Serpent and Stone

Chapter 10

I returned to the temple in the small hours of the morning, nearly sleeping as I walked. I spared a quick glance to Perseus, noting with relief that he was still fast asleep, before I stumbled onto an extra pallet and was gone from the world.

Despite my exhaustion, I slept fitfully, my dreams full of flashing eyes and flashing swords. I was glad I didn't remember them, though I could still feel the chill of fear running through my veins.

I blinked my eyes awake to sunlight streaming in from the temple entrance. I laid on my back for several minutes, staring up at the high stone ceiling and trying to remember why my hands ached and burned so much.

I traced the patterns and whorls in the stone with my eyes, content to laze in bed for a while longer. It was only when I heard a loud crashing sound near the entrance that everything from the previous day came rushing back to me like a tidal wave. The bloody battle interrupting my orange picking, healing the injured young man, Perseus' blindness, burying the soldiers late into the night.

I groaned, throwing an arm over my eyes and wishing I could sink back into the blissful ignorance of sleep. I allowed myself one more moment to wallow in my bed, counting out all of my many regrets and doubts. Then another crash reverberated through the chamber, and I forced myself to get up and attend to the commotion.

My eyes scanned the temple chamber, roaming over the clutter spread out on the floor, the pool against the far wall, the bed. My gaze froze on the bed; it was empty, the covers messily tossed aside and the sheets crumpled. I cursed to myself. Perseus had woken up before me.

Luckily for me, he hadn't gotten very far. He walked hesitantly along the cavern wall, his right hand reaching out to touch the cold stone while his left hand waved awkwardly at the space in front of him, searching for obstacles he could not see.

His brow was furrowed in consternation and he let out a constant stream of curses as he accidentally bumped into things, but sleep had clearly done him well. The pale, clammy sheen of his skin had disappeared, replaced by a healthy bronze color, and without all of the blood covering him he looked much less horrifying. He would not return to his full strength for some time, but already his posture looked straighter, his step more confident. He moved to brush a strand of copper hair out of his eyes, then paused, his hand frozen halfway in the air. Seeming to remember that it didn't matter if it blocked his vision or not, he dropped his hand and continued to fruitlessly grope along the wall toward the temple's entrance.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He flinched in surprise at the sudden sound of my voice, nearly falling again. I cringed but kept talking. "You should stay in bed for at least two more days."

"I was looking for you," he countered. His eyes attempted to look in my direction, nearly succeeding. "I woke up and you were gone, I called your name and heard nothing. I had no idea if you'd left or if a monster had gotten you or if I'd completely dreamed you up yesterday in a hallucination. So yes, I got up and started to look for you."

I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. It must have been terrifying to wake up blind and to think that the only person who could help you had disappeared. He must have been scared out of his mind, trying to figure out how he would try to survive without me. Still, his churlish tone made it difficult to completely sympathize with him. It had not slipped my mind that he had yet to thank me for saving his life.

"I'm sorry," I said after a pause, lowering my pride. I slowly made my way across the chamber towards him. "I was out late into the night and was fast asleep until just a minute ago. I must not have heard you calling me." I reached out my hand to grab his. "Here," I said, slowly pulling him back to the center of the room. "Let me lead you."