Page 37 of Heroines of Olympus

“Thank you for bringing me here. I’m finding myself constantly overwhelmed, my emotions, my senses, everything. There never seems to be a reprieve, except when I’m here. In fact,” she says, feeling bold, taking Psyche’s other hand. Maybe the goddess will tolerate this small contact from Medusa without being too horrified. “Here, the thought of touching another person isn’t terrifying. This acclimation to people and physical touch is proving to be a challenging one. Every touch is magnified by the fact that it’s one of the first in almost a decade. If I want to, say, hold someone’s hand, that’s an overwhelming concept out there. In here, it feels right, it feels safe.”

Waves of shame cascade through Medusa. This is going to chase off the one person who seems toseeher. Feeling self-conscious and vulnerable, Medusa tries to pull her hand away, but Psyche holds tight.

“Please, don’t,” Psyche says. “You don’t have to be so quick to shut me out after letting me in for the briefest moment. Thank you for sharing this with me. I imagined it would be an adjustment, but I will admit, I hadn’t even considered that aspect of this for you. I will do my best to keep that in mind from now on, especially as someone who also has ideas about things like holding hands.”

Relief floods Medusa’s entire body. Such a small gesture of consideration has her feeling warm, acknowledged, and valuable for the first time in a long time. If only Psyche could have seen herbefore. The thoughts of what could have been circle and swirl in her mind, reminding Medusa just how much has been taken from her.

“I think the connection to my snakes is stronger here,” Medusa says. “Everything else is dulled, but my connection to them is heightened. Do you know why?”

“I imagine it’s because in here, the Oasis strips your senses away and bares your soul. No matter how you got them, they are an intrinsic part of you.”

“Oh.” It is all she can think to respond at first. Anger builds in her chest. “I never asked for this! To be so cursed that it alters my soul!” Tears threaten to fall, but she will not let them.

Psyche shakes her head. “I know, it’s not fair.” Psyche gently cups Medusa’s chin, making her look into her eyes. “But what I also know is you aren’t the monster they’ve made you out to be. The one you now believe yourself to be. I see someone who was horribly wronged but didn’t give up. You even saved Cadmus. What kind of monster would do that?”

Medusa’s cheeks burn with shame as Psyche’s words confirm what Medusa already knows. If Psyche knew Medusa tried to kill Cadmus, she would be ashamed and disgusted.

“Maybe the curse wasn’t the serpents! Maybe it was to make my appearance as ugly as my soul!” Angry tears continue to well up in her eyes.

Psyche grabs her by the shoulders and forces Medusa to look at her again. “Stop that! I know you’ve been alone, and you’ve truly suffered, but that doesn’t define you. Poseidon is an evil god, who did a horrible thing to you. You didn’t deserve it, and it certainly wasn’t a reflection of your soul or your heart.”

“But-“

“No. No, but. I have seen you show kindness and generosity to every person you meet until they give you a reason not to.Despiteeverything that has happened to you. Fates be damned. I wish you could see yourself the way I do.”

Medusa is speechless as emotions build into a storm inside of her, fighting each other’s currents. She closes her eyes and just breathes.

This shall not break me.

“Can we sit for a minute?” Medusa asks. “Just one more moment in the Oasis before we return?”

Psyche responds by sitting in the sand facing the sun, and patting the ground next to her. Medusa sits down shoulder to shoulder with Psyche and they sit there, hand in hand, once more, taking in the scenery and the comfort of each other’s company.

* * *

Back in the real world,the sun sets as another warm day turns into early evening. Once they make itdown from the Observatory, they find they both worked up quite an appetite on the trek. A stall with freshly grilled fish makes Medusa’s stomach rumble. The smell of the spices is too alluring to refuse - although Medusa would normally be fine never having fish again after such a steady diet of it.

When they have eaten the last of the fish, Psyche purchases a couple of frozen berry desserts to eat as they walk to a council meeting.

The Allegiance Council meets once a week to discuss current movements and map out any new plans. Psyche gives Medusa the shorthand version of what to expect in between bites. The group is efficient and to the point, the only conflict being where to allocate resources. There are so many areas of need and only so much the Allegiance can accomplish at once, so they do their best to keep chipping away at the never-ending list.

The Council Room where the meetings are held is back in the Compound where Medusa and Psyche are currently residing. Hopefully, that means Medusa can easily slip out and retreat to her room if things become too much. It is doubtful anyone will mind if Medusa is not there for all of it.

When Psyche had told Medusa about the mission being planned, it flabbergasted her to know the depths of the Pantheon’s depravity. She has heard of the illegal markets where anything can be purchased for the right price and knows they are horrific, but these auctions are a new level of atrocious.

Conversation comes to a halt as Medusa and Psyche walk into the room, before slowly resuming. A large oval-shaped table dominates the space and is piled with books, maps, and charts. Charts keeping track of forces on both sides of the equation cover the walls.Do not linger on them.That may make her appear too nosy and seem suspicious. Everyone will be as hesitant to trust her as she is of them. There have been a few pleasant surprises so far in her interactions with people, but not enough to allow Medusa to let down her guard easily.

Men and women of varying ages fill the half-full table. The rest file in as they finish their chatter amongst each other. Once everyone is seated, there are twenty-two people at the table in total.

Medusa and Psyche sit at the end closest to the door. Psyche sees Medusa making note of the door’s location, leans over, and whispers with a wink, “I figured here would be good, in case we need a quick getaway.”

A woman at the other end of the table stands up and everyone goes quiet. She looks like she is in her forties, with chestnut skin and deep amber eyes that land on Medusa, who cringes internally, waiting for what the woman will say.

“Welcome, everyone. It’s always nice to see the faces that made it back once again this week, as we all know that isn’t guaranteed.” A few heads nod silently in agreement. “We were successful this week. We brought in three groups of refugees, two from the War Temple and one from the Iron Temple. I am grateful for every soul we spare from their misery. Another tick in the win column is sitting at the end of this table.”

Everyone turns to look at Medusa, who braces herself, making eye contact with every person at that table one at a time, despite wishing a hole would just open up in the floor and swallow her. Most of the faces that meet her gaze are warm, neutral, or curious, allowing Medusa to breathe easier. One man looks somewhat unsettled, but the only real negative energy is coming from the captain of the ship that brought her here, Nicodemus. He was being rude on the ship and is now giving her a look that insinuates he would like to feed her to one of the leviathans his ship is named after. Medusa meets his glare and returns it, making it clear that she will not allow him to bully her. His nose pulls into a sneer and Nicodemus turns his attention back to the woman running the meeting, much to Medusa’s relief. The woman is glaring at the captain, presently not in the mood to put up with whatever his problem is. Hopefully, Medusa will have time to ask Psyche or Alec why Nicodemus has so much animosity toward her.

The woman continues, “Welcome, Medusa. I know this is a lot to take in. Cass has told me that while the Fates have not given her the full extent of what role you will play in the grand scheme of our plans. She could not stress enough that you are vital to the success of our mission. My name is Isadora, but you are welcome to call me Isa or Issi, and I invite you to take the time you need to settle in and learn about what we are doing. You will find-“

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