Chapter XXVIII
XXVIII
Never in my life have I been so afraid.
I scream until I’m hoarse, but it does me no good as Athena half pulls, half drags me up the stairs and back into the palace.
In one moment, everything around me is dimmed; in the next, I am cast into a harsh golden light, and I know then that we’ve returned to the great hall.
Around us the air is tinged with the faint smells of sweat and wine.
The room’s din hushes as Athena marches me toward its center.
When we reach the spot where I was joyfully dancing only an hour before, she lets go of my hair and throws me to the ground.
I gather myself and look up; every person in the hall is staring at me.
“Father!” I hear Athena’s voice echoing through the space. “I would have an audience with you.”
My body begins to tremble.
Up close, Zeus is like a mountain. Unlike Poseidon, he’s chosen to make himself appear slightly older, but I see raw power in the god’s eyes. They are the color of an afternoon sky, a bright piercing azure. Those eyes assess me with confusion, then look to his daughter.
“What’s this, Athena?” His voice rolls like approaching thunder.
“You are our king, and I would have you pass judgment,” says Athena from behind me. “This girl has dishonored me.”
Zeus frowns. “Who is she?”
“Medusa. Daughter of the evening’s hosts: Phorcys and Ceto.”
Zeus still appears confused. “And how has she dishonored you?”
“She was my priestess, sworn to an oath of chastity,” says Athena. “Now she has defiled herself with your brother. I found her and Poseidon fornicating, here on the very grounds of her father’s home.”
There is a collective gasp, and I flinch. I thought I was out of tears, but more come as gods begin to whisper. I search wildly through the blur of unfamiliar faces to find ones I know. Eventually, I do.
Euryale’s bottom lip is trembling, her own eyes wet with tears. Beside her stands Stheno. I thought she would look angry, but she does not. My eldest sister looks terrified.
That frightens me more than anything else.
“Do you have any evidence of this crime?” Zeus asks. I turn back to him. The expression on his face is inscrutable, but I don’t think it is kind, either. I steal a glance at Athena and see her hands have balled into fists. She is shaking.
“I saw them myself, just now in the garden,” she seethes. “There is no doubt about what was done.”
I look from her to my parents. All my life they’ve seemed so grand and powerful; in that moment, they seem terribly small.
My mother is clasping my father’s arm, her fingernails digging deep into his skin.
My father’s face is drawn, his gaze empty and distant.
My eyes continue around the room, passing over the gods of the Sea Court I’ve known all my life.
Finally, they land on Amphitrite. Heat burns in my cheeks as I wait to see open hate on the sea queen’s face.
I wonder if she might join Athena in insisting on my punishment.
To my surprise, the sea queen doesn’t appear angry; it’s worse than that.
Amphitrite waits until my gaze meets hers, then she merely sighs and shakes her head.
It is a strange gesture, one of resignation.
I think back to the way she looked at me the very first time I saw her, the fury I saw flashing in her eyes.
I begin to wonder if that anger was never for me, if it was for her husband.
Had she known, all along, that he would do this?
I realize it no longer matters. The sea queen stares at me a second longer, then looks away.
“Father.” Athena’s ringing voice commands my attention again. “I demand that Poseidon be punished for damaging my priestess.”
Zeus adjusts himself in his seat, frowning. “Where is Poseidon?” I hear a hint of vexation in his voice now. He looks around the room, blue eyes blazing. “Where is my brother?”
There are murmurs among the other gods, and they look around, too. Then a door on the other side of the room opens. Every hair on my body stands on end.
Poseidon walks into the hall with a slow and easy gait, his head held high and a small smile upon his face.
I don’t want to look at him, but I find I can’t tear my eyes away.
I sit on the floor, transfixed as he approaches.
He does not spare me so much as a glance as he takes the seat beside his brother, extending his long legs and sitting back as though totally oblivious to the fact that everyone in the room is staring at him.
He plucks a goblet of wine from a side table, and only once he’s downed its contents does he speak.
“Brother,” he says silkily. “You called for me?”
“Poseidon.” The irritation in Zeus’s voice is plain as he regards his brother. “My daughter says you’ve wronged her.”
“Wronged her?” Poseidon sits up and looks around. After a moment, he casts his lazy gaze toward Athena, still deliberately ignoring me. “What have I done now, niece?”
“You seduced and lay with one of my priestesses!” Athena jabs a finger at Poseidon, spittle flying from her mouth. “You fornicated with a girl who pledged her service to me, a girl who was not to be touched.”
Finally, Poseidon looks at me. No longer does he appear only a few years my senior; he is ancient and cool. Revulsion shudders through me.
“I don’t deny that I slept with the girl,” he says lightly.
“But as for ‘seduction,’ she was the one who courted me. I met her in Athens, and I knew she intended to become a priestess. My intention was only to do my duty in watching over her as a member of the Sea Court, but she grew increasingly interested in more carnal relations. Even when I cautioned her, she was…persistent.” He smiles.
“Tonight, I went for a stroll in the gardens, and she was there, drunk. She practically begged for me.”
I feel as though I’ve been plunged into cold water.
Chills stipple every inch of my exposed skin.
It isn’t true, any of it. He’s taken everything that really happened between us and disfigured it beyond recognition.
The whispering among the gods grows louder, and Zeus’s brow furrows. For the first time, he addresses me.
“Is this true, girl?”
No. The word lodges in my throat, and a terrible whimper escapes me instead. Athena’s eyes cut to me, but this time I ignore her. I rise to my feet, unsteady. “No.”
Zeus leans forward. “No?”
“That’s…that’s not true.” I can’t breathe. It is too warm. “That’s not what happened. I—”
“Listen to her.” A malicious glimmer touches Poseidon’s eyes. He laughs. “She’s drunk right now. I doubt she even knows where she is.”
“…S’not true.” The lights of the hall are too bright. Sweat is slicking the back of my neck. Saliva fills my throat. I’m going to be sick. “Please, I didn’t…He didn’t…”
“Enough.” Zeus’s voice cuts off my mumblings. “We will have the truth of this,” he says calmly. “Girl. Relay your account of what happened.”
The contents of my stomach still slosh around inside me so violently, I’m afraid to move, but I make myself face the king of the gods. I take several deep breaths, trying to steady myself, before I speak.
“The sea king is lying.” There are gasps around the room, but I go on. “It’s true, we met in Athens, and it’s true we kissed, but tonight…” I swallow hard. “He asked me to show him the gardens.”
“And you did?” Zeus presses.
“He is the sea king.” I’m aware my words are growing more slurred, but I force them out. “I thought I had to.”
“So, you went with him willingly,” says Zeus.
“Yes, but—”
Zeus’s frown deepens. “Did you fornicate with my brother tonight?”
“I…” Say something. “Yes, but I—”
“Had you had any previous physical relations with him?”
“We kissed on the night of Panathenaia,” I say quickly. “And we met a few times on the beach in Athens. He came to my parents’ home once, to return a necklace.”
“So, this was not the first time you slept together.”
“We’d never slept together.” The room is beginning to tilt, and it’s everything I can do to stay on two feet. “I had never done it before, with anyone.”
Zeus’s gaze is unwavering. “And my last question: Did you say no?”
I try to remember that moment. Already, my mind has blocked so much of it out. I remember saying “Wait” and “I can’t,” but when I try to recall if I actually said the word no…I realize I can’t.
“Well?” Zeus prompts. “Did you?”
“I can’t remember, but—”
The rest of the room titters. Tears well in my eyes until I can barely see anything at all. I still hear Zeus’s next words, though.
“I’ve heard enough.” There is a finality in his voice. “Athena, the transgression committed was made against you, therefore you may choose a punishment for the girl.”
My nausea drains away. In its place comes cold fear. I blink hard, and the tears that’ve been held in my eyes slick down both cheeks as I stare up at Athena. Her gray eyes are flat now, expressionless. When she speaks, her voice is low, audible only to me.
“You were so promising,” she whispers. “Intelligent, brave, humble. You would have been an extraordinary priestess. Instead, you’ve chosen to be just like the rest. Such a disappointment.
” In a louder voice, she addresses the entire hall.
“This girl has chosen to use her beauty for blasphemy and wickedness,” she declares, “so she will have beauty no longer.”
She turns back to me, as if girding herself. I brace for her to strike me, rake her nails across my face, mar me. Instead, she stoops down and touches a slender finger to my scalp.
At once, the skin begins to burn.