Page 22 of Salt & Blood (Ivy & Bone #4)

SENTENCED

PANDORA

Gaia has come.

The moment those words were uttered, time seemed to freeze. Pandora was numb to her surroundings. All sounds became muffled. She merely stood there, eyes distant as the darkness raged inside her.

And she was powerless to stop it.

She felt weightless, impervious to the world around her. Her body was still like a statue; she couldn’t even feel her limbs anymore. Her consciousness seemed to travel outside her body, soaring higher and higher.

Toward Gaia.

The soul inside her screamed and thrashed. Memories of a searing bright light and the pain of her body ripping apart flooded her mind. Her bones quaked from the intensity of it as the light burned brighter and brighter…

Distantly, Pandora registered that someone was speaking to her. Then Sol appeared before her, his beautiful face close to hers, his dark blue eyes full of concern. His warm fingers pressed into her shoulder, and she felt it. The heat of his body so close to hers.

Awareness crept in, momentarily drowning out the agony screaming inside her. Pandora found herself blinking, staring up at Sol as if she didn’t recognize him.

But she did. She knew this sun god. He hated her. And yet, here he was, standing before her, trying to reach her.

Gradually, clarity returned, and she was able to make out sounds. They blared around her with alarming sharpness, making her flinch. Servants and guards bustled about, trying to make ready for the Goddess of the Realm.

But Sol’s eyes remained fixed on hers. “Trivia,” he murmured, stroking a finger down her cheek. “We can leave here. You do not have to face her.”

Pandora shuddered from the tenderness of his touch, and fire coiled low in her belly as she envisioned him touching her elsewhere.

That was what she wanted: to lose herself in Sol’s touch. To blot out the tortuous memories slicing through her. She knew if his hands were on her body, she would forget. She would forget her own name, her own past. All of it. If only he would keep touching her.

“Can’t you do something?” Sol snapped at Mona. “You healed her before. Can you do it again?”

But Mona seemed as stunned as Pandora, her expression frozen in shock, eyes wide and face ashen. It seemed Pandora was not the only one apprehensive about seeing her mother.

“I have to face her,” Pandora whispered. She wasn’t sure if it was her voice or the voice of the soul who shared her body.

Sol’s gaze snapped to hers, his brows knitting together. “No, you don’t.”

“I do.” Pandora looked up at him, heat burning behind her eyes. “The darkness demands it.”

“To hell with the darkness,” Sol growled, gripping her arms firmly and lowering his head to look her directly in the eye. “ You are in control, Trivia. Not her.”

A tear spilled from her eye and raced down her cheek. “No, I’m not.”

Sol’s face slackened in surprise, but before he could respond, another boom shook the ground, this one far less violent than that of the hydra. A shimmer of gold light swirled in the center of the throne room, and a figure materialized. She had long black hair, vibrant blue eyes, and smooth brown skin. Her prominent chin made her look as regal as a queen. Her sharp cheekbones and shrewd eyes gave her a cutting persona that made Pandora believe the goddess could rip her to shreds.

And yet, at the sight of Gaia, Pandora’s blood boiled, her chest swelling with white hot fury. The powers within her lunged, eager to devour the goddess, to tear her apart with her bare hands.

Why do you hate her so much? Pandora asked the soul within her, her hands trembling from the restraint it took to hold back the darkness within her. She did nothing to you.

She took everything from me, the spirit within her growled, enunciating each word with pure venom.

For a brief second, Pandora lost her hold on the powers inside her, shocked by the admission. Gaia had taken something from the original goddess? What was it?

Her hesitation cost her. In a flash, the vengeful soul wrestled control of Pandora’s body, and she could no longer fight her off. She leapt, tackling Gaia to the ground, roaring in rage and anguish as she clawed at the goddess’s face.

Gaia’s arms flew up as she gripped Pandora’s wrists, keeping her hands away from her face, her eyes wide and full of alarm. But other emotions flared in that expression. Grief. Sorrow. Pain.

“No,” Pandora hissed in a voice that wasn’t her own. “You don’t get to look at me with pity. You did this to me. ”

She shoved harder, pinning the goddess to the ground. Her forehead cracked against Gaia’s, slamming her skull backward into the hard earth. Gaia grunted, her hold loosening on her daughter’s wrists. Pandora swiped her fingernails across Gaia’s cheek, drawing blood.

Black shadows erupted from within Pandora, shooting outward, creating a dome around the two of them that sealed them off from the others. The shadows whispered and laughed as they danced around Gaia with hungry glee.

But Gaia made no move to stop her or the darkness. Only then did Pandora realize the goddess could have summoned her earth magic to strike her, to shove her away, to eradicate Pandora’s shadows. But Gaia didn’t use magic at all. She merely lay there, letting Pandora claw at her like a feral animal, letting the swirling black smoke swell and draw closer, eager to devour her.

Pandora registered two figures stepping through her shadows. They reeked of death magic—the only thing that could match the darkness of Pandora’s box.

Death gods.

Hands gripped Pandora’s shoulders, hauling her off Gaia. She spat and thrashed, the spirit inside her still desperate to cause pain, to tear off Gaia’s head.

As Romanos and Evander dragged Pandora to the opposite end of the throne room, the shadows dispersed with an echoing scream of rage. Gaia slowly climbed to her feet, brushing her fingertips along the silver blood oozing down her face.

“You should let her go,” Gaia said, her voice deep and powerful. “I deserve her fury.”

Though her dark powers were gone, Pandora was still hissing and growling, flailing against the gods who held her. She was indeed like a caged animal.

“Do something!” Sol shouted, his eyes wide as he gestured to Pandora.

A kernel of warmth spread through her chest at the look of concern on his face, but it was drowned out by the screams inside her, the memories that engulfed her.

Kill Gaia. Kill her. Destroy her. Rip out her throat.

“Marina,” Rom said in a strained voice as he struggled to contain Pandora, who continued to fight his grip on her. “Can’t you help? You have Hestia’s curse breaking abilities.”

The Gorgon shook her head slowly, her eyes calculating as she surveyed Pandora. It was as if Pandora was a fascinating new species to observe, not a goddess in pain. “This curse is bound by the magic of the Titans. Her magic. It’s stronger than mine. I can’t do anything for her.”

“Sol, you snapped her out of it before,” Mona said, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked beseechingly at the sun god. “Perhaps you can do it again. Please.”

Sol’s lips parted, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard. He shot a glance at Gaia, then said, “Turn her away, so she can’t see her.”

Romanos and Evander both grunted as they shifted Pandora until she faced the earth wall of the throne room. Pandora screeched in fury, shoving hard against the death gods. But their grip was firm.

Then, Sol was there, his beautiful face before hers, his midnight blue eyes as bottomless as the sea. He pressed his hands to her face, fingers sliding under her chin and along her jaw as he cradled her like she was something precious.

His touch stilled her. She went limp, her arms held up only by the strength of Evander and Rom. Her eyes locked onto Sol’s as if entranced by him. He was stunning, with his smooth blond hair and perfectly trimmed goatee, the smooth nose and square jaw and full lips that she had tasted not long ago.

And when he looked at her like that, like she was someone to be treasured, it unraveled the darkness inside her.

“Sol,” she whispered.

He leaned closer until their noses brushed. Her eyes closed as she drank in the scent of him, the heat of his body so close to hers.

“You are here with me,” he murmured, his voice low and soft and deliciously sultry. “Think only of me. My body and yours. The crash of the ocean waves. The salty sea air.”

Pandora knew he was referring to their naked swim together, their bodies entwined, their laughter echoing. That had been the first time she’d let herself be free around him. And it had been exhilarating.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, then opened her eyes to meet his once more.

His eyes crinkled with his smile. “There she is.”

Pandora brought her hands to his chest, fingertips running along the fabric of his tunic. His heartbeat stirred from underneath her hands, the rhythm a soothing pulse to the chaos raging inside her.

“Gaia is here,” Sol whispered.

Pandora jolted, her body going rigid as her pulse began to race. That darkness flooded her senses again, threatening to take over.

“Stay with me,” Sol murmured, running his fingers down her neck and settling his hands on her shoulders. “Trivia, stay with me. You are strong enough for this.”

Pandora nodded, even though she didn’t agree. She wasn’t strong enough to fight the soul inside her. She had always been too weak. It was why she had devoted her life to vengeance; because she was powerless to resist it.

“I will be with you the whole time,” Sol said. “You can overcome this. No matter what that darkness inside you demands.”

Again, Pandora disagreed, but she clung to his words: I will be with you.

Perhaps, with Sol grounding her, she could do this.

Gradually, Pandora’s mind cleared and her senses came back into focus. She registered the Gorgon sisters speaking with Gaia.

“Why have you come?” Marina asked. “What brings you to us?”

“My daughter,” Gaia said. “I have come to face her, to accept whatever wrath she brings so her suffering may come to an end.”

A choked laugh bubbled up Pandora’s throat before she could stop herself. She kept her back to Gaia, afraid that same dark power would rise again, but she felt every pair of eyes shift to her.

“ Now you’ve come?” Pandora called out, her voice ringing in the cavern. “I suppose you were too busy to visit over the past twenty years?” Beside her, Sol kept a firm grip on her arm, and she focused on the warmth of his skin on hers, using it to ground her and keep her present.

Gaia hesitated before responding with a defensive edge in her voice, “Apollo cursed me. I was confined to the mortal realm. There was no way for me to see you, unless you came here. But now, Prudence has freed me, and I sensed your presence here in my realm.”

“Prue freed you?” Mona asked with a gasp. “Have you seen her? Is she well?”

“She is well, but she will be facing Apollo soon,” Gaia said grimly. “I fear for her. For all three of you.”

Pandora scoffed and shook her head, crossing her arms as she glowered at the earth wall in front of her. “I’m sorry, but I’m having a hard time believing anything you say. You’ve just lied so many times, it’s getting hard to keep track.”

“Trivia,” Mona hissed in warning.

Pandora ignored her, clinging to the anger she felt toward her mother. There was a strange comfort in knowing it belonged to her and not the memories of her other life.

“Didn’t she lie to you your entire life?” Pandora asked Mona. “She lied about who she was and who you were, then did nothing when you died and your soul was disconnected from your body.”

“She couldn’t do anything,” Mona argued, but her voice sounded weak, as if she didn’t quite believe it.

“Bullshit,” Pandora growled, her arms quivering with rage. “She’s the Goddess of the Earth. And a powerful witch. I don’t believe she was completely powerless.”

Mona started to speak, but Gaia cut her off. “She’s right. I had the power to use my magic for the benefit of others, but not myself. I could have done more.”

The words should have satisfied Pandora, but they only made her angrier. “Is that supposed to be an apology?”

“I would love nothing more than to offer my heartfelt apologies, if you’ll let me,” Gaia said softly. “It’s all I’ve yearned to do for twenty years now. But I sense you have more to say to me first.”

“You abandoned me,” Pandora cried, tears burning in her eyes. “You let him take me to that wretched realm, surrounded by demons and death magic, to be raised by a god who didn’t give two shits about me. You could have cast spells, sent messages to the beyond, tried something to reach me, but you never did! Not once did you send a messenger or a vision or a tendril of your power to comfort me. Not once did you bother to explain yourself or try to know me. Only now, when she is ready to destroy you, when this soul inside me is close to taking over— now is when you decide to finally face me and apologize? No. I don’t want to hear it. You’re twenty years too late, and I refuse to listen to your half-assed apologies and explanations.”

Silence rang in the throne room after her words, and Pandora hated herself for the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks.

Several minutes passed, but no one said a word. Gaia did not try to continue apologizing. Pandora had no words left in her. And the rest of the crowd could only stare, wide-eyed at the two of them as if wondering who would speak next.

To Pandora’s surprise, it was Marina who spoke first. Her voice was soft as she said, “I think we have decided on your punishment, Trivia.”

Forgetting to face the wall, Pandora whirled to the Gorgons, bewildered by this subject change. But the three sisters were nodding, as if communicating through thoughts.

“Yes,” said the sister with the partially shaved head. “A fitting sentence, I think.”

“What?” Pandora said in disbelief. “I—I don’t understand.”

“To pay for your crimes, we sentence you to live in Elysium, to work with this sun god to rebuild it.” Marina gestured to Sol, who straightened, eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You will also go with Gaia, who will train you to harness your earth magic so you can become powerful enough to activate the fail-safe within the wards. Once you do that, you are to rebuild the wards and the realm of Elysium so the souls can return to their resting place.”

Pandora felt the blood drain from her face. She shook her head, her hands trembling. “I—No. I can’t. I can’t do that!”

“We have witnessed the power of the soul inside you,” said the third sister, her green eyes vibrant as she looked at Pandora. “It is strong enough, if it can be harnessed. Gaia can help you with this. To work alongside the goddess who evokes such uncontrollable rage from you would be a fitting punishment for the crimes you have committed.”

“Please,” Pandora said hoarsely, glancing between the Gorgon sisters. “ Please don’t do this.”

“Our word is final,” said Marina, her face like stone. “You three will leave for Elysium immediately.”