But she didn’t stop. With a shriek, she lunged for him, colliding with his broad chest. She slammed into him so hard that her head jolted and her skull rattled from the impact. Pain shot through her, and the space where her ear had been now pulsed with agony.
The force of her strike sent them both tumbling to the ground. Mona cried out her name. Prue slashed the shard of glass, drawing blood from Hyperion’s shoulder. He growled, then swung his dagger. Prue managed to roll off him before he could stab her.
Then Mona was there, a feral cry pouring from her lips. She pinned down Hyperion’s hand with both of hers, then wrestled the dagger free from his grasp. Hyperion grunted, shoving at Mona with one meaty arm. His thrust sent her sprawling in the grass. With a crack, her head struck a rock, and she collapsed.
Prue wanted to run to Mona’s side, but her sister had given her an opportunity, and she couldn’t waste it. Without bothering to climb to her feet, Prue slammed the jagged piece of glass into Hyperion’s thigh, then twisted it deep. Rivulets of black blood gushed from the wound.
Hyperion howled, the sound piercing the air.
Prue withdrew the glass, then rammed it into his gut. Blood bubbled from his lips as he reached for her, fingers flexing.
Something shattered nearby, and purple smoke drifted in the air. It smelled like… saffron. Prue frowned, then glanced around, her body tense as she expected another fight.
“End him!” shouted a familiar voice. “Prue, end him now!”
Prue gasped as she made out Lagos’s figure amidst the magenta fog. “Lagos? But how?—”
“Use your magic!” he urged. “Quickly!”
Prue drew in a breath, only then noticing howfreethe air felt. Energy crackled through her as her magic soared to life.
It felt just like when Mona had broken through the wards. Prue’s earth magic was back.
With a sigh of relief, she summoned her roots and vines. They rose from the ground and twisted around Hyperion. He opened his mouth, no doubt ready to inhale her power as he’d done before. But Prue slashed the glass across his throat, cutting off his breath. He choked, blood seeping into the dead grass around him. His eyes grew wide, and his skin turned ashen.
Prue summoned more of her magic, drawing vines and thorns that tangled around Hyperion’s limbs, anchoring himto the earth. He sputtered and wheezed, trying and failing to draw breath. Prue only glared at him with cold fury as he bled out, her brambles chaining him, preventing him from escaping.
She forced herself to watch until he went perfectly still. Until his eyes rolled back and his body shuddered once before dying.
Even then, she continued to stare at him, just to be certain he was dead.
Hyperion did not move. He did not breathe.
He was dead.
Prue released a long, trembling breath, then dropped the glass. Lagos rushed to her side, tugging on her hands to help her stand. Prue threw her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. “Goddess, Lagos! How did you get here? How—What was that smoke?”
“An elixir, courtesy of the fire witches,” Lagos explained. “Come, we don’t have much time. Evander and Cyrus are providing diversions so I can get you out.”
“Evander’s here?” Mona croaked. She was on the ground, struggling to rise. One side of her forehead was coated in blood from when Hyperion had thrown her.
“Of course he is.” Lagos blinked at Mona as if it made little sense that Evanderwouldn’tcome for her. “Cyrus was able to tear a hole through the wards with his Titan magic. But I don’t know if it will hold. We must move, quickly.”
“What about Cyrus and Evander?” Prue asked. “We can’t just leave them. They’ll be killed!”
“This is the plan, Prue,” Lagos said grimly. “They can’twithdraw until they know you’re safely outside the wards. We have to go.Now.”
Prue exchanged a panicked look with Mona, who nodded grimly.
“You agree with him?” Prue asked incredulously.
“If we want to save them, we have to get out of here first,” Mona insisted. “If we’re outside the wards, we’ll have our magic back. We can use it to tear this place apart from the outside.”
A knot formed in Prue’s throat. Shouts echoed around her. They were getting closer. She swallowed down the protest climbing up her throat and gave a stiff nod.
Lagos took her hand and started running. Prue’s steps were sluggish as the strength from her magic wore off. It seemed the witches’ elixir was only temporary. The three of them ran around the back side of the cottage, pausing when two Titans raced past.
“He’s over here!” one of them cried. “I saw him flying!”
