be counted in a matter of seconds at the dose she’s currently experiencing. I’ve won, Bailey. You may as well accept your defeat.”
Like hell I would accept defeat. I abandoned waiting for Amanda to give me directions, pounced on my gorgon grandfather, climbed him like a maypole, and went to work attempting to braid his damned serpents while they all took turns trying to sink their fangs into me.
In addition to venom modification, someone must have added a numbing agent, as the bites lacked their normal stab of pain. “You should ask for them to keep that anesthetic, Archambault. Normally, that stings a little.”
“Ah, yes. You can thank the angels and archangels for that. They felt it would ruin the fun if it actually hurt to be bitten. The holes will close sooner than you anticipate, too. As we’re in the season of their heightened power, I’m sure their benevolence may bring forth extra gifts, too.”
The only gift I needed was the ability to keep clamping my legs around the gorgon’s chest and having free rein to braid his coral snakes, who settled into our ritualistic game. I won when I dodged being bitten, they won when they bit, but as their bite packed the perfect punch, I made a show of dodging their bites while braiding them. “These poor babies have so much venom. You’re a bad gorgon, not taking care of them better.” I rested my elbows on his shoulders to make sure I stayed put while I worked, catching his serpents and weaving them together. Each time I caught one, I offered my arm as a reward for being good while I braided him. As was our way, they behaved once captured.
I gave it ten minutes before I was so hopped up on their venom I’d consider attempting a seduction of my gorgon-incubus doohickey in public.
To demonstrate his strength, Archambault strolled around the mat with no evidence my weight bothered him. “It is worth noting that gorgons can, in some circumstances, do dry bites, but this is rare. Should you be in a relationship with a gorgon, and you’re invited to play with our snakes, as my little granddaughter is currently doing, they will do fangless nips rather than actual bites. You should never engage in such activities with younger gorgons, as it is a skill that must be mastered. When available, most of us carry antidotes in case of an accidental bite, or we petrify a bitten victim to allow time for rescue personnel to administer a treatment.”
As I could see a bunch of idiots testing their luck because they could, I said, “The treatment for petrification reversal and the antivenin is usually around five thousand dollars. It requires a lot of neutralizer, an identification of the venom used, acquisition of the antivenin if available, and the services of an angel or a high-level practitioner if an angel isn’t available. Practitioners are cheaper, but they’re not as reliable about purging toxins of a gorgon’s potency. More often than not, such a bite leads to death, but gorgons are particularly careful around their brides—or their permanent surrogates. There are contracts for surrogates, and any costs of care are included as part of their compensation. If such a thing interests you, you can either approach a gorgon or inquire with the CDC.”
“And now, for a more practical demonstration of a gorgon’s strength,” Archambault announced before grabbing hold of my legs right above the knees and peeling me off, despite my best efforts to stay put. The instant he had my legs unwound from his body, he bent over and tossed me over his head into the canal.
I shrieked, landed with a splash, submerged, and flailed before my ass hit the bottom. I scrambled to the surface, glaring at the bastard while I tread water, as the canal was just deep enough I needed to swim. “That was just rude!”
“So, shall we begin the meet and greet? The CDC representatives will determine order, but please leave any valuables you do not want to get wet. I find throwing humans into the water to be quite entertaining.”
What a jerk. I sighed, swam to the nearby ladder, where my husband met me, his smuggest smirk in place.
That smirk worried me. “What?” I asked.
“I’m just waiting for the aphrodisiac to start kicking in so I can fully enjoy my conquest.”
When Quinn went on a conquest, I became the conquered, and I enjoyed every moment of it. “Apparently, it’s slower onset than I