Page 10 of Salt & Blood

Which meant the sooner they left this place, the better. The moment these witches found out who she really was, they would try to kill her. Pandora was certain of it.

“Did you say Romanos was here?” Mona asked, and Pandora was grateful for the subject change. Mona craned her neck, as if to search for the death god, her eyes full of worry. Pandora knew she feared for Evander and wanted his brother to help him as soon as possible.

“He is coming,” Farah said. “While we wait, you can tell us what happened to your friend.” Her gaze slid to Evander, still unconscious on the bed of ivy. “None of the others who came this way looked like that.”

Pandora and Mona exchanged uncertain glances. “What did the others tell you?” Mona asked carefully.

“That the magic of Pandora’s box obliterated the realm of Elysium,” Farah said, her voice eerily calm despite her words.

Pandora felt a lump rise in her throat.Oh gods, I can’t do this.Between the dark energy roiling within her and her mounting guilt and shame for what she had done, the emotions were enough to overwhelm her. It was a miracle she hadn’t fainted from the intensity of the weight bearing down upon her.

Mona was trembling beside her. When Pandora looked at her, she found her sister was paler than usual, her eyes wide with fear. What was wrong?

After a moment, Mona said in a shaky voice, “Hestia… Your fire goddess…” She broke off with a strangled sound.

“We know,” Farah said solemnly, her eyes flaring with pain. “Hestia is dead.”

The air stilled from the intensity of her words. Chills rippled over Pandora’s body as the atmosphere around them seemed to darken. Pandora’s eyes closed as echoes of her former life rang through her.

No,she thought.It was notmylife. But hers. The goddess inside me. We are separate beings.

But it was feeling less and less real. She could not hide behind the former goddess’s past. It was no excuse for her actions. Sol had been right; she still had made choices. She was still in control.

Gods, her stomach cinched at the thought of Sol the sun god, at the betrayal in his eyes when he’d found out who she was.

And it was all the more terrible because he and the true Pandora had been lovers. It was a long time ago, but he had never moved past that loss.

Now here I am, reopening that wound and destroying another life for it,Pandora thought bitterly.

“We felt it,” Wren said, her eyes haunted, and a wrinkle forming between her brows. “When she died, we all felt that loss in our very bones. Once the gods from Elysium began arriving, they confirmed it for us.”

“How many are here?” Pandora asked.

Before anyone could answer, a voice rang out across the cavern. “Mona?”

The witches all turned to find a man striding from the mouth of the tunnel on the opposite end of the cave. He wore fighting leathers and had black hair streaked with silver, cropped close to his scalp. His familiar silver eyes shone in the lantern light.

“Romanos,” Pandora breathed, her chest tightening with anxiety as the death god approached them. To her surprise, he swept Mona into a fierce hug. Mona yelped, then clutched him in return, laughing as Romanos set her back on her feet.

“I’m so relieved you’re all right!” Mona said, grinning at him.

“Likewise.” The warmth in Romanos’s demeanor made Pandora’s whole body ache with yearning and jealousy. Not that she fancied Romanos. No, she yearned for this bond that he shared with Mona. The two had only known each other for the span of a few days, and already they were comrades. Friends. They cared about each other.

Pandora had never had that. Not once in her life.

Slowly, Romanos’s gaze slid to Pandora, and his smile faded. He looked her over, then inhaled deeply. “Trivia, you…” He stilled, his face going pale. “What magic have you brought here?”

Shit.She no longer possessed death magic to disguise the blood of Gaia racing through her veins. That, and the curse of the former goddess still thrumming within her, was a dangerous combination for anyone who could sense her magic.

“I—I—” Pandora didn’t know what to say. Whatcouldshe say? She couldn’t deny it, nor could she admit who she was.

She was stuck. Trapped.

“What is she doing here?” boomed another male voice.

Pandora went rigid from the sound of that voice. Gods,that voice.She never thought she would hear it again. It was both a balm to her soul and a torturous punishment.

Her eyes followed the sound, and her heart stopped within her chest. A shaky breath whooshed from her as she found Sol the sun god standing in front of another tunnel. He must have heard the commotion and come to investigate. His expression was murderous, his dark eyes narrowing and his face twisting in disgust. With forceful steps, he came closer, his fingers curling into tight fists.

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