Evander scooted closer to Mona, daring to hope that this could work. Still clutching her cool hand in his, he began to sing. His voice was hoarse and trembling, but he didn’t care. He sang the melody of her soul, the string of notes that was both haunting and beautiful, lovely and tragic. The song ofMona.
Their shared song.
He sang louder, his voice gaining strength. The tune floated through the caves, echoing against the walls. And still he sang. Even when his throat was raw and parched, he continued. He gripped her hand more tightly, drawing it to his chest andwillingher to answer his call.
He could have sworn one of her fingers twitched. For a moment, it seemed like her hand had warmed, as if the life had returned to her.
But she was still unmoving.
Evander’s voice died as he let the melody trail off into nothingness. He drew closer to Mona, a tear sliding down his cheek.
He leaned in to press a kiss to her soft lips…
And her eyes flew open.
Evander’s heart slammed against his rib cage as he drew back only a breath, wondering if he’d imagined it.
Then, she gasped. Her chest rose and fell, and she made a choked gagging sound as if something was lodged in her throat. There was something… different about her.
But Evander didn’t care. The tears spilled more freely from his eyes as he found himself laughing with relief. “Mona,” he breathed.
A smile lit her face, and she sat up, her arms coming around him to pull him closer. She smelled the same—like seawater and parchment.Mona.
She was here. She was alive.
Prue joined them, sobbing and laughing as well, muttering a string of curses for what Mona had done to her. For several long moments, the three of them held each other, each of them weeping but smiling, clinging to one another to treasure this moment.
When they withdrew, Mona blinked tears from her own eyes, and then Evander realized what was different.
Her eyes. They were no longer the gleaming emerald he was accustomed to.
They were hazel. They had flecks of gold and green in them, but nothing as vibrant as before.
Evander frowned. The only time he had seen someone’s eyes change like that had been…
“Goddess above.” Prue raised a shaking hand to her mouth as she discovered the same thing. “Mona… you’remortal.”
REDEEMED
MONA
For days,Mona remained on the cot in the witch caves, letting her body recover from expending too much energy. Too much magic.
She felt sluggish. Foggy. Incoherent. Everything was duller, her senses muted. She had never before realized just how clear and strong her senses had been before this.
Before she’d lost her immortality.
Evander remained by her side the entire time. He never left, not even for meals. Prue always appeared with a tray of food and sat on the floor next to Mona’s cot while she ate. After a day of this, and upon realizing Evander wasn’t eating, Mona forced him to take bites of her own food. At first he refused, until Mona threatened to have the witches throw him out of the caves. With that threat looming over him, Evander relented.
They did not speak of the future. He only tended to her present needs, checking in to ensure she was healingproperly and there were no infections or wounds that were worsening.
But the unspoken words lingered between them like a dark cloud threatening to unleash a downpour of rain.
What did this mean? Mona was no longer a goddess. She wasn’t even sure if she could cast witch spells. She was too afraid to try.
Everything was different now. And for the first time, Mona truly understood how Evander had felt when Romanos had siphoned his death magic. She felt lost. Empty. A presence that had been a part of her was nowgoneforever. That gaping hollowness in her chest might never be filled again.
So while she rested and healed, she waited for that piece of her soul to repair itself so she could feel whole once more.
