Scales and snakes had been her punishment for inspiring the lust of the sea god. A curse that ripped away her beauty and stripped away her humanity. Monster they called her even as they used her horrifying visage to their advantage. It was her face they used on their flags, her face that served as a warning over things better left untouched and it had been her head that adorned Athena's terrifying aegis.
Fear made her more than a god. Fear made her a symbol a ever evolving mystery that made her as dangerous, repulsive and beautiful as she had always been.
Phobos never looked away from her, he looked for her. He did not chase did not take like Poseidon and she loved him all the more for it. She could forgive him for the betrayal even if she could not forget it. She would die again. Her head would roll and new monsters would be born from her blood.
"Were any of your stories true?" Stepping out the shadows was out of the question. Instead she reached for him, fingers interlocking with his with a small tug to pull him closer.