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Oh gods. Was he about to remove all of his clothes? Right here?
For one second, Pandora imagined herself joining him. Perhaps she would remove her clothes as well. The cool water would feel refreshing against her bare skin, and Sol’s firm and sculpted body would press along hers and?—
“No,” she hissed, gritting her teeth against the images that filled her mind. She had more important things to do than dally with an arrogant ass of a god. She’d had a simple lapse of judgment. His nearness and flirting had startled her. That was all.
Stifling the heat burning low in her belly, she made her way down the hill, ignoring naked Sol as he dipped below the waves and flicked his long, wet hair out of his face.
Don’t look at him, she told herself. Don’t.
But even with her eyes fixed firmly ahead, she couldn’t stop envisioning his bare torso, and the way the moisture would look as it trickled down his neck and chest…
“Damn him,” Pandora muttered, marching along the beach, her steps wobbly in the sand. At long last, she reached the edge of the beach, and the sand faded among the tall grass. Her steps slowed as she enjoyed the tickle of the foliage along her hands. She found herself smiling the farther she got from the water. Soon, the hills swallowed her, and all she saw was the luscious greenery around her. No Sol. No beach.
Nothing but growth and earth.
Her home. This, right here, felt like home.
She sank to her knees, allowing her hands to press into the soft ground. She sighed with contentment as the smell of herbs and soil filled her nose. No matter how strong the illusion was in the Underworld, it never fully captured this.
A moment of solemnity sparked in her mind as she realized why.
Gaia had lived here. Her mother. She might have even crafted this illusion herself.
The notion spoiled Pandora’s thoughts, souring her mood once more. She stood, her arms falling limply by her side as she shook off the dirt and grass from her dress.
Everything—everything—in her life was tainted by her past. By memories that didn’t even belong to her. The goddess from so long ago was infused into her soul, into her very being. She could never escape it, all because of what Apollo had done to her so many years ago. When she had only been a baby, he had cursed her with the pain, the trauma, the memories of that goddess—her namesake.
It was Gaia’s punishment for trying to harness the powers of the Triple Goddess with triplets. And because of Gaia’s choices, Pandora was the one to suffer for it.
As much as she yearned for Sol’s careless nature, for his ability to see only what he wanted to, it was impossible for her. And it always would be.
Until her revenge was complete.
Only then could she be free.
With a heavy sigh, she made her way up the final hill and stood atop it, gazing at the landscape below her. The grassy plains descended until they reached a cliff overlooking the wide, expansive sea.
And there was nothing more after that. Just the horizon. And, eventually, the end of the illusion.
An illusion was all this place was. It wasn’t real. And Pandora had to remember that.
She raised her hands, closing her eyes as she searched for that familiar humming pulse of magic. The energies surrounded her, tingling her skin and making her flesh prickle.
There it was. Something warm brushed against her flat palms, awakening the earth magic inside her.
“No, no,” she murmured soothingly. “Not you. Not yet.” If she sprouted tree branches right here, Sol would be suspicious.
Instead, she touched the rubies of her necklace, activating the death magic trapped inside. As she coaxed it to life, she pressed it into the wards, feeding it, layering the death magic alongside the magic of Elysium.
The dark magic from her box would be drawn to the scent of death. It would find Elysium in no time.
With the smell of decay and rot on her nostrils, Pandora turned from the wards, confident in her plan.
Nothing would stop her. And soon, this realm would fall.
WAVES
PANDORA
