And though I knew that at some point I would be wild with grief, all I felt was numb and dazed, like this was naught but a dream, a terrible, horrible nightmare, and soon I would awaken and see that it had never happened. That I was safe in my bed. And that no man who stank of fish and sweat grunted over me.
My eyes locked with Ares’s as my mind shifted far away from what was being done to me. So long as I had his gaze on mine, I could weather this storm. I could fight to hang onto to me. I could escape this curse that’d haunted me my whole life.
But as Poseidon continued his brutal attack upon me, a change came over my Ares.
His eyes grew shuttered at first and then distant, until finally there was no warmth in there at all. Only cold, hard detachment. When it was all over and I lay exposed before everyone, a disgraced and fallen woman, Hypnos released his hold on Ares. He stood, tall and proud, and looked down upon me as though he did not know me at all. As though I was naught but filth in his path.
“Ares? My love?” I whispered with a voice as broken as my innocence.
He sneered, and the face staring haughtily down at me was one I did not know. “I do not know you.”
Poseidon snickered. “Bloody hell, Hypnos, you did a number on him.”
But I couldn’t make sense of Poseidon’s words. All I knew was that Ares had rejected me in the most humiliating and brutal fashion imaginable. I’d thought myself in love, I’d honestly believed him, but Mother had been right all along. The gods were capricious beings full of arrogance and lust and deceit. And in that pain was birthed that darkness that I’d spent all my life pretending away.
The darkness spread, and it grew, and it consumed me. It ate me from the inside out. The pain, humiliation, and desolation of Ares’s betrayal was almost worse than what Poseidon had done to me. Poseidon had humiliated my body, but Ares had destroyed my soul.
I screamed as I felt my hair tugging, heard the first snaps and hisses of serpents coiled upon my head. Every male that my eyes landed upon changed instantly into a pillar of stone. Eyes and mouths were forever frozen open in horror.
Then the gods were screaming. “Take the shield, Perseus. Do it now!”
I did not know what he said. All I knew was I had to end them all. I had to make them all pay. But when I looked upon the spot where I’d seen Perseus last, it was not a male I gazed upon but my own twisted and hideous reflection.
There was no beauty in my face any more. I was a monster, true. My hair was a wild nest of snakes, my skin tinted greenish-blue. I had fangs for teeth and slitted, reptilian pupils. I felt the change first in my toes, then my feet, sliding up my calves, then to my knees.
I knew what was happening because I’d seen it done to so many others. I was turning to stone myself. The change was slower, and as I glanced around at the field of destruction I’d unwittingly unleashed, I felt nothing but self-loathing and shame.
I’d become the very thing that I’d hated.
I hoped Mother could forgive me my weakness some day. The horror twisted upon the faces of the mortals gazing back at me was a nightmare I knew I could never escape again.
There was a loud snicking sound, and I knew what it was before I even looked.
Ares’s war blade had just been handed over to Perseus. My one-time best friend advanced slowly upon me. No doubt his eyes were averted, but I was too ashamed to look at him to learn the truth.
I would not fight this end. It was what a monster like me deserved. Instead, I sat as the stone continued to consume me. I’d done a terrible thing, and a terrible thing had been done to me, but the one thing that hurt worse than any of that was the fact that Ares had utterly abandoned me. He’d forgotten me entirely.
He’d left me alone. His promises, all his pretty vows, were nothing more than smoke on the wind.
It was like he’d never known me at all.
The cold metal pressed against my hot flesh, and I closed my eyes. Then there was an instant, searing burst of fiery pain, then there was nothing at all but blessed, heavenly silence.
It was done.
Epilogue
The Harpy
I glanced at The Creator, even as tears streamed down my face, wordlessly asking It why that had been allowed. I’d watched so many worlds with my Creator. I’d seen life and I’d seen death, but what I’d witnessed tonight had been unimaginable.
“Why?” was all I could ask.
The Creator’s eyes were full of sadness even as all around us, universes bloomed with life and verve. Starlight glowed for us, lighting up the worlds. A haunting vision of beauty was all around us, but I felt cleaved in two by the tragedy of what I’d witnessed.
The Creator breathed deeply. “Free will means the creation has autonomy, Harpy. They decide.”
“Even when it’s so wrong? She did nothing. And Ares, to let Hypnos make him forget her. It was cruel. You could have stopped this, but you stood there. You did nothing. You did—”
“Oh, my dear one, if you think I do not weep for what’s been done, then you do not know me at all.” Its eyes landed back on the terrible scene of tragedy. Medusa was broken.
Perseus bandied her head about like a treasured prize. He was such an evil creature, and yet the history books would tell a different story. They would call him a hero. They would paint the fair Medusa as the true villain, and Ares’s part would be entirely scrubbed out.
“It’s not fair,” I whispered. “I hate what’s been done here. There must be a way to change this. There must.”
I looked up at my Father/Mother/Sister/Brother. It was all things. In Its eyes, I saw even more worlds pop into creation and others still burn out with one last pitiful gasp.
“Do you really wish it, little one? This change? What if doing so changes more than just one life? What if it changes dozens more? What if the cost is so high that the mere thought of it breaks my own heart? What then?”
I scrubbed at my tears, feeling hope as I’d not felt it in a long time. “Oh, Creator. Any cost is worth the paying if it means fixing this. Ares loved her. He should know the truth. He should have the ability to make this right. He will forever brood for Aphrodite, little knowing that it was never her heart that he’d truly wished to tame but another’s that he’d been forced to forget. That is not justice.”
The Creator nodded slowly. “Then… what if I told you there is a way?”
I gasped and shot to my feet. “Anything, only tell me what must be done.”
“It will take many lifetimes and much strategizing, and the choices will always be yours to make or not. But if you truly wish to see a change, then listen to me closely, my sweet one. There is a goddess. One of water. She is but a primordial. She’s got no form. But one day she could. She just might. It all starts with her.”
“What is her name?”
“Calypso. Her name is Calypso, and she will be a force to be reckoned with.”
I clapped my hands, and The Creator nodded.
“Then this is what you must do.”
I listened raptly as It detailed all that must be done. And It was right. The work would take many lifetimes, but I would work tirelessly, diligently. I would see Medusa’s happily ever after restored. And I would save Ares too.
For once, I could be important. For once, I could actually do some good.
I smiled, then I began to hum. It was time to visit a primordial goddess’s sleep.
This terrible story had only just begun. I would fix this. I would fix all of this…
The War King and the last book to this duology is already available for sale. Make sure to grab your copy now!
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Love my stories? Want more Kingdom news updates? Then make sure to sign up for my newsletter! I’m also very active on FB and constantly post updates, teasers to upcoming books, and do cover reveals. I also have an online readers group for fans of all my series called The Harem. So there are lots of ways for you to keep up with what I’m doing.
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And if this is your first foray into my world of Kingdom I highly suggest starting at the beginning with my Bad Boys collection I wrote as Marie Hall, the first three books: The Kingdom Collection. The stories include Alice and Hatter, Gerard and Betty (my beauty and the beast spinoff), and Red and His Wolf. So if you love twisted fairy tales, you’ll probably enjoy those.
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And please, if you enjoyed this book, write a review for it, reviews let me know which books my readers are most interested in reading next and I always adjust my writing schedule based on the series with the most active and engaged readers. On the next page I’ll list all of my works. So make sure to turn the page!
Kingdom Books written as Marie Hall
(The Kingdom Collection: 1-3)
Her Mad Hatter
Gerard’s Beauty
Red and Her Wolf
Jinni’s Wish, Book 4
Hook’s Pan, Book 5
Moon’s Flower, Book 6
The Huntsman’s Prey, Book 7
Rumpel’s Prize, Book 8
Hood’s Obsession, Book 9
Her One Wish, Book 10
A Pirate’s Dream, Book 11
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Book Listing for Dark Kings and Queens (Kingdom spinoff series) written as Jovee Winters:
Sea Queen, Book 1 (Caly and Hades)
The Passionate Queen, Book 2 (Queen of Hearts)
The Ice Queen, Book 3
The Magic Queen, Book 4 (Baba Yaga)
The Dark Queen, Book 5 (The Evil Queen)
The Fairy Queen, Book 6 (Galeta)
The Centaur Queen, Book 7
The Bewitching Queen, Book 8 (The Pied Piper)
The Stone Queen, Book 9
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The Mad King, Book 1 (The Mad Hatter)
The Jaded King, Book 2 (Beauty and the Beast)
The Magic King, Book 3 (Rumple)
The Wolf King, Book 4 (Big Bad Wolf)
The Death King, Book 5 (Hades)
The Forge King, Book 6 (Hephaestus and Dite)
The War King, Book 7 (Ares and Medusa, coming soon!)
Reading order for Jovee Winter’s Kingdom series:
The Sea Queen
The Passionate Queen
The Ice Queen
The Magic Queen
The Dark Queen
The Fairy Queen
The Mad King
The Centaur Queen
The Jaded King
The Magic King
The Wolf King
The Death King
The Forge King
The Bewitching Queen
The Stone Queen
The War King
UPCOMING Titles in no particular order
The Pirate King: Hook’s story
The Fire Queen: Fiera’s story
The Flower Queen: Persephone’s story
The Time Queen: Lachesis’ story
Other books by Jovee: Blue Moon Bay cozy pnr mystery romance
Cookies, Curses, and Kisses, Book 1
Holly, Curses, and Hauntings, Book 2
Cupcakes, Curses, and Spirits, Book 3
Food, Witches, and Kisses, Boxed Set Collection of 3 brand new stories set in Blue Moon Bay
The Greek Gods of Romance Collection Page 77