Page 18 of Salt & Blood

“Well, where is he?” Mona demanded. “Is he here in the mortal realm?”

“I don’t know,” Sol admitted, his voice tight.

The conversation pulled Pandora back to the present. She rubbed her chest, trying to catch her breath. Mona was speaking again, and Pandora got the sense her sister was intentionally trying to draw attention to herself instead of Pandora.

Bless you, Mona,Pandora thought.I do not deserve your kindness.

“He could have come through another portal,” Mona said, then looked at Farah. “There are others, right?”

Farah nodded. “There is one other portal that leads to Elysium. I can take you there.”

Pandora frowned. “I thought we were going to see the Gorgon sisters?”

Farah’s mouth spread into a smile. “You are in luck, young goddess. The Gorgon sisters and the portal are in the same place: the Voiceless Jungle.”

POWERLESS

EVANDER

For so long,Evander had been consumed by darkness, despair, and pain. His body was slowly decaying, ripped apart from his connection to Typhon, his demonic alter ego. Typhon was a creature born of the Underworld, and only in the Underworld could he exist.

In Elysium, Typhon had taken over Evander’s body, unleashing the beast within, with no restraint or control.

Evander had only managed to survive because of Mona.

And now, with another journey through a portal, Evander feared the strain on his body would be too much. That he would finally give out.

Fog clouded his mind as he waited for death to take him.

What would it be like, for a death god to die? Would his soul traverse the rivers, like all the others? Or was something different in store for him?

Would he go straight to Tartarus, because of his tainted demon blood?

From within the clouds of confusion that obscured his senses, he made out one clear sound, like the pure chime of a bell: Mona’s voice. He would know that sound anywhere. He clung to it, to the proof that she was alive and healthy. Her voice was like a melody that called to him, a balm to his soul that soothed the agony that had consumed him for so long…

And then, quite suddenly, a searing, sharp clarity pierced his mind, so intense it burned against his eyes and ears and skin, assaulting his senses. He cried out but had no voice. His back arched as the fog of his mind evaporated, leaving a brilliant and blinding light that illuminated the details around him.

Cavern walls. Burning torches. And people—so many people.

The beast within him stirred, threatened by the presence of so many strangers. Once, Evander might have been able to soothe Typhon, to convince him all was well. But now, he and Typhon no longer knew each other. They were strangers occupying the same body, and Evander was powerless to stop him from taking over.

Before the monster inside him could wrestle control from his weak mind, the clarity exploded, spreading farther and farther into the recesses of his mind, sweeping away darkness from corners he didn’t even know existed.

It was a startling shock to be buried in shadows and, mere seconds later, to be shoved into the light. He felt exposed, stark naked before an audience as he tried fruitlessly to return to the safety of those shadows.

The unknown was a terrifying thing. Sometimes it was so terrifying that the pain was preferable—because it was all he knew.

Then he heard her voice again.

“Evander.”

The sound washed over him, calming his senses and soothing his body. He felt himself relax as that sound caressed his ears with perfect sharpness. Gods, he had missed how beautiful and perfect his name was on her lips. What had once been muffled was now crisp and undeniable.

Mona. Mona was here, calling for him.

He searched for her, his eyes burning against the sharp details of the room surrounding him… until they landed on her. Her black hair was tangled, her eyes were shadowed, but a fierce determination lit her features. She was so much more than the timid and clever woman he had fallen in love with. She had morphed into a powerful goddess, capable of undeniable strength.

He was so unworthy of her.

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