Page 39 of Salt & Blood

“No,” Pandora moaned, the sound strangled and anguished. “No, Apollo,please.” Her voice was deeper than normal, and Evander’s skin tingled with awareness.

She was seeing something that wasn’t there. Was this a memory from her past life?

“Trivia, you need to wake up!” Mona shouted, shaking Pandora’s shoulders. The urgency and desperation in Mona’s voice made something within Evander rise to the surface. He joined Mona and gently grasped her arm, grounding her. She, too, was trembling.

“Breathe, Mona,” he whispered. “You know what to do.”

Mona turned to him, her green eyes wide. He held her gaze, his expression calm, willing her to expand her mind. Mona had a tendency to get swept up in her fear, but when she was able to cast it aside, her mind proved to be a powerful weapon.

Gradually, awareness crossed her features, and her breathing slowed. She nodded, holding Pandora with one arm while she plunged her free hand into the golden leaves at her feet. Evander knew she was seeking the earth beneath her. If there was anywhere for Mona to use her magic, it was here in an earth coven.

Mona closed her eyes, muttering something in a low voice that Evander couldn’t make out.

“What is she doing?” Midas whispered.

Sol shook his head, his brows furrowed. His eyes were tight with worry, his gaze fixed on Pandora with a startling amount of concern.

Perhaps the sun god did not harbor as much hatred toward Pandora as Evander believed.

“Sano,” Mona murmured, her voice firm and brimming with power.

The earth rumbled, and the leaves shifted with an eerie hissing sound. Cracks split the earth, and brambles and thorns sprang forth, coiling around Pandora.

“Stop!” Midas ordered, surging forward, but Sol extended an arm to stop him.

Mona’s eyes closed, her brows knitting together in concentration. She pressed her hands to Pandora’s chest, and the thorns continued to circle around them. Evander drew closer to Mona, huddling toward her as the brambles formed a cocoon around them. Pandora’s body began to glow, the white light intensifying until it burned against Evander’s eyes. He shut them tightly as Mona continued muttering in another language.

Pandora threw her head back and cried out, the sound strangled and full of anguish. From the gaps in the thorns, Evander saw Sol draw closer, hand outstretched, as if he could reach for Pandora.

But the next moment, Pandora’s eyes were open and clear as they fixed on Mona. Both women were gasping for breath, and a sheen of sweat coated Mona’s forehead. Gradually, the thorny vines receded, slithering back into the cracks of the ground. The light had vanished, and the air went still once more.

Midas gaped at Mona, his face pale. “That—That was Gaia’s magic.”

Evander’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you knew everything that happened in Elysium.”

“I—Well—I don’t—” Midas blustered.

“The reflection bowl doesn’t work that way,” Romanos said, speaking for the first time. He had lingered in the back, arms crossed as he watched the events unfold. Evander wondered if he was entertained by the show. He certainly seemed unperturbed by Pandora’s condition or the revelation of who her father was. He also seemed less than impressed by Mona’s magic, which made Evander wonder exactly what kind of magic Romanoswasaccustomed to. “The bowl only shows you what you wish to see. Nothing more. It is not omniscient, and it cannot show you more than one scene at a time.”

Evander frowned as he stared at Romanos. His brother seemed to be speaking from experience. Had he used this bowl before? Or had he used the one in the Underworld?

“What happened to her?” Midas waved a gloved hand toward Pandora, who was climbing to her feet with Mona’s assistance.

“What happened was you just informed her that her father is the same bastard she’s been plotting against for the last two decades,” Pandora said, her voice raspy as she rubbed her temples. “And the memories of the soul trapped inside her completely took over, triggered by the thought of Apollo and what he’s done to us both.”

Midas’s mouth opened and closed as he no doubt struggled to process everything Pandora had said. After a long moment, he stammered, “N-No. I said he washerfather.” He pointed to Mona.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Pandora said in a tired voice. “She’s my sister.”

From the way Midas’s face paled even further, it was clear the king was not the only one delivering earth-shattering revelations. He opened his mouth to speak when a high-pitched shrieking sound filled the chamber, making the walls rattle. Dust and dirt rained from the ceiling.

Evander instinctively drew closer to Mona. She took his hand in hers, her eyes raised toward the ceiling. The chandelier quivered, and the lights flickered.

A chill of awareness skittered down Evander’s spine as the air filled with a familiar scent. The smell awakened something primal and feral within Evander, an echo of when Typhon had occupied his body.

He knew that smell. He knew that presence.

It was demonic, and it reeked of death magic.

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