Page 30 of Salt & Blood (Ivy & Bone #4)

BETRAYED

PANDORA

As much as Pandora wanted to linger in bed all day with Sol, she knew they had an important duty to fulfill.

But that didn’t mean she had to rush out of the house that morning.

He woke her by kissing her shoulder, allowing his tongue to roam the expanse of her naked skin. After that, she was straddling him, hands pressed to his chest and her head thrown back as he thrust into her again and again, drawing out ragged moans from her.

Once they’d finished, she managed to get half dressed before Sol came up behind her. His arms snaked around her waist, and his fingers inched up her abdomen to massage her breasts.

The tunic she’d been trying to button had fallen in tatters to the floor as Sol pushed her up against the wall. Her legs wrapped around him, and he took her all over again, burying himself between her legs and crying out her name as he came a second time. Pandora had to admit his stamina was impressive; nothing at all like the feeble demons she’d tousled with in the Underworld.

Perhaps that was the benefit of tangling with a sun god.

“If you don’t stop, we’ll keep Gaia waiting all day,” Pandora panted as Sol withdrew from her. She retrieved a new tunic from the wardrobe.

“Well, if you would stop looking so damn enticing, it wouldn’t be so difficult to resist,” he quipped, shooting her a lazy smile over his shoulder.

She couldn’t help but grin back at him. It was hard to refuse, especially with how uncertain their future was. The darkness from her box could arrive at any moment, as could the Titans. Plus there was Apollo to deal with. There were too many threats, and Pandora had crossed too many lines to consider herself free.

With the voices and the rage inside her, she would never be free. And she refused to drag Sol down with her.

So, she would treasure these moments. Because they very well could be her last.

When they were both finally dressed and ready to leave, Sol drew her in for one last tantalizing kiss—ensuring his tongue ravished her mouth completely—before they left the house. Her skin and blood were still humming from their lovemaking, and despite the ache between her legs, all she wanted to do was drag Sol back to bed. Perhaps the day would be uneventful, and they could continue their exploits well into the night…

But, of course, she wasn’t so lucky.

As they approached the outer wards where Gaia waited for them, Pandora immediately knew something was wrong. The air felt thinner, and the winds were stronger. There was also a heady darkness swirling in the air that was all too familiar to Pandora.

“Shit,” she whispered, then broke into a run to reach Gaia’s side. Sol said nothing but followed suit.

When Gaia turned, her face was stricken with fear. “We are out of time.”

“The Titans?” Sol asked, looking around.

“No. The magic of Pandora’s box. It has found us.” Gaia turned to Pandora. “It doesn’t matter if you are ready or not. We need to try to reactivate the wards. Now. ”

Pandora nodded, ignoring the spinning anxiety within her stomach. She should have been quicker to rise this morning. If the realm was destroyed all because she and Sol hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other, she would never forgive herself.

“I need you to summon her,” Gaia said in a low voice.

Pandora’s heart lurched, and her eyes narrowed. “What?” That wasn’t part of their plan.

“Summon the goddess within you. Let her magic infuse this area.” Gaia spread her arms to indicate the grassy ground at their feet.

“Why?” Pandora snapped. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“We need to lure the darkness here. Distract it from what we’ll be doing at the fulcrum.”

Pandora swallowed hard. They had not practiced this. The plan was for her and Sol to use their combined magic to activate the wards. But the darkness was here now; they hadn’t expected it to arrive so soon. “I’ve never summoned her at will before. And if she overtakes me…”

“I’ll be here.” Sol took her hand in his. “I’ll stay by your side the whole time.”

Pandora looked at him and found nothing but earnest determination on his face. The solid confidence in his eyes filled her with newfound bravery, and she found herself nodding. “All right.”

“It will be the opposite of our training,” Gaia said. “Close your eyes, and think of her emotions. Her memories. Not yours. Learning the difference will help you when we reach the fulcrum, so this exercise will be good for you.”

Sure it will, Pandora thought doubtfully, but she obediently closed her eyes. The fury inside her had ebbed, thanks to her training and Sol’s generous touches last night. Ignoring her instincts to leave the sleeping goddess be, Pandora mentally prodded her, summoning those old memories that had haunted her for most of her life.

The screams.

The burning bright light.

Her soul and body, ripped apart by Apollo’s magic.

Pandora slid her hand free from Sol’s grasp, and the absence of his warmth only coaxed the darkness forward. A roar built in her chest as the presence inside her stirred to life.

Pandora inwardly cringed at the swelling emotions that intruded on her thoughts.

Pain.

Agony.

Kill them all. Kill them now!

Pandora forced her eyes open and shifted her gaze to Gaia, knowing it would anger the darkness the most.

As expected, a shrill scream echoed in her mind, and Pandora lunged. At the last second, she reeled in those emotions, shutting her eyes again and taking Sol’s hand, squeezing his fingers tightly to block out the voices. With her other hand, she flexed her fingers, extending her arm toward the wards. Darkened shadows erupted from her fingertips, saturating the air and stinging her nostrils with the sharp smell of death magic.

“Gods, I never thought I would have to smell that again,” Sol muttered.

Pandora blinked. The sound of his voice jolted her from the haze of her memories, and she dropped her hand as the shadows dissipated. “What? Death magic?”

“Not just death magic. Titan magic.”

Pandora’s stomach soured, and she released his hand again, stung by the reminder that she possessed something inside her that was so foul to him.

Sol took both her hands this time, tugging her toward him so she was forced to meet his gaze. He ducked his head to look into her eyes. “I love you, Trivia. Not this soul inside you. But you . Never forget that.” He brushed his knuckle under her chin and brought his mouth to hers in a teasing, gentle kiss.

Pandora found herself trembling from his touch, and when he withdrew, she took a shuddering breath.

“I think that did it,” Gaia said. “Come. We must get to the fulcrum as quickly as possible.”

The air was roaring with turbulent wind by the time Pandora, Gaia, and Sol reached the courtyard that marked the peak of Elysium’s magic. In the center was a pedestal surrounded by pillars and braziers. A small copse of trees lined the courtyard, and at the edge of the fulcrum was a cliff facing the ocean.

Pandora’s hair billowed around her, and she stared up at the darkening sky with a sense of foreboding. The last time her magic had come to her, she had felt relief, fully believing her revenge was about to be complete. She had shattered her relationship with Sol and revealed her true nature to Apollo.

Oh, how na?ve she had been.

“Trivia,” Gaia murmured, her blue eyes sharp as they fixed on her.

Pandora blinked away the memories and focused on her mother.

“You can do this,” Gaia whispered. “I know you can. You have always had the power within you. And you are stronger than you think.”

Pandora’s throat welled up with unexpected emotion at the intense look on Gaia’s face. The earth goddess truly believed in her. Even though they were essentially strangers and Pandora had sought her death for most of her life, Gaia still trusted her and believed she could do this.

Pandora’s eyes burned, and she knew if she spoke that she would start crying. So instead, she merely nodded.

“I will stay down here and warn you if the magic gets too close,” Gaia said, inclining her head toward the raised platform of the fulcrum. “But it must be you two on the fulcrum.”

Pandora looked at Sol. “Are you ready?”

He offered a grim smile. “Let’s rebuild the world, love.”

Hand-in-hand, they hurried across the courtyard and toward the dais. Energy hummed in the air with each step Pandora took, and by the time she reached the center, she felt like she was wading through water. Her grip on Sol’s hand tightened as they helped each other push through the swelling power around them. It burned against her skin, and Pandora could only assume the magic of Elysium could sense the approaching threat and was strengthening its defenses.

Please, she begged the magic. Please let us in. We can stop this. Just let us in!

As if the magic responded to her plea, the air cleared, and Pandora and Sol finally reached the top of the dais.

“Go,” Sol panted, squeezing her hand. “Do what you must. I’m here for you.”

Pandora nodded, then closed her eyes. The turmoil of her thoughts was difficult to sift through as they raged inside her, awakened by the presence of the box’s magic.

My emotions, she thought. I must access my emotions. Where are they?

She thought of the intense pleasure and passion she’d experienced with Sol the night before. He was hers. Not the other goddess’s. But hers alone.

She thought of the pride on Gaia’s face, and the softness of that look they had shared. Pandora no longer felt hatred for her mother. A wary sort of acceptance had drifted between the two of them, and more than anything, Pandora wanted to explore that, to see if it could strengthen into something akin to love. She had never before known the love of a parent, and it wasn’t until this very moment that she realized just how much she wanted it. How much she would sacrifice for it.

“Sol!” Pandora cried over the rushing wind. “If we don’t make it through this?—”

“Trivia, don’t!” Sol moaned, his voice anguished.

“If we don’t make it through this,” she shouted over him, “please know that I love you with every facet of my being. And if we survive, I will spend every day of my existence atoning for what I’ve done to you. I swear it.”

“Well, I will accept your atonement in the form of long, sweaty nights with you naked in my bed.”

She chuckled, her chest tightening as she tried not to let the laughter pull her out of the magic she was trying to conjure. Sol’s echoing laugh resonated in her mind, and she clung to that, to the way it made her heart soar and her skin tingle. The warmth of him, the feel of his hand in hers…

Pandora gasped as earth magic rocketed through her with violent fervor. Were it not for Sol’s grip on her, she would have fallen from the force of it. Even though her eyes were closed, she could sense the flora spilling over the dais at her feet. Grass sprang upward, tickling her legs. Branches crowded her, forming a cocoon around her and Sol.

“My turn?” Sol asked.

She could only nod, trying to hold on to the burgeoning magic flooding from her. It felt like a dam had burst, and she couldn’t contain the power. Alarm flared inside her, and she feared the darkness would take hold of her because she was losing control. It was too much. Too fast.

But then Sol’s light bled through her eyelids, glowing and brilliant. Her hand warmed in his as he summoned his power. The dome of branches encased the light, as if the two of them stood alone in the center of a lantern.

The air vibrated through her bones. Sol clasped her other hand, and their magic united. It all came together in a brutal clash of earth and sun, light and flora, green and gold. The collision shook the ground, making Pandora’s blood sing. It was so similar to the way their bodies collided last night when they finally came together after so much hatred and animosity. And now, their magic was doing the same.

Power roared in Pandora’s ears. A smile spread across her face. It was working. The fail-safe was activating. Soon, the wards would return, strengthening Elysium’s defenses once more.

In the distance, Gaia was shouting something. Pandora’s eyes flew open, and she met Sol’s confused look with one of her own.

Then, she felt it. Darkness surged, drawing closer. Through the gaps in her branches, the darkening sky now looked charcoal black.

The magic of her box was here.

How? she thought in a panic. She and Sol had done everything they were supposed to. The wards were supposed to be reinforced, not torn down to make way for the very darkness they were trying to stop.

But all around her, she felt the magic flickering. Whatever power flowed between her earth magic and Sol’s sun magic was fading, like the dying embers of a fire.

Abruptly, Pandora released Sol’s hands, trying to tear through her dome of branches in search of Gaia. Something had gone wrong. She must have made a mistake, because the magic was here, and they were too late…

“ It’s a trap !” Gaia screamed.

Pandora froze, her blood chilling. What had gone wrong? Had the darkness of her box somehow tricked her?

She grabbed Sol’s arm, intent on fleeing the dais and taking shelter… where? Where could they run? The darkness had them cornered now.

A burst of gold light filled the center of the dais—sun magic. Pandora shot a bewildered look at Sol.

“It—It’s not me!” he cried, shaking his head.

Pandora tugged him backward, away from the light as it grew in size. A shape appeared, spreading until it formed the figure of a tall male.

When the light faded, Pandora staggered backward in shock.

The man who stood before them was Midas. His head was tilted back, a look of relief on his face. He grinned broadly, his gloved hands spread wide.

“Ah, thank you,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for centuries. And now, thanks to you, I am finally free.”