Page 85 of Thorn & Ash

MONA

Romanos couldn’t stop Mona from hunting down Evander. She knew his scent, his magic, and once they had emerged from the caves, she could track him easily. She flew across the bridge of the river Styx and toward the gleaming portal before her.

And then, she saw him. With Trivia.

She screamed as Trivia hauled him through the portal. By the time Mona reached it, it was too late. They were both gone.

The gold light of the portal flickered and then vanished, leaving nothing but an empty stone archway. Mona slammed her fists against the unyielding stone, sobbing against it.

“Open!” she cried. “Open, now! Let me through!”

“It won’t work,” panted a voice behind her. Mona didn’t have to turn to know it was Romanos, finally catching up to her. “It has to recharge. It takes ages to channel enough power to send one person to Elysium—let alone two.”

Elysium. Horror washed over her as she remembered what Evander had told her. My dark magic—Typhon—will not allow me to survive in other realms. This power was born of the Underworld and will destroy me if I leave.

Evander had fully merged with Typhon. If he traveled to Elysium, he would die.

Mona screamed, her voice echoing in the forest. She pounded her fists against the stone again and again, ignoring Romanos’s protests behind her, ignoring the aching pain burning in her hands. Blood ran down her arms, coating her fists, but still she kept hammering against it, unleashing all of her fury and desperation.

Something roared behind her, making her falter. She glanced over her shoulder to find a mass of darkening clouds rising in the sky. Thunder and lightning boomed from within.

“That… that’s not part of the illusion,” Romanos said.

A fierce wind whipped around them, tousling Mona’s hair. Within that wind, Mona could sense an immense amount of power. Dark, ancient magic swelled around her.

“The box,” Mona breathed. “They opened it.”

“That doesn’t look good,” Romanos murmured darkly, drawing closer to Prue. “I thought Trivia said it was supposed to drain all magic.”

Mona gaped at the mass hurtling toward them, then turned to the archway behind her.

It was glowing gold.

Shock and excitement pulsed within her. She grabbed Romanos’s arm. The dark clouds loomed closer. Lightning struck the ground directly behind them.

“What are you doing?” Romanos cried, struggling against her grip.

“Do you want to be swept away in that?” Mona gestured to the dark clouds. “The portal is opened!”

“What? How?”

“The box doesn’t drain magic; it adds magic. Whatever magic was trapped inside is enough to charge the portal. We have to go through now.”

“I can’t go to Elysium! I’m cursed!”

“You’re doomed either way!” Mona shouted. “That magic will devour you, Romanos!”

Panic flared in his gaze as he glanced over his shoulder. The storm was on top of them now, the clouds cloaking everything in shadow. Whispers and laughter echoed around them, the magic closing in.

“Shit,” Romanos growled, his fingers clasping Mona’s as he threw himself forward.

Mona followed after, both of them diving through the glowing gold portal and leaving the darkness and the Underworld behind.

EPILOGUE

PANDORA

Pandora landed in Elysium, the gold light of the portal fading to make way for the stone path before her. At the end of the path stood the golden gates of the realm she despised more than anything. Behind her, Evander collapsed, groaning in agony, but she paid him no mind. He wouldn’t last long anyway.

---