Metamorphic Heart

*Dear Author,

Around the museum, the streets were filled with the din of the city. Cars honked noisily, drunken revellers heckled and laughed. Somewhere in the darkness, the wail of a police siren called out.

Inside the museum it was quiet. Moonlight streamed in through a skylight, bathing the Grecian exhibit in a pearlescent glow. At the exhibit’s centre was the sculpture of a young man, who was garbed in warrior gear. As the moon’s luminescent beams danced across his muscular body, the statue began to change. The milky marble evaporated, replaced with the hue of tanned skin. The sculpture moved.

He was a statue no longer; he was a man once again.

The warrior sucked in a breath, filling his lungs for the first time in centuries. He blinked his eyes, and surveyed his surroundings.

The last thing he remembered was fighting the gorgon that had been plaguing his village. He was about to cut the monster’s head off, and then… nothing.

That’s when he realised how terrible his situation was. Those lucky enough to awaken from a gorgon’s curse did not live for long. Inside his chest, his heart was still set in stone. The enigmatic energies that had revived him, would not sustain him for long. If he wished to restart his unbeating heart, he would have to find and kill the gorgon responsible for cursing him.

But first he needed to find himself an ally; someone to help him manoeuvre through the strange modern world…

*

**Photo Description:**

A virile, young Greek warrior kneels before a white marble column. He wears brown pteruges around his waist, bracers on his forearms and greaves on his lower legs. One arm is crossed over his body to grip the handle of his still-sheathed sword. His stare is intense and piercing, even as a host of green snakes slither down the column above his head.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "**Love is an Open Road**" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is **intended for adult readers**. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.