Ava down with me. We landed in a heap, but she wasted no time hauling me to my feet again. As we scrambled forward, another crash echoed through the hall, and a shimmering fog seeped into the palace. The same fog from my vision.
In the past few hours, it seemed to have grown stronger. It crackled with strange tendrils of light, and for a moment, the fog hovered in front of Henry, as if recognizing him. Henry held up his hands again, exactly as he’d done in my vision, and the other members of the council formed a semicircle behind him and his brothers.
My heart hammered against my rib cage, and beside me, Ava froze. This was the thing that had nearly killed Henry, and now it was attacking all of us. The instinct to protect rose up inside of me as it drew closer to Henry and my mother and everyone I loved, but what could I possibly do to help stop it?
Without warning, it sliced through the air faster than the members of the council could control it, but it wasn’t aimed at Henry or Walter or Phillip.
It went directly for me and Ava.
I didn’t have time to think. Shoving Ava behind the nearest pillar, I darted after her, but not fast enough.
Unbelievable pain whipped my knee like lightning, shooting through my body until it surrounded me, pulsing with each beat of my heart. I cried out, and it was all I could do to stay standing.
“Ava,” I gasped, leaning against the pillar as shouts from the council echoed through the hall. “Get out of here.”
She stared at me uncomprehendingly. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I took her arm and forced myself forward, half limping, half hopping toward the exit. A trail of blood smeared across the floor behind me, but the fog didn’t try to strike again.
Someone shouted behind me, and I thought I heard Henry call my name, but everything sounded far away as my heart thudded. I was going to die. We were all going to die. Somehow, someway, that thing could kill gods, and this time there wouldn’t be an afterlife. Not for immortals.
I wasn’t ready to go. Not yet. Not ever.
An eternity later, we finally reached the doors, and I shoved Ava through. Dizzy with terror and agony, I grabbed the handle to keep myself upright and watched the battle raging on the opposite end of the hall.
Twelve members of my new family fought it, with Henry and James blocking the aisle from a force I couldn’t see. I could feel it though, deep within my bones and every nerve in my body. Whatever it was, it seemed to shake the very foundation of the Underworld.
Blood dripped down James’s exposed arm as he struggled to hold off the monster with his uninjured hand. Henry stood beside him, an unmovable force, and I couldn’t tear myself away.
“Brothers!” cried Henry. “On my count!”
The three brothers moved in toward the fog, and the others moved in behind them in a triangular formation, immeasurable power radiating from each of them. Dylan and the redheaded Irene took the lead, but they didn’t have a chance to attack.
In the blink of an eye, Henry and his brothers flew upward and out the window, taking the fog with them.
After the explosion of battle, the silence rang in my ears, and I finally let myself slump to the floor. Most of the remaining members of the council milled together near the thrones, but James and my mother hurried toward us.
James reached me first, and he dropped to his knees several feet away, his momentum sliding him toward me. “It got you, didn’t it? Theo!” he yelled over his shoulder, and I winced.
“Stop it,” I said. “You were hit, too.”
“Yes, but the difference is, if I die, Henry won’t rip the world apart.” His good hand hovered over my injured knee, not daring to touch me yet. I didn’t blame him. Blood dripped down my leg, pooling at my heel, and now that the threat was gone, however temporarily, every nerve in my body felt like it was on fire. I’d never been in this much pain before in my life, not even when Calliope had killed
In the past few hours, it seemed to have grown stronger. It crackled with strange tendrils of light, and for a moment, the fog hovered in front of Henry, as if recognizing him. Henry held up his hands again, exactly as he’d done in my vision, and the other members of the council formed a semicircle behind him and his brothers.
My heart hammered against my rib cage, and beside me, Ava froze. This was the thing that had nearly killed Henry, and now it was attacking all of us. The instinct to protect rose up inside of me as it drew closer to Henry and my mother and everyone I loved, but what could I possibly do to help stop it?
Without warning, it sliced through the air faster than the members of the council could control it, but it wasn’t aimed at Henry or Walter or Phillip.
It went directly for me and Ava.
I didn’t have time to think. Shoving Ava behind the nearest pillar, I darted after her, but not fast enough.
Unbelievable pain whipped my knee like lightning, shooting through my body until it surrounded me, pulsing with each beat of my heart. I cried out, and it was all I could do to stay standing.
“Ava,” I gasped, leaning against the pillar as shouts from the council echoed through the hall. “Get out of here.”
She stared at me uncomprehendingly. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I took her arm and forced myself forward, half limping, half hopping toward the exit. A trail of blood smeared across the floor behind me, but the fog didn’t try to strike again.
Someone shouted behind me, and I thought I heard Henry call my name, but everything sounded far away as my heart thudded. I was going to die. We were all going to die. Somehow, someway, that thing could kill gods, and this time there wouldn’t be an afterlife. Not for immortals.
I wasn’t ready to go. Not yet. Not ever.
An eternity later, we finally reached the doors, and I shoved Ava through. Dizzy with terror and agony, I grabbed the handle to keep myself upright and watched the battle raging on the opposite end of the hall.
Twelve members of my new family fought it, with Henry and James blocking the aisle from a force I couldn’t see. I could feel it though, deep within my bones and every nerve in my body. Whatever it was, it seemed to shake the very foundation of the Underworld.
Blood dripped down James’s exposed arm as he struggled to hold off the monster with his uninjured hand. Henry stood beside him, an unmovable force, and I couldn’t tear myself away.
“Brothers!” cried Henry. “On my count!”
The three brothers moved in toward the fog, and the others moved in behind them in a triangular formation, immeasurable power radiating from each of them. Dylan and the redheaded Irene took the lead, but they didn’t have a chance to attack.
In the blink of an eye, Henry and his brothers flew upward and out the window, taking the fog with them.
After the explosion of battle, the silence rang in my ears, and I finally let myself slump to the floor. Most of the remaining members of the council milled together near the thrones, but James and my mother hurried toward us.
James reached me first, and he dropped to his knees several feet away, his momentum sliding him toward me. “It got you, didn’t it? Theo!” he yelled over his shoulder, and I winced.
“Stop it,” I said. “You were hit, too.”
“Yes, but the difference is, if I die, Henry won’t rip the world apart.” His good hand hovered over my injured knee, not daring to touch me yet. I didn’t blame him. Blood dripped down my leg, pooling at my heel, and now that the threat was gone, however temporarily, every nerve in my body felt like it was on fire. I’d never been in this much pain before in my life, not even when Calliope had killed
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