She was completely alone.
Except…
“How am I to carry them?” Trivia protested. Behind her, where Prometheus couldn’t see, she pressed her hand into the earth, calling forth her power. “Can’t you provide me with something?”
Prometheus made a guttural sound of annoyance. His serpent tail coiled behind him, and the lion bared its teeth with a warning growl. “You ask for too much, goddess. Now leave before my lion tears out your throat.”
“It’s a bit unreasonable, don’t you think?” Trivia summoned more power. Leaves hissed along the ground, obeying her command. They slithered around Sol and Gaia, knitting together underneath them. “If you want me to leaveimmediately,you should provide me with a way to transportthem. Otherwise I could be here for days, and that would go against our agreement.” She blinked rapidly, dizziness clouding her mind. She was pushing too far again… but she had to keep going.
A long vine coiled along the ground beside her, creeping forward. She kept it going, on and on…
Find her,she urged the vine.Find Mona.
“You try my patience,” Prometheus snapped. “This is your last warning, or I’ll?—”
“Kill me?” Trivia asked. “Well, go ahead. I’m at your mercy. I can’t leave without Sol or Gaia, and, to be perfectly frank, I think my leg is broken. So I can’t exactly run away from you. It might be best to just kill me.”
Prometheus went still, his several eyes narrowing at her with suspicion. “You want me to kill you?”
“Well, Iamin a lot of pain, so…” Trivia shrugged as if this weren’t a big deal at all. “I mean, Icouldjust wander this wasteland until I find my sisters. I know Mona is an excellent healer, so she could easily mend my broken bones…”
“No,” Prometheus barked. “You swore you wouldleave.”
“I cannot walk,” Trivia said slowly, as if she were speaking to someone rather dim-witted. “Why won’t you do it? Just kill me, Prometheus. End my suffering. Go ahead.”
She held still, waiting. Calling his bluff.
She knew he wouldn’t do it.
When Prometheus didn’t move, Trivia laughed. “You can’t, can you? Butwhy? You had no trouble destroying gods the first time.”
Something tugged on her vine, and a voice called out in the distance.Mona’svoice.
Prometheus stiffened. The goat head bleated loudly. “What have you done?” he roared.
“Now!” Trivia shouted.
The vine pulled taut, and she grabbed it. With a sharp yank, the vine dragged her along the ground. She, Gaia, and Sol rested on a bed of leaves, and the vines dragged them almost like a sled. The ground was bumpy and rocky, and the leaves provided little protection. Trivia winced and groaned with each sharp jab, then glanced at Gaia and Sol, worried their wounds would worsen from the jolting and bumping.
The ground rumbled, and Atlas roared. Trivia glanced over her shoulder, noticing his massive shape lumbering toward them.
Trivia held her breath, staring in the distance as the vine continued pulling them forward. Surely, they had to be close now. The leaves hissed along the ground, and they sounded so loud to her ears. She knew Atlas would find them.
The thundering steps drew nearer. Trivia grabbed Sol and Gaia’s hands, prepared to cling to them if Atlas tried anything…
A shadow slammed into the ground in front of her, making her scream. The vine snapped as Prometheus crept toward her, his gryphon wings spread wide. Gods, how many animal body parts did he possess? He trulywasan abomination.
Black eyes glittered with malice as he drew closer. “You think you can outsmart me?” he hissed. The lion’s maw dripped with saliva as he gazed hungrily at her.
Trivia reached, trying to summon more vines, but she was spent. She had no more power to draw from.
Before Trivia could react, Prometheus’s tentacle snatched Gaia, then pulled her toward him.
“No!” Trivia shrieked, hands outstretched as if she could grab Gaia by sheer will power.
“I warned you,” Prometheus snarled. His tentacle tightened, and a loudcrackechoed. Gaia’s back bowed, her body going limp.
Trivia’s chest hollowed. She gaped in horror at her mother’s lifeless form.
