mount Vesuvius, the place of my conception.
Because Jeanne fucking enjoyed every single moment of torturing Basilia.
I wrapped a delicate metallic chain around her wrist, up her arm, and looped it around her throat, locking it into place.
“This adamantine chain was made more than two thousand years ago,” my mouth moved along with the Dauphine’s, speaking the words out loud for my Blood and Undina. “And its making has been lost forever. I’ve been saving it for the perfect occasion. Don’t you feel honored?”
Guillaume let out a low whistle. “Adamantine is a fabled indestructible metal from Greek mythology.”
“Let’s see if the Athene noctua has done its job.”
I paused the image in my head, focusing on the silver disk so we could identify it. “She called it a tetradrachm.”
“They’re classical currency from the same period,” G said. “Made from silver, usually stamped on one side with Athena’s image, and an owl—the Athene noctua—on the other.”
The physical sensation of pleasure rippled through my body as the Dauphine—I—peeled the silver disk away from Basilia’s hand.
Reduced to a bloodless, undead corpse, she screamed and howled, her heels drumming on the ground.
Even though her skin had shrunken tightly to her skeleton, I could see the tendons and ligaments straining beneath her skin.
The Dauphine tossed the silver disk onto the ground in the mouth of the cave, though it was still attached to Basilia through the adamantine chain.
“Ah, was that as enjoyable for you as it was for me? No?” Laughter came out of my mouth, twisting my stomach into knots. “Your hydra is now bound by the Athene noctua. She’ll kill anyone who approaches to try and free you. As long as you live, darling, nothing will be able to kill her, either.”
Nausea churned my stomach, bubbling up my throat. Fighting the urge to throw up, I released the memory. I turned my face into Rik’s chest, breathing deeply for a few moments, letting his scent soothe me.
“She lost her hydra?” Even Okeanos’ formidable mother’s voice trembled. “Goddess. I didn’t know that was possible.”
I didn’t have to be inside Basilia’s memory to know it’d fucking hurt to have her creature stripped out of her. A piece of her goddess-given power had been physically ripped from her body.
Closing my eyes, I whispered, “That’s not the end of the torture either.”
“What do you mean?” Undina asked sharply.
“When the Dauphine took a queen, it was more than just stealing her likeness. Even more than stealing her house and her power. When we saw her as Basilia in the Gulf, she spoke as Basilia. I assume she also wrote in Basilia’s handwriting.
Even people who knew her wouldn’t see through her disguise.
I’ve seen how she accomplished such fakery, and it’s… unpleasant.”
Rik’s fingers slid beneath the heavy bundle of hair at my nape, his grip strong and comforting. “We know enough now, my queen. You don’t have to view the rest.”
I tipped my face up to his. “I owe her.”
His hand slipped around to grip my chin in a surprisingly hard grip.
He leaned down into my space with a fierce, hard look burning in his eyes.
“You owe her nothing. You did not do this. You’re here to end her suffering, not bear witness and endure every moment all over again with her.
My queen does not suffer needlessly. Not one single moment.
Let us do our job now and save your power for what only you can do. ”
My throat ached, my eyes filling up with tears. But I nodded. “You’re right, my alpha. Thank you.”
For the benefit of the other queen, he gave his orders out loud. “Leviathan, your job is to kill the hydra, or at least keep it occupied long enough for one of us to get to Basilia’s body. General, will your sphinx be vulnerable to the hydra’s stare?”
Sekh shook his head. “I’m already stone. What more can she do to me? But I’m too large to fit into that cave.”
:I’ll fucking drag her out by the hydra,: Leviathan said. :Assuming they’re still chained together.:
“While the dragon’s trying to get to her heart, I’ll use my weight to pin her. I’ll cover her head if possible.”
Leviathan blew out a plume of smoke on a draconian chuckle. :Sit on the bitch’s head, motherfucker. Just don’t detach it or you’ll have two to deal with.:
“Xin, use your invisibility to get close enough to kill Basilia. The hydra won’t be able to see you, even if she gets away from the others.”
Everything made perfect sense to me. Except for one very important question. Looking around at my loved ones encircling us, I asked, “How do we kill her if she’s already the same as dead?”
“Take her head first,” Guillaume said. “If that doesn’t kill her, then we advance to plan B, which was my plan before you Called me, my queen.”
In his bond, flames rippled around him as he walked into an inferno.
Goddess. I did not want to burn her to death. “I’ll need to free her spirit first. I refuse to burn her alive.”
Rik set me down on my feet. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get there.”
MEHEN
It was finally my moment to fucking shine…
And I had to share it with the motherfucker.
Still, it felt pretty fucking amazing to be one of the few Blood who could actually do something against a hydra.
Other than having to partner with the motherfucking general, the only thing that would make this better would be fighting in the deepest part of the ocean.
The King of the Depths has finally come for you, Gorgon bitch.
Even the last Templar knight had to sit this one out, though he gave one of his bigger swords to Xin to cut off Basilia’s head.
:Don’t forget her poison,: I said in the Blood bond. :She can spit at least twenty paces, and it’ll dissolve diamonds.:
:Not even hydra poison is going to pit my stone hide,: Sekh said.
:Wanna fucking bet?: Though I felt Rik’s bond turning to granite. I didn’t need a thump from the alpha to remind me I had a job to do. :Going in after her now.:
Nevarre’s crow cawed overhead at the edge of the blood circle. :How far can her death stare reach?:
I didn’t want to admit I didn’t know. :If you can tell what color her eyes are, you’re too fucking close.:
I’d gotten a pretty good look at the battlefield earlier, but I didn’t want to be too hasty and look like a fool in front of my queen.
I made a quick pass over the cave, making a mental map of the area for the rest of the Blood in case this got hairy.
Most of the stone statues clustered directly in front of the cave, as if they’d tried to use each other as shields to get as close as possible.
Cluttering the ground in jumbled piles, they were going to make it harder to drag the hydra out if I came at her from the front.
Sweeping back out of her possible line of sight, I dropped onto the rocky stones higher up the hill and began to slowly slither closer. :I need some fucking bait.:
The general heaved out a grudging sigh, though he obligingly walked out into sight of the cave. His giant sphinx rattled the statues against the ground as he walked closer. :I don’t see any movement inside the cave. It’s barely more than a slit in the rock. I thought a hydra’d be bigger.:
:I didn’t see the hydra come out of Basilia,: Shara said. :But I felt it. It’s tied to the silver disk like an anchor. I’m guessing she’ll materialize out of the disk when she feels threatened.:
Ignoring the cave entirely, he used a massive shoulder to shove some of the upright statues over. Knocking them back out of our way. :Let’s see if I can piss her off.:
If she was cognizant enough to realize those statues had been servants and people of her own house, fuck yeah. That’d piss her off for sure.
A wave of Gorgon stink filled my nostrils as if she’d materialized right below me. :She’s coming.:
Crouched, I waited for her to emerge. Or at least stick her neck out far enough for me to grab her.
Casually, Sekh smashed some more of the statues, shoving them outward into a loose arc in front of the cave. He didn’t look up or brace in anyway.
A dark shadow slowly slipped further out of the cave, keeping low to the ground. From just her head and neck, she looked like a basilisk. Long snaky neck. Tapered cone-shaped head. She drew back slightly, and the flange flared out around her head.
:Incoming poison,: I warned Sekh, waiting for her to lunge forward to launch a stream of acid in his direction.
She reared back, almost disappearing entirely into the cave, and then spewed forward. Just as I slammed into her. Clamping my jaws on her neck, I used my forward momentum to keep pushing forward. Dragging her from her hiding place.
Roaring furiously, jaws gaping open wide and snapping in the air, she heaved backward, trying to dislodge my grip on her. Bitter blood filled my mouth—which was a very bad thing.
I did not want to accidentally rip her head off and give myself two targets to deal with. Since sprouting more heads was her greatest strength, her hide wasn’t as thick as mine.
A massive stone paw crunched down on her neck. :Trade me. Go get her heart.:
She writhed beneath the sphinx’s weight, making him apply more pressure to keep her trapped. Which put more strain on her neck. If he snapped her head off…
Hissing with frustration, I whirled around to find the meatiest part of her.
Something thicker than her fucking scrawny neck.
Most of her body was still wedged inside the cave, but her neck thickened as it approached her shoulders.
I seized another big mouthful and heaved backward, claws scrambling on the pavers.
Fuck. She was so fucking big it was like birthing her out of a tight channel.
As soon as both her shoulders emerged, she slipped out faster, twisting and rolling to break my grip.
Tearing her own head off.
:Fuck,: Sekh growled. :Fire might help stop her from regenerating.:
:Busy.: Even without a head, she raked her claws down my neck, gouging deep scratches in my scales, though it didn’t really injure me. Wrestling and rolling with her, I fought to pin her, but she was slippery as fuck. :Can Smoak blow fire?:
Fire rippled over the hydra, filling the air with the acrid scent of boiling acid and charred meat.
:I’ve got plenty of fire,: Shara said. :I’d rather not risk anyone else getting too close.:
Digging into the hydra’s softer abdomen, I tore my way up beneath her ribcage. Looking for the heart. Gorgon blood hissed on my scales, the reek of monstrous snake thick in my nostrils.
From the deep, dark depths of my memory, a horrifying image rose up slowly in my mind.
A small child, three or four years old. Naked. Shivering. Not from cold but fear. Bleeding and hurt and crying. So fucking terrified as the shadowed shape materialized out of the water, changing from a monster into a woman.
Skilah Gorgos, daughter of Stheno. My mother.
“Don’t make me leave.” Sobbing, I begged. I even ran to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. Clinging to her as she stepped from the water.
She shook free of me and continued walking down the beach. “Go to your father, Mehen. Maybe he can teach you some control.”
She never looked back.
When I returned years later, fully grown, my hatred well-honed and vicious, I stood on the same beach.
Crying only on the inside. Wishing she had one morsel of affection or empathy to toss my way.
When she rejected me again, I swore I would kill every cold-hearted Gorgon.
Every mercenary, power-hungry queen who’d lay with Ladon, the hundred-headed dragon, trying to conceive a precious heir.
Only to deliver me. Abandon me. Reject me.
So fuck them all. I devoured her. Every scrap. Then I tore the entire nest apart.
Snarling with rage, I bit and tore my way through the chest cavity. Found the large, thumping muscle. And swallowed it whole.
Then I lifted my bloody muzzle to the sky and let out a victorious roar. Finally.
The last Gorgon queen was fucking dead.
Then why the fuck did razor sharp teeth slice a hunk out of my underbelly?
I rolled away before she could get anything too vital but it hurt like a bitch. Which only pissed me the fuck off.
Fire rippled over us again, sizzling the blood on my scales. :She’s not dead,: Shara said. :I don’t think cauterizing the wounds helped.:
:I ate her fucking heart.: Furious, I grabbed one of the hydra’s front legs in my jaws and ripped the limb off. :So how the fuck is she still alive?:
Sekh grunted with disgust. :Does she have more than one heart?:
:Basilia’s still alive,: Shara said. :Xin took her head but it didn’t make any difference. We need a plan B.:
I wasn’t sure what she meant until I felt her approaching us.
Oh fuck no. Not my queen. Not anywhere near a hydra we couldn’t kill. No guarantee even the Eleusinian Mysteries would protect her from a hydra, especially since the Dauphine had set the trap.
Even Sekh roared with fury, trying to crush the hydra beneath his massive weight before our queen could be endangered.
More heads sprouted out all around his paws. A nest of tiny writhing snake heads—quickly growing bigger. All with poisonous acid and death stare eyes.
Fire wreathed around us, wave after wave, trying to slow the regeneration. Striding through the flames and smoke, my queen walked head high. Unhurried. Without an ounce of fear.
Because she walked in a dark shield of power.
I couldn’t see her face. At first, I thought she’d wrapped a shirt or something around her head, but as she passed toward the cave, it looked more like thick shadows. Darkness. Despite full sun overhead.
Even though she couldn’t see, she walked confidently toward Xin in the cave, using his bond to guide her steps.
One of the snake heads snapped at her back, whipping so fast it blurred in the smoke. I twisted around and snagged the neck, ripping the head off. Uncaring it meant more heads immediately started growing. If one of them touched her…
The fucking wake of devastation I’d committed through every Gorgon house was nothing.
I would fucking destroy this entire fucking world with my wrath.