Chapter II #2
I curtsy. “Medusa, my king.”
Poseidon smiles, then turns back to my father to begin a different conversation. Our audience with him is over. Stheno and Euryale loop their arms through mine, and the three of us duck back into the crowd again.
As soon as Poseidon is out of sight, I exhale.
“I think the sea king liked you best,” Euryale teases under her breath. “He smiled at you.”
My cheeks warm. “Don’t be silly,” I mutter.
“He smiled at all of us.” I say the words aloud, but the imaginary hummingbirds are still fluttering madly about my rib cage.
For a moment, I let myself entertain Euryale’s words.
I let myself believe that maybe she’s right, that maybe Poseidon did like me best. After all, I was the only one he addressed directly.
Just as quickly, reason prevails. No. That would be absurd.
Poseidon is not just a god, he’s an Olympian, the king of the sea.
He has power and prestige well beyond anything I could ever hope to attain.
And who am I, in the face of all that? The mortal daughter of two minor sea gods in his vast and sparkling court.
He will, I know deep down, forget me. It is likely he already has.
“Meddy!”
My mother has not raised her voice, but it still carries over the hall’s din.
My sisters offer sympathetic looks before tactfully uncoupling from me and continuing to a table full of food.
I sigh and change direction, returning to the front of the hall to join my mother at our table.
She is holding another golden goblet full to the brim with red wine, and even from several paces away, I can smell it on her breath.
That isn’t what slows my steps, though; it’s the man seated beside her.
I’ve never seen him before. He appears to be in his forties—though, among gods, one can never be certain—and has skin the color of wet clay, set off by thick, wavy black hair that has only just begun to gray at the temples.
As I reach the table, he stands and offers a courteous bow, sparing me only a fleeting smile.
My mother is now beaming, and I can’t entirely temper the prickle of unease I feel as the man disappears back into the crowd.
“Come. Sit with me,” my mother orders, indicating the seat on her other side.
I want to ask her about the mysterious man, who he is and what he wanted, but before I can, my mother gestures.
“It’s a magnificent feast, isn’t it? Nearly every god in the Sea Court is here.
” Her smile turns smug. “You know, your aunt Tethys hosted a feast some time ago, but it wasn’t nearly so grand as all this.
I can’t wait to see her face when she learns that we were graced by the sea king. ”
Like my father, my mother was once great and powerful. She was goddess of all the ocean’s monsters and notorious for her collection of murderous sea pets. Sometimes, I grieve for the goddess she used to be, the goddess I’ve never known. Sometimes, I pity the petty woman she has become.
“Did you see your uncle Nereus?” My mother has already moved on. She points. “It seems he’s brought his entire brood tonight. I certainly hope we have enough food…”
I follow her gaze to several young women clustered in one of the hall’s back corners.
I must have missed their arrival. There are a great number of them, and even from a distance, it’s clear they’re all of the same kin.
Most of them are brown-skinned, but a few have more curious features—kelp-green hair, unnaturally long webbed fingers, and scaly appendages that shimmer in the light.
I have heard of my cousins, the Nereids, though I’ve never seen them before. They are sea nymphs, widely famed among gods old and new for their familial beauty. In their midst, I spot an ancient-looking man with umber skin and thin gray hair.
That is my uncle Nereus, their father and namesake.
My eyes stop on a young woman posted at his side like a sentinel. She favors him, so I know she must be a sea nymph, too, but she stands especially tall, and holds herself with an austerity that sets her apart from the rest of her sisters. She also wears a diadem made from pale pink coral.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“Hm?” My mother looks up. “Ah, that’s Amphitrite, Poseidon’s wife. They must not have come together.” She chuckles, as though enjoying a private joke. “That’s not unusual.”
I have heard plenty about the king of the sea; I know startlingly little about its queen.
To my surprise, Amphitrite wears her black hair in locs like mine, though hers are far longer and fall to her waist. She has rich oak-brown skin, full lips, and high cheekbones that might make her striking in a certain light, but her beauty is marred by the scowl twisting her features.
Like most gods, she appears to be young, a woman in her mid-twenties, but something in her countenance betrays her true age.
Her obsidian eyes dart back and forth, cool and flat.
I fight a sudden chill, despite the room’s warmth.
“She looks angry,” I whisper.
My mother waves a dismissive hand. “That is just her face, darling.”
I look between the sea king and the sea queen, positioned on opposite ends of our hall.
The contrast between them could not be more pronounced.
Poseidon, still standing beside my father, has attracted a growing crowd of admirers.
He is laughing, and a charismatic aura seems to emanate from his very being, even at a distance.
By comparison, Amphitrite stands near motionless, silent and glacial.
I cannot understand how two people so seemingly different could marry, and I find myself wondering if perhaps their union was arranged.
Without warning, the queen turns, and her imperial gaze pierces me with the precision of a sailor’s harpoon.
I recoil, as though I’ve been struck. Then, to my horror, she starts in our direction.
“She’s—” The words die on my tongue as the sea queen reaches our table with inhuman speed and stops before us. I’m grateful that, even in my terror, I have the sense to stand at the same time my mother does.
“Ceto.” The queen’s voice is low and dulcet. “I did not have the opportunity to greet you when I arrived. Forgive me.”
“Queen Amphitrite.” My mother bows low in a rare show of genuine deference. “No apology is required. Your presence honors us.”
The queen returns her attention to me. “And who might you be, girl?”
“I—”
“Medusa is my daughter.” My mother answers for me. “She’s my youngest.”
When I met the sea king earlier, it seemed he barely noticed me. The opposite is true of the sea queen. She seems to take in all of me at once. In particular, she studies my hair with keen interest.
“How old are you, child?”
“Seventeen, my queen.”
“A perfect age to begin entertaining suitors for marriage,” my mother cuts in again. “Wouldn’t you agree, Your Grace?”
Amphitrite does not answer my mother or even look her way. Instead, her gaze stays trained on me. “Is it your wish to marry, Medusa?”
“I…” My eyes flick to my mother, who nods encouragingly. “Yes, my queen. I hope to honor my family by finding a good husband.”
This seems to amuse Amphitrite, because a small smile touches her lips. “And what qualities, in your view, make for a good husband?”
I stiffen as a new panic grips me. This was not a question my mother prepared me for.
I take a deep breath before I answer. “I would hope to marry someone kind,” I say carefully.
“Someone intelligent, brave, and…” I steal an involuntary glance at the sea king across the room.
It’s a fleeting look, but I know at once that the sea queen notices. Her dark eyes narrow.
“And handsome?” she adds.
“Y-yes, my queen.” My eyes drop to the floor. When I dare look up again, the queen’s expression has changed. It’s hard to know exactly how to interpret the look she’s giving me, but I see recognition, anger, and then…something that looks almost like pity.
“I hope you find just what you’re looking for, Medusa,” she murmurs. She turns to my mother and gives her a final parting nod before returning to stand with her own father and sisters.
My mother waits until the queen is out of earshot before she leans in. “Well done,” she whispers in my ear. It appears she did not notice the final look the queen gave me.
“Excuse me, Mother.” I step back. “I need air.”
I waste no time slipping from the hall and putting as much distance between myself and Amphitrite as possible.
Once I’m far enough away, I lean against a wall, pressing my head against the cool stone.
The panic I felt before intensifies as I turn the encounter over and over in my mind.
Why did Amphitrite notice me? Why did she ask me what qualities I thought made for a good husband?
And at the end, why did she look at me like that, like she was angry?
Was it because I’d looked at Poseidon? I’d looked at him for only a second, I hadn’t meant to do it, but…
I sink to the floor and bury my face in my hands.
“Meddy?”
I look up, surprised, and feel the tension in my shoulders ease slightly as Theo’s familiar voice finds me in the hall’s dark. My friend is holding an empty silver tray under one arm, smiling as he draws nearer. That smile fades as he takes in the look on my face.
“Meddy, what’s wrong?”
“I…I think I’ve just made a terrible mistake.”
Theo frowns. “How?”
My words are halting at first, but slowly I tell him about my encounters with both the sea king and the sea queen. When I finish, Theo shakes his head.
“You didn’t do or say anything wrong, Meddy,” he assures me. “So what if you looked at Poseidon? He’s the king. I’m sure lots of people look at him. And maybe the queen was unhappy about something else. It doesn’t mean she was angry with you.”