Page 49 of Crown of Serpents (Curse of Olympus #1)

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Night crept across the sky, a velvet cloak studded with the first glimmering stars.

It was always during dusk that Perseus stood in front of Medusa’s door, his hand raised but never knocking. He had been unable to stop thinking about her since that fateful night. Her scent, her taste, and the noises she had made were brandished into his mind.

Yet, Perseus hadn’t dared to return. Did she want him to? He shouldn’t have snuck out of her room the following morning, but the sailors had stirred outside their door, and he panicked. He didn't want to claim her after one night, not after what she'd endured. Yet, that’s how it would have looked to his men the moment they emerged from the cabin together. So, he had bolted like a coward.

But he would be a coward no longer. Perseus took a deep breath. Tonight, he would knock.

Andromeda’s giddy voice floated through the wooden door. “ You seem to be getting along with the crew since you returned from Rhodos — especially with Perseus.”

Perseus, caught off guard, leaned closer to the door.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” Medusa replied coolly.

He shouldn’t eavesdrop, yet he was rooted in place.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Little liar.

Andromeda clearly agreed. “Come on, Medusa. I’m not blind. The way you looked at each other sparring ... the way you blushed when you were on top of him —”

“Just like you blushed when Kleos gifted you that dagger?” Medusa retorted.

She was deflecting, Perseus noted, recalling her straddling him, her nails piercing his throat.

“That was nothing.”

Perseus pictured Andromeda's sheepish grin.

“Then, there is nothing between Perseus and me either.”

“Only then?”

“What on earth are you doing, Perseus?” Kleos's deep voice boomed behind him.

He whirled to find his friend grinning, arms crossed.

Shit.

“Are you spying on Medusa?” Kleos's eyes widened in realisation.

Perseus gestured for silence, but Kleos persisted, “Oh, you are! You little—”

“Andromeda is in there too,” Perseus hissed.

“Move over,” Kleos shoved Perseus aside, pressing his ear against the door.

Inside, Andromeda’s voice softened. “Listen, Medusa. You don’t have to tell me anything, though as your friend, I am curious. But I know you’ll tell me when you are ready.”

Footsteps shuffled within. Perseus and Kleos exchanged glances. What was happening there?

Medusa sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you.”

Perseus's heart quickened.

“The night we returned from the temple of Athena, Perseus came to my room … we kissed … and he stayed the night.”

“You did?” Kleos asked beneath his breath, his eyes wide.

Before he could answer, Andromeda squealed, “Oh, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Tell me everything! Is he a good kisser? How was it?”

Excellent questions, Princess.

“Did you sleep with her?” Kleos interrupted again.

Did he have to know this now ?

Before Perseus could answer, the door flew open, and Perseus and Kleos almost stumbled inside.

“You realise I can hear and smell you outside the door, right?” Medusa grinned.

Perseus flushed, his gaze locked with Medusa's ocean-green eyes. Inside, Andromeda sat with her legs crossed on the straw cot, giggling with excitement.

Medusa cast a disdainful glance at Kleos. “Now, I don’t know what you are doing here, but you, godling, can come back another time. As you can see, I am busy right now.”

Perseus's cheeks flushed as he elbowed Kleos, and they scuttled away like startled crabs caught in the glare of a lighthouse.

“You're about as subtle as a Cyclops on a tightrope,” Kleos muttered, shaking his head with a wry grin.