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Sol paused and turned to face her, a single eyebrow raised and that infuriating half smirk lighting his face. Amusement danced in his eyes. “Do you know what the servants would do if I addressed them every time I saw them? They would shit themselves. I’m doing them a service by ignoring them and allowing them the freedom to accomplish their tasks without the added stress of a deity speaking to them.”
Pandora barked out a harsh laugh. “Oh, really? You think that highly of yourself? I’m willing to bet the servants think you’re a pompous, arrogant ass. If you spoke to them, they would be startled, yes, but you’re no Apollo, so it really doesn’t matter if this lesser god whose name they can’t remember deigns to speak with them or not.”
Sol’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Gods, I don’t know how you do it.”
Pandora blinked. “Do what?”
“Carry around such bitterness and resentment. It sounds exhausting. And you refuse to let others lift you up, so you insist on dragging us all down to where you are. It’s a shame, really.” He shook his head sadly at her.
Pandora’s nostrils flared. “This is not about me.”
“Isn’t it? Don’t you feel like a servant sometimes? Ignored? Undervalued? I’m sure the deities of the Underworld never truly appreciated the work you did.”
Pandora rolled her eyes and strode past him, bumping her shoulder into his chest as she did so. “Spare me. What’s exhausting is your inability to see anyone’s value besides your own. What a relaxing life you must lead, to look upon the world and only see what you want instead of what’s really there.”
“Thank you.” Sol fell into step beside her.
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“But I’m taking it as one. Just another example of how my way of thinking leads to a much happier life than yours.” He flashed a wide grin, revealing gleaming white teeth.
He’s getting under your skin, Pandora told herself. So, get under his! You know how he thinks, how his brain works. You can torment him just as easily.
She took a deep breath, then forced a low chuckle.
Sol glanced at her. “What’s so funny?”
“I just think it’s nice, that’s all.” She shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
“What’s nice?”
“That you’re content to simply”—she gestured vaguely at him—”remain as you are. No growth. No progress. You speak as if you’re some great high lord, but you’re just… Sol the sun god.” She grinned at him. “It’s nice, really. Not many deities would be pleased with remaining in the same position for as many years as you have, but you refuse to let that drag you down. Admirable indeed.” She patted his shoulder, relishing the way the light dimmed in his eyes.
Sol said nothing as they made their way through the entrance doors and down the steps toward the courtyard. The brilliant sun beat down on them from above, and as Pandora was hit with a full blast of its light, she flinched, her body shuddering from an onslaught of memories. Bright light, searing her, scorching her insides, boiling her blood. The light burned and burned and burned until there was nothing left…
Pandora swallowed hard, trying to ground herself, to root herself in this moment. It’s not real. It’s not happening. You are here. You are safe. She took several shaky breaths and felt Sol’s curious gaze on her.
She needed to keep the conversation going before he asked questions she couldn’t answer. Before he noticed something peculiar about her that he would undoubtedly report to Apollo.
“I—I should aspire to be more like you,” Pandora said as they made their way across the courtyard, the pearly white concrete sparkling under the mid-morning sun. The courtyard steps led to a wide path that disappeared into a copse of beech trees. Just a few more steps, she told herself, trying to ignore the relentless heat of the sun above her. Another deep breath. She forced herself to focus on her words, on her desire to bring Sol’s smug attitude crashing to the ground.
“I’m too ambitious,” she went on. “If I were simply happy with a position like yours, then I wouldn’t have to do anything, really. I’m already there!” She laughed airily, waving her hand between them. “You and I are the same, you know. Same status. Same position. I was hoping to one day get a title, a task fitting for a goddess, but if I’m to adopt your perspective, I will have to think smaller. It’s definitely something I’ll be working on.”
They entered the cover of the trees, the air much cooler without the sun beating down on them. Pandora loosed a breath of relief, finally able to calm her racing heart and cease her mindless rambling. The shade was a blessed respite from the burning sun.
Sol finally found his voice. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing?”
Pandora gave him her most convincing look of pure innocence. “Hmm?” Inside her chest, her heart drummed a panicked rhythm as fear crept in. Had he somehow found out who she was? Had he noticed her reaction to the blinding sun?
He sighed. “You’re trying to goad me into arguing with you. It won’t work.”
Pandora snorted, relieved he hadn’t noticed anything incriminating. “I’m not goading you into anything. You were speaking of servants and my misguided perspective. Now I’m agreeing with you.”
“Right,” Sol said doubtfully. “Well, if you were trying to goad me, I would tell you it wouldn’t work. Because I have no desire to rise above my station.”
This time, Pandora halted, her feet scuffing on the path as she gaped at him. “You don’t?”
Sol smiled, clearly pleased at catching her off guard. “Not at all. I am happy with being a sun god. It’s quite nice to know that if I wake up and the sunrise is too perfect to ignore, I can whip out my paints and get to work on a new canvas without risking the destruction of the entire realm due to my negligence. If I don’t direct my magic to the skies, there are other sun gods to complete the task. Including Apollo, who cares very much about his public image. He would never sit idly by with so many people watching him.”
