A scream echoed, and Prue froze, tilting her head slightly toward the sound.
It was Mona. Oceanus had embedded one of his talons straight through her thigh.
Prue’s nostrils flared, her eyes burning with clarity. “M-Mona?”
“Finish him!” Oceanus hissed. “Kill the death god!”
Prue’s breath hitched, her eyes going milky once more. Her body jerked and twitched unnaturally. She raised the branch in her hands, aiming for Cyrus’s chest.
A brilliant blast of white light filled the air, momentarily blinding Cyrus. He turned his head, eyes closing against the force of it.
Then, dozens—no,hundreds—of voices echoed around him, reverberating as if he stood in a massive cavern.
Oceanus screamed, and then came the sound of a blade slicing into flesh.
Prue groaned and fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Her vines loosened, and Cyrus tore them away, rushing to her side. She was coughing up blood, her face pale and her eyes haunted.
But they werehereyes. Brilliant lavender. They stared at him with stark clarity.
Cyrus’s hands were shaking as he clutched her shoulders. “Thank the gods.” He pulled her against his chest, massaging her back and stroking her curls. She clung to him weakly, still reeling from Oceanus’s violent control over her body.
Cyrus looked over her shoulder, his gaze fixed on the sky, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Thousands of white blurry shapes danced in the air, flitting about with such speed that Cyrus couldn’t make out any details. Somewhere close by, Oceanus was screeching. The sounds of flesh tearing and ripping still filled the air.
Someone—something—was attacking the Titan.
Then, a figure appeared who Cyrus would recognize anywhere. He stood out amongst the white lights around him, his dark clothes a sharp contrast against the luminescent chaos.
His face taut with concern, Evander hovered over Mona’s prone figure. He bound the bleeding wound in her thigh, then gathered her into his arms, his eyes burning with fury.
Then, he met Cyrus’s gaze and hurried toward him, still carrying Mona.
“You—You aren’t real,” Cyrus said in a strained voice. Surely, this had to be a trick from Oceanus. Or perhaps one of the other sirens.
Evander offered a grim smile. “I’m afraid I am,brother. And I’m not alone.” He glanced up at the sky, then frowned. “Are those…” He trailed off as several loud squawks and screeches echoed nearby.
Cyrus squinted upward, then noticed the frantic beating of black wings darting between the pearly forms in the sky. A savage smile spread across his face. “The sirens. They’re fighting back.”
Evander looked at him in confusion. “Sirens?”
“Evander,” Mona croaked, gripping his arm, her eyes weak. “What—What have you done?”
Evander brushed sweaty strands of hair away from her face. “I’m here, my love. And I’ve brought an army with me.” He looked at Cyrus with determination and pride on his face. “I have freed the Wild Spirits, and they are here to fight for us.”
SEPARATE
TRIVIA
The sightof the giant Cyclops towering over Sol—large enough to crush the sun god in his massive fist—should have struck Trivia with fear. She should have been cowering from the monster before her.
But instead, she felt nothing but rage, raw and untethered.
Pandora had dabbled in these same dark powers, conjuring all manner of foul creatures and beasts, intent on unleashing chaos on the three realms and watching everything burn. And even after Pandora had been silenced, her soul still lived on—along with the dark forces of her box.
And Trivia was done with it. She wasfinishedwith these deities who believed they could wield powers beyond their capabilities. She was fed up with those who sought to control others, who created monstrous nightmares just for the sake of power.
She was sick of people trying to use her as a puppet, as a pawn in their game.
Atlas thought himself to be the puppet master, pulling strings and organizing chaos over the realms, just like Pandora.
