Mona tugged on her arm. “Prue.”
“No,” Prue wrenched her arm free and raced toward her friend. “Lagos!”
Atlas managed to wrench free, his chest soaked in blood.He shoved Lagos off him, then grasped the demon’s throat with both hands.
A scream ripped from Prue’s throat as Atlas met her gaze, then twisted hard.
The crack of Lagos’s broken neck resounded in the wood, ringing through Prue’s ears. She would never forget that sound. It seared into her brain, making her go cold with undeniable horror.
No.No?—
“Prue, it’s closing!” Mona yelled. “We have to move!”
Prue could do nothing but stare in horror as Lagos’s body collapsed like a doll. He crumpled, falling to the earth. He did not move.
Atlas stalked toward them, his eyes dark with hunger.
“Forgive me, Prue,” Mona whispered. She summoned more vines, and they wrapped around Prue’s body, pinning her arms and legs together.
“No… No,Mona!” Prue thrashed against the restraints, but they held firm. “Mona, please! I can—I can bring him back.Please! We can still save him!”
Tears streamed down Mona’s face as she jerked Prue forward. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed before shoving Prue through the rip in the tree stump.
Prue fell forward, tumbling and rolling until strong arms caught her. Cyrus’s face swam into view, but Prue could barely see through the tears that blurred her vision.
Lagos.Lagos?—
“Cyrus,” she said, shivering in his grasp. “Lagos. I can save him. We can save him. Bring him back. Earth magic. Life. We can—We can…”
“She’s in shock,” someone said. Evander perhaps?
“Close the rip!” Mona said. “Now! Atlas is coming.”
Lightning flashed, momentarily blinding Prue. She couldn’t stop muttering, her body cold. So cold.
“Lagos. Earth magic. Life. Bring him back. Back. Back…”
The snap of Lagos’s neck rang through her mind as Prue’s head slumped, and she succumbed to darkness.
MOTIVE
TRIVIA
Trivia triedto free herself from the darkness, but Pandora’s magic was stronger. The goddess’s laugh sounded in her ear, and Trivia closed her eyes, picturing her tranquil beach. She saw the rolling ocean waves, the glittering sand…
And then, Pandora’s face appeared, blocking her view of the coast.
Trivia yelped, her eyes opening as darkness consumed her once more.
“Silly child,” Pandora crooned. “Your mind belongs tome. Nowhere is safe for you.”
Trivia gritted her teeth, remembering what Midas had told her.I am more powerful than I think,she told herself.
She imagined her construct again, more detailed than before. The briny scent of the sea. The wind whipping against her face. The heat of the sun beating down on her. Sol’s laughter amongst the waves.
For a moment, Trivia was there, her bare toes wiggling in the sand as she drew in a breath that tasted of saltwater and sunshine.
She washere.She focused on the acute sensations of her body in the construct, then projected them forward. The tide rolled in, covering her feet with cool water. It rolled over more and more sand, drifting closer to the hills beyond the shore.
