Page 58 of Thorn & Ash
“Um.” Mona cleared her throat, dropping her gaze. “She said she’d met me before. When I was here the first time.”
“The name Hecate is vaguely familiar,” Evander muttered. “But if she’s a lower goddess, she would’ve served my father and Cyrus, so I wouldn’t know her personally. I tend to keep to myself most of the time.” Alarm pulsed within him. “What did she say to you?”
Mona hesitated, only fueling Evander’s panic. “She—she told me where Prue is. In exchange for a favor from me.”
Shock bolted through him, swift and merciless, jolting his very bones. “You made a bargain with a god? Mona…”
She shook her head. “I had no choice! I had to find Prue!”
“Why didn’t you come to me? I would’ve helped you without extracting a dangerous bargain from you.”
She blinked. “You would have?”
“Yes! I would do anything for you, Mona.”
A blush bloomed across her cheeks, and she averted her eyes once more. “I—I don’t know what to say.”
Dammit. Evander had gone too far again. He’d frightened her. He was essentially a stranger to her.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I just—it concerns me that this goddess would manipulate you into bargaining with her. She didn’t tell you what the favor would be?”
“No.”
Oh, hell. That was even more dangerous. The favor could be anything. And it could be called in anytime. The endless possibilities made Evander’s head spin.
“Don’t trust her,” Evander warned. “If you see her again, get away as fast as you can. She is not your friend.”
“And you are? How am I supposed to believe that?”
Evander tried not to let her words sting. Of course he would need to prove his loyalties again.
Mona didn’t know him. She didn’t remember anything.
That truth cut through him so deeply his insides throbbed.
“I’ll take you to Prue,” he promised, then smiled. “Free of charge.” He had never officially met Prue, but he was certain she would be near Cyrus, who was never hard to find.
“Trivia said she’s in Tartarus.”
Evander’s head reared back. “What?” That couldn’t be true. Could it?
Was Evander a fool for not seeking out Prue earlier? He knew she’d traveled here with Cyrus, and that she was now the queen of this realm… and a small part of him had wanted to meet her, to see how similar she was to Mona, to learn more about the woman he had fallen in love with.
But since merging with Typhon, he didn’t trust himself around anyone. Especially someone mortal like Prue. What if he accidentally hurt her?
Besides, what if she despised him? What if he disgusted her so much that she vowed Mona would never love him?
Regardless of what Prue thought of him, Evander didn’t imagine she would’ve gotten herself in trouble so quickly. If he had tracked her down, perhaps he would know for sure if Trivia was telling the truth about Prue’s whereabouts.
But if she wasn’t, it was a trap for Mona. No mortal was safe in Tartarus. Even souls didn’t survive the trauma lurking in its depths.
Gods, Mona was so fragile and delicate. If he left her here to go searching, what if Trivia found her again? What if one of the demon overseers came across her?
She was human. Mortal. She could die. It wasn’t like before, when she was only a spirit, a transparent soul who couldn’t be harmed.
Evander couldn’t afford to leave her side. He would not lose her again.
But the mistrust in her expression hurt him, cutting him deeper with each passing moment.