Shit.Mona’s heart dropped to her stomach like a stone. She hadn’t meant to put that much power into the spell. She’d become accustomed to the stale magic in the air that she hadn’t held back anything.
It had been too much. Too visible. Tooloud.
She prayed to the Goddess the fire witches would see that and come quickly.
Because the Titans certainly would have noticed. Noteven the most violent distraction from Prue could have prevented them from seeing that explosive display.
Sure enough, thundering footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Mona uttered a squeak of alarm before darting across the room, flattening herself against the wall behind the door. In her chest, her heart thundered madly.
The air suddenly crackled and went still. A stifling, crowded feeling suffocated her throat and chest, making it hard to breathe. Fatigue spread through her, making her form droop. Her head felt cloudy and incoherent.
The Titans’ wards were back in place. Which meant her powers were gone.
And the amount of energy it had taken to cast those two runes was dragging her down, down, down…
Fresh panic bloomed inside her, making her dizzy. Dread and despair coiled around her like serpents, freezing her in place.
Then the door burst open.
DIVERSION
PRUE
Prue’s heartskittered as she made her way downstairs. The deep voices of the Titans drifted up to her, too muffled for her to make out any words.
She lifted her chin. She could do this.
They wouldn’t kill her. They needed her alive to negotiate with Cyrus.
With this reminder fresh in her mind, Prue descended the final steps and rounded the corner.
The murmuring stopped at once, and four pairs of dark eyes fixed on her.
Four.One Titan wasn’t here.
Damn. If the last Titan was keeping watch somewhere, it was likely they would notice when the wards came down. Prue’s gaze flicked over each Titan before landing on Hyperion, who lounged in an armchair, his eyes narrowing.
“I need to speak with Hyperion,” she said in a clipped tone.
“Is that so? Well, I’m afraid I’m busy at the moment.” Hyperion turned to speak with Atlas on his left. A clear dismissal.
Prue stomped toward him, her hands curling into fists. It wasn’t hard to project the rage she felt toward this Titan. He had siphoned magic from her and tried to kill her. He had intervened during Cyrus’s challenge, nearly killing him, too.
He had worked alongside Apollo to steal the throne of the Underworld.
“I need to speak with you,” Prue repeated, her tone harsh and unyielding. “Now.”
Hyperion’s face slowly turned to fix an icy stare on her. The chair creaked as he stood, and Prue’s mouth went dry as she realized just how much he towered over her. Crackling power rippled off him, charging the air with electricity.
“You hear that?” Hyperion called to the Titans surrounding him. “The little goddess wants to throw a temper tantrum.”
A few of the Titans chuckled and guffawed at that.
“What is your problem with me?” Prue demanded. “I did nothing to you. Toanyof you.” She made a sweeping motion with her hand to indicate the room at large. “I have no quarrel with you. But you’ve tried to kill me twice.”
“No quarrel?” Hyperion leaned closer, his foul stench stinging her nostrils. “You’re the daughter of Gaia. You are married to Aidoneus’s son. Both of them worked tirelessly to cage us in Tartarus. I would hardly call you innocent, little goddess.”
