****
“Tell me again, what happened?”
April sighed. “My story is not going to change, you know.”
“I’m not expecting it to change. I’m just trying to understand.”
“You’re trying to understand? What makes you think I understand? You were dead. She turned to stone.”
“And your fingers are healed,” Mads added.
April looked down at her hand—normal now. No pain, no twisted fingers, no swollen, broken joints or discolored bruises. She had no memory of when her hand returned to normal. Was it before or after Mads lifted her to safety? Was it before or after he died?
“Well, I don’t care.”
“You don’t care?” Mads asked.
“No. I don’t. All I care about is that you’re alive and she’s not, and now we’re both safe.” She was still staring at her hand as she spoke. It was difficult, if not impossible, to meet his eyes. Since they reached the sanctity of his penthouse, she felt uncomfortable. Like she was walking on pins and needles, and soon her feet would turn into balloons.
“I don’t believe you don’t care.”
“Then enlighten me on what I feel.”
He lowered himself to one knee and took her hand, running his fingers over her unbroken knuckles. Her hand was so small in his. “You’re frightened.”
“Savannah’s dead. Why should I be scared?”
“You’re not afraid of Savannah. You’re afraid of yourself.”
April pulled her hand away. “That’s ridiculous.”
“You know you can fool everybody else, April, but you can’t fool me. I can feel what you feel. I can hear your heart pounding and your blood racing. I can see the shadow in your eyes.”
She sighed again. She knew she was beat. He wouldn’t be dissuaded by silence or by sarcasm. He would sit there all night if he had to, and all the next morning, and the day after that. “What kind of monster am I, Mads?”
“You’re not a monster. I can tell you that right now.”
“But I killed a dragon in mid-air.”
“And you brought one back to life.”
“Yeah, that, well, that’s not normal. Normal people don’t turn things to stone. Normal people don’t bring back the dead. Normal people don’t fall in love with—”
“With monsters?”
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
“You’re not a monster. You’re a beautiful, brilliant woman. You’re also a gorgon.”
April blinked. “What? I’m a...gorgon?”
“Yes.”
“I’m a creature so ugly I turn men to stone? Like Medusa?”
“She was not so ugly that she turned men to stone. She was so beautiful that she turned men to stone. She crippled armies because a single look at her and a man no longer wanted to fight. Do you know anything else about gorgons?”
April shook her head. She remembered the story of Medusa from school, but she couldn’t recall any other mention of gorgons.
“They are powerful creatures of protection. A long time ago, gorgons were as numerous as dragons. They would often favor a single family or clan and protect them from generation to generation. As a result, they were worshipped as goddesses all over the world and throughout time.”
“What happened to them?”
“Powerful women are not always regarded highly. Many were burned and hung as witches, and those that survived went into hiding. I haven’t seen a gorgon in a couple of centuries, at least.” He tilted his head, regarding her with a thoughtful quirk of his lips. “Perhaps that is why I did not recognize you as one at first.”
“But how can I be a gorgon?”
“Was your mother one?”
“No...well, I don’t know. I never knew my mother. My father raised me. He said she had to go home.”
“Home? What does that mean?”
“I thought it meant heaven, to tell you the truth. There was another girl in my class whose mother had died, and she said that her mother went home to the angels. So I figured that’s probably where mine went, too. But…”
“But perhaps he meant something different.”
“Perhaps.” She tugged on his hand, pulling him to his feet. She needed more than the touch of his hand. He understood her silent request, setting on the bed beside her and pulling her into his arms. She rested her head against his chest, listening for the steady beat of his heart. It was the most joyful, comforting sound she’d ever heard.
“I can bring back the dead?” she asked.
“The blood from your right side will cure all and, yes, bring back the dead. The blood from your left is a poison that nobody can recover from.”
“And I can turn things to stone?”
“I had always assumed that was merely part of the legend, but apparently, I was mistaken.”
“What else? You said gorgons could protect a single family for generations. Does that mean I’m immortal?”
“You are like me. Not invulnerable to death, but you’re not going to die unless your head is removed.”
It would take her some time and space to fully process and understand everything she’d learned about herself, but that was all she truly needed to know. She was not going to grow old and die, leaving Mads behind. Perhaps they could never have a child together, but their time together would not be limited by a mortal lifespan.
“I want to go back to Germany.”
“Then we shall.”
“Is this finally over? Or is Charles going to come after us next?”
“Charles? That threat has been removed.”
She blinked up at Mads. “Did you kill him?”
“No, but I sent somebody to pay him a… friendly visit. He’s already lost his wife and his son. He doesn’t want to risk anything else.”
“For his sake, I hope that’s true.”
“Would you take his life, April?” Mads asked.
“I don’t want to take anybody’s life. But I’m never... I’ll never see you like that again. Dead.” She swallowed hard and shook her head. “No. Never again.”