I fell into their arms as my tears flowed harder. At least this time I could say they were tears of relief. I felt as if the weight of the world had finally been lifted from us.
“It’s over,” I sobbed into them as their warmth surrounded me.
Our future was ours to do with as we wanted now, and it was looking very bright.
Epilogue 1
ALEXANDRA
Two years later
Hesitation filled Psyche’s golden eyes as I repeated Pandora’s request to her.
“Are you sure this is what she wants?” she asked. “We can’t go back once it’s done.”
While I didn’t personally have a connection to Psyche, it was clear from the way she was looking so deeply into my eyes that she was searching for any way to see her friend’s soul reflected back in them.
I swallowed a lump of emotion in my throat with the realization that this really was the end of my journey with Pandora. I’d visited her countless times in the past two years, telling her all about our classes at DIA, Alora’s engagement to Carter as well as Alina’s to her three mates. She was actually livid when I told her Psyche requested Alina’s wedding date as the day we did this, wanting to hear all about the wedding after I’d experienced it myself.
Pandora had become a constant and steady support system for me, and I hoped I had become that for her as well. I listened with rapt attention to the stories of her life and the adventures she’d been on, which included everything from flying on a pegasus to living in her own manor on Mount Olympus, surrounded by magical beings and close friends. Knowing that she had led a truly beautiful life before Zeus used her as a pawn brought warmth to my heart.
I’d grown to love her deeply as we shared the stories of our lives.
My eyes pooled with tears as I thought back to our conversation when I met her in my dreams mere hours ago for our final goodbye.
We laid under the glittering night sky in our favorite spot in the garden, right next to the blooming lavender. We often tried to count all the stars hanging above us as we chatted, but somehow we never managed to accomplish it from the sheer amount of them alone.
“Do you feel confident that their souls remain pure after keeping the connection to them this whole time?”
I sighed, contemplating the question that had plagued me for years, ever since our battle with the curses. Everyone wanted me to instantly cut the other curses’ souls away from mine, but I couldn’t.
“You know I wouldn’t cut them free if I sensed anything dark still lingering within their souls. I want them to be able to move onto their next lives, but I needed to be sure I wouldn’t be repeating this cycle again by letting them go without being sure. I truly believe my light has been able to purify their souls completely.”
She was quiet for a bit, which wasn’t unusual. As she grabbed my hand, I turned to look over at her as she continued to stare up at the sky. A single tear fell from her eye, rolling down her temple before slipping into her dark hair that lay scattered across the grass beneath us.
“Pan?” I murmured, a heavy weight settling over my chest, as if the entirety of the sky was suddenly falling squarely onto me.
As her glittering blue eyes turned to meet mine, I knew what she was going to say. There was a finality and sorrow to her eyes I’d never seen before.
“I think I’m ready to go now, Alex.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, but I nodded, knowing I needed to support her. Selfishly, I didn’t want to be separated from my friend for the rest of this life.
“Okay,” I croaked out, not turning my head to look back up at the sky until after she did. Pandora squeezed my hand tightly, never loosening her grip on me.
We laid there, silently soaking in this last night together.
As the hours passed, the stars began to lose their intensity, their brilliance gradually fading against the encroaching light on the horizon. The deep blue of the night sky started to soften, giving way to hues of indigo and violet.
“It’s 4,513 stars,” she whispered, and a knowing smile lifted my lips in response.
“I definitely counted 4,512,” I rebutted as I always did, just shy of whatever she counted that night. I had given up on my own count long before her.
A delicate, rosy hue painted the eastern horizon, gradually intensifying into shades of orange and gold. The stars, one by one, yielded to the approaching dawn, their light surrendering to the ever-growing radiance.
My throat grew thick with emotion as she asked the simple phrase that had become part of our ritual. “Recount another time?”
My voice wavered, breaking as I answered, “Definitely. In our next life together.”
