“I see him,” Hyperion said. “There. At the edge of the wood. Go,now.”
Heavy footfalls indicated the other Titan had lumbered off. But Prue remained perfectly still, knowing Hyperion was still close by.
She heard him sniff deeply. Then, he chuckled.
“I cansmellyour blood, little goddess,” he murmured. “You cannot hide from me.”
Shit.Shit.
Mona tugged on Prue’s hand, and the two of them crouched low to the ground, inching backward as quickly and quietly as possible. They rounded the corner of the cottage, then huddled close to the wall.
Hyperion’s footsteps followed. “You think this changes anything? You are still my prisoner. My plaything. And I’ll show that wretched death god exactly how much of your pretty face I can carve up.”
Prue shut her eyes, her stomach churning with vicious intensity. The scrape of his blade. The sharp sting of her blood. The burning, scorching pain. Her broken screams.
Mona’s fingernails dug into Prue’s arm. With a gasp, Prue’s eyes flew open, and she found her sister’s eyes were blazing with fury.
“You are stronger than this,” Mona whispered. “Do not let him win.”
Prue sucked in breath after breath, but the oxygen wouldn’t come. Her lungs strained. Her throat closed. Goddess, she was suffocating. She couldn’tbreathe.
Mona’s lips thinned, her gaze filling with despair. “I love you,” shebreathed.
Before Prue could stop her, Mona stood, stepping into Hyperion’s path. In a firm, confident voice, Mona said, “It’s not Prue. It’s me.”
Prue pressed a hand to her mouth, shaking her head as if she could undo Mona’s decision to face the Titan. Goddess, what was she doing? She would get herself killed!
I love you,she’d said.
Perhaps that was precisely what Mona intended to do.
“I smellher,” Hyperion sneered. “Not you. Your attempt at trickery is feeble.”
“Her blood is on my clothes. That’s what you smell. I told her to run.”
Hyperion hesitated, as if he almost believed Mona’s words.
Prue’s pulse thundered loudly, and she feared it would give her away. She remained crouched there like a fool, acoward, letting her sister fight this battle for her.
Get up!she screamed at herself.Mona is right. Do not let him win!
“Perhaps you’re right,” Hyperion mused. “But you can still be of use to me. After all, you haven’t been acquainted with my blade just yet. We should remedy the situation.”
Panic flooded Prue’s veins, sending sharp clarity to her mind. She scanned the dead grass around her, searching for a weapon, for something she could use against Hyperion.
She was too weak to cast a runic spell. But perhaps there was something else.
Her eyes landed on a shard of glass from when Mona had shattered the window. Prue snatched it up, then flattened herself against the wall, trying to steady herbreathing.
“If you touch me…” Mona said.
“What will you do?” Hyperion chuckled. “Your lover isn’t here to save you. It’s just the king. And we both know who he’ll choose.”
Mona took a shuddering breath, and the sound wrenched through Prue’s chest. She gritted her teeth, loathing the Titan with every fiber of her being.
She would not let this monster hurt her sister. She would not allow him to spill any more blood.
Rage flowed through her, powerful and violent. Before she could overthink it, Prue darted out from behind the building. Hyperion leered over Mona, mere inches away from her, his bloody blade raised. His eyes shifted to Prue and widened slightly.
