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A new figure stepped forward, his face pale and his eyes darting between Apollo and Hestia. He had shoulder-length blond hair and wore a gleaming gold uniform. His eyes were full of betrayal as he looked at Apollo.
“Stay out of this, Sol,” Apollo ground out, keeping his eyes trained on Hestia.
“I will not let you banish my mother,” Sol said.
Mona stiffened, her eyes darting from Sol to Hestia, and then to Apollo. Goddess above… Hestia was his mother?
“She is openly defying me,” Apollo growled. “She has been an ally of Gaia’s from the beginning. This is her punishment.” He turned his furious black eyes on Sol. “Would you prefer I kill her instead?”
“She is defending Gaia’s daughter!” Sol argued, gesturing to Mona. “What harm has this woman done to our realm?”
“She is protecting the demon!”
Sol’s eyes drifted to where Evander lay sprawled on the floor with Mona protectively hovering over him. Slowly, Sol’s eyes narrowed, his expression calculating as he looked at Apollo with sudden realization.
“You said their kind were toxic,” he said softly.
Apollo’s brows knitted together. “What?” he said, his tone sharp and impatient.
“You said the demons of the Underworld were toxic,” Sol repeated, striding closer to Apollo. “You told us all it was unsafe to go there, lest we be poisoned by the death magic that saturated the air. Yet here stands a daughter of Gaia, unaffected by this demon she clearly cares for!” His voice rose in pitch with each word until he was red in the face as he spat at Apollo. “None of us are affected by his presence, Apollo, so I ask you—why did you lie? Or were you simply mistaken?”
Apollo’s face had drained of color, his eyes shifting to the crowd now murmuring around him. Mona held perfectly still, clutching Evander’s clawed hand in hers as she surveyed the argument. She didn’t know who this Sol person was, but if he exposed Apollo for the liar that he was, then he was on her side.
“The Underworld is not toxic,” Mona said loudly. “I dwelled there for a time, as did my sister, Prue. We possess the blood of Gaia and were unaffected.”
The murmurs grew louder. Apollo fixed his lethal gaze on her and bit out, “Be quiet, daughter of Gaia.”
“I refuse to be silenced like you silenced my mother!” Mona shouted, rising to her feet. “She cannot speak for herself, so I will speak for her! I committed no crime against you or your realm. I should be welcome here, just like any other god or goddess. As should Evander, your nephew.”
“Demons are not welcome here!” Apollo bellowed.
“He is not a demon. He possesses god blood just like the rest of us!”
“Silence!” Apollo roared.
Mona spread her arms, prepared to impale him with her thorns, when he slashed his arms through the air, hitting her with a burst of white light. Mona screamed, shielding her face with her hands. Evander shrieked a shrill, feeble cry, unable to save her this time. Brambles shot forward to protect Mona, but they were singed away by Apollo’s fury.
A wall of flame appeared between Mona and Apollo’s strike, disintegrating the magic of his attack. Hestia stood there, wielding a sword of flames as she deflected another blow.
“This is not your fight, Hestia,” Apollo seethed.
Hestia only leveled her sword at him, her eyes bright with rage. “It is now. I have taken my stand.”
“Guards!” Apollo shouted. “Seize the fire goddess and escort her out of my sight. She is not worth the energy it would take to end her life. Instead, she can rot away in a prison cell.”
No one moved.
“Guards!” Apollo said, his voice rising.
A few navy-clad soldiers shifted amongst the crowd, but they made no move to follow orders.
“You’ve lost their support, Apollo,” said Sol. “You lied about the Underworld. What else have you lied about?” He cocked his head, considering. “Why did you banish Gaia?”
“I do not owe any of you an explanation!” Apollo said, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wild.
“You do if you wish to maintain the throne!” shouted a woman from the crowd.
“Jupiter never would have lied to us like that,” said another.
