“No,” Alex said, shaking his head. His eyes glistened, and his voice cracked. “You’re not going to do this.”
“Alex, please,” she said softly and evenly. “I can’t take a fight right now.”
“Then don’t you dare start one.”
“Alex, please,” Euryale said once again, her voice growing darker and stronger. “I need you to listen to me very carefully. I love you with every fiber of my being, and I love our children even more. But you have to go. Right now. If you don’t, I’m going to lose my mind, and when I do, there’s no telling what will happen.”
Alex balked, and Stheno stood and flicked open her bronze claws. “Listen to your wife, Alex,” she growled. “I’ll make you leave if I must.”
“Daddy?”
Alex, staring down Stheno, stroked the top of his son’s head as Aison clutched him tightly around the neck. “Come on, kiddo,” he finally said. “Let’s go see if we can help Apollo figure something out.”
With that, Alex grunted, shook his head, and carried their son out of the room.
“I’ll leave if you wish,” Stheno said, “but I want you to know, you don’t have to do this alone.”
Euryale shook her head. “No. I do.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because no one needs to see the monster I am—that I’m going to be.”
Stheno nodded weakly and toyed with the chiton she now wore. She didn’t say anything else, but she did place a soft kiss on her sister’s forehead before leaving the room.
Euryale sat with watery eyes for far longer than she thought she would, all the while trying to say something to her daughter. Finally, she found the only words that she could muster, and even then, only barely.
“Sweetie,” she said, stroking the top of her head. “Mommy loves you very much.”
Chapter Confessions
Euryale usually loved her new living room. It had a cozy fireplace that was perfect for snuggling, not that she had had a chance to use it for such purpose yet, but still, she could dream. It also sported a pair of couches, a love seat, four leather recliners, and a long coffee table with masterful scrolling. Granted, said coffee table had a few crayon marks, recent additions thanks to the twins testing out their avant-garde artistic techniques, but it was still one of her favorite pieces in her new home, despite the recent colored-wax flourishes.
At the moment, however, none of that mattered. She, Stheno, and Alex each occupied a different seat around a crackling fire, and no one had said much of anything since she’d left Cassandra’s room. Euryale hadn’t thought of anything either, opting to retreat into a mental fog that shielded her from what she’d done.
That changed when Alex finally spoke.
“What now?” he asked.
Euryale cringed at the sound of his voice, which felt colder and more distant than she had ever thought it could be. As she leaned back in one of the recliners, she wondered if this was going to be the end of their marriage. He hated her at this point for what she’d done. He had to. Or at least, he wanted to leave. It was a gut-wrenching realization, and though she felt she’d had no choice in turning Cassandra to stone, she understood where he was coming from.
Not only did she understand; on some level, if he hadn’t reacted the way he did, she might’ve hated him, too. For what sort of father wouldn’t be livid if his wife petrified their child? Only one who cared nothing for his daughter—and that wasn’t the man she’d fallen in love with.
“We find a cure. That’s what we do,” Euryale whispered. “Same as always.”
“And what about Hera?” Alex snapped. “Do you have a plan for winning her over?”
Euryale shook her head.
“You might not, dear sister, but I do,” Stheno said, drawing back her lips so her fangs gleamed in the light from the fireplace.
Alex rolled his eyes. “Oh, this should be good. Let me guess, torture her? Maybe start with filleting her toes or crushing her bones one at a time? I’m sure that’ll work.”
Stheno licked her lips and rubbed her hands together with anticipation. “Mmmm, no, that’s not what I was thinking,” she said. “But I love where you’re going with it.”
“I wasn’t being serious.”
“I know, but I was.”
“No one is torturing anyone,” Euryale said.
“Yet,” Stheno tacked on.
“What about Cronus?” Alex asked. “He helped you once. Maybe he’ll do it again.”
Euryale shook her head and buried her face in her hands. “He’s not an option, Alex.”
“Pretty sure he is.”
“He’s not, Alex!” she snapped. “We’ll be lucky if he simply kills us all for bothering him again. Is that what you want?”
“Yeah, that’s what I want,” Alex tutted.
The gorgon sighed and rubbed her temples. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, but I swear, Alex, if I even thought there was a one-in-a-million chance going to him again would help, I’d take it.”
“Then what do we do?” Stheno asked.
“We’ll have to scour the world and find an antidote,” she replied. “While we do that, Alex is going to have to figure out how to handle Hera.”
Alex snorted. “Right, I’ll go back to being the lapdog you get to order about.”
Euryale straightened, shocked and confused. “Why would you say that?”
“Why would I?” He then shook his head and muttered to himself before taking to his feet and starting for the door. “It doesn’t matter. Forget it. I’m going to go check on Aison. You know, since he’s still alive and whatnot. Probably best we make sure he stays that way.”
Her husband’s words ripped through Euryale’s gut. “Alex, please—”
“No!” he barked. “There’s no ‘Alex, please’ here. My wishes are not some stupid afterthought—I am not some stupid afterthought.”
“You’re not an afterthought,” she said. “You never have been.”
“Sorry, but when the rubber meets the road, people’s true character comes out,” he said, his face turning three shades of crimson. “Look, don’t pretend we’re married with a meaningful relationship if this is how it’s going to be. You yell at me. You tell me to go away. You don’t explain a damn thing. You make me toy with Athena? The goddess could squash me into oblivion. And, and, and then—and then—you petrify our daughter without giving a damn what I have to say about it.”
“I do give a damn,” Euryale said, wilting under the assault. Gods, if he only knew. If she could only somehow find the strength to speak the unspeakable, maybe he’d understand. Or maybe he wouldn’t.
“Yeah, well, actions speak louder than words,” Alex said with a huff. His eyes then found Stheno’s as she glared at him with unmatched hate. “What? You think you can scare me? I’ve fought a gorgon already and came out on top.”
“You never fought me,” Stheno hissed. “Euryale was always the nice one.”
Alex tensed, not out of fear, Euryale could tell, but out of the anticipation of a full-on brawl. “The only reason I’m even remotely tolerating any of your crap right now is because you’re her sister.”
“And the only reason you’re not lying in a pool of your own blood, torn to ribbons, is because she still loves you,” Stheno countered. “I will say, however, that little fact isn’t going to keep you safe for much longer. I’ll have your entrails stretched from here to the Parthenon if you keep that up.”
“Whatever,” Alex said, waving her off. “I’m going to get Aison—make sure he knows at least one parent isn’t going to hurt him.”
Euryale burst into tears. “That’s not fair.”
“What’s not fair is cutting me out of everything,” Alex snapped back. “You know what, actually? Since everything went to crap after you joined the gods, maybe you should rely on them from now on. I’ll go tell Athena you want her help. Or check that, let’s go right to the top. Zeus is a pretty powerful guy. I’m sure he’ll make everything ri
ght.”
Euryale flew out of her chair, eyes large, voice full of panic. “No! Not Zeus!”
The room seemed to freeze, and the only thing that broke the deathly silence was the sound of her heart pounding against her ribcage. Alex, with one hand on the doorknob, looked at his wife with genuine concern. “What’s going on?” he asked softly.
“You…you can’t go to him,” she replied. As she spoke, Euryale felt her soul wither. The room seemed larger, her sister seemed farther, and her husband seemed more of a stranger than he ever was before.
“Euryale,” he said, drawing her attention after gods knew how long. The gorgon looked up, not realizing she’d been staring at the marble floor, to find Alex standing in front of her, holding her hands. “Tell me.”
“I—I can’t.”
Alex brushed his hand against her cheek, and she recoiled.
“Euryale,” he whispered. “You either trust me, or you don’t.”
Euryale shook her head, though she knew his words were true. She stared at her hands and rubbed them over and over one another, desperately trying to find her words.
“I didn’t mean to, I swear,” she blubbered. “I was in the bath, drinking—”
Alex retreated a step. “Didn’t mean to what?”
Euryale looked up, and the mix of fear and betrayal in his face nearly stole her breath and life away. “He came while you were away. He came, and we…”
“No…”
“I swear, Alex, I didn’t want to,” she cried. “I’d never—”
“No, tell me this is some sick, twisted joke,” he said, stepping back again. His feet found a nearby end table, and he nearly lost his balance running into it.
Euryale’s heart tore in two. She collapsed to the floor, bawling, and wrapped her arms around her sides, trying to find some measure of comfort. “I didn’t know it was him,” she said, rocking. “I swear, Alex. I had no idea. He looked exactly like you. I swear, Alex, to the Fates, on our children’s souls, I’d never betray you. You’re my everything.”
“He…he tricked you?” Alex asked.
“No. He raped her,” Stheno corrected, her voice full of more venom than all the creatures on earth had combined. “Call it what it is.”
Euryale recoiled even further at the word. She didn’t want to think about it, think about how helpless it made her feel, how useless and worthless. All she wanted to do was curl into a little ball and have the world fade away.
“Please believe me,” she said finally. “Gods, Alex, if you don’t, you can kill me now. I can’t suffer that kind of torment.”
Alex was at his wife’s side in a flash, holding her tight. But the moment he did, she was back in the bathhouse with Zeus as he pulled her close and kissed her naked skin.
Euryale screamed in terror and rage, tearing out of her husband’s arms, spinning across the floor and ending up cowered near the fireplace. One hand kept her steady on the ground, while the other had a shaky grasp on the fire poker.
“It’s okay,” Alex said, voice wavering, hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I should’ve have said any of that. I…I didn’t know.”
For what felt like eons, nothing further was said and no one moved.
And then Stheno was kneeling at her side, close, but not touching. “Euryale? Look at me.”
The gorgon tried, but the best she managed was to turn toward her. Her focus, still out to infinity, kept her safe, so she saw nothing at all.
“Can you at least hear me?” Stheno asked.
Euryale could, but did she want to? She wanted nothing but oblivion.
“We vowed to look after each other until the end of time, remember?” she said.
Euryale nodded, her mind nearly reaching total absence at this point. “Right.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She paused and threw a glance to Alex. “He’s not either.”
Euryale drifted. Words she didn’t care to follow flowed from her husband and her sister as her thoughts ran in a thousand messy directions. Eventually, she spoke six little words that summed it all up. “I don’t know what to do.”
Stheno gently grasped her hand. “I do.”
Euryale refocused. Her sister had inched forward. Her bronze skin glowed like a bar of metal cast into the heart of a forge, and her eyes yearned for revenge.
“We make him pay,” she said. “We make them all pay.”
Euryale laughed, finding the notion utterly ridiculous. “How?” she asked. “How could we ever even dream of challenging Zeus?”
“I don’t care how,” she said. “We’ll find a way. You’re stronger than they are, and they know it.”
“No, I’m not.”
In a flash, Stheno grabbed her face so that she and Euryale were staring at each other only an inch apart, one in shock, the other in unbridled fury. “Don’t you dare say you’re not,” Stheno sneered. “You defeated Typhon! You destroyed his minions, stood up to Hera, and have the backing of Cronus! By the Fates, Euryale, you above all others can bring every last one of them to their knees!”
Despite her sister’s swift and intense reply, fear still claimed Euryale’s heart. “I’m not sure I can.”
Stheno dug her claws into her sister’s cheeks, drawing blood. “You can, and you will,” she growled. “Do you want Zeus to go free?”
“No.”
“Do you want him to think of you as something he can take whenever he wants?”
Euryale shook her head. “No.”
“Do you want him to think he can do it to others? To Cassandra?”
Fire, righteous and vengeful, erupted in the gorgon’s heart, instantly shattering the hold her fear and shame had upon her. “No,” she answered with a strength that would cower a titan.
Stheno let go and sat back with a wicked smile. “You’re damn right, no,” she said. “Now, let’s go save your daughter and burn this whole place to the ground.”
Euryale cleared her eyes one last time with her fingers as she let her sister’s words churn in her mind. Her gaze drifted down to her hands, to her claws which were now three inches long, sharp, and gleaming. She could feel her fangs lengthen in her mouth, digging into her tongue and lips, and as the room took on a reddish hue, she knew her eyes had turned black as the Abyss.
“I’m going to kill him,” she said, tail rattling and vipers hissing. “Slowly and painfully.”
Stheno nodded. “Yes…”
“And when I’m done with him, I’m going to kill every last one of them that stood at his side.”
“Yes! We’re going to kill them all!” Stheno cackled, pulling her sister upright. “Every last one.”
“Every last one of them,” Euryale repeated.
“We need to tell your dad,” Alex said.
Stheno snorted. “If you can find him.”
“What?”
“You heard me. If you can find him, the stupid old bastard.”
“She’s right,” Euryale said with as much spite as her sister. “There’s no telling where he is or what he’s chasing.”
“Or whether he’d even give it up to begin with if you did catch up to him,” Stheno finished. “We’re on our own.”
“But he’s your dad,” Alex said. “That’s like part of his job. Crack skulls when you need it most.”
Euryale’s tail rattled as long-dormant memories stirred. “A job he hasn’t always taken to heart, despite what he did with you.”
Stheno folded her arms over her chest. “That’s being generous.”
“Okay, well, he’s out. I guess,” Alex said, exhaling sharply. “What do we do about Cassandra, then?”
Euryale narrowed her eyes, not because she held any anger or spite to her husband, but because sheer determination drove her every action, and nothing was going to stop her. “Find Hera. Get her to tell you how to reverse what I’ve done,” she said. “I don’t care how you have to do it. Just make it happen.”
“And the poison?”
“We could try hemalander,” Stheno offered. “Or rather, Apollo could.”
“What’s that?” Alex asked, looking lost.
“A flower of legends,” Euryale filled in. “Legends inside of legends, more like it. It’s said to be the most poisonous substance ever to exist.”
“And that helps us how, again?”
“The plant is also supposed to be the most powerful agent when it comes to cures, too,” Stheno explained. “That said, I don’t even know where to start looking for it.”
Euryale turned her sister’s idea over a few times in her head. It had merit, if the thing were real. It wouldn’t be the first time a myth spun by the gods wasn’t true, and this was an old, old myth indeed. That said, despite Apollo’s promise that he’d find something to save her daughter, in her heart of hearts, Euryale feared he was wrong. Moreover, she couldn’t sit by and do nothing, especially when an idea on where to find this legendary plant had just popped into her mind.
“I know where to go,” she said.
Alex’s eyes filled with hope. “You do?”
Euryale nodded. “Achlys.”
Stheno gasped, but Alex, her dear, sweet, clueless Alex, simply cocked his head. “Who?”
“The Goddess of Death and Misery,” Stheno filled in. “Daughter of Nyx.”
Euryale nodded again. “If there’s anyone this side of creation who knows where to find the deadliest plant in existence, it’s her.”
“She doesn’t sound like the nicest deity around,” Alex said.
“She’s not.”
“What if she doesn’t want to help?”
“Then I’ll feed her to Scylla one piece at a time until she changes her mind.”
Stheno snaked an arm across Euryale’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Have I told you how much I love you lately?”
“No,” she replied, giving her a one-armed hug back.
“Well, I do,” Stheno replied. “Any idea where Achlys might be? Last I heard she wasn’t the easiest goddess to find.”
Euryale shook her head. “No, but Hera procured flowers from her a long time ago. We can start by paying her home a visit.”
A Storm of Blood and Stone (Myths of Stone Book 3) Page 11
