But she had been trying to free Typhon. She had been trying to free so many others who had suffered because of power-hungry gods like Apollo and Jupiter.
Evander stared at Echidna, his heart wrenching at the look of hope on her face. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “But Typhon is gone.”
Echidna’s face fell, her brows drawing together in confusion. “I saw you summon him earlier. He is still a part of you.”
“It’s temporary. When I was taken to Elysium, the part of my soul that he inhabits was dying. My brother siphoned Typhon’s magic out of me, and I have not been able to bring him back since. Not fully.”
Echidna fell silent. Behind her, the other Wild Spirits murmured with one another, their whispers echoing in the woods.
“He lingers,” Echidna mused, her voice distant. “He waits for me. Forus.” When Evander shook his head, not followingher line of thought, she went on, “Typhon and I are still bound. Even through his banishment and his connection with you, he is still bound to his family here. It’s why his wings appear ghost-like.” She gestured to her own body. “Just like us. He is waiting for us before he finds peace.”
“But how can you be freed?” Evander asked. “My immortality?—”
“Your immortality would have done nothing for us except grant us one moment of freedom,” Echidna said sadly. “There is nothing in all the realms powerful enough to undo Jupiter’s curse. Unless…” She faltered, then frowned. “Our curse was linked to Typhon’s entrapment. I assumed that, with him dead, we were doomed to an eternity of roaming these woods. But… if he still lives—if he can be freed—perhaps we can, too.”
“I don’t know how to free him,” Evander admitted.
Echidna slithered closer to him, coiling lower to the ground so she could look him in the eye. “You already did. Or, you started to. When you unleashed those wings, that was Typhon trying to get out.”
“I release him all the time,” Evander said. “It never lasts very long. Perhaps an hour or two, depending on how much energy I’m using. Then, he vanishes.”
“Have you ever released him here in the Wilds?”
“Yes. During Apollo’s challenge with my brother.”
Echidna gasped, then turned to the souls behind her. “How—How did we not know?” Then, her eyes widened. “The Titans. Their magic is potent enough to hide Typhon’s essence from us.”
“And we remained hidden during that battle,” said a soulbehind her with six arms. “We did not want to be discovered, if you recall.”
Echidna nodded. She turned to Evander. “Can you try to release him now? Perhaps if I touch him…” She extended a hand to Evander, who instinctively scrambled away from her touch.
Echidna froze, her eyes narrowing.
“You tried to kill me,” Evander said. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“Don’t be a fool,” Echidna hissed. “Everything has changed now! Can’t you see?”
“And what will you do, once Typhon is freed? Will you simply let me go?”
“Of course,” she said at once.
Evander huffed a dry laugh. “I don’t believe you. You also claimed that losing my immortality would be painless. That I would be nothing more than a mortal. You lied.”
Echidna’s nostrils flared. “Don’t youwantto free Typhon? I thought he meant something to you.”
“He did. But I value my life now—more than I ever did before. I want tolive. And if freeing Typhon endangers my life, then I won’t do it.”
“We could just kill you, death god,” Echidna snarled. “Nothing is stopping us. We could tie you down and finish what we started.”
“You could,” Evander agreed. “But if you do, Typhon will never be freed. And you’ll never know if you and your family can find peace.”
Echidna froze at that, her body rigid. Her lips curled back, baring her teeth. “What do you want, death god? Name your price.”
“Swear by your blood,” Evander said. “Swear that you will not harm or kill me. And, if by freeing Typhon I am able to set your souls free, I need you to help me and my brother before you cross over.”
“Help you?” Echidna laughed harshly. “We would never help the gods. Not after what we have suffered.”
“It’s a small price to pay for your freedom,” Evander said. “You have proven you can still touch, even as ghosts.” He gestured to her hand, which still clutched the translucent dagger from before. “You can wield a weapon.”
