The world shifted,morphing and changing as Cyrus, Lagos, and Evander stepped through the portal. They emerged in darkness, the air musty and damp. Cyrus wrinkled his nose. He’d forgotten how stale the air smelled in the Realm of Gaia.
Beside him, Lagos wobbled, his legs unsteady. Cyrus grabbed his arm to keep him from falling over.
“Gods,” Lagos muttered, shaking his head. His hands were trembling. “That was… disorienting.” He inhaled deeply, then made a grunt of displeasure. “What’s that horrible smell?”
“The human realm,” Cyrus said grimly. “You’ll get used to it.”
“It’s not just that,” Evander said, looking around. “We’re in a cavern. There isn’t much fresh air here.”
Cyrus frowned, blinking in the darkness. He couldn’t make out anything except the moist rock wall beside them,barely illuminated by the lingering glow of the portal. It felt strange that Cyrus hadn’t been here before but Evander had.
The last time Cyrus had been in this realm, he’d been with Prue.
A bolt of yearning split through him, sharp and merciless. Gods above, he missed his wife.
Soon,he told himself.You’ll have her back soon.
He didn’t want to think about what state she’d be in when he found her. Or what horrors she’d endured at the hands of the Titans.
No. For right now, all he needed to think about was the next step: locating the fire witches.
“So, where do we go from here?” Cyrus asked his brother.
Evander hesitated, glancing back and forth between the rock wall and the portal. “I’m… not sure. I wasn’t entirely conscious when I came through last time.”
Cyrus sighed, inching forward with his hand outstretched. His fingers met the moist surface of the cavern wall. He stepped forward, his feet crunching on rocks.
This wouldn’t work. He would trip and fall, likely breaking his neck and killing himself before he could even get to Prue.
“To hell with this,” he muttered before spreading his hands and summoning his Titan power.
“Cyrus, don’t—” Evander warned, but it was too late.
Energy crackled through him, and he summoned the smallest kernel of magic. White light sizzled along his fingertips, bathing the cavern in a brilliant glow that revealed a narrow tunnel built into the rock wall. He never would have found that without a light source.
“This way,” Cyrus said with a satisfied smile, stepping toward the tunnel.
Before he could, however, shouts rang out, echoing and bouncing off the cave wall. A soft amber glow appeared on the other side of the tunnel, followed by heavy footfalls.
“Shit,” Evander muttered. “They sensed your magic.”
Cyrus dropped his hands, and the electric power coursing through him vanished. In an instant, several figures appeared at the mouth of the tunnel, each wielding a ball of fire in her palm.
“Who are you?” barked the woman in front. She had dark skin and gleaming golden eyes that blazed with fury.
Cyrus opened his mouth to speak, but Evander grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Farah,” Evander said, stepping forward with his palms outstretched. “It’s good to see you again. This is my brother, Cyrus, and our friend Lagos.” He gestured to Cyrus and Lagos in turn.
Farah’s eyes narrowed as she focused on Cyrus. “Osiris? God of the dead?”
Cyrus straightened. He wasn’t sure he liked the threat in the woman’s voice. “Yes. That’s me.”
Her nostrils flared. “You are not welcome here, death god.”
Of course he wasn’t. Cyrus barely refrained from rolling his eyes.
“Please,” Evander begged. “Mona and her sister Prue were captured and brought somewhere in the Rhea Desert. We could use your help in finding them.”
