Page 59 of Salt & Blood

Mona couldn’t drawher gaze from Gaia as the throne room erupted into a flurry of preparations. She and Evander were preparing to return to the Rhea Desert with the fire witches to use their portal to travel to the Underworld. And Midas was showing Gaia, Sol, and Pandora the way to his own smaller portal, which only had access to Elysium.

Something tugged in her chest as she felt the moments slipping away from her. She had not seen her mother since the day she’d been resurrected in Faidon. Mona had merely walked past her mother, refusing to untie her restraints. Gaia had tried to prevent Prue from raising Mona from the dead. And her lies had made her untrustworthy.

So, Mona had left her there.

That wedge between them had only deepened with each passing day. Mona was torn between regret over the lack of reconciliation between them, and anger at the lies she’d been fed.

She wanted Gaia to know how much she’d hurt her.

But she also wanted her to know how much she loved her. And that, no matter what despicable acts she committed, she would always be Mona’s mother.

In truth, it was Gaia whom she thought of when she had accepted Pandora as her sister. She was able to look past those things because they were blood. Like with Pandora, Mona wasn’t immediately ready to forgive and forget. But she was willing to love in spite of the choices she’d made.

Now, she was losing her chance to make amends. Midas had bid Sol farewell. Romanos and the Gorgon sisters were climbing back through the tunnel that would lead them to where the fire witches waited for them.

And Sol, Pandora, and Gaia were headed in a different direction, through a back tunnel Mona hadn’t noticed before. Mona’s heart wrenched and twisted painfully as she watched them. Gaia was the last to leave, and she turned to glance at Mona, as if hearing her raging thoughts, her desperate plea to wait.

“Mama,” Mona whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. She wanted to say,Don’t go,but she knew there was no other way. Gaia needed to help rebuild Elysium before it was gone for good.

And Mona had to go to Prue. If Apollo was trying to seize the throne of the Underworld, her sister would need her help.

Gaia pressed a hand to her heart and bowed her head toward Mona. When she straightened, a single tear streaked down her face. She offered a watery smile that made Mona’s throat tighten with emotion.

I love you.

We will speak soon.

I wish we didn’t have to part ways.

Those were the words Mona read in her mother’s gaze. She barely had time to nod—to show she understood—before Gaia vanished through the tunnel.

A shuddering sob broke through Mona, and she wept openly. Evander gathered her to his chest, holding her tightly as she expelled all her frustrations and grief. For so long, she had bottled it up, knowing there were more important matters.

But after watching her mother walk away, she couldn’t hold back any longer.

She only allowed herself a moment to cry before she withdrew from Evander and impatiently wiped the moisture from her face. “I’m fine,” she said thickly. “We need to go.”

Evander dipped his head to look her in the eye. “I am so sorry, Mona.”

Mona sniffed and nodded again. “It’s all right. Really.” When Evander continued to look at her with concern in his eyes, she stood on her tiptoes to press a gentle kiss to his lips. “I’m glad you’re with me,” she whispered.

He smiled softly, catching a tear with his thumb and brushing it away. “Me too.”

Saffron, the earth witch from before, returned them to the Voiceless Jungle where Farah, Wren, and the other fire witches were patiently waiting. It felt like weeks since Mona had seen them, but in truth, not even a day had passed.

To her surprise, the witches were in their snake forms when Mona, Evander, Romanos, and the Gorgon sisters emerged from the curtain of ivy. Mona stopped short at the sight of so many huge serpents, her eyes growing wide.

The Gorgon sisters strode past her, all three of them sighing with contentment at the sight of the snakes. A golden glow encased their bodies, and they, too, shifted into identical white serpents that coiled on the forest floor, twining along the leaves before joining the others.

Mona watched with fascination. Some snakes were coiled within themselves, as if resting. Others were slithering to and fro, as if in search of food.

“What do you think it’s like?” she asked Evander, her eyes on the three white snakes as they darted into a shrub. A few moments later, a shrew burst free, and the snakes gave chase after it. “To be able to shift forms freely like that?”

Evander was silent for a long moment. “I wish I knew. I often wonder if things would have been different if Typhon had manifested himself as some sort of animal, instead of simply sharing my body.” When Mona turned to look at him, his silvery eyes were full of sorrow. “I suppose I’ll never know.”

Mona took his hand, lacing her fingers with his. “He is still a part of you. That much was proven during the hydra attack.”

Evander nodded, but his expression remained morose. “Yes. But it isn’t the same. And it never will be again.”

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