“But, Sol—” Trivia cast a worried look at the sun god, who was still unconscious.
“I’ll look after him,” Midas said solemnly. “You have my word. Now,go.”
Before Trivia could reply, Midas let out a deep bellow, slashing his sword and cutting off the lion’s head. Prometheus screamed with rage and anguish.
“Go!” Midas shouted, striking with his sword again, which the tentacle managed to block.
Trivia cast one last look at Sol, vowing to return to him, before she hobbled away as fast as her injured leg could carry her.
DESPERATION
PRUE
Prue’s headwas a mass of muddled confusion. Oceanus had ripped through her, tearing apart her mind and her thoughts, infiltrating without permission. He had warped her senses, twisted her imagination, and painted Cyrus to be the villain.
She had lost all sense of control. All sense of who she was.
Everything she knew had been ripped from her.
And when Oceanus was jerked violently from her mind, the blazing clarity that overcame her was enough to make her ill. Her stomach churned. Her skin pebbled. Her blood chilled. She had no sense of right and wrong. She could only stare in numb horror while Cyrus lovingly stroked her—as if she needed comforting. As if she hadn’t been about to impale him and watch the life leave his eyes.
She had been about to murder her husband. And if thestrange pearly ghosts in the sky hadn’t stopped Oceanus, she would have done it.
“Prue, darling,” Cyrus whispered, still running his fingers through her hair. “Our fight isn’t over yet. Stay with me.”
Bile climbed up her throat and she swallowed hard, not wanting to vomit all over him. But Goddess, she couldn’t do this. The horrifying image of her hovering over Cyrus while he looked at her in terror and regret kept flashing through her mind.
She couldn’t escape it. This would haunt her forever.
“Prue.” Cyrus withdrew to look at her, his blue eyes intense and fierce. He framed her face with both hands. “You did not kill me. I am still here. What Oceanus did to you was terrible, and he deserves to be punished for it. ButI am still here.” He took her hand and pressed it to his chest. There, underneath his torn tunic, she could feel the rapid thundering of his heartbeat.
The pulsing rhythm was soothing to her. She closed her eyes, focusing on that familiar pounding.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump.
She listened to it for several long moments, blotting out everything else. The screams and screeches faded around her. All she felt, all sheknew, was Cyrus’s heartbeat. Real and solid underneath her palm.
She exhaled, long and slow, letting her own pulse match his. When they were synchronized, she opened her eyes, her insides warming at the look of tender affection on his face.
“Thank you,” she whispered, pressing a soft kiss to hislips. “Please don’t ever let me do that again. If your life is in danger, youhaveto fight. Even if it’s against me.”
Cyrus gave her a pained look. “I can’t hurt you, Prue. I…can’t.” His voice was so broken, and she knew how much it ripped him apart to have blood on his hands.
He wasn’t always like this. The man she had first met—the arrogant deity who would do anything for power—barely batted an eye at the lives lost on his account.
Goddess, how far he’d come… How much he’d changed…
And she loved him all the more for it.
She brushed a lock of dark hair out of his face and fixed him with a hard stare. “I can handle a few bumps and bruises. Ican’thandle a life without you. Promise me you’ll fight, even if it hurts me in the process.”
His eyes swam with despair, but her eyebrows lowered, and she glared.
“Promise,” she commanded.
His eyes closed, his expression crumpling with regret. “I… promise.” The words sounded uncertain and feeble, but she knew it was all she would get from him.
