4. Medusa

I was feeling safe and content. I was surrounded by my family and friends and I wasn't anywhere near the Coalition anymore. I was wrapped up with Cas and Benji kept nuzzling me and whining until he knew I was feeling better.

And I could see my friends were happy. Hades and Persephone were iconic. Jezebel, Kat, and Calamity were eventually going to be iconic. Hephaestus was happy with his workshop and shop cats, but he'd always make time for me.

I felt from the change in the air that Dionysus was coming back. It was subtle, but if you'd been around gods, you could always feel when they were coming and going. Pax would be back, too. There was just something comforting about Pax.

I yelped and bolted out of Cas's arms when I saw a face I'd never wanted to see again. Athena was beautiful. She had black hair and ice-blue eyes with this perfectly regal face. I didn't know what she wanted, but I was sure it was to ruin what I had here.

I ran straight into the garden as another panic attack overtook me. Dionysus was the one that came for me. Cas was really good at helping me through a panic attack, but Dionysus had been dealing with them for much longer, before we even knew what they were. He wrapped me up in a massive hug.

"Why did you bring her here?" I hissed.

Dionysus could be a handful on a good day, but usually, he was in sync with my needs. He'd been pissed at her for a long time because he was cursed once, too. Most curses had loopholes. Unless they came from a fury, curses of the mind could be mended much easier than mine.

They'd all tried to break it. Dionysus had tried the hardest because he knew how miserable I was. He'd even asked her to lift it and she refused. She wouldn't be here to do that now.

"Hey, look at me," he said, lifting my chin. "You know I'd never do anything to hurt you. I wouldn't bring her to your safe place unless I was completely sure she was ready to be honest and actually help. Athena has always played the long game and what she did to you has never made sense to me. Hear her out. She came knowing she'd be outnumbered by gods and even your warlock wasn't afraid to take her on if it got you answers. Pretty sure Benji and Cas feel the same. The hybrid would probably take a bite out of her ass and then laugh about it."

He would. Dionysus was right in that Athena was a strategist. She wasn't going to start anything physical with this many other gods here. She also never did anything without a reason. She did play the long game. That and her intelligence were the reason I was ready to pledge my life to her at her temple.

She didn't have to throw magic or break my glasses to upend my life again.

"She seemed to know about your other mates, love. She only told me you were a fury because they were about to come into play. Athena seemed interested in them and called them heroes. You know what that means. I didn't tell them this was a hero's quest for nothing. I think she's meddling again. If anything, we know she protects her heroes."

"I wish she'd just leave me the fuck alone if she's not going to lift this curse. I don't want her meddling with my mates, either."

"Then we'd better get back inside and hear her out."

I sighed. Yeah, I did. Thing was, Athena did take care of her heroes, but this was different times. Back then, hero quests were considered a great honor. Everyone thought they'd be blessed with god-like powers or end up in Mount Olympus with the other gods.

No one ever said no to her before. But Cas, Pax, and Benji weren't just mated to me. They were grouped in with Dionysus, too. It took powerful supernaturals to be co-mated to a god. It rarely happened. They had a backbone, and they knew she hurt me. They knew she kept hurting me and Athena was the reason I ended up in New Eden.

I needed to get back inside before they told Athena to get fucked.

I rushed back inside and things were tense. And there was a suspicious dent in the wall, so I asked Cas.

"We were going to get takeout because this might take a while and things always seem better over food. We were finding out what everyone wanted, and Calamity wanted boneless wings. It's one of Benji's things, so he went on a rant about how calling them boneless wings was morally reprehensible because they are really just fancy nuggets.

"Anyway, messing with people about their food is one of Kat's things, so she threw him across the room and went on a rant about how the vegans need to leave the omnivores alone, the carnivores need to leave the vegans alone, the keto people need to let everyone eat their potatoes in peace, and everyone's body shaming racist aunt should just not be invited to the potluck. Benji apologized, and Persephone was laughing like a psychopath. Pretty sure Athena thinks we're all weird."

"Well, I'm weird and so is Dionysus. You're mated to me, so you've got to be weird, too."

"Probably. What do you want to eat?"

"She can't eat takeout," Athena called.

"Excuse me?" Cas snarled. "She needs to eat because you got her locked up somewhere they starved her."

Athena looked uncomfortable. She was never good with people and I don't think she'd ever apologized before. She shoved an ornate box at Cas.

"Cut that up with some fruit. Just a little because it's a lot if you're not a god. You all need to eat some."

"Is it poison?" Benji demanded.

"Ambrosia," Dionysus said. "Food of the Gods. It'll help Medusa with the starvation."

"Well, save it for her and everyone else who was starved in there," Cas grumped.

"No, trust me. You all need to eat it. I'll explain. The gods can make other food. Just cut this up with some fruit."

Cas and Benji savagely made fruit salad while glaring at Athena. I was cuddling with Pax and Dionysus. Jezebel looked adorable with Kat and Calamity. We weren't talking. It was awkward as fuck with Athena here, and it looked like she didn't notice at all. Calamity's stomach finally let out a huge growl. Mine wasn't far behind it. Starvation was no joke.

Athena was here when they were discussing what they wanted to eat. The other gods were watching her warily, but she just waved her hands and conjured food. Calamity got her boneless wings and Athena made me what had been my favorite food thousands of years ago.

"You remembered," I breathed.

Because honestly, I was shocked she even knew or remembered after all this time.

"You always were my favorite."

What.

The.

Fuck.

She had a weird way of showing I was her favorite. And she wasn't reading any of my cues. Athena just delicately picked up the salad she conjured and started eating. I looked at Persephone like can you believe this shit. Persephone just shrugged.

"You have a funny way of taking care of your favorites. Medusa is my favorite and I have plenty of things I want to do to her, but cursing her isn't one of them," Benji said.

" I didn't curse her."

"Excuse me? I was there."

"Is the ambrosia ready? It's time to tell Medusa what really happened."

Yes, but if she was about to gaslight me into not believing what I saw with my own eyes, I was going to lose my shit.