“What the hell are you talking about? There isn’t time for this!”
“She is a child of Janus!” shouted the woman. “She holds the magic of the Triple Goddess within her! Only when the three sisters are reborn can their powers be unlocked. But their death must be an act of selflessness. A sacrifice. It’s the only way.”
Silence followed her words. Then, the first voice said, “How can we tell? We don’t know what happened to her.”
“I know.” A third voice joined the conversation, this one more grim than the other two.
Trivia’s concentration ebbed, and the voices faded. Ah, at last she was moving on. Surely the pain would subside now.
But no, it only intensified, drilling into her skull with brutal intensity. She wanted to swat at the pain, to bat it away like a pesky insect.Leave me alone!she wanted to scream.I’m finished. I’ve paid my dues. Let me rest now.
But the pain only seemed to laugh at her, burrowing deeper. Yes, it was certainly like an insect, digging into her flesh, so far in that she could no longer pluck it out. It would fester inside her for an eternity.
“Trivia, please,” whispered the first voice.
Something within her stirred at the sound of that voice—the sound of her name.
I love you, Trivia.The echo of that voice resonated inside her, awakening her soul. Gods, she wanted to drown in that voice. The way it aroused her and soothed her. The way it made her bones tremble and her blood sing.
Itcalledto her. And amidst the pain and darkness and confusion, she emerged, following the sound.
“Gods above,” he murmured. “Look.”
The woman gasped. “Yes. Yes, my darling, come back to us.” A warm hand pressed into her chest, and power seeped into her. The pain ebbed, leaving a comforting heat in its place. It spread through her, coursing through her veins and filling her with life. Sounds became clearer—she could make out the distinct sound of rushing waters and the smell of saltwater. A breeze tickled her skin. She tried to move, but she still couldn’t reach those parts of her body.
But she couldfeelnow.
She was alive.
“Trivia, I need you to live. I need you to breathe.”
Sol,she thought. It was Sol calling to her. She would follow the sound of that voice anywhere in all the realms.
Even the jaws of death could not stop her from coming to him.
Her eyes flickered open, her lids crusty and heavy. She yearned to close them once more, but the tether connecting her to Sol was far stronger.
I have to go to him,she thought.I have to see his face. To touch his skin.
Her lips were cracked and dry, but she managed towheeze out his name. “Sol.” Her voice sounded like sandpaper.
“By the gods.” Sol let out a laugh of disbelief. Hands pressed into her shoulders, her cheeks, sending more warmth through her body. Slowly, inch by inch, she was awakening. A faint throbbing still echoed in her skull, but it was diminished compared to the anguish of before. More power flooded her, filling her with energy and strength. It felt so…foreign.It was earth magic, but different from her own. More pure. More vibrant. It called to memories buried deep. Memories she didn’t even know she had.
“Sol,” she said again, her voice clearer now. But her throat was so dry, her tongue sticky. She smacked her lips, and something cool and wet touched her mouth.
“Drink,” Sol urged, and Trivia obeyed as he carefully poured water into her mouth. Her vision was so hazy. Even with her eyes open, she could only make out vague shapes around her. Two figures stood above her, and she knew one of them was Sol. Judging by the sound of the waters around her, she was either by a river or the ocean.
Could she be in Elysium? Was she on the very beach she had envisioned while in Pandora’s box?
It seemed like a dream. Too good to be true. A fantasy that could never be. Something she did not deserve.
“Is she alive?” This third voice was almost unfamiliar. It tugged at something within Trivia’s mind.
When recognition finally dawned, something jolted within her. “Midas?” she asked in bewilderment.
Her vision sharpened suddenly, the shift so intense that it sent another spiral of pain through her head. Something softtickled her ears and cheeks. She was lying in the grass with a canopy of trees hanging over her. Sol knelt by her side, his face pale and his midnight blue eyes filled with worry. On his left was Gaia, her eyes closed and her brows drawn together in concentration. One of her hands was pressed to Trivia’s chest. Then Trivia realized Gaia was using her magic to give her strength.
Her mother had brought her back to life.
