Chapter Hopeless
HOPELESS
PRUE
Prue had traveled through portals before, but nothing like this.
The Titans’ magic shifted and twisted around her, warping the air with something dark and unnatural that grated against the earth magic surging in her veins.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, the magic seemed to pulse.
Revulsion and nausea swept over her, and when the dark magic rippled, she thought she might vomit.
Mona’s hand was clamped in hers. Her sister was trembling.
Prue had to be brave. For her.
She crammed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth and promising herself it would be over soon. Any second now, and the darkness would fade, and she would be able to breathe.
The air shifted again, and a whoosh of air filled her lungs. An invisible force slammed into her, crashing into her store of magic and jarring her very bones.
She and Mona collapsed onto something rough and cracked, like stone or concrete. Blinking wearily, Prue glanced up at a murky gray sky. They were in a wasteland of decaying trees. A patch of square concrete was beneath her, and dust and sand surrounded her.
No flora in sight. But Prue was certain this was intentional.
The Titans were many things, but they were not stupid.
Prue pressed her fingers into the dry concrete, just to check. She summoned her magic and waited for it to surge forward, to plunge into the earth and seek out the energy around her.
But nothing happened.
Panic bloomed in her chest, and she tried again, drawing more from her well of power.
But the well… was empty.
Beside her, Mona was gasping, breathing in ragged and uneven breaths.
“No magic,” Mona choked. “Prue, there’s no magic here.”
Prue squeezed Mona’s hand, searching for the right words to comfort her. But she, too, was spiraling.
What were they supposed to do without magic?
And what kind of place was this, that completely blocked their powers?
“Don’t waste your energy,” said a deep, familiar voice.
Prue shrank away from Hyperion’s hulking form. The dark-skinned Titan loomed over them with a feral smile. She carefully edged herself so Mona was behind her.
“What do you mean?” Prue asked, portraying a confidence she did not feel. Without her magic, she felt weak and exhausted. If Hyperion attacked, there would be nothing she could do.
Hyperion’s grin widened, his black eyes glinting. “There is no magic here. At least, not magic for your kind.”
“Where is here?” Prue demanded.
Hyperion chuckled and shook his head at her. “All in good time, little goddess. We cannot share all our secrets with you. Follow me. I will show you to your room.”
Hyperion turned and strode toward the dead trees.
Prue faltered and exchanged a bewildered look with Mona. Follow him where? What room? There was nothing visible for miles except dead trees and sand.
“Would you prefer to sleep out here on the concrete?” Hyperion called over his shoulder.
Prue was probably tired enough to do just that, but she stood and tugged on Mona’s arm to help her up.
Mona’s fingernails dug into Prue’s arm as she hissed, “We can’t follow him.”
“But we can’t stay out here, either,” Prue said. “It’s not safe. Not without our magic.”
Mona chewed on her lip but made no argument.
This place could be in Elysium, but Prue suspected it was somewhere in the mortal realm. Especially since Elysium was allegedly being rebuilt by Pandora and Sol.
The Titans would not have taken them to their allies.
And the Realm of Gaia was the biggest realm of the three. From what Prue knew, there were plenty of dark spots where one could hide from unwanted witnesses.
Unfortunately, beyond the tiny island of Krenia, Prue didn’t know much of the Realm of Gaia. She’d traveled through plenty of places with Cyrus, but none like this. The dry, dead landscape was very different from the icy mountain they had climbed together.
That felt like a lifetime ago.
Prue linked her arm with Mona’s as they trudged after Hyperion. She cast a quick glance at the barren landscape around them, but it seemed that Hyperion was the only Titan with them. Where had the others gone? Had the portal deposited them somewhere else?
“Does any of this look familiar to you?” Prue whispered to Mona.
Mona’s green eyes were wide with fear, but as she surveyed their surroundings, a familiar gleam of interest sparked in her gaze. Prue knew her sister needed something to draw her away from her all-consuming terror.
If anything could achieve that, it was Mona’s love of research and facts.
“The dryness in the air reminds me of the Rhea Desert,” Mona whispered back.
“That’s where Pandora and I met the fire witches.
But this is… different.” She shook her head.
“I’ve read about magical voids where powers do not function properly.
I’ll have to think about where those spots are located and if any of them match this description. ”
Prue nodded, comforted by Mona’s response. If anyone could figure out where they were right now, it was Mona.
Although Prue wasn’t sure what good it would do. Even if they did discover where they were, they were helpless without magic.
Hyperion did not outright say that Titan magic functioned here. But it was too risky to try anything. Even if his magic was blocked like theirs, his brute strength alone would be enough to overpower them. And it was very likely the other Titans were lingering nearby and would appear at any moment.
But the real question was, why were they here? If the Titans wanted them dead, they could have killed them already.
No, Prue had a nasty feeling that the Titans had something sinister in mind for them.
She shuddered, drawing closer to Mona as they followed after Hyperion’s long strides. When they reached the edge of the arid forest, Hyperion waved his hand in front of him. The air twisted with that same dark power, and Prue suppressed another shiver of disgust.
The barren forest shifted, and instead of an empty wasteland, Prue saw a large cottage made of decaying logs that looked rotten and on the brink of collapse.
Hyperion moved toward the cottage, and Prue and Mona followed. Apprehension and dread coiled in Prue’s chest. It was clear that Hyperion’s magic did work here.
Which meant whatever small hope they had of escaping had plummeted.
They had no chance at all of surviving whatever the Titans had in store for them.
Despair coiled tightly inside her, and she wanted to fall to the earth and sob, to scream at the injustice of it all.
But she couldn’t. Mona needed her.
And she knew in her bones that Cyrus would tear the realms apart to find her.
Surely the Titans knew that. They were smart enough to discern how much Prue meant to Cyrus. They had known as much when they’d known to strike her instead of Cyrus.
Was this all an elaborate trap to lure Cyrus to a place with no magic?
He has Titan magic, Prue reminded herself. He isn’t powerless. He will come. Cyrus and Evander will both come for us.
But the hopelessness crashed through her anew, because even if her husband did come for her, the Titans would kill him.
Cyrus and Evander were just two gods against five Titans. And their death magic would not work here.
No matter how powerful Cyrus was, he couldn’t stop that many of them. Not when Prue, Mona, and Evander were powerless.
All the Titans had to do was hold a knife to one of their throats, and Cyrus would be helpless.
The wooden door to the cottage creaked open, and Hyperion stood by the threshold, gesturing for the sisters to enter. Prue gripped Mona’s arm tighter as the two stepped inside.
The interior was dark and smelled of dust and mold. Prue wrinkled her nose, squinting against the darkness. A massive living room stood before her, filled with worn sofas and armchairs with ripped fabric. A staircase was to the left, and a ragged green rug lined the wooden floors.
Four large figures stood in the center of the room, their forms outlined by the faint light filtering in through the windows.
Prue tensed, and Mona trembled beside her as the Titans straightened, their eyes narrowing on the two sisters.
“Be at ease,” said Hyperion as he strode inside. The door slammed shut behind him. “They will not harm you. At least… not yet.”
A few Titans chuckled at that, and Prue bit down on her tongue to keep from spitting at them.
They feasted on their fear. They enjoyed it.
“Why are we here?” Prue demanded. “What do you want from us?”
Hyperion spread his arms. “You are our guests here, little goddess. Not our prisoners.”
Prue lifted her chin. “So we can come and go as we please?”
Hyperion’s mouth curled into a smirk. “Of course. Although, only Titan magic can pierce through the shields surrounding the cottage. So, I’m afraid you’ll be roaming in circles for quite a while.”
The Titans laughed again, and Prue swallowed around a lump of anxiety in her throat.
Trapped. They were trapped here.
“That doesn’t answer either of my questions,” Prue said.
Hyperion moved closer until he towered over her. She resisted the urge to cringe away from him, knowing he was trying to intimidate her.
She refused to cower.
“You are here to bring about our freedom,” Hyperion said in a low voice. “You are our bargaining chips. But rest assured we are not monsters. Your accommodations will be the best we can afford. You will not be chained or tied up during your stay.”
Prue’s eyes narrowed. “So we are just supposed to believe you won’t hurt us?”
“We won’t hurt you… unless we have to,” said a purple-skinned Titan Prue recognized from the battle in the Undead Wilds. He had two ram horns and claws as long as Prue’s forearm.
His statement was not reassuring in the slightest.
“We’re bargaining chips for my husband, aren’t we?” Prue asked. “What do you want from him? The throne to the Underworld?”
Hyperion tilted his head, assessing her. “Do you know where we came from, little goddess?”
Prue said nothing. In truth, she didn’t know much about the history of the Titans.
“Elysium,” Mona said softly. “You were the first rulers of Elysium.”
Hyperion smiled, but there was no affection in the expression. “Yes. Until we were cut down by Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. They feared our power and thought we might use it to enslave the gods and goddesses.”
“We killed our father, Uranus,” said the purple-skinned Titan. “But the others managed to cage us in Tartarus. We have been there ever since.”
“And now,” Hyperion finished. “We have no home. We are free from Tartarus, and we will not go back. But Elysium is no longer ours to claim. Neither is the Underworld.” He leaned closer, his black eyes boring into Prue’s.
“Where do you suggest we go? Do you think we should stay confined to this hellhole?” He spread his arms, gesturing to the cottage.
“Do you think it’s fair for us to be caged merely because we possess power that exceeds that of the gods and goddesses? ”
“That’s not true,” Mona said, her voice gaining strength. “You weren’t thrown in Tartarus because of your power. You were imprisoned because you rebelled against the gods.” She stood straighter, her eyes blazing with defiance. “Don’t try to feed us lies, Hyperion. It won’t work.”
Hyperion went perfectly still. Then, his eyes narrowed into slits. “You are smarter than I gave you credit for. And bolder. That will not serve you well here, little goddess. Watch yourself, or your sharp tongue might have to be cut out.”
Prue felt Mona’s arm shake alongside hers, but her sister held Hyperion’s gaze, her nostrils flaring.
She was strong, and Prue admired her for that. Mona might be afraid, but she was still strong.
“Atlas, show them to their room,” Hyperion said, his eyes still fixed on Mona.
The purple-skinned Titan drew closer, then spread one long, meaty arm toward the staircase. “After you, tiny goddesses.” He chuckled, and a few other Titans joined in.
Prue shot him a glare before leading Mona up the staircase. The wooden boards creaked with every step.
This whole place seemed moments away from collapsing. And Prue felt like she was ready to collapse right along with it.