Page 76 of Thorn & Ash

Evander writhed, managing to get one arm free. He used his hand to tear the roots away from his mouth. “Mona!” he yelled. “Stay back! She’s not—”

An explosion of power slammed into his head, making him see stars. Dizziness overcame him, and he slumped over. He barely registered Pandora loosing her branches on him. He fell over, dazed from whatever she’d struck him with.

She caught him under the arms and whispered, “Let’s go for a ride, shall we? See how well your demonic nature survives…”

I’m going to die, Evander registered faintly. Demons couldn’t survive in Elysium. And now that he had fully merged with Typhon, the two were inseparable. Without the moonstone necklace to cage Typhon, there was no escaping it.

The realm of the higher gods would tear him apart.

He would never see Mona again.

I love you, he thought, unable to say the words. I love you with all my soul.

He caught a glimpse of her wild mane of hair, her panicked eyes, just before Pandora pulled him through the portal. A flash of gold light enveloped him, followed by a slicing pain cutting straight to his bones. He screamed as everything went dark.

DARKNESS

CYRUS

Cyrus’s hand was still linked with Prue’s, his grip firm and unyielding as the darkness consumed them. He would not let her go. Even if this prison ripped him to shreds.

He would never let her go again.

“Cyrus?” she whispered.

“I’m here.”

Prue drew closer to him, her warmth soothing against the icy chill of Tartarus.

Gods, they were really here; in the deepest pit of Hell. The torturous prison reserved for only the vilest of souls.

“How do we find the box?” Prue asked. Even though her voice was faint, it still echoed in the vast cavern.

“Follow the magic,” Cyrus said. “It should leave a trace of its power.”

Prue trembled in his grasp. “I can’t feel anything but darkness.”

“That’s what this place wants you to feel. Don’t give in to the fear, Prue. Everything here is an illusion.”

“Even you?”

Her attempt at humor was feeble, but Cyrus smiled all the same. He pulled her flush against his chest, letting his hands roam up and down her ass. He leaned in, relishing her floral scent, his lips brushing along her throat. “Does this feel like an illusion?”

She shivered, but he knew it wasn’t from the cold. Her skin heated against his touch, her body arching into him. “How would the gods react if we made love right here in Tartarus?”

Cyrus’s blood thrummed at the prospect, and he laughed. Gods, the look on Aidoneus’s face would’ve been priceless. To defile such a place would be the worst offense.

It almost made him tempted to try.

But the ground rumbled again, reminding them they had little time left.

“Come on.” Cyrus withdrew, taking her hand once more. “Tell me if you sense anything unusual.”

He led Prue through the darkness, stepping carefully to avoid tripping over loose rocks or boulders. The blinding darkness around him threatened to swallow him whole, making him feel helpless and weak. But he searched within himself for his magic, his power. There was only a fragment remaining, with Kronos gone from inside him. But his soul magic still lingered, as well as a remnant of the death magic ingrained into his blood.

He wasn’t powerful anymore. Everything he had sacrificed to be the strongest in the realm… It was all for nothing.

And yet, as he clutched Prue’s hand in his, he found he didn’t regret any of it. He had his queen. He had his mind free of Kronos’s influence.

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