Together
TRIVIA
The moment Trivia, Sol, and Gaia stepped through the portal and entered the mortal realm, Gaia groaned and sank to one knee, pressing a hand to her heart.
It didn’t take Trivia long to discover why. The very air reeked of death. The wind whispering against her skin smelled of ash and decay.
It smelled like Tartarus.
She glanced upward at the night sky, squinting against the breeze that burned her eyes. It took her a moment to orient herself, to figure out where exactly they were.
Sol recognized it at the same time. “By the gods,” he whispered in horror.
Trivia’s skin prickled, her heart racing as she took in her surroundings. Beneath the saturated layer of death magic, she could make out the faint hint of earth. This place had once been rich with Gaia’s magic.
Now, it was nothing more than a tomb.
The three of them stood in the remains of Midas’s mighty underground castle. The ceiling had caved in, exposing the midnight sky. Cracked roots and broken rocks surrounded them. Jagged holes lined the walls, broken through by roots and thorns.
And the air was deathly still. Not a sound stirred, aside from the hissing wind that tickled Trivia’s skin.
When they’d last been here, the castle had been magnificent, and a thriving coven of earth witches had lived here.
Trivia remembered traveling through the Voiceless Jungle and how silent but alive everything had felt.
Saffron, the mysterious witch who resembled a shadowed silhouette, had led them to Midas.
A hydra had attacked, but the earth witches had easily rebuilt the walls and ceiling, leaving it as impressive as before.
But Saffron and the witches were gone. So was the castle. So was the magic.
Gaia sucked in a sharp breath, grunting with effort. Her eyes closed, and her brows drew together, her face taut with tension. “May the Triple Goddess bring you peace,” she whispered, pressing her fingers to her lips and then to the ground. “May your deaths be avenged tenfold.”
A knot formed in Trivia’s throat as she looked around once more. She hadn’t wanted to believe it… but of course her mother could sense it.
The earth witches who had lived here were all dead.
“What could have done this?” Sol asked softly, brushing his fingers against a broken tree root. “This could not have been the work of Titans.”
“It’s not,” Trivia said at once. “This is something… else.” She thought of the hydra that had attacked this place. “Something dark was drawn here.” She looked at her mother, waiting for some kind of explanation.
But Gaia shook her head, her frown deepening. “It’s no magic I’m familiar with. It’s something new, something tainted with Titan magic. Whatever it is, it was created by them.”
Trivia’s stomach hollowed at the thought of the Titans creating a new creature. A new monster.
“Is it still here?” Sol asked. He drew closer to Trivia, his arm sliding behind her as he looked around warily. She wasn’t sure he realized he had moved. He must have done so on instinct. The thought sent her a modicum of comfort, but it was fleeting.
Gaia peered up toward the sky. After a moment, she said, “No. But I can tell which direction it’s traveling. It’s likely we’ll encounter it on our journey.”
“Where are we going?” Trivia asked. “Do you know where the Titans are?”
“No,” Gaia admitted, lifting her skirts as she stepped over a smashed log. “But I know where my daughters are. We’ll head in that direction.”
Trivia exchanged a look with Sol. A muscle feathered in his jaw, but his eyes were soft as he gazed down at her. Wordlessly, he took her hand, his fingers lacing with hers. His warm palm strengthened her resolve.
She nodded at Gaia. “Lead the way, Mother.”
With every step they took in the Voiceless Jungle, Trivia’s heart weighed heavier and heavier.
The stench of death only grew more potent, and the startling silence around her seemed to weep with grief.
When she had first traveled through these woods, the lack of sound had seemed rooted in magic, as if the air were so potent with energy that nothing could penetrate it.
Not the snapping of a twig or the chirping of a bird.
But this… this was so very different.
Now, the jungle was silent in acknowledgment of the lives lost. It was a silence of mourning. An aching song of lamentation and despair.
The very trees seemed to pulse with agony. They cried out in rage and sorrow against the crimes that had been committed here.
Tears spilled down Trivia’s face, and she didn’t bother to try to stifle them. The witches who had lived here deserved to be remembered. To be wept over.
Sol’s hand was still in hers, and she clung to his strength, reminding herself that he was still here. So was Gaia.
The war was not over. They could still end this before more innocent lives were lost.
Though they did not have the benefit of the fire witches’ magic to guide their way, Gaia had no trouble seeing in the dark. The earth shifted beneath their feet, parting for the earth goddess. The forest itself seemed to bow in her presence, obeying her whim and laying a path before her.
Even with the earth witches gone, the woods still recognized their magic.
May you find rest in the next life, Trivia thought. May your souls cross over with ease. May you reunite with your ancestors.
She had never been one to pray. It felt silly, with a goddess walking beside her. But she had to. In her bones, she needed to send something to the other realms, even if it was only her pleading thoughts. Anything to help those lost souls find peace.
“What will happen to them?” Trivia asked, her voice hoarse from the long silence.
They had finally emerged from the jungle, and although the magic-wielders were gone, it still felt appropriate to honor the stillness of the woods.
“The Underworld is still…” She trailed off.
She had been about to say in shambles, but all she could think of was how it was her fault.
Gods above, was it her fault that the souls of those witches wouldn’t have any rivers to cross? Had Trivia single-handedly ensured an afterlife full of torment for them?
She inhaled a shuddering gasp, suddenly finding it difficult to get oxygen into her lungs. She crouched to the ground, dizziness clouding her mind.
Gaia took her hand, jolting her from her panic. Her blue eyes were full of intensity and fire.
“The souls are fine,” she assured Trivia. “I know it. I sense it. While the rivers of the Underworld have been recovering, souls have been gathering between worlds. There is a place for them, even if it’s temporary. Do not fret, my darling.”
Trivia nodded, closing her eyes. She was so tired. So very tired. The heavy emotions of the day weighed down on her, dragging her into darkness.
Gaia stood, then removed her cloak and handed it to Trivia. “Use this for warmth. The wood here is sacred. I’m going to search for firewood that is separate from the jungle.”
Trivia stood, a protest already on her lips.
Gaia raised a hand to stop her. “I’m fine. The earth recognizes me. I’ll be able to find wood faster than either of you. Besides, you need rest.” She glanced at Sol.
Trivia followed her gaze and found the sun god sitting with his arms propped on his knees. His head was bowed, and Trivia wondered if he, too, was praying.
“I won’t be long,” Gaia said before striding away. Within seconds, the darkness swallowed her whole.
Trivia shuddered, the air suddenly icy in her absence. She sank to the ground next to Sol, wrapping Gaia’s cloak tightly around herself.
She and Sol sat in silence for what felt like hours. Trivia eventually rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closing. She was certainly tired enough for sleep, but her heart was so heavy that she couldn’t find rest.
After a long while, Sol’s soft voice made her open her eyes.
“There is… so much more I could have done.”
Trivia lifted her head to look at him. He was staring in the distance, but it was clear his attention was elsewhere. There was a firm set to his mouth and jaw that indicated his frustration.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You often berated me for it, but I lived a life of frivolity and carelessness. I was so consumed by my need to distance myself from emotion that I didn’t think…
didn’t think about the consequences for others.
All I knew was how to survive without losing myself.
But I never once considered other people.
Other souls. Perhaps if I had, I could have…
could have…” He trailed off with an anguished sigh.
Trivia linked her arm with his, burrowing herself into his warmth.
“If we are laying out our regrets and grievances, I’m certainly the victor here.
I have done the most damage to all the realms. If I hadn’t destroyed the Underworld, Apollo never would have tried to take the throne.
He never would have brought the Titans back. ”
“But you were fighting.” Sol turned to look at her, his eyes haunted.
It reminded her of that night she’d seen him gazing at the moon in Elysium, battling with a grief she had known nothing about at the time.
“Your motives were misguided, but you spent your entire life fighting injustice. What did I do? I lounged about and painted idyllic scenes while others were suffering. I did nothing.”
“Sol—” Trivia gripped his arm tighter.
“Don’t,” he growled. “Don’t comfort me, Trivia. I—I can’t…”
“I wasn’t going to,” she argued.
He snorted at that. “Right.”
“I wasn’t!”
He gave her a flat look. “Fine. Then, what were you going to say?”
She dropped the cloak and climbed onto his lap, her legs wrapping around him. She held his face in both her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze.
“We are both terrible people, Sol,” she said firmly.
He winced, then let out a hollow laugh. “Thanks.”
“Will you let me finish?”
“By all means. Please insult me further.”