Prue.
The entire left side of her face was covered in blood, her hair sticky and matted. Her skin was far too pale, and her lower lip was split and bleeding. Mona raced over to her, her heart twisting so painfully in her chest she thought she might collapse right alongside her sister. Hot anger burned behind her eyes, but she didn’t have a moment to cry or rageover Prue’s condition. She had only seconds before the Titan realized she was there.
As delicately as possible, Mona thrust her hands under Prue’s arms and tried to haul her to her feet. Prue let out a groan of pain, and Mona froze.
From the kitchen, the Titan let out a roar.
Shit. Mona could either stay with Prue, or avoid this Titan’s wrath.
“I amnotleaving you,” she told Prue through gritted teeth.
She was not a coward.
With fury in her gaze, she glared at the approaching Titan—Atlas, the purple-skinned demon with ram horns. He stomped toward her, fangs bared and clawed fingers flexing toward her. When he was only steps away, Mona lifted her hand and whispered, “Disjungo.”
The air hummed, then fell silent.
Nothing happened.
“Dammit!” Mona hissed.
Atlas only grinned, drawing closer.
“My… blood,” Prue croaked.
“What?” Mona hissed.
“Use it!” Her raspy voice was insistent.
Atlas lunged, and Mona pressed her hand to the fresh blood coating the left side of Prue’s face. “Disjungo!” she cried.
Just like the other Titan, Atlas went rigid, then sank to his knees. His shoulders shook, and tremors overtook his entire body. Prue slumped against Mona, no doubt drained from the cost of fueling a rune with her blood.
“I’ve got you,” Mona whispered. She scanned the cottage, noting every doorway. Was there a back door? If she and Prue hobbled out the front entrance, the other Titans would notice.
“Window,” Prue wheezed, blood dribbling from her lips.
“Shh,” Mona said softly. “Don’t strain yourself, Prue. I said I’ve got you. I’ll get you out of here, I promise.” Her eyes latched onto the massive window in the back of the kitchen. Damn, Prue was a genius.
Mona gently eased Prue on the floor, then raced over to the window. After realizing it was bolted shut, she snatched a rusted candlestick from the table and used it to shatter the glass. She dragged the candlestick over the edges of the pane to ensure no shards remained, then returned to Prue. Hoisting her up, Mona slid Prue onto one of the dining chairs. “I need you to go through first, in case one of them comes back. Can you climb?”
Prue mumbled something incoherent, but Mona interpreted that as ayes.Mona lifted her sister, arms quivering. Sweat pooled down her neck and face. Prue struggled, then her weight eased as she no doubt found purchase on the other side. With one last shove, Mona managed to get her all the way through the window.
Something crashed upstairs. The other Titan must have awakened.
With a gasp, Mona scrambled through the window. Prue was crouched on the other side, one hand outstretched toward Mona. Mona took it, and the two collapsed in the dry weeds just outside the window.
Lightning burst in the sky—the Titan’s rage, no doubt.Around them, the Titans were shouting something to one another. Mona wasn’t sure if they were still trying to locate the source of her scream, or if something else had spooked them. Either way, she was grateful for the distraction.
“Come on.” Mona wrapped Prue’s arm over her shoulders, then helped her to her feet. More lightning forked through the sky. Together, they edged around the cottage, away from the shouts, until something made Mona go perfectly still.
“…those damned death gods,” a Titan was saying.
Prue gripped Mona’s tunic, her hand surprisingly strong. She, too, had gone rigid.
“Both of them?” another Titan said.
“No. It’s just the one. The king.”
