Chapter XXII #2
I don’t exactly understand the look that flashes across his eyes, the brief, strange hunger.
The god takes the loc he’s been holding and brings it to his lips.
His eyes never leave mine as he lets his mouth linger there.
I start when his hand moves to my side to trace along my rib cage, and when he pulls me to him so that my back is against his chest, I gasp.
“You’re so young,” he says. The words buzz in my ear. “So beautiful.”
I am an acolyte of the Temple of Athena.
Deep down, I know I am not supposed to want.
But the truth is, in this moment, I do want.
I want Poseidon to kiss me again. I want him to press me against the wall the way he did before, and I want to feel the brush of his stubbled mouth scraping gently against my skin.
I want to know what comes after that.
“Medusa, I—” Suddenly, Poseidon looks up, then steps away from me. I blink, as though I’ve been awoken from a trance, but then I hear it, too. Footsteps farther up the hall, faint but growing unmistakably louder.
“I must go,” Poseidon says. At once, his tone is more formal. “I do hope we see each other again, Medusa, in Athens. If you ever wish to see me, come to the city’s shoreline and say my name. I’ll find you.”
“I—” He’s gone before I can form a reply. I watch him walk in the opposite direction of the noise, disappearing into the dark with that easy rolling gait that reminds me of the ocean’s waves.
The approaching footsteps grow louder, then:
“Meddy?”
I whirl around and find Theo standing at the opposite end of the hall. His arms are crossed, and he’s frowning.
“Theo!” My voice is a fraction too high. “What are you doing here?”
He nods. “I could ask you the same. It’s late.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I say, which is a half-truth.
Theo’s eyes narrow. “I saw someone walking away just before. Who was it?”
“Poseidon.” I say the name more carefully, but I’m still unable to totally temper the quiet thrill that comes from saying his name.
“Poseidon,” Theo repeats. “I didn’t know you were so familiar with the sea king.”
I shift my weight, uncomfortable. “I’m not. He’s just…kind.”
Theo cocks his head. “What were you two talking about at this hour of the night?”
“We barely talked at all.” At Theo’s arched brow, I add: “He just gave me back a necklace I’d lost in Athens.”
Theo frowns. “Why did he have it?”
“He found it!” I say, trying to keep the exasperation from my voice. “It was just good fortune that he recognized it.”
Theo says nothing for a beat. “And that’s all? He said nothing else to you?”
I shrug. “He complimented me,” I add. “He said I looked like my mother.”
Theo’s face twists. “Your mother is an ancient goddess, thousands of years old.”
“So?”
“So, you’re seventeen and nothing like her.”
I know what he’s trying to say; I can even acknowledge that it’s mostly true.
I don’t revel in the politics of the Sea Court the way she does.
I don’t spend my days in a red wine haze.
I’m not like my mother, and in some ways I’m glad for it.
That doesn’t mean hearing it aloud doesn’t hurt.
Normally, I’d want to tell Theo everything, but this doesn’t feel like something I can share.
“You’ve made your point,” I say coolly. “What quarrel do you have with Poseidon?”
Theo gives me a significant look. “I’ve heard things about him, Meddy.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t tell me, gossip?”
“It’s not gossip.” He bends his head and lowers his voice. “Slaves hear things, the things people say when they forget we’re there.”
I don’t want to be curious, but I can’t help myself. “Things like what?”
Theo looks around us. “There are palace slaves who have worked here longer than you or I have been alive,” he says. “Poseidon doesn’t have a good reputation, even among gods.”
“What do they say?”
“That his charm is all for show; that in reality, he has a foul temper,” says Theo.
“I’ve heard he’s cruel to those who serve him and crueler still to mortals.
He destroys entire towns with his earthquakes and floods, just for the sport of it.
” Theo looks down, embarrassed. “He’s married to the sea queen, but he takes countless mistresses and has sired hundreds of bastards.
Few of them are acknowledged, but it’s an open secret. His wife despises him.”
I think of Amphitrite then, of the way the sea queen’s beautiful mouth twisted into a scowl as she looked around our great hall.
“You saw him,” Theo says in a quieter voice. “You saw him with that sea nymph, in the gardens, same as me.”
It’s the first time he’s ever acknowledged that night, and a part of me is angry that he’s chosen this moment to do it.
I shake my head. “I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
“Unbelievable.” Theo shakes his head. “You’re actually defending him.”
I can’t say what exactly it is that ignites my anger, only that it comes suddenly, warming my blood. “You don’t know him!” I shout. “He has been kind to me in Athens. He has protected me when you and my sisters couldn’t.”
Theo flinches as though he’s been slapped. I know the words are hideously unfair, but I can’t take them back. I wait for him to say something, anything, but he only stares at me a moment longer, then turns and walks away.