Page 77 of Salt & Blood

He laced his fingers with hers, then brought them to his mouth, brushing kisses against each of her knuckles. “So do I.”

REBORN

PRUE

The splitsecond before the Titan struck her, Prue realized how foolish it had been for her to come here.

She was Cyrus’s weakness. And it didn’t occur to her until this moment that Apollo would exploit that to win the challenge.

She ducked at the last second, but the lightning from the Titan’s unholy power managed to slice into her shoulder, making her bones rattle. Shooting pain spiraled up her arm, and her skin was on fire. With an anguished cry, she cradled her arm, looking frantically for Cyrus. If he had turned to her… If his back was to Apollo…

“My queen!” Lagos shouted, darting in front of her. His big form momentarily blocked her view of Cyrus.

“It’s a trap!” Prue shrieked. “Cyrus,look out!”

A blinding white light flashed, and another bolt of lightning cracked in the air. Prue dropped to the ground, arms covering her head. Lagos instinctively shielded her with his arms as they both waited for the blow.

But it never came.

Shouts and screams echoed around Prue, and Apollo was bellowing something she couldn’t make out.

Panting, Prue rose to her feet, her heart hammering madly in her chest.

Please, no. Oh Goddess, please no…

“Prue,” Lagos said, but she pushed past him, desperation pounding within her. Her pulse quickened when she noticed the figure lying on the ground.

“No,” she whispered. Horror pooled in her gut, and her stomach sank with dread. “No.”

Then she was running, ignoring Lagos’s protests behind her, gritting her teeth against the blinding pain in her arm. She sprinted until she reached Cyrus’s side. A charred black spot marred his tunic, and steam rose from the wound.

“Cyrus!” she cried in a broken voice. Her shaking hands hovered over his form as she tried to determine what she could do for him. Should she put pressure on the wound?

No, she needed to see if he was still breathing first…

Tears poured down her face, and she choked on a sob, but she couldn’t stop. With trembling fingers, she pressed her hands to his chest, then his neck, waiting, trying to keep still as she listened for a heartbeat.

Silence. Stillness. Then…

Thump, thump.

“Thank the Goddess,” Prue whispered, closing her eyes in relief. The pulse was faint, but it was there. She just needed to heal him before his injuries claimed his life.

“Kill her!” Apollo roared.

“Prue!” someone shouted.

Prue looked up in time to see Hyperion storming toward her, venom in his gaze as his hands stretched toward her. She didn’t have time to run, and even if she did, she refused to leave Cyrus’s side.

She was about to die. They both were.

Shrieks of alarm filled the air as something swooped down from above, clipping Hyperion on the shoulder. Hyperion grunted, knocked over from the force of whatever had flown at him. Prue crouched low, her arms clutching Cyrus to her as she surveyed the sky—or rather, the gray expanse that had once been the sky.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she squinted in confusion at the flying figure.

It was a man with glowing translucent wings that beat behind him like ghosts. When he arced, turning back toward her, Prue’s eyes flared wide.

It was Evander.