Medusa's Desire (The Fate of Eros #1) (The Fate of Eros Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

to herself.
    He laughed as he looked Medy in the face. "You don't recognize me, do you?"
    "Of course I do. I'll never forget the time-" She had no idea how to finish that sentence, but something in her subconscious triggered alarms. He wasn't one of Cithara's rapists. She was positive the two of them would have recognized him if he was, but he made her uneasy.
    "I think you'd be scared that I'd tell your mother what you are if you truly recognized me."
    Medy's face paled. "What do you mean?"
    "To think, my son almost married you when this entire time he could have had you for just a few coins." He grabbed her left breast.
    Cithara growled and shoved him. With her dark expression and fading bruises, she looked like a creature of the underworld. "Do not touch her without her permission or I'll kill you!"
    Medy held her back, knowing that Cithara was reacting this violently because of the way the men had taken advantage of her.
    He pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow. "Feisty, aren't you? I should have paid first."
    Medy's stomach flipped as recognition hit her. This man was Stynos, Aischylos' father. He looked a lot like his son, except with gray hair and a crooked nose. He gambled with her father regularly and it took the mention of payment for her to recognize him. He always had that same glint in his eye when he spoke of money.
    "You're mistaking me for someone else." The stupid lie slipped out of her mouth effortlessly; she had to do something or he'd tell her father.
    "No, you're the daughter of Phorcys." Stynos smirked. "You forget that my years of betting have given me the ability to smell when someone's lying to me."
    Medy's body went numb.
    Stynos slapped her on the back and Cithara gave him a warning look. "It's not as bad as you think. I'm not going to tell anyone, but you may want to stay at home for the next few days. People are gossiping about you. They say that you think you're prettier than Athena and plan to take over the town as head whore. I hope you're not actually telling people that. It could have horrible consequences."
    Medy gasped. "I would never speak such blasphemies."
    He lifted up both hands. "I'm not here to judge you. Zeus knows that I've done some horrible things for less honorable reasons than making a living."
    Medy's shoulders drooped. "Thank you. If my mother and father found out the truth, I don't know what I'd do."
    Stynos nodded. "But I think you are about to find out."
    "What do you mean?" Medy's heart stopped.
    "Stheno was the one who told me. She might have already let your parents know."
    Her soul drifted from her body. She gazed down at herself as if she were looking into the eyes of a stranger. It made sense. Her mother was the type of woman who would make up a lie about her blaspheming the gods to explain her crazy behavior.
    "I have to go." Her stomach lurched.
    He swung his purse in front of her face. "What about me? I have some good coin here and you may need it."
    She shoved him and ran down the street, blinded by all but her impending doom. She knocked people over and kicked up dust as she raced towards her destination.
    Maybe it wasn't too late. She was providing for her family. They'd understand if she explained herself to them.
    Her diaphragm was spasming and her chest was sore by the time she arrived in front of her house. There, on the lawn, lay all the stuff she owned thrown haphazardly on the ground.
    She ran up to the front door and yanked on the handle. Locked, the door didn't budge. She pounded on the wood. "Let me in!"
    Her parents had to forgive her. Her mother wasn't the type to abandon someone she loved, regardless of what kind of gossip she spread. Besides, they needed her money. They'd been living off it for months. Her heart thudded. Something was wrong; they should have opened the door and tried to talk to her by now.
    Her mother peeked out at her through a curtain. Tears were pouring down her face and her left cheek had been bruised. Only one person would