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An explosive blast of starlight blinded him, everything disappearing into the light.
As the smoke and debris cleared, he saw the ground where Crius had just been scorched, the Titan no longer there. He had escaped.
Again.
Devon released his shield, his arms heavy with the sudden exhaustion that hit him.
Persephone let her immortal form recede, her horns and wings disappearing, and her eyes once again blue.
“He cannot have escaped again. Not again!” Persephone yelled, her voice ragged with exhaustion and emotion as they took in the boneyard. The horses and ghostly hands gone with everything else they had summoned in this battle.
As suddenly as he disappeared, Crius was in front of him. His eyes enraged to the point of no longer understanding reason and logic.
Crius’ eyes were not what halted Devon in his tracks though. It was the frail woman he pulled in front of him like a shield, her back pressed to his blood-soaked front.
Devon faltered at seeing his mother after so many years. Of what Crius had done to her.
Her hair was white and her eyes milky. She was as emaciated as Crius had been just moments ago.
“She warned me you would not be easy to beat, but how she left out so many details,” Crius seethed.
“All that time I had her leashed, but she still kept so many secrets!” he yelled, as he shook Cybil. A small squeak left her dry lips before she was shoved to the ground, her frail, bony wrists barely catching her.
His knees nearly buckled at the sight, but he pushed himself to stand between the Titan and her.
The suddenly eerie smile on Crius’ face told him he had just fallen into a trap. The laugh that
followed confirmed it.
“It is always difficult for a man to choose between his mother and his wife. Which family will he fail to keep safe now!” With a bow, Crius stepped aside and Devon caught sight of Persephone.
Her face marred in shock, his name on her lips as she looked down at the sword protruding from her chest.
Chapter 40
“Persephone!” Her name tore from his throat as he ran and caught her as she fell, her blood making her slippery in his hands.
His knees hit the ground hard, but he didn’t feel it.
“I am so sorry, but you wouldn’t leave her. I had no choice,” he heard a woman’s soft voice from above him. Minthe.
She stood over them still holding the sword she had used to impale his wife, her eyes glassy.
He snarled up at Minthe before looking down at Persephone, his Persephone, her beautiful face growing more and more pale. He pressed his forehead to hers, their tears mingling as they ran down her face. The war at a standstill around them.
With bleary eyes, he looked up to see Thanatos attempting to stop Crius from moving toward the gate. Minthe stood over him, but he couldn’t bear to look at her when just behind her, their entire battle was lost. Something happened to Thanatos, him disappearing in Crius’ starlight as Crius knelt down beside Tartarus with the bloody sword. He hadn’t noticed Minthe had moved next to Crius until that moment, but he couldn’t bring himself to care with his wife bleeding in his arms. To him, the worst had already happened.
And then the world exploded into light.
Souls screamed across the realm and Cerberus let out an unearthly howl.
Devon covered Persephone with his body and pleaded.
To the Fates. To Chaos. To anyone who could fix this.
“Stay with me, Persephone, please…” he begged. His anguish felt like it was alive and choking him, the light so bright around them that he couldn’t see.
“I…” she whispered, unable to speak with the blood filling her mouth.
