Epilogue
Medusa
“ T here you go.” Perseus placed the box in his arms down on the ground. “That’s the last of it.”
Medusa looked around at the chaotic clutter around them—boxes placed on every available surface, half-open file cabinets waiting to be filled, packaging materials strewn about—and sighed. “And now the real work begins.”
Perseus crossed the distance between them, his green eyes twinkling behind the magical specs.
“You know what they say, if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.
” His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close.
“And I’m definitely ‘doing’”—he thrust his hips at her—“what I love.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “No, I’m not from the Upperworld, but I don’t think that’s the right quote.”
“It is, in this case.” His mouth descended on hers, capturing her lips in a kiss.
She melted into him, meeting his kiss with the same passionate energy.
Her snakelets relaxed and sighed against him, rubbing their little heads against his neck and cheeks, which she knew he absolutely delighted in.
In fact, he hated it whenever she had to cover them up, and absolutely forbade her to do so unless they were around humans who didn’t know about their existence.
Mating with Perseus had been an interesting experience to be sure.
While gorgons also bonded with their fated mates, it was more physical, in the sense that their partners were the only people in the world that were immune to their gaze.
However, with shifters, the link between mates was metaphysical and emotional.
The anami ekarde allowed her to feel connected to Perseus, to actually experience his emotions, as well as his love toward her.
Even her snakelets knew how devoted he was, and they were just as smitten with him as she was.
However, with their mating, a decision had to be made.
They had to decide where they were going to live.
After all, neither of them had the divine power to cross between the Upperworld and Vale Crossing, and Eros wasn’t about to start ferrying them every time they wanted what he had called “a cross-world booty call.”
They debated their options, and for a while, it seemed they couldn’t come to an agreement, but in the end, they realized with the events of the past few weeks, this was not an impediment, but rather an opportunity.
With their search for the geryon descendants ramping up and going to full speed, thanks to Medusa and the Chura triplets’ powers, they decided they needed their own space, and not just a study in Perseus’s parents’ house.
And because the triplets wanted to move to Vale Crossing, they decided to get their own office space on the outskirts of Alindale, the capital.
It was close enough to Serpentara that Medusa could visit home or have her sisters come, but have the modern conveniences so they could still work and communicate with Bob back in the Upperworld.
With that set, they made the move and started searching for a home for themselves.
Medusa wasn’t too worried about that part, especially when there were bigger fish to fry.
After all, aside from the geryon project, they had a second, more personal mission: finding Zeus’s children and more importantly, who was trying to kill them.
Now that the burden of finding the geryon descendants was lighter, they could also devote time to that task.
And that was one of the things she loved about him. Though he may hate Zeus, nor had he met his half-siblings, he was still going to protect them. Because that’s the kind of man he was.
“Hmm…” Perseus’s lips broke away from her and slid down to her neck. “How about we christen this place properly?”
“Here?”
“Why not?” A hand slunk down her back, covering her ass. “We’re alone and?—”
A knock at the door interrupted him, and he let out a soft curse. Her snakelets too, let out a hiss of disappointment.
“So much for being alone,” he sighed. “Come in.”
The door cracked open, and Zara stuck her head in. “Perseus, Medusa, good morning,
I—” Her mouth clamped shut. “Um, sorry for interrupting.”
Medusa disentangled herself from Perseus.
“Not at all. We were just, uh, finishing up moving in.” There was no use lying to the empath, as she probably felt the echoes of their emotions the moment she opened the door, but she did it anyway to save them all from embarrassment. “Thanks for coming in on time.”
“Of course. I’m excited to get started and see our headquarters. But”—she glanced behind her—“the reason I knocked is because we have visitors.” Stepping inside, she opened the door wider.
“Psyche, Lord Eros,” Medusa greeted as Perseus’s sister, and the god of love and desire entered. “What a pleasant surprise. To what do we owe this honor?”
“Oh, we thought we’d pop by for a visit,” Eros said, his tone taking on that cheerful tone whenever he was around his mate. “And I realized Psyche has never been to Vale Crossing, so I thought I’d show her around.”
“I don’t usually care for new places, but I have to admit, this place has piqued my scientific curiosity,” Psyche admitted. “And Eros said there might even be fossils around here.”
“I don’t know anything about fossils,” Medusa said. “Though you probably could find someone at the university who specializes in them.
Her hazel eyes widened. “There’s a university too?”
“Of course. Alindale is a modern city. We have libraries, parks, shops, cafes.”
“It kind of reminds me of London or Paris,” Perseus added. “Anyway, I’m glad to see you, Psyche. Since Eros is your mate, I’m sure he won’t mind ferrying you back and forth.”
“Still sore I won’t ferry you across dimensions to get a little ‘Netflix and Chill’?” Eros’s arrogant smirk returned.
“Hey—”
“Quit it, you two,” Medusa said. “Psyche, how are Leo and Jean?”
“They’re great, and they said hi.”
“And they’re asking if you need anything else to help you get started with finding Zeus’s offspring.”
Perseus’s parents—who Medusa absolutely adored as they did her—offered their financial as well as emotional support to the effort. “They’re your blood, son, no matter how you feel about your biological father,” Leo had said. “You have to save them.”
“They’ve done more than enough,” Medusa replied. “And we really want to get started, but there’s still a lot to do.”
“We need to recruit some more, for starters,” Zara said. “We’ll get started right?—”
The door blasted into splinters as a wave of an unknown power filled the room.
Before she could see what had caused it, Medusa hit the ground as Perseus tackled and shielded her body.
Still, her instincts lit up, telling her the presence of someone in the range of five or six, which only meant one thing.
A powerful being from Vale Crossing.
“I heard you were in town, bastard!” boomed the stranger. “How dare you show your face around here after last time?”
Perseus got to his feet. “Who the hell do you think you are? And—what the fuck are you?”
Medusa scrambled to get up, brushing dust off herself.
“What are—” She sucked in a breath as she adjusted her glasses, and her vision came into focus.
From the stranger’s tall, hulking stature and the diamond-like scales covering his body, it was obvious what he was.
“You’re a Drakkon.” But what was he doing in the city?
Their kind usually preferred to stay in their mountain stronghold, about a hundred miles out of Alindale.
Perseus cocked his head to the side. “A what?”
Before she could explain, the stranger stretched his arms out, expanding his chest as it began to glow into a bright orange hue. He opened his mouth and flames spewed out, blazing across the room until it hit the largest object there—Perseus’s desk.
“What the hell?” Perseus growled. “That’s my desk!”
But the Drakkon ignored him. “Bastard, you’re going to pay for what you did!”
Medusa glanced around the room, searching for whom the creature was referring to, following his gaze until it landed on Eros.
The god of love and desire snapped his fingers, quickly extinguishing the flame. “You could have hurt my mate.” His tone held a deadly edge. “I should send you to the depths of the Underworld for that.”
The Drakkon cracked his knuckles together. “Oh yeah? How about I burn you to a crisp again, Lord Eros?” he spat.
“Tsk, tsk, you’re still mad about that?”
“What the hell is going on?” Perseus interjected.
“He is angry. Disappointed.”
It was Zara who spoke. Perseus made a motion to stop her, but Medusa put a hand on his arm to stop him.
“Melancholic,” she continued. “And…lonely.”
The Drakkon’s gaze fixed on her, his shoulders dropping. “Stop.”
“I’m sorry.” Zara gasped. “Sometimes…sometimes I can’t control it.”
Perseus slapped a hand over his forehead. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Psyche spoke up. “You’re the one who burned Eros at Artemis and Cade’s gender reveal.”
The Drakkon’s jaw went slack. “He told you about that?”
“Yes, of course he did,” she said. “We don’t hide anything from each other. We’re fated mates, after all.”
“Mates?” That only seemed to anger him more. “ You have a mate? There is no justice in this world!” He raised a fist in the air.
“Wow, he’s kinda extra isn’t he?” Medusa whispered to Perseus.
“Not surprised, when Eros is involved.” He cleared his throat. “Mr. Drakkon?—”
“It’s Hektor,” he said. “Just Hektor.”
“Hektor.” Perseus seemingly put on his diplomacy hat. “What is it that you want from Eros? What did he do, and how can he make it right?”
“He cannot undo what he has done,” Hektor cried. “Because of him, I have lost the chance to have a mate.”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Eros interrupted. “It was one woman.”
“Who you shot with one of your cursed arrows so she would fall in love with someone else!” He hissed. “Eleonora should have been mine.”
“Is this true?” Perseus asked.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Eros’s lips pressed together. “I have to confess, I did some pretty terrible things in the past, sometimes just for mere amusement because I was bored. Or maybe I was angry at my own circumstances.”
“We all have a past,” Psyche said. “What’s important is that we do better once we correct our course.”
“Right you are, darling.” Clearing his throat, he turned to Hektor. “Forgive me, Hektor. It was wrong of me to do that.”
“It was,” the Drakkon groused. “You have cost me the love of my life. And now I must spend the rest of my days without her, mourning our love. I will never find another like her, and I am doomed to be alone.”
Eros clucked his tongue. “Really, though? I mean, let me tell you a little secret, Hektor. The truth is, my arrows don’t work the way people think they do.”
“They don’t?”
“No. Yes, they can turn your affection into the first thing you see…but only if your heart was truly free. Hektor, if Eleanora really loved you, she wouldn’t have been turned by those arrows. The effect would only be temporary.”
“I…” The Drakkon’s mouth dropped open. “So, she never…”
“No, I’m afraid not. And I’m sorry, I truly am. No one understands more than I.”
Hektor swallowed hard. “I always thought…”
“Forget about her, Hektor.” Carefully, Eros inched toward him and placed a sympathetic pat on his rock-like shoulder. “I know it feels like you’re never going to get over her. But you know what helps?”
“What?”
“Having a purpose. Tell me, Hektor, what do you do back in the Drakkon citadel?”
“Well, uh, I’m an enforcer,” he said.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s okay. Just boring sometimes.”
“Excellent! You know, our team is recruiting.”
“You are?” He glanced around. “What is this place?”
“A very special place.” Eros’s mouth formed into a grin. “You know, if you come work for us, you’ll be able to travel and do some good in the world. You’ll find purpose. Women love that.”
He cocked his head to the side. “They do?”
“Of course. And you know, if you put yourself out there, who knows, maybe you’ll meet the one.” He looped his arm through his. “What do you say?”
“I guess…”
“Great.” Eros dragged him toward what was the left of the doorway. “I’ll tell you more about what we’re doing here….”
Once they were gone, Perseus spoke. “Of course, Eros just recruited the guy who tried to kill him.”
“Hey, a Drakkon would be a great addition to the team. Aside from breathing fire, they’re strong and intimidating. What do you think, Zara?”
“I—what?” The young woman started, as if jolted from a daydream. “Um, yeah.” Her cheeks had turned an unusual pinkish color. “Sure…I should uh, go and see if Hek—er, Lord Eros needs me.” With that, she scuttled off.
“Hmm.” Psyche’s mouth twitched. “She couldn’t take her eyes off him. Does it have something to do with her empathic powers?”
“Could be,” Medusa said. “I imagine he’s got some powerful emotions.” She had, after all, experienced heartbreak herself, more than once now.
“Anyway, I should go see what’s going on. I’ll see you later? Eros says we can stay for a couple of hours.”
“Sure thing, Psyche.”
“Goddammit!” Perseus cursed as he walked over to his table. “This was brand new.” He ran a hand over the scorched surface. “Ouch!” He practically leaped away, shaking his hand. “Fuck, that burns like hell.”
“Watch out, Drakkonen fire is deadly, and the heat can be long-lasting.” Taking his hand, she kissed his burned fingers. Her snakelets, too, reached out, wanting to comfort him, so she leaned forward so they could sprinkle kisses on his skin. “All better?”
“Yeah.” He held up his hand, the skin barely showing signs of injury.
“That’s your shifter healing, silly,” she said wryly. Still, his love thrummed through the bond, strong and genuine.
“Yes, but I’m not lying.” He patted her snakelets affectionately. “You and the girls make everything better.”
Thanks for reading!
Turn the pages for excerpts from their books!