Even so, he couldn’t believe Evander had bargained his own immortality to save Mona.
There was a time when Cyrus would have made the exchange in a heartbeat. In fact, hehadmade such an exchange—when he had brought Prue back from the dead. He had fully expected to die to pay that price.
But he hadn’t. And now he knew that not all exchanges were so simple.
With his title as king restored, he had more than just Prue relying on him. He could not make careless decisions like that anymore.
Evander did what you could not,said a small voice in hishead.You were unable to save Prue… but Evander could. He did what was necessary. But you couldn’t.
The thought filled his mouth with a foul, sour taste. His anger, his shame, his panic all felt more potent from that one singular thought.
“What thehellwere you thinking?” he demanded, shoving Evander in the chest so hard that his brother stumbled backward. “How could you be so foolish?”
“I was doing what needed to be done!” Evander shouted. “Unlikeyou.”
Cyrus had never seen him like this before. Evander had always been calm and level-headed. The most even-tempered of all his brothers, except maybe Romanos.
“Mona wouldn’t have wanted this,” Cyrus said. “She would be horrified. What will happen when you rescue her, and she realizes she only has one mortal lifetime with you? Then, you’ll die, and she’ll continue living for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years.”
Despair flashed across Evander’s features, but his expression hardened as a mask of icy fury settled into place. “She’s made plenty of careless decisions without my input. For one, she sacrificed all of her memories to return to the Underworld. She sacrificedme.I think she would understand my decision. Especially if it means her sister gets home safely. That’s all she cares about.”
Bitterness laced his words, and Cyrus stared at Evander. Hurt and anguish and devastation filled his silver eyes.
Evander was in pain.
That same cool mask returned, and Evander’s lip curled. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t want your pity.”
Cyrus scowled. “Don’t tell me what to do. I have to clean up your shit now, so I’ll look at you however the hell I want to.”
“Clean up?” Evander let out a harsh laugh. “Isavedyour ass. I know where the Titans are. Do you want to know, or do you want to keep fighting with me?”
Cyrus froze. “The spirits told you?”
“Yes. They knew. This whole time, they knew, and you were too much of a coward to ask them.”
“I didn’t want to ask them because I knew they would extract payment from me! Just like they did to you.”
“Well, at leastoneof us had the balls to get things done.”
Cyrus’s rage boiled over, and he took a step toward Evander, teeth bared. “Watch yourself, brother. I’m still the king of this realm, and you’ll show me some damn respect.”
“I’ll show you respect when you earnit.”
Cyrus shoved Evander again, but this time, his brother retaliated with a swinging fist. A heavy force collided with Cyrus’s jaw, sending him flying. He crashed into the earthy ground with a deep groan.
Evander advanced, but Cyrus was ready. As he climbed to his feet, he summoned his Titan power. Lightning streaked across the sky, and the ground rumbled. White-hot power danced along Cyrus’s arms.
Evander stilled, his eyes growing wide.
“Want to try calling me a coward again?” Cyrus bellowed. He slammed a bolt of electricity straight into Evander’s chest. Charred flesh filled the air, and Evander soared backward, then collided with a thick oak tree. A deafeningcrackfilled the air as the tree split in two. Branchesand leaves crashed to the ground, making the earth tremble again.
Evander slumped over, his head lolling. Silver blood oozed from the back of his head, staining the forest floor.
“Shit,” Cyrus hissed, withdrawing his magic as he sprinted toward his brother.
Smoke rose from Evander’s form, and an ashy black mark stained his chest. Cyrus ripped open Evander’s shirt, but no injuries marred his pale flesh.
Thank the gods for that.
