Page 125 of Thanatos' Craving

“You might think of the human legend. There are several versions. The most popular legend is the one where Poseidon raped Medusa in the temple of Athena. And that it infuriated Athena that her temple was desecrated with such a lewd act. So Athena turned Medusa’s beautiful locks of hair into snakes.” Hera’s hand tightened around the scroll, causing it to crinkle.

Uriel gently extended her hand, reaching out to grasp the delicate warmth of her mother’s hand, offering a comforting touch. Hera, her face adorned with a grateful smile, reciprocated the gesture, radiating a sense of relief.

“Yes, that is what I thought had happened,” I said.

Hera scoffed. “Well, it isn’t. Just like many other legends, humans get wrong. It isn’t their fault. It is not like we wentout of our way to correct them. I’m sure Thanatos has told you that Poseidon is a very shy fellow, rarely leaves his underwater palace. The poor male has had no relations with hardly any female besides his mate.”

Of course, that would definitely make that legend false.

“No, instead it was Zeus.” Hera gave a tight-lipped smile.

My eyes widened.

“Zeus disguised himself as Poseidon. Medusa was at the seashore, dressed in scantily clad clothing, at this party. Zeus was at a nearby bonfire with a bunch of humans, drunk off his ass and disguised himself as Poseidon and stole her from the party.” Hera’s eyes darkened.

“Zeus took Medusa to the nearest shelter, and they had relations in Athena’s temple. Athena never cared for those temples, she found them useless, she didn’t care what humans did there, but I knew what was going on.” Hera rolled up her scroll. “As I’ve said before, I was vengeful. I blamed them both and turned her hair into snakes, cursing her to turn any man into stone if they looked at her. Zeus, I couldn’t do much to him, but he cried and whined that he did nothing wrong, and that for once he was innocent.” She scoffed. “But I knew better. The lies, the deceit. I was over it. That was when I was over him. What little love I had for him faded after that.”

I frowned, holding onto Thanatos’ arm a little tighter. It was so sad to hear about Hera and Zeus. In the legends, false legends, you don’t think about them being real. Just fables from a religion of a country that people once believed. But Hera was a person, a god that had feelings and she hurt.

Hera took in a long breath and let it out slowly. “That was a long time ago. We have mates now. I have Michael. Zeus and I were not compatible. I know that now.” She held up her scroll, and it faded away. “And when I realized how horrible I was, I decided it wasn’t really Medusa’s fault. So I healed Medusa’ssight of stone, gave the option to take her snakes away, even her snake-like body but she said she wanted to have the ability to shift from human to snake and keep it, and also keep the immortality that came with it.”

“And what of Perseus? He was supposed to have cut off her head?” I asked.

“Perseus?” She laughed. “A tale he came up with which resulted in a legend. He murdered some poor innocent woman, cut off her head, shaved off the hair, sewed dead snakes to her scalp. Trust me, there were consequences for that later. She crossed her arms.

Lucifer chuckled darkly. “Yes, he is currently still suffering for it.”

I shivered at his dark words. All the while, Uriel was coloring on a scrap of paper, undeterred by it.

Alright then.

“But what is the motive? Has she been given immortal life, so I assume you have also provided her with riches to right her wrongs as well?” Thanatos pushed.

Hera nodded, tapping her fingers on the desk. “Indeed, she has. In fact, she was quite pleased with everything I had given her and told me not to worry about it. I should have checked up on her but–I was just so overwhelmed with guilt making her suffer when it was Zeus that tricked her and basically raping her.”

Uriel and I both looked at each other when Hera mentioned the word rape. In the few moments I’ve seen Zeus, he didn’t look like one that would rape or force someone. He was a shell of himself when I saw him briefly, but I guess I didn’t really know him.

“We will have a clearer picture once we question her,” Lucifer declared, rising from his seat. A mischievous glint danced in hiseyes, casting an eerie shimmer. The room seemed to grow darker in his presence as an unsettling aura enveloped the air.

Thanatos rose with me by his side. “I think we should all have a talk with the worm and get some answers before we unleash you, Lucifer. We all know how you get.”

Lucifer smiled, and it wasn’t handsome. It was downright evil.

Hades and Ember arrived in the basement with the rest of us. We should have had stadium seating with the group that was now surrounding Medusa’s cell.

All the way down to the basement, Thanatos held my hand with a wing surrounding me. Yet, he said nothing to comfort me. Worry stirred in my gut and I wondered if it was because of Medusa, or of me.

Probably the latter.

Medusa was beaten to a bloody pulp. She had swollen eyes, blood dripping down her torso. Scales now completely covered her body, even down to her fingertips filled with sharp venomous claws. Whatever camouflage that hid her, every bit of it was gone.

Medusa slowly turned her head, the sound of her scales rustling like dried leaves. Coiled tightly around herself, she resembled an injured snake, emitting a menacing hiss that echoed through the air.

“Easy,” Thanatos stepped in front of me, his wings blocking my view. “We’ve got questions and unless you want Lucifer to let loose on you early, I suggest you give us answers.

Lucifer’s wings erupted from his body with a powerful force, feathers unfurling in a breathtaking display. The sound of tearing fabric echoed through the air as Lucifer's wings erupted from his body with a powerful force, shredding his shirt to mere fragments. Uriel, unimpressed, rolled her eyes and plucked the remnants of cloth from his form, her head shaking in disbelief. “You really need to control yourself, Luci. We might have to recruit a tailor solely for your never-ending wardrobe mishaps.”

I snorted back a laugh, and I covered my mouth to hide it. But the dungeon caught every noise, and it echoed across the steaming stones.

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