The woman sank to her knees and released a keeningwail, like the mournful howl of a wolf. Behind her, the other spirits cried out, echoing the sound of her grief.
Evander tried to scramble backward, alarmed at this reaction, but his ankles were still tied down. He wrenched the cords free, his fingers shaking. When they were loose, he looked up and found the woman’s tear-stained face mere inches from his.
With a yelp, he fell backward, shuffling away from her.
“Stay back,” he warned, though what could he do against these spirits? They were already dead.
Then the woman’s fingers met the talon of his left wing, and he went perfectly still. He could…feelher touch. It was as warm and solid as if she stood before him in the flesh.
His mouth fell open, his blood chilling as he stared at her, uncomprehending.”What…” He couldn’t even form the question. “I—I don’t understand.”
“Typhon was one of us,” the woman whispered. “He was once a Wild Spirit. And he has been missing for a millennia.”
TOGETHER
TRIVIA
The moment Trivia,Sol, and Gaia stepped through the portal and entered the mortal realm, Gaia groaned and sank to one knee, pressing a hand to her heart.
It didn’t take Trivia long to discover why. The very air reeked of death. The wind whispering against her skin smelled of ash and decay.
It smelled like Tartarus.
She glanced upward at the night sky, squinting against the breeze that burned her eyes. It took her a moment to orient herself, to figure out where exactly they were.
Sol recognized it at the same time. “By the gods,” he whispered in horror.
Trivia’s skin prickled, her heart racing as she took in her surroundings. Beneath the saturated layer of death magic, she could make out the faint hint of earth. This place had once been rich with Gaia’s magic.
Now, it was nothing more than a tomb.
The three of them stood in the remains of Midas’s mighty underground castle. The ceiling had caved in, exposing the midnight sky. Cracked roots and broken rocks surrounded them. Jagged holes lined the walls, broken through by roots and thorns.
And the air was deathly still. Not a sound stirred, aside from the hissing wind that tickled Trivia’s skin.
When they’d last been here, the castle had been magnificent, and a thriving coven of earth witches had lived here. Trivia remembered traveling through the Voiceless Jungle and how silent butaliveeverything had felt. Saffron, the mysterious witch who resembled a shadowed silhouette, had led them to Midas. A hydra had attacked, but the earth witches had easily rebuilt the walls and ceiling, leaving it as impressive as before.
But Saffron and the witches were gone. So was the castle. So was the magic.
Gaia sucked in a sharp breath, grunting with effort. Her eyes closed, and her brows drew together, her face taut with tension. “May the Triple Goddess bring you peace,” she whispered, pressing her fingers to her lips and then to the ground. “May your deaths be avenged tenfold.”
A knot formed in Trivia’s throat as she looked around once more. She hadn’t wanted to believe it… but of course her mother could sense it.
The earth witches who had lived here were all dead.
“What could have done this?” Sol asked softly, brushing his fingers against a broken tree root. “This could not have been the work of Titans.”
“It’s not,” Trivia said at once. “This is something…else.” She thought of the hydra that had attacked this place. “Something dark was drawn here.” She looked at her mother, waiting for some kind of explanation.
But Gaia shook her head, her frown deepening. “It’s no magic I’m familiar with. It’s something new, something tainted with Titan magic. Whatever it is, it was created by them.”
Trivia’s stomach hollowed at the thought of the Titanscreatinga new creature. A new monster.
“Is it still here?” Sol asked. He drew closer to Trivia, his arm sliding behind her as he looked around warily. She wasn’t sure he realized he had moved. He must have done so on instinct. The thought sent her a modicum of comfort, but it was fleeting.
Gaia peered up toward the sky. After a moment, she said, “No. But I can tell which direction it’s traveling. It’s likely we’ll encounter it on our journey.”
“Where are we going?” Trivia asked. “Do you know where the Titans are?”
