Mona grabbed Prue and Trivia by the arms, then closed her eyes, unleashing all the pent-up power burning within her. Silver light flooded her body, igniting around her. Prue followed suit, her matching gold light rivaling even the power of Diana’s bow.
They waited for Trivia, but nothing happened.
Alarmed, Mona opened one eye to see Trivia’s face contorted in pain. When she glanced down, Mona realized Trivia’s entire leg was scorched black.
“Goddess,Trivia!” Mona cried, moving toward her.
Trivia shook her head, biting down on her lip. “Don’t. It’s fine. We have to end this, right? So let’s end it.” Her face screwed up in concentration, and a faint amber glow surrounded her hands. Then, she shook her head. “Dammit. I—I’m sorry. This power is still new. I can’t…” She made a noise of frustration.
“Picture the door to your magic bursting open,” Prue said quietly, her eyes fixed on Trivia. “Picture it flowing from you like a rushing river. Nothing holding you back. Nothing hindering you.”
Trivia’s brows knitted together, and she nodded. Gradually, her expression relaxed, and the amber glow spread around her, deepening in color until it was a vibrant crimson. It burned, coiling like flames as it joined Prue and Mona’s powers. Their light converged, together igniting to form a brilliant river of rose gold.
Something jerked violently within Mona’s chest, and she let out a loud groan of pain. It sliced through her, cutting deep.
But she refused to let go. This was it. This was what she was meant to do.
“Oh gods,” Trivia moaned, falling to her uninjured knee. “I can’t—I can’t?—”
A deep, rumbling laugh echoed nearby, and Mona went rigid. Thundering footsteps sounded, and then a large figure lifted its head from within the abyss, leering with jagged teeth. A single bloody eye blinked at them.
“It’s too much for you, isn’t it?” he taunted.
“Go to hell, Atlas!” Trivia barked.
Atlas.Mona’s blood ran cold. The Titan had transformed himself into a Cyclops.
“No, little goddess,” Atlas crooned. “I will reserve that honor foryou.”
He slammed his fist into the ground at their feet. Prue, Mona, and Trivia went flying. The earth they had been standing on disintegrated, exploding into nothing but dust.
Mona was weightless. Her stomach dropped, and she was falling, falling, falling…
Something swooped in and caught her under the arms. She jerked wildly, biting back a scream. When she gazed upward, she found herself clutched in the talons of a siren. Not just any siren—but the same one she and Prue had healed.
“Strike hard and fast, Earth Goddess,” said the siren, still using Evander’s voice. “You will only have one moment to do it.”
Mona blinked in confusion. “What?”
Screeches echoed around her. She noticed several other sirens carrying figures nearby. Her heart lifted in her chest when she recognized Marina and Romanos. Marina had shifted, though. Her body was large and stony, and atop her head were…
Mona looked away immediately, realizing Marina had transformed into Medusa. She wasn’t sure if Medusa’s power would work on her, but she didn’t want to find out.
Atlas howled in agony. Romanos and Marina must have targeted him. Relief filled Mona’s chest. She knew the Gorgon and the death god could handle him or the moment.
“Can you take me to my sisters?” Mona called to the siren as it swooped wide to avoid Atlas’s thrashing fists.
“Yes!” the siren called. “But we are weak, Earth Goddess! We cannot hold you for much longer.”
“I understand.”
The siren’s wings beat hard, and Mona could hear it struggle for breath. Sirens were likely not used to carrying anything so heavy for long periods of time.
Mona squinted in the hazy air, trying to deduce where the other sirens were.
Then, she caught sight of Prue’s familiar golden light. And there, not much farther, was Trivia’s scarlet magic.
“There!” Mona pointed, directing the siren toward her sisters.
