Chapter Forty-two
Thanatos
Ihad seen enough.
I witnessed Medusa’s sins, seeing the dark aura emanating not only from her transformed body but also from her human form of her past.
It disgusted me.
Hera’s original punishment should have remained. Medusa should have suffered for far longer, never receiving a reprieve and a damn reward. Hera thought she was doing the right thing, but she had no idea what a snake Medusa really was.
Medusa taking upon a serpent form was damn comical.
Now I didn’t know how to explain to the rest of the gods and my mate how much worse this fucking deity was.
Fuck.
How does one explain a situation such as this?
Three reapers enter the dungeon, they filed in one at a time. I would not reap Medusa’s soul. I didn’t want to touch the vile thing.
As the reapers emerged, they forcefully extracted her soul from her body, leaving her devoid of her tail serpentine body. With a sudden transformation, she stood upright on two legs. “Release me!” Her desperate screams reverberated through the heated, dry dungeon, but no deity paid her any heed. The weight of impending punishment hung in the air as the reapers sealed her lips.
“I suggest we carry out the judgment here,” Hades remarked, his voice dripped with icy nonchalance. A wisp of smoke curls around him, carrying the faint scent of sulfur as he adjusts the collar of his shirt. The room darkens as his piercing gaze becomes shrouded in an ominous darkness.
Lucifer, on the other hand, was downright ecstatic, his feathers shivering in excitement next to his mate.
“I have more evidence if you so desire. Along with knowing where the stone is being hidden. This evidence will make us all see Zeus differently,” I said.
Hera’s head jerked to me, her brows furrowing.
“Medusa, truly, is nothing but a snake. A perfect animal you chose for her, Hera,” I said dryly.
Hera stomped toward me and crossed her arms. “What did she do, Thanatos? The evidence was clear when I walked in on both of them. She was riding him into the fucking night!” Hera jerked her head back to Uriel. “Sorry, dear.”
Lucifer covered Uriel’s ears, sending a death glare to his mother-in-law.
“The reason for this starts before you found them. Zeus was at that party amongst the Greeks disguised as Poseidon, but he was only there for the free booze, not for women.” My hold went tight around Juniper to keep me grounded.
“Medusa poisoned his drink. She was planning on stealing Poseidon’s Trident and pawning it off to a witch. Instead, the drug dropped Zeus’ disguise and Medusa’s plans changed. Medusa led him to Athena’s temple and ripped off his clothes and she–”
“No!” Athena shook her head. “That is impossible. Why would she do such a thing!” Hera stared at Medusa’s being held by the reapers.
Medusa struggled in my reapers’ hold, narrowing her eyes at Hera.
Hera had no ability to touch a soul. It wasn’t in her power to do so. She gripped her fists, her lip curled into a snarl, and huffed out a breath.
“The trident Medusa wanted to steal was going to buy her immortality. Instead, Medusa saw Zeus’ disguise falter and decided to get her immortality another way. Medusa knew Zeus would give what she wanted if she got pregnant. Everyone knows Zeus takes care of his human affair partners when they resulted in offspring. But humans widely knew that Zeus wasn't taking on affair partners anymore because of his strained relationship with Hera, but Medusa didn't care. So she decided to drug—.”
Hera let out a sob.
I glanced down at my mate, who had her own tears in her eyes and spoke to my mate, “Zeus grants immortal life to a human who bears a child by his seed.” I explained to her softly.
Juniper gasped.
Hera stumbled back, her body colliding with the cold stone wall. Tremors coursed through her, causing her head to shake. The sound of her shaky breath filled the dungeon as she whispered, “No.” Her eyes squeezed shut, blocking out the world around her. The rhythmic thud of her head tapping the wall resonated, matching the weight of her regret. “You mean, Zeus?” she whispered, her voice filled with disbelief. “He was tellingthe truth all along? That he truly didn’t know how he ended up there? That he did not know of what was happening to him?”
I nodded and squeezed my mate’s shoulders.