Page 16 of Bought By the Manticore

“The people of Asphodelia cannot die, not truly,” Iaso explained. “But we can be harmed beyond the Moirae’s ability to assist us.

“When that happens, when an injury cripples one of our people, it is customary for them to retreat here. It is a sanctuary, a place to rest until they have earned the right to be unwoven.”

That was… incredibly sad. Or… Was it? Iaso didn’t seem to think so, and Asphodelia was so alien to me, in every way.

“The sanctuary is different for everyone,” Iaso continued. “Thanatos’s power responds to your memories, to what you might have found comforting at one point.”

As she spoke, the corridor morphed again, into something that looked like a strange form of… healing chamber. Death crystals hovered in the air, drifting around shelves packed with vials and tomes.

In the center of the chamber stood a man. He was bent over his worktable, studying something with great interest.

When he heard us approach, he abandoned his work and turned toward us. A thick band of dark silk wrapped tightly around his eyes. Instead of hair, he had a hissing crown of black snakes. They pinned me with their own crimson gaze. “Well met, Ianthe,” he said. “Welcome to Thanatos’s Temple.”

6

The Gorgon Healer

Ianthe & Skaros

Ever since I’d set foot in Asphodelia, I’d met countless unusual monsters. Iaso had been by my side constantly, and she was a Medusa—a powerful form of gorgon.

Logic stated that meeting a second gorgon shouldn’t have fazed me. But there was something about the strange man in front of us that made my stomach clench with unease. Not his serpentine hair, not even his imposing size. Something else entirely.

Perhaps I wasn’t very different from the people in my village after all, in that I just had trouble dealing with someone ill. The man was obviously blind, though that hardly diminished the authority he commanded.

“Thank you,” I said, bowing slightly. The gesture might very well be pointless—he couldn’t see it—but I wasn’t going to ignore common courtesy. “I appreciate you receiving us. As I understand it, that’s quite rare.”

“That’s true,” Iaso said with a tiny smile. “Eryx rarely takes visitors. But he doesn’t mind the occasional exception.”

Eryx. So that was his name. And clearly, he and Iaso were on close terms.

“For you, Iaso, my doors are always open.” Eryx wiped his hands on a cloth lying on his worktable. Despite the blindfold, he navigated the cluttered space without hesitation. He tilted his head in my direction. “Besides, you bring a death-touched bride to my doorstep. I would never turn you away, Ianthe. Please, sit.”

He gestured to a padded bench near the center of the room. I let Iaso guide me to it. The stone beneath the cushion radiated a deep chill that seeped through my dress.

“I wasn’t there when you fell, but the snakes showed me what happened at the auction,” Eryx continued, turning away from the table. The serpents crowning his head shifted, and their crimson eyes fixed on me with unnerving focus.

“The snakes?” I asked before I could catch myself. “They help you see?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, instantly regretting the outburst. Pointing out his blindness bluntly had been tactless. He was doing me a favor. I should have kept my observations locked securely in my own mind.

“I’m sorry… That was rude.”

“That’s quite all right,” he replied warmly. “Your straightforwardness is refreshing, and I can’t blame you for your curiosity. Yes, Ianthe. The snakes see a lot. More, perhaps, than anyone here in Asphodelia, save the Moirae and Charon.”

Iaso crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a soft sound of amusement. “Braggart. You always did have more talent than me.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Sister. Maybe the Weave just knew that I’d need it.” Eryx tilted his head again, and his snakes moved with him. He took a few measured steps toward my bench. “Now, let me look at you a little more closely, Ianthe. I promise that my snakes don’t bite.”

Everything worth having has teeth.

Phix’s voice echoed unbidden in my memory, a reminder of the warning I’d received just before stepping onto the auction block. But I remained seated. I had lived with the Thorn-Sickness burrowing through my flesh for far too long to be deterred by a few bronze serpents.

Eryx stopped a mere breath away from my knees. Instead of reaching out with his hands, he simply stood perfectly still while the snakes stretched outward. They tested the air around my arms and chest, hovering only inches from my skin and flicking their forked tongues as they studied me in total silence.

A shiver ran down my spine, but not from fear. The serpents seemed to draw all warmth from the air. Wherever they moved, my skin tingled.

“Hmm…” Eryx murmured, his brow furrowing above the dark silk. “It’s an interesting problem. It looks like Korinos itself has crawled under your skin, child.”