Page 51 of Thorn & Ash

A shrill scream tore through the realm, echoing and reverberating in Evander’s bones. He trembled, overcome with an icy sensation of dread and despair.

He recognized the voice ringing in his ears. It was Vasileios. Judging by how pale his brothers looked, they heard it, too.

“What in the gods’ names is he doing up there?” Leonidas murmured, exchanging a dark look with Marcellus.

Evander’s insides turned frigid as he pieced everything together. Vasileios… up there.

His oldest brother was in the mortal realm. And whatever dark magic he was conjuring was impacting this realm as well.

A piercing pain stabbed through Evander’s chest. He groaned, hunching over, as his brothers mimicked the movement. All three of them collapsed, writhing in agony.

Vasileios’s screams intensified, along with the pain coursing through Evander’s body. And when all went still and silent, he knew with a solemn surety that Vasileios was dead.

PART TWO

“She both torments and is tormented at the same moment, and is ever her own punishment.”

Henry Thomas Riley, Metamorphoses

RETURN

MONA

Present Day

Charybdis’s powerful voice still rang in Mona’s head, echoing through her bones and her soul, resonating with her as she finally came to. Her mind was a spinning array of chaotic thoughts, and she couldn’t make sense of anything. Where was she? Who was she?

She vaguely remembered the beastly creature of the sea, the spinning whirlpool she had leapt into. But as she conjured these thoughts, they slipped from her mind like water droplets in her hands, leaving an aching emptiness in her head that frightened her.

What’s happening to me?

She sat up, then winced, bringing a hand to her temple. Her fingers came back coated in blood. She must’ve slammed into something hard when she fell… where? Where was she?

Darkness surrounded her, and she blinked as her eyes adjusted. Rushing waters met her ears as she finally processed her surroundings. She sat in the damp grass, the midnight sky stretched above her, the moon providing her only source of light. As she rose to her feet, she found the source of the churning waters:

A whirlpool.

It was small—smaller than she would’ve thought—and spinning restlessly. On its other side was a wide, expansive river that the whirlpool fed into.

Something hummed in Mona’s chest, and she gasped as her right hand started to glow. She lifted her hand, turning it over, and realized she wore an emerald ring on her finger. When she tried to touch it, it scalded her, and she yanked her hand away with a hiss of pain.

Okay, she thought uncertainly, so the emerald ring is staying. For now.

She may have had no memories, but the magic roiling inside her told her this was no ordinary ring. It was bound to some sort of magic keeping her here. And until she knew more about it, she didn’t want to meddle with it. Who knew what kind of spell she might undo?

Mona glanced around the wide stretch of grass surrounding the whirlpool. A few sparse trees stood nearby, and on the other side of the river were rolling hills that disappeared from view. She wracked her brain, trying to make sense of all this.

One thought blared, loud and clear: Prue.

In a rush, a flood of memories burst in her mind. Prue and Mona, sitting together on the beach. Prue and Mona, casting spells together. Prue and Mona, embracing and laughing.

“My sister,” she whispered, her body numb with shock. “I have a sister.”

Mona looked around more urgently this time, as if she might find Prue standing there, waiting for her.

But no. That was why Mona was here. She had to help her sister. Prue was in trouble, and Mona was the only one who could save her.

Determination filled her, and she exhaled in relief. Thank the Goddess she could remember something. Now she had a purpose. A mission.