Page 12 of Thorn & Ash

“My family didn’t, either,” Mona went on. Somehow, she knew that Evander wouldn’t talk about this, so she felt it might help if she shared something. Something he could relate to. “Prue always wanted to climb trees and explore hidden places. But all I wanted to do was read. To bury myself in knowledge and stories and the vast enormity of secrets our library contained. The possibilities were endless, and that was enthralling to me. It still is.”

“You miss it,” Evander said. “Reading.”

“Yes. I mean, of course I miss my sister and my home. But without my books and my magic, it doesn’t feel like I’m really here at all. Like I’m dreaming and I’ll wake up soon and be able to resume my life.”

Evander gazed toward the forest, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “I understand that, too. My duties here feel… temporary. Like I am waiting for something bigger to come along. This cannot be all that’s in store for me. And yet, every day, it is the same. Nothing changes.”

Mona had nothing to say. It was startling, how much she resonated with this stranger. Trapped on her tiny island, unable to leave and see the world for herself. Waiting for her life to begin.

“If you could change things, what would you change?” Mona asked.

Evander didn’t answer for a long time. His gaze was still fixed on the forest, and something hardened in his expression. The openness she had enjoyed with him now seemed closed off, like whatever connection they shared had ended. “I don’t know,” he said, dropping his gaze.

It was a lie. He knew, he just didn’t want to tell her.

It’s all right, Mona thought. He can keep his secrets. We are still strangers, after all.

But to her, it didn’t feel like they were strangers. Perhaps it was because he was the overseer of her soul that she felt this way. He had a special bond with the souls here, and that’s what she was feeling. Surely that was the explanation for it.

But this knowledge didn’t stop the sting of rejection from working its way through her.

Evander looked at her with a softness in his eyes that lessened the ache in her heart. “You are a kindred soul, Mona. I feel if we had lived in your small village together, we could’ve been great friends.”

Mona found herself smiling. “I think so, too.”

Evander’s expression turned grim as he stared at the setting sun. “It’s an enchantment, you know,” he said suddenly. “Everything here. The forest. The sky. The weather. Even so, it helps me measure the days. To feel more alive.” He shook his head and rose to his feet, dusting the grass and dirt off his trousers. “I must leave you now, Mona.”

Discomfort wriggled inside her at the thought of being here alone. “Why? Where are you going?”

Evander said nothing. He merely glared at the sunset as if it had mortally wounded him.

More secrets, Mona thought sadly.

“Evander,” she whispered, and he finally looked at her, his eyes so full of torment it made her want to weep. “You aren’t alone. I see you. And I understand you.”

A sad smile spread across his lips. “Ah, yes. That is true. But you, like all the others, will one day leave as well. And then I will be truly alone once more.” The gentleness in his gaze told her he didn’t blame her for this; he had merely accepted his fate.

Mona’s throat constricted with agony as she watched him turn away from her and stride into the forest.

LAGOS

PRUE

Still chained in the dank cave, Prue faded in and out of consciousness, her mind foggy and weak from hunger. It felt like days since anyone had brought her food. Perhaps her last encounter with Cyrus had angered him so much he’d decided to starve her.

What am I doing here? she thought. Frustration crept into the corners of her mind, but she was too frail to allow it to consume her completely.

She couldn’t surrender. She forced herself to sit up, though her head throbbed from the movement. “I am an earth witch,” she said, her voice hoarse. “The Maiden of the coven. The daughter of a goddess. And the queen of this realm. I will not be defeated.” On unsteady legs, she rose to her feet, the chains rattling from her movement. “If Cyrus wants to kill me, he’d better do it himself.”

Every inch of her ached, the pain rippling along her limbs and spine. Goddess, she was so weak. Her head was spinning.

“I will not be cowed,” she forced herself to say. She had once been powerful enough to summon the god of the Underworld to the mortal realm. Surely, she could muster enough strength to overcome these flimsy chains.

She dragged her finger against the cavern wall behind her, her fingertip coming back coated with dust and ash. In her coven, ash was a powerful, magic-inducing substance. Maybe she could use that.

Her thoughts traveled inward, seeking that familiar warmth of her magic. But all she felt was a hollow emptiness in her chest. She swept her ashy finger over the middle of her forehead, hoping to coax open her third eye. The skin on her forehead twitched slightly, something faint quivering from within. But that was all. Nothing happened.

“Incantare,” she whispered, sweeping her hand through the air.

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