A lump formed in Trivia’s throat at the sight of him. Gods, he was gorgeous.
“Mmm, isn’t he?” Pandora purred.
“Stop doing that!” Trivia hissed. “Stay out of my head!”
“You don’t get to command me anymore. This ismydomain, child.”
“I never commanded you,” Trivia said. “You may nothave had a body, but you werealwaysin control. Even when you led me to believe otherwise.”
Pandora smirked, her face full of triumph. “It took you far too long to realize that, didn’t it?”
Yes,Trivia thought.Far too long indeed.
Perhaps if she had known sooner, she could have changed things.
She could have saved the Underworld. Elysium. So many had perished because of her.
Pandora made a retching sound. “You think too much. How about we just watch instead?” She gestured to Sol and Gaia, her lips curling in satisfaction.
“Why are we watching this?” Much as she wanted to, Trivia couldn’t tear her gaze away from Sol’s beautiful form. Each moment she watched him, it felt like a blade was being wrenched through her chest. The sight of him, when she could no longer touch him, smell him, taste him… It was too much for her to bear.
“You’ll see,” Pandora crooned.
The tone of her voice made Trivia’s skin prickle with dread. What was Pandora planning?
Then, she saw it. A tendril of black smoke inched its way toward Sol. It was so faint that Trivia would have missed it if she hadn’t been looking.
Sol didn’t notice. He continued shouting something at Gaia. Meanwhile, the darkness coiled around his calf, twining up his leg.
“Sol!” Trivia shrieked. “Sol,watch out!”
“He can’t hear you, you fool,” Pandora snapped, but her face was full of glee.
Another coil of shadows snaked up his other leg.
Trivia couldn’t breathe, her eyes wide as she watched, helpless to stop it. Pandora flicked her fingers sharply, and the shadows suddenly tightened around Sol’s legs, jerking him down to the ground. He buckled, gritting his teeth as he finally looked down to see that the darkness from Pandora’s box had snatched him. On his knees, Sol sent a jet of sunlight directly into the shadows. But they held fast.
Gaia stretched her hands toward the darkness, murmuring an incantation Trivia couldn’t hear. Vines and leaves sprang up from the ground, attacking the darkness.
Pandora made a frustrated sound. “Damn this earth magic.”
To Trivia’s surprise, one of the tendrils of smoke dissolved as Gaia’s barbed vines severed it. Together, with Sol’s magic, they managed to loosen the second shadow as well. Sol scrambled away from the shadows, his eyebrows lowering in rage. He shot more sunlight at the darkness, and it retreated, slithering away like a serpent.
A relieved breath whooshed from Trivia’s chest. She closed her eyes briefly, thanking the gods that Sol had escaped.
But Pandora’s chuckle had her eyes opening again and fixing on the goddess.
She still looked smug.
“That was only a taste of what I can do from here,” she said. “Imagine if I unleashed itallon him. He would be powerless to stop it. You’ve seen the darkness yourself. You know how indestructible it is.”
Trivia’s chest seized with horror. “Why?” she croaked. “Why are you doing this?”
“Haven’t I made myself clear?” Pandora drew closer, her amber eyes flashing. “This is all to punish you.We could have had freedom, child. We could have hadeverything. But you threw it all away forthem.” She pointed at Sol and Gaia with a disgusted sneer.
Trivia shook her head, her eyes hot with tears. “Please. Please don’t…”
Pandora tilted her head and tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps I’ll drag them down slowly, so they don’t notice until it’s too late.” Her eyes lit up. “Or maybe I’ll go after your sisters! That would be a fun challenge.”
