Page 54

54

PANDORA

D ad sat next to Joel and Everglow, and my mates sat around me as I held Nebula in my palms on top of the table in the Demon Council’s meeting room. Sandstone’s tangy scent carried in the air, and I was overwhelmed with grief for what was inevitably going to be one of the worst nights of my life—far worse than any night that Mother ever inflicted upon me.

Across from the Demon Council members, the Supernatural Council gathered. Rowan Clearwater sat with his mate, Wren, and her other mate, Damien. Beside them, Sabine, Jesper, and Grimsworn completed the circle.

Their expressions were as grim as ours were.

“The new moon reaches its peak in just under an hour,” Sabine stated, her voice steady despite the tension thrumming in the air. “Jesper will lead the agents in first, but every agent has been briefed to make way for Pandora Gravesend and her mates. Jesper will be controlling two magical artifacts in tandem: one to attract dark magic, and one to absorb it so Pandora doesn’t get overwhelmed.”

I stiffened at the mention of my name. The reality of what I had to do was pressing heavily against my rib cage.

My hands trembled, shaking poor Nebula.

“Myself and the council members present, including Damien, will be coming as back up,” Sabine added. “But we will not intervene between Pandora and Sybil since Pandora is the only one capable of taking her out.”

“We will be there, too,” Dad stated, gesturing to himself, Joel, and Everglow.

“She’s weak to the special powers bestowed by the Fates,” Nebula hissed. “Pandora, you were blessed by them with this gift to destroy dark magic. That makes you lethal to Sybil in ways no one else here is.”

Nebula’s disembodied voice was unheard by anyone but myself and my mates, but it would always be seared into my memories.

A lump formed in my throat, but I nodded.

“You were always meant to be the one to do this,” Nebula added softly. “When I’m gone, her power will plummet. She won’t be expecting it, especially before a major ritual like this, and that’s when you strike.”

“She’s drawing her power from more than just her familiar’s soul,” Rowan said, his fiery eyes sharp with calculation. “Likely the bloodstone. Without it, her ritual should collapse. The dark magic she’s been calling into her will be useless against Pandora.”

“He’s right about that. Doing so should spare Kalista of the mass amount of dark magic Sybil prepares to unleash,” Nebula agreed. “Tell him as much.”

“Nebula agrees. Other than the power he’s forced to give her, the bloodstone is another source of dark magic for her,” I rasped.

Silence settled over the room, thick and suffocating in a way that made my heart ache more.

I felt Dad’s gaze on me before flicking toward Nebula as he spoke. “Nebula,” he said with a sadness coating his words, “ thank you. For everything. You’ve been more of a father to Pandora than I was when she needed one. When I was unaware of her existence.”

My breath hitched.

Nebula’s soul leaked over my palms. “It was my honor.”

A sob tore from my throat, and I couldn’t hold it back.

Dad moved before I could stop him and assure him I was okay, but I wasn’t okay, and he gathered both me and Nebula in his arms in an instant.

I cried against his chest, my body shaking as I clung to Nebula and sagged against Dad’s embrace.

My mates’ concern flooded our bonds, and I knew they wanted to hold me just as badly—but there was nothing they could say that would ease the pain of what was to come.

Rowan straightened in his seat as my sobs finally ceased, his expression of pure sadness. “Nebula, we owe you a great debt for what you have chosen to sacrifice for the world.”

Wren’s voice was soft as she reached over and grabbed Rowan’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Pandora.”

I nodded, swallowing my grief. “So am I.”

Time was slipping away too quickly—the entire day had.

Last night, my mates and I sat with Nebula after he manifested again, and he told stories of my childhood in a way a proud dad would. He shared his hopes and dreams for us after he left. Reed found a movie for us all to watch on the tablet, and Nebula and I were completely entranced by it. Neither of us had actually watched a movie before, and my mates were shocked by that. But it was fun, and we had enjoyed it until we all fell asleep. Then, all day today, we just soaked up Nebula’s presence and love, but today was coming to an end, and with it, so would Nebula.

My heart was shattering and the one who had always helped piece it back together would soon be no more.

“We have to go,” Sabine said, her voice echoing through the room.

“It will be okay,” Nebula promised me, but it landed on my fragile heart roughly, splintering it.

It wouldn’t be okay.

Static filled my ears as Damien explained to Dex where they had to shadow travel everyone, and time blurred.

The descent into the tunnels beneath the Demon Capital was a silent warp of shadows. Dex and Damien managed to transport us through the darkness, our bodies shifting through the obsidian void before we stepped out of it.

The stone walls were damp, cold, and pressing in on us as we navigated the narrow corridors leading to the Temple of the Veil.

“Do you remember the first time your mother scarred your back?” Nebula’s voice echoed around me, and my mates tensed.

I nodded, my tears dripping onto his skull. “You were there for me afterwards. You helped me.”

“How did I help you?” he prompted.

“You promised you’d always be there for me,” I rasped, agony pulverizing my beating heart again with the reminder that he wouldn’t ever be there for me again.

“What else?” he probed further.

I sniffled, thinking back to that night.

When Mother left me bleeding alone after losing her temper over me not feeding on the pain she inflicted, Nebula coaxed me to get him out of his hiding spot in the cracked sandstone floor. He instructed me to breathe and lay on my stomach so I wouldn’t hurt my back again, and he made me talk about my dreams of the future.

“I dreamed of the future. Of a day I’d be free from my captivity,” I answered. “But all of those dreams included you.”

“Pandora,” he sighed sadly. “You dreamed of being free, and so do I. I may not physically be with you after this, but I will do everything in my power to remain with you in some kind of way. You need to dream of the future right now—a future where Sybil Shaw and Dark Veil are no longer wreaking havoc on the demons of Kalista. Dream of what Reed showed you. You will be so blissfully happy in the future, in love with your mates and building a life that you know I will be proud of. I’m already so proud of you.”

I sobbed again, feeling my mates running comforting hands down my back, but it didn’t help—their comfort could only ease a fraction of the pain funneling through my chest.

Our footsteps echoed all the way to the imposing double doors of the underground temple, but I clutched Nebula to my chest tightly.

“The new moon is almost at its peak,” Sabine whispered.

“It’s time, Pandora.” Nebula’s soul was warm as it flowed from him and dripped over my fingers. “I can feel Sybil drawing my power. If you don’t do it now, I’m not going to be able to stop from de-manifesting.”

Another raw, painful sob built in my chest and worked its way up my throat, but I swallowed it down.

“Give them space,” Dad told everyone.

My mates formed a protective circle around me and Nebula—Hunter, Reed, Dex, Bram, and Skel—all bracing for what was to come.

Everyone else stepped back and allowed us the space we desperately needed—though, it was clear from the way Nebula’s soul was sinking back into the hollow cavities of his skull that I didn’t have much time.

Power simmered from my gut and up my throat as dark smoke curled from my lips. I placed a trembling hand on Nebula’s skull. “I don’t want to do this—I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’re not losing me,” Nebula murmured thickly. “You’re setting me free, and I’ll always be with you.”

“I love you,” I choked out, tears pouring down my cheeks. I barely registered my mates putting their hands on me in support.

“I love you, Pandora, and thank you for doing this for me,” his disembodied voice echoed through the tunnels, wrapping around my heart with a suffocating kind of strength.

My magic surged, wrenching from my mouth in large clouds. It covered Nebula’s skull, covering the dark magic festering there—along with his soul.

Nebula didn’t cry out, but I felt his agony, the tearing of his soul from its cursed prison. The dark magic didn’t want to let him go. It was a brutal, merciless severing to tear the curse from his soul. His essence writhed, tangled in the dark magic that fought, clawed, and refused to let him go.

But I didn’t give it a chance. My magic devoured the dark essence, gulping it down in hot, burning waves. It filled me, and my power destroyed the dark magic and the curse like it was nothing.

My body convulsed as Nebula’s soul crashed into mine, an explosion of searing light detonating inside my rib cage.

I gasped, my vision blackening at the edges as his power merged with mine, fusing into the very fabric of my being, filling my reserves in a permanent kind of way. My veins pulsed with raw energy, tripling, surging beyond anything I had ever known.

But none of it mattered because Nebula was gone.

Tears blurred my vision. A broken sob tore from my throat as I clutched his empty, soulless skull to my chest. It was cold now—a mere remnant of someone I loved deeply.

“He’s free,” I choked out, my voice splintering under the weight of my grief. “Sybil can’t use him anymore.”

“You gave him peace.” Hunter pried Nebula’s skull from my shaking hands, his own fingers trembling as he tucked his skull away in his bag. “I’ll keep him safe.”

Grimsworn exhaled, his glowing eyes scanning me with something between awe and wariness. “You’re powerful, Pandora. More than ever. Nebula seems to have literally given you his power in a way familiars only can do with their witches or warlocks when they pass on. You may even be stronger than your father now. Perhaps almost on par with me.”

My tears streamed faster down my cheeks as my throat burned. He was with me still—in some way.

Bram’s hand landed gently on my shoulder, love and comfort stemming from his matebond. “You freed him. That’s what matters.”

Skel turned his face away as his hand shook on my back. “It’s what he wanted,” he croaked.

Reed’s voice was quieter than the rest, but just as thick with sadness. “He did it for you. For all of us.”

Dex clenched his fists, his jaw tight with fury I resonated with. “Let’s make sure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. We have to kill the dark magic bitch.”

I wiped my tears, inhaling sharply, pushing past the ache lodged deep in my soul. “Yes,” I rasped, pushing the agony vibrating my soul back. “We end this tonight.”

Together, we turned to the temple doors and pushed them open.

Dark Veil was going to be dismantled. Tonight.