Page 9 of Salt & Blood

PANDORA

Pandora’s insideswouldn’t stop quivering with fear and dread. At any moment, she expected Mona to abandon her, or perhaps to turn her over to these fire witches. As soon as she said,This is Pandora, it would be over.

As Pandora clambered through the narrow tunnel, she paused often to check on the vines carrying Evander’s limp form. When they caught on a jagged rock, she was the first to dislodge the vine so it could continue sliding along the ground.

She was determined to be as helpful as she could to Mona as well as Evander. Not only because she wanted them to trust her—or because she owed them, which she did—but because Pandora wanted to be different. She wanted to be helpful instead of destructive. She wanted to change her story.

Inside, she felt the restless darkness churning, hungry for blood, for vengeance. It wouldn’t be long before that power consumed her entirely.

She was not strong enough to fight off this curse. Eventually, it would take her.

So she had to make every moment count while she still could.

After what felt like an eternity, the tunnel opened up to a vast cavern with torches lining the walls. In the center, a circle of benches surrounded a fire pit, upon which rested a boiling cauldron. The cavern was filled with witches, some sitting on benches, some trickling ingredients into the cauldron, while others were chatting on the opposite side next to an array of cabinets and shelves.

At Farah’s approach, each witch fell silent and bowed their head in reverence to the coven leader. Farah strode toward the crowd of witches, but Mona and Pandora lingered at the tunnel entrance. Pandora noticed the way Mona angled her body protectively in front of Evander to shield him from view.

“If Romanos is truly here,” Pandora whispered to her, “he will not let harm come to him.” From what she remembered of Romanos, he kept his head down, seeking to stay out of the power struggle between Cyrus and his brothers. But he did still care for them. And he wasn’t heartless.

But how would he react to knowing she was behind the destruction of his realm? According to him, she had only been Trivia, the goddess of pathways.

“He might not have a choice,” Mona muttered darkly. “This coven is powerful. I can sense it. And they will easily outnumber us, even with Romanos on our side.”

Pandora swallowed hard. She couldn’t sense the power here like Mona could. Then again, Mona had proven her magic was more powerful than Pandora’s when she had shattered the bindings of their bargain. Pandora had tried to keep Mona contained, ordering her to say nothing, to do nothing to stop her from putting her plan in action as Elysium crumbled. And Mona had severed that bond like it was nothing.

Pandora had deserved it. She never should have called in that bargain at all. It was yet another item on her list of reasons why Mona should abandon her and never look back.

Farah was saying something to the witches, who glanced at Mona and Pandora with interest. One witch pointed to a tunnel behind her, and Farah nodded in agreement. The first witch disappeared through the tunnel, while Farah and two other witches made their way to Mona and Pandora.

“Tell them you’re Trivia,” Mona said quickly.

“I’m not an idiot,” Pandora hissed, but she felt a hopeful warmth spread through her as she realized Mona wasn’t going to reveal her identity.

But no. Pandora squashed that hope inside her before it bloomed into something dangerous. Something she couldn’t trust. Mona would betray her eventually. It was inevitable. She needed to keep her guard up, to anticipate the moment when Mona would exact vengeance for all Pandora had done to her.

Steeling herself, Pandora watched as the three fire witches stood before them. One had curly auburn hair and a prominent chin, while the other had dark wavy hair and skin almost as brown as Farah’s. Both had glowing amber eyes that glinted eerily.

“This is Wren.” Farah gestured to the first witch. “And this is Dahlia. They will see to your needs while you are here.”

“This one has darkness about her,” Wren said, her voice blunt as she pointed to Pandora.

Pandora resisted the urge to fidget under the three witches’ scrutiny.

“We all have darkness,” Dahlia said, her voice softer and more subdued than Wren’s.

“My name is Mona.” Mona pressed a hand to her chest, then waved a hand toward Pandora. “And this is Trivia. We are daughters of Gaia.”

Wren and Dahlia both stiffened. The latter narrowed her eyes at Pandora. “Trivia… as in the goddess of three paths?”

Alarm prickled along Pandora’s skin, but she forced herself to respond. “Yes. That is me.”

“I did not realize you were also a daughter of Gaia,” Dahlia mused. Pandora didn’t like the way her keen eyes appraised her.

Farah cleared her throat, giving Dahlia a pointed look.

Dahlia smiled, the motion warming her features. “Apologies. I am a teacher in our coven, so I am well-versed in the histories of our goddesses. I would love to learn more aboutyourhistory, Trivia.”

Shit. If Dahlia was a historian, she would easily be able to detect Pandora’s lies.

---