by Kate Nova
A vaguely familiar threat. It sounded almost exactly like what someone else had said …
And almost immediately, Griffin Hayes was by Liam’s side, the two of them gleaming in the sunshine like gods—
But they were not gods. They were monsters.
And thank goodness, I thought. Monsters, I could handle. Gods, I wanted nothing to do with.
Gods tended to be more monstrous than any beasts with fangs or wings.
“You’re still here, snake eyes?” Griffin scowled, and for a second I wondered why he was here, poolside, but when he and Liam glared at me together, it was obvious—they were school royalty. They did whatever they wanted at the school and no one blinked twice.
And for some reason, they’d teamed up against me.
“What is this?” I growled, water dripping off my snakey hair and down my shoulders. “Some sort of hazing? Anything you want to throw at me, I can guarantee I’ve had worse.”
Griffin grinned at Liam and my hands clenched into tight fists. I couldn’t stand the way they smiled at each other, like they were teammates in some sort of sadistic game of torture the new girl. I wouldn’t let myself be deceived by their good looks. Yes, Griffin was the student body president, impossibly gorgeous with the body of a god. And Liam was like a superstar athlete, every inch of his body perfectly conditioned, the perfect human specimen, but I knew better than to believe they were anything but ruthless predators.
Bullies. They’d eat me alive if I let them.
“This isn’t hazing, snake eyes,” Griffin finally said. “This is far, far worse. And like I said, if you dare to show your face tomorrow, you’re going to regret it.”
I laughed, and all my snakes echoed it, which was exactly what we’d done all those years ago. Before I was relinquished to my sea cave. Back when I lived on my own island and men would land boats on my shores and seek to take my head as a trophy. How I loved toying with those men, hearing their hearts pound with fear before I turned them into stone.
“Regret, huh?” I replied. “You have no idea what it means to regret. There’s nothing you can throw at me that’ll scare me away. So bring it on.”
Griffin immediately stepped forward, seizing my arms and holding them against my body. His face was mere inches from mine and my body immediately betrayed me as a wave of heat surged through my veins.
He leaned over to the side of my head, ignoring the tangle of my snakes who hissed in warning and I felt his lips graze my earlobe.
I should’ve flinched away, but instead I remained rooted in place. His touch made me hotter than a funeral pyre and it outright pissed me off.
“If I see you here tomorrow,” Griffin whispered, his breath hot against my skin, “Liam will drag you to the bottom of the pool and scratch your cursed eyes out. And this time, you won’t live to take another breath.”
He released me roughly, sending me down to the cement. This was the second time he did that to me and I swore it would be the last.
Then he and Liam walked away, leaving me splayed on the ground, dripping wet, seething with rage and repulsed by my own attraction to them.
Thousands of years and I still couldn’t keep my body from wanting nefarious men.
Thousands of years and I still hadn’t learned my lesson.
Chapter 5
Medusa
With swim class finally over, I was free for the evening.
Free to go find whatever crappy little dorm room they were housing me in, where I could bide my time and glance through my homework until everything started all over again tomorrow.
I left before Griffin or Liam could confront me again. But as I came out of the locker room fully dressed again with my snake hair dry and my hood pulled back over my eyes, I could feel them looking at me.
Snake eyes, Griffin had called me …so he knew exactly who I was.
He knew I was a monster, just like him. And he was territorial. I couldn’t imagine any other reason why he was so hell-bent on scaring me away.
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” I muttered as I crossed into the student center and chose a hallway that looked promising. “You have no idea what hell is really like, but I’ve actually been there.” I’d been there for thousands of years. Nothing Griffin or Liam could possibly throw at me would remotely bother me.
“Next time you should let your sunglasses accidentally slip,” my hair hissed. “Then put him in the front of the school by all the other statues. No one would miss him.”
“Oh, yes they would,” I sighed. “They worship him here. You saw the way every girl drooled when he walked past.” Not that I could blame them. Griffin was one of the most deliciously sexy men I’d ever seen. Liam too—and no matter what they did, I’d bet a million gold coins that everyone here would still love them. The administration would look the other way.
Well, so was I.
I was going to survive this year as a human, just like my mysterious benefactor had instructed me to and then I’d be invited by the king of the gods, old Lightning-Rod himself, Zeus, to join the ranks on Mount Olympus forever.
I just had to repeat this day, every day, until the school year was over.
But first I had to find my dorm room.
I glanced down at the map Katie had drawn for me earlier. When she’d been there to explain it, it had made perfect sense, but now it looked like a bunch of rounded blobs, and I couldn’t orient myself. I had no idea where I was.
“So there’s the bursar’s office,” I said to myself, looking down at the map and back up at all the collegiate landmarks around me. “And there’s the way to the cafeteria, and there’s the—”
Before I could say “auditorium,” a noise interrupted me. A deep-throated growl and a strange scratching which reminded me of the sound the rats made in the hollow places of the sea cave.
I looked around. There was no one else in this hallway. No one else down any of the hallways, in fact. It was either a spectacular lull between classes and dinner, or else every student had already finished with their day and tucked themselves into bed for an early night.
There it was again …almost a raspy breathing, but more menacing than simply someone with a head cold. A growl. Animalistic. Dangerous.
Absolutely a monster.
My snake hair stood on end. All my scales rippled, cold, ready to fight.
“Hello?” I called out, whipping my head back and forth. “Come out! I know you’re there.”
I stepped slowly around the bulbous semi-circle of the auditorium, which bulged out into the student center hallways like a silo.
The growl came again and this time there was a rumbling of laughter at the end. A monstrous man somewhere, chuckling at the teased Medusa.
There was a single patch of sunlight which streamed in from a window high in the wall. Perfect.
I lowered my hood, ready to defend myself. “Show yourself!” I barked.
The chipper, blond girl who’d rescued me earlier came strolling out of the cafeteria hallway with the last of an ice cream cone in her hand.
“Katie?”
“Hey!” she said. “There’s free dessert in the cafeteria tonight. Snow cones are gone, but there’s still ice cream.”
I stared at her, breathing heavy, my body still prepared for an attack. For a moment, my brain calculated—was she the monster who I’d heard growling? No, my senses told me she was human.
“How was your first day?” she asked as she tossed her wrapper into the garbage.
I pulled my hood back into place, letting my pulse settle and managed to give her a smile of acknowledgment. The growling was gone. My heart was calm again. “All right,” I replied. “Could be worse.” Both things were true.
“Good.” Katie smiled. “Terras takes some getting used to, but I wouldn’t want a girl like you to …” She trailed off, and her eyes focused on something behind me.
My heart immediately jolted. It was a monster.
I could smell it.
> I could sense it.
When I turned around, I was ready to attack, but the person who stood behind me wasn’t at all what I expected.
He was the tallest man I’d ever seen. He was easily over six feet, probably six and a half feet. The man had rich brown skin, black hair that tumbled down to his shoulders in wavy, careless locks and a strong, square jaw, smattered with stubble. His thighs alone were the size of tree trunks—the size of me—and yet I couldn’t stop staring at his eyes.
They didn’t seem to match the rest of him.
They were so dark, nearly black, but they glimmered in the dim light of the student center.
He could easily lift me up and break me in half without even breaking a sweat, but he wasn’t glaring at me with menace.
He was smiling.
“Katie,” he said and reached out to hug her. It was like seeing a grizzly bear trap a tiny fawn in its arms.
Katie squealed as he lifted her feet off the ground. It was as easy for him as lifting a feather. I tried not to pay attention to the sharp eye contact he maintained with me the whole time. “What are you up to, gorgeous?” he asked and Katie giggled, pushing her hair behind her ear.
“Oh!” Katie suddenly realized she wasn’t being very student body-esque and reached out to put her arm around me. “This is Medusa. She’s new. Medusa, this is—”
“Callan,” the man said, stepping forward with a hand the size of a bear’s paw to shake my own. “Nice to meet you.”
Callan. So this was the other one of Griffin’s little cronies. Well, there wasn’t anything little about him. My God, I knew at once what kind of monster he was when he wasn’t squeezed into this human skin.
I was looking at a giant.
Hadn’t Katie said I should stay away from this man? Hadn’t she told me to stay away from basically anyone who was wrapped around Griffin’s finger? And yet she was staring up at this giant like she was ready to sink to her knees and do whatever he asked. The power of a handsomely hot guy was astounding. I knew this better than most.
But I wasn’t going to be charmed.
I ignored his hand and just stared. “Are you about to tell me if I don’t leave the school, you’ll make me regret it?”
Callan furrowed his brow. “Sorry? I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” He glanced at Katie, as if she somehow had the answers. She shook her head and backed away from me, trying to dissociate herself from this crazy, scaly weirdo.
“You’re friends with Griffin Hayes, right? And Liam whatever his last name is? The swimmer?” The sea monster, I almost said. “Well, both of them made it very clear I wasn’t welcome here.” I looked him up and down quickly, to show that I’d been expecting it to come from him as well, but he just chuckled and blinked at me with those dark, sparkling eyes, feigning innocence.
“Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Griffin can be a little … temperamental.”
“Temperamental?” I snorted. What a word to describe threatening me in a way that was so clearly the start of a battle that would have Ares, the god of war himself, would be foaming at the mouth.
“I’m sorry if he made you feel unwelcome.” He offered his hand to me again. “I’ll talk to him. He’s very stubborn, but he usually listens to me. We don’t want such a … an interesting girl to feel unwelcome.”
Interesting? Ha! I loved watching people stammer to find the right words to describe my face without using the only word that was really appropriate. My face wasn’t one that could pass for pretty, cute, seductive, or any of the usual compliments.
Interesting, though … He went for something diplomatic, but I couldn’t call him out for lying. My face may not be beautiful, but it was certainly interesting. I’d give him that.
I reached out and held his hand. It was warm and strangely comforting.
I glanced up into his eyes and though his mouth gave me a friendly smile, his eyes glinted with danger.
But the warm and comforting feeling was quickly diminished when he shook my hand so fiercely, it shook all of me. My books fell out of my hands, landing on the floor.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Callan squatted onto the floor and started gathering my books. “You have Lillian for history, huh?” he said, pointing to my copy of Ancient History for Modern Scholars. “Let me know if you want any pointers for her essays. I’ve heard she’s a tough one.”
I took my books from him while transfixed on his face, trying to find a twitch, a slip, anything that confirmed he was only pretending to be so nice; that it was all a facade.
But all I saw were those dark, dark eyes.
And I couldn’t really blame him. Every giant I’d ever known had the same dark eyes. Maybe he couldn’t help it and maybe he really was trying to be friendly.
Not all monsters were pure evil, after all. I knew this firsthand.
“Well,” Callan said after a moment, “I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow for English, right?” he said to Katie, who nodded enthusiastically. “And you … I guess I’ll see you around.”
I said nothing as he left. After Katie and I exchanged more pleasantries, she walked away too.
And then I was left outside the auditorium, wondering what on Earth I’d heard earlier that I’d mistaken for monstrous growling and wondering what the hell was wrong with me, for being so fucking interested in the three hottest, and therefore unattainable, men in school today?
At least my attraction to Callan made sense. He may have been a giant, which were known for their brutality and their horrible violence towards regular humans, but he seemed to really want to get along with me. He even said he’d talk to Griffin and Liam and tell them to back off.
I nearly chuckled out loud. So far, pretending to be human had gotten off to a rough start. I had to pretend I wasn’t capable of turning people to stone with my eyes. And I had to pretend I wasn’t murderous, bloodthirsty, or dangerous at all.
But there was one lie I’d never tell myself—that I had a shot with any of those guys.
One look at my face—my real face, not the one I’d painted on for these humans—and, monsters or no, they’d run.
It was part of why I preferred to be as nasty as I could right at the onset. Might as well make them run because of my cruelty instead of waiting until they ran because of my face.
Chapter 6
Griffin
“Hey.” I threw my football down into the water of the pool, smacking Liam right in the head while he was in the middle of a flip turn.
He sputtered, stopping his laps and looked up at me. “What’s up?” When he was on dry land, he passed for a typical human athlete, but when he was back in the water, it was hard to believe he could appear as anything but his sea monster self. No wonder he’d made his way to the top of the swim team so fast.
And no wonder I’d been put on the football team and made myself a star. Our monstrous bodies, squeezed into these mortal forms, made our strength concentrated, super-human and almost godlike.
I couldn’t imagine what Medusa would be, if she was put into a human suit too.
But the gods had spared her. She was here as herself and she had to be stopped.
It was hard not to be seduced by her. Her face was monstrous, just like the legend said, but it wasn’t ugly. Not ugly enough to turn me into stone.
The rest of her was … well, there was one part of me that definitely hardened into rock when I looked at her. Those long legs, the spread of her hips and her waist tucking in, not to mention her athletic build that somehow also looked like a ballerina’s frame … And those eyes. At first I’d been terrified to look at them, but without direct sunlight, Medusa was harmless. And her eyes were full of so much fire. I’d expected them to be reptilian-cold, but they weren’t. They were dark green and full of secrets. Her mouth, too, surprised me. I was expecting a snake’s fangs, the slithering sound of a flickering tongue. But her mouth was full, her lips so pouty, I wanted to suck on them, maybe give them a little nibble.
There
was something snake-like about her, but it was also sensual. Every time I thought of her, I had to remember she was literally built to seduce men then destroy them. Everything about her drew you in, made you lustful, so weak with desire that you’d lose your damn mind if you couldn’t be with her. Then you’d take one look at her face and those cruel eyes would blast you into a statue.
No, she couldn’t stay. I’d never been good at keeping my head when it came to interesting women. If she stayed, it was only a matter of time before I fell into whatever trap she was setting for me …and then I’d be doomed. I’d never get back to Mount Olympus. I wasn’t about to let a green-eyed, snake-haired, reptilian Gorgon seductress ruin everything.
Medusa had to go.
There was no other way. And if she wasn’t going to leave willingly, we’d force her out.
“Come on,” I said looking at Liam. “We’ve got to talk.”
As I waited for him to pull himself out of the pool and dry off, I spun my football into the air and caught it, over and over, deep in thought.
I couldn’t believe she’d showed up.
Orcus had told us all she was staying far away from the academy. He’d promised us Medusa would remain locked up in her prison, stuck in that sea cave where she’d been banished for centuries. Yet here she was, strolling into this school like she had a stake in the game. God, it would be so sexy if it wasn’t infuriatingly dangerous to our cause.
Someone must have sprung her. Someone must be using her to get to Orcus or something. So, she had to go.
When Liam was finally dressed, the two of us walked across campus to the unofficial meeting spot for all the monsters currently at the academy. It was situated beneath the oldest tree on the grounds—a massive cypress that twisted its branches skyward, providing a circle of shade which the school had dotted with boulders to sit on instead of the standard benches, making it look like an ancient landscape for gathering.