Page 6 of Salt & Blood (Ivy & Bone #4)

JUDGMENT

PANDORA

The entire cavern went still after Sol’s bold words. Pandora felt a chill ripple in the air, making the skin on her arms pebble. Her blood ran cold as every pair of eyes fixed on her.

Oh no. Oh no.

Farah spoke first, her eyes narrowing into slits as she assessed Pandora with renewed scrutiny. “Do you care to explain this, Trivia?”

Pandora’s mouth was dry, and she couldn’t form any words. These witches would kill her. If Sol didn’t do it first.

“It wasn’t her fault,” Mona said.

Pandora gaped at her sister. She had not expected her to defend Pandora’s actions. Not when they had caused her so much pain.

“As Sol stated, she has the soul of Pandora inside her,” Mona went on. “And we all know what happened to Pandora.”

Pandora blinked as several fire witches murmured to one another, not one of them appearing confused or shocked.

They knew? How did they know what had happened to the goddess? Apollo had taken such care to hide the truth.

“How?” Sol asked, voicing her shock. “How do you know?” His face was pale as he stared at Farah.

“We are witches,” Farah said. “Seers and prophetesses. We see things others do not. And our goddesses do not conceal the truth from us.”

Pandora’s breath caught in her throat. Hestia had told them?

Hestia… who was now dead.

Sol’s mother was dead.

Her fault. Her fault. This was all Pandora’s fault.

“Apollo doesn’t care about the mortal realm,” Mona said, her voice bitter. “He was more concerned with keeping the secret from Elysium.”

Farah’s eerie amber gaze fixed on Pandora once more. “Is she controlling you right now?”

“No,” Pandora said, finding her voice at last. “What Mona says is not entirely true. Yes, the soul of… the goddess is inside me. I have her memories, and I am fueled by her desire for revenge. But… I am still myself. I possess Gaia’s magic. I am capable of making my own choices. Sol—Sol is correct. I am to blame for all this. And I will accept whatever punishment you see fit to inflict.” She lifted her chin, trying to appear calm, but her mouth trembled, and heat burned in her eyes.

Perhaps it would be a relief to die this way. The witches would make it swift—they were certainly powerful enough—and Pandora would not fight them. And after it was over, she would finally be free.

Perhaps it was the only way to truly be free of her curse.

Farah did not respond at first. She looked at Wren, and the two witches seemed to be silently communicating for a moment. At long last, Farah said, “It will be up to the Gorgon sisters to decide your fate. They are Hestia’s chosen vessels, and it is for them to judge what shall be done to exact her vengeance.”

Pandora’s throat tightened with emotion, but she nodded. She did not know much about the Gorgon sisters. The only texts she had read about them had mentioned they had the power of serpents, and they could turn their enemies to stone.

“Apollo killed Hestia,” Mona said loudly. “ He is to blame for her death.”

“He was after you ,” Sol growled. “Perhaps it is your fault then.”

Mona’s eyes darkened for a moment, but she huffed a cold laugh. “Are you so blinded by the love of your mentor that you will not put blame where it belongs?”

Sol bared his teeth and took a step toward Mona. “If you had not challenged Apollo, my mother would still be alive.”

Pandora found herself moving before she realized what was happening. She stepped between Sol and Mona, hands outstretched. Her fingers brushed against Sol’s tunic, and she hastily withdrew her arms before the feel of him completely undid her.

“This is pointless,” Pandora said. “Apollo is not here. I will accept full blame for what happened. We do not need to argue about this.”

Sol’s eyes narrowed as he fixed his venomous gaze on her. “Since when are you the peacemaker?”

“Since I realized my entire life was stolen from me for no reason,” Pandora said coldly. She turned to Farah. “I believed that once Elysium was destroyed this curse would leave me. I thought the soul of the goddess inside me would be freed. But I was wrong. I no longer wish to serve her. I want to be my own person. My own goddess. And I will do whatever it takes to atone for what I’ve done.”

Sol barked a harsh laugh of disbelief, but Farah watched Pandora with calm interest, her eyes sparking with an emotion she couldn’t place.

“As I said before,” Farah murmured, “we will take you to the Gorgon sisters for judgment.”

“You cannot take her anywhere,” Sol said, his dark eyes burning with fury. “She will bring the darkness with her. She will betray all of you.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Farah asked, fixing him with a fearsome look. “We kill her right here? Well, don’t let me stop you, little sun god.” She spread her arms. “Strike her down. We will not stand in your way.”

Pandora went rigid. Was Farah serious?

Sol’s brows drew together as he glanced from Farah to Pandora. But he did not move. Anger still brewed in his gaze, but he did not come toward Pandora. His magic could easily end her life. They both knew this.

But he wouldn’t kill her.

She had asked him to, when Elysium was burning. He had refused, claiming death would be too merciful for her.

But as she watched him, she saw something haunted fill his gaze. Something she had only seen once before: when she had caught him gazing at the moonlit sea with devastation on his face.

He had been consumed by grief over the loss of the goddess he had loved. The goddess whose soul now occupied Pandora’s body.

And in that moment, she knew he was unwilling to take away that soul once more. He had lost her already. He wasn’t ready to do it again.

The thought filled her with despair. It was only the former goddess he cared about. Not her. He only saw the lover he’d lost. Nothing more.

She was nothing to him. And that would never change.

“Please,” Mona said suddenly, turning to Romanos. “Can you help us? Evander…” She gestured to the figure lying on the bed of ivy.

Pandora had forgotten he was there, and she hated herself for that. The death god looked ghostly pale, his eyes still closed and his expression crumpled in agony.

“Shit,” Romanos muttered, drawing forward and crouching in front of his brother. His wide eyes took in Evander’s shredded wings and bloodied state. “Gods above, Evander, what the hell happened to you?”

“Can you help him?” Mona asked, her voice strained as she knelt alongside Romanos.

Romanos didn’t answer. His mouth was set in determination, his jaw taut as he placed his hands over Evander’s body, hovering slightly above the tattered wings.

“Demon magic,” he said quietly, his brows knitting together. “I can feel it.”

“You can draw it from him,” Farah said.

Romanos shook his head. “I haven’t practiced enough. Marina should do it.”

“You can do this, Rom,” said Farah.

Pandora frowned. Since when had Romanos and the coven leader become so familiar with one another? What had he been up to here in the mortal realm?

And who was Marina? Another fire witch? Or a goddess Pandora should be wary of?

After a few seconds, Romanos nodded, then closed his eyes. Darkness pooled from his fingertips, surrounding Evander in a black cloud.

Mona yelped, lurching toward Evander with panic in her eyes, but Pandora hurried to stop her, clutching her sister’s shoulders to hold her in place. “Wait,” she urged. “Just wait.”

The shadows swirled, forming a cocoon around Evander’s body. Romanos’s face was strained, a muscle working in his jaw as he continued to release his power.

Several tense moments passed, and Pandora’s heart raged against her chest. What was happening? What if Evander suffocated?

Then, the shadows began receding back into Romanos’s hands. Bit by bit, the darkness fell away, leaving Evander’s body. But as the magic faded, falling from him like a cloak, Pandora realized his body was different. He no longer had wings. And the bloody gashes on his body had been healed.

Mona inhaled a sharp gasp and brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.

When Romanos had pulled the magic back to his hands, he sank back on his knees, gasping for breath. His hands shook as he stared at them, as if not quite believing what he had done.

Evander groaned, his head turning. His eyes remained closed, but the color had returned to his skin, making him look less sickly.

Mona pressed a hand to her chest, tears filling her eyes. “Evander?” She hesitantly placed her other hand on his cheek.

Evander’s eyes flickered open, revealing the silver irises that marked him as a deity. Slowly, his eyes snapped to Mona.

A heartbeat passed. Then another.

Evander lunged for her, drawing his arms around her, sitting up to pull her to his chest. He clutched her so tightly, Pandora was certain it would crush her.

But Mona only laughed, the sound thick with her tears as she buried her face in his chest, muttering something unintelligible.

Pandora withdrew a few steps to give them privacy and found Romanos standing a few paces away. She made her way over to him and asked, “What did you do? And how?”

Romanos offered a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I called the death magic that festered inside him. And it came to me.”

“You—You took his magic?”

Gravely, Romanos nodded, then glanced at Evander, who had tears in his eyes as he pressed kisses along Mona’s cheeks and neck, his hand stroking her hair.

Pandora felt her chest tighten. Evander had no magic. He was powerless.

And he didn’t know it yet. He was too consumed with the joy of reuniting with his lover.

Unbidden, Pandora’s gaze flicked to Sol, only to find he was already watching her. His expression was hard, like a marble statue. Pain burned in his gaze, mixed with longing and desire.

Oh, gods. When he looked at her like that…

She shook her head, breaking eye contact. But she couldn’t stop the flood of memories that assaulted her.

His hands on her bare skin. His frantic breaths in her ear. The heat of him as he ravished her body, unraveling her completely.

I had never wanted anyone as much as I wanted you. Not since her.

Those were the words he’d told her on the balcony that night. When he had admitted she had rekindled something lost inside of him.

And now, she’d broken him. Shattered whatever they had shared together.

With a shaky breath, Pandora pushed the thoughts from her mind and approached Farah. “When do we leave for the Gorgon sisters?”

Before Farah could respond, Sol interjected. “If she is to accept punishment for my mother’s death, I insist on being there to witness it.”

Pandora stared at the determination in his gaze. Would he be relieved, or devastated if the Gorgon sisters called for her death?

“You have a whole realm of people to look after,” Pandora said. “You were Apollo’s apprentice. With him gone, they have no one to look to but you.”

“Apollo is not gone,” Sol said.

Pandora stiffened, and the darkness within her raged in response. “What?”

“He still lives. I can sense his power. He bound my sun magic to his. If he were dead, I would have felt it.”

Pandora’s eyes flared wide as she looked at Farah, then Mona and Evander, who were watching the exchange with solemn interest.

Apollo still lives.

The darkness did not destroy him.

And deeper within her, a voice hissed, I will have my revenge.

Pandora closed her eyes, hunching over from the agony of the fury churning inside her. Darkness. Screams. Blinding white light that seared into her skin…

“Well, where is he?” Mona demanded. “Is he here in the mortal realm?”

“I don’t know,” Sol admitted, his voice tight.

The conversation pulled Pandora back to the present. She rubbed her chest, trying to catch her breath. Mona was speaking again, and Pandora got the sense her sister was intentionally trying to draw attention to herself instead of Pandora.

Bless you, Mona, Pandora thought. I do not deserve your kindness.

“He could have come through another portal,” Mona said, then looked at Farah. “There are others, right?”

Farah nodded. “There is one other portal that leads to Elysium. I can take you there.”

Pandora frowned. “I thought we were going to see the Gorgon sisters?”

Farah’s mouth spread into a smile. “You are in luck, young goddess. The Gorgon sisters and the portal are in the same place: the Voiceless Jungle.”