Pandora  

In Nyx’s office, Pandora stood before the windows she adored. Night swallowed the skyline, leaving thousands of lights glittering in its wake. From this height, they looked like stars scattered across the earth.  

For a moment, she watched.  

Hades and Nyx arrived without a sound, but she was keenly aware of his presence. The hairs on her neck prickled, and she suppressed a shiver.  

Fury scorched through her, but some traitorous part of her still ached for his closeness. She shifted towards them, and her lower lip trembled.  

He wore his face this time. She hadn’t noticed earlier.  

He seemed taller than she remembered. More imposing. Long-limbed and lean, with a day’s worth of shadow darkening his stern countenance and his hair tousled. His irises glowed in the half-darkness, a beacon calling her home. He had averted his gaze, but she could feel his attention lingering on her.  

Gods below, help her.  

Without a word, they took their seats. Nyx settled into a plush, high-backed chair while Pandora and Hades occupied opposite ends of the couch adjacent to her.  

The heat radiating from him was magnetic, and she yearned to slide closer. She didn’t dare. The tension between them was heavy enough to suffocate her.  

Hades crossed a leg over the other, ankle resting on his knee. From where Pandora sat, he looked unbothered. Like his heart wasn’t threatening to tear from his chest and hurl itself through the windows to the ground below. That sensation seemed one-sided.  

After several beats of silence, Nyx spoke. “A lot has transpired. I’m here to guide you through a mediated conversation. You both deserve the chance to speak without interruption.”  

Her focus sharpened on Hades.  

He lifted both palms in surrender, though a smirk tugged at his lips. “As you say, mitéra.”  

Nyx’s starry eyes narrowed on him before shifting to her. She tensed beneath the expectant look.  

“Understood.” Pandora wrung her hands in her lap.  

“Good,” Nyx clapped once and smiled. “Now, let’s start with Hades.”  

He turned toward Pandora, his hand drifted to hers on instinct. He stopped before bridging the distance. His fingers curled into his palm.  

Her stare held him there.  

Slowly, he lowered it to his thigh.  

“Where do I begin?”  

She said nothing.  

“I should have explained then.” His jaw tightened. “I was a coward.”  

She stilled and forced herself to watch him.  

“It was impossible to look at you while I sliced you open and bled you to the brink of death. I couldn’t explain what I had to do.” He caught her gaze, pleading for understanding. “I was certain you would let me. And then you would tell me you loved me.” His voice faltered. “How could you after that? Curse or not.”  

“You haven’t changed.”  

His brow furrowed.  

“Twenty years,” her voice cracked. “And you still think only your decisions are correct.”  

“Pandora—”  

“You knew my choice then, and you know what I want now. When do I get to decide?”  

His mouth snapped shut.  

“Pandora, you need to listen.” Nyx reached over the coffee table and rested a palm on her knee. Meteors streaked over her skin in a beautiful shower of color. “You will have your turn. Let him finish.”  

Pandora nodded, and Hades continued.  

“You’re right, as you always are.” His fingers brushed her cheek, and she leaned into the contact. Briefly, the contact burned. He pulled away. “I cannot erase that mistake, Pandora, but I can stop it from happening again.”  

Her gaze narrowed. An argument waited, but she kept it in.  

“After Hypnos brought you to Corina’s, the Fates approached me. They offered me a bargain for your freedom.”  

He paused and released a heavy breath.  

“I accepted.”  

Pandora froze.  

Twenty years of silence stretched between them.  

He couldn’t have appeared to her as Hades. She knew that. But he’d entered her chambers wearing an unfamiliar face. How long had that disguise been possible? Why hadn’t he come then instead of selling her decision to the highest bidder?  

Pandora’s breath caught. Her nails dug into her palms as she fought to keep herself from spiraling. She clung to the sound of his voice, even as each word made it harder to breathe.   

“You shouldn’t be forced to need me.” His gaze held hers. “It isn’t fair to either of us, and you can’t deny I’m right.”  

You haven’t listened to a thing I’ve said.  

“You’re going to forget about us. That’s part of the deal.”  

His words pierced her core. Pandora struggled to breathe.  

No.  

She would rather they rip her heart from her chest. Take her ability to love. Leave nothing behind if they had to.  

Anything else but taking him.  

“I couldn’t disappear with things as they are, not knowing I’m losing you.” He lifted his hand again, waiting to see if she would accept his affection.  

Through tear-blurred vision, Pandora wove her fingers between his.  

Home.  

He was, and would forever remain, the only sanctuary she would willingly burn for.  

Her one and only.  

“Tell me you understand.”  

She choked back a bitter laugh. Of course, she understood. That made it worse. He removed her choice. They could have decided together. Found a different way.  

Her sternum, where that jagged scar lay, throbbed, but her fingers tightened around his.  

“How much time do we have?”  

“Until tomorrow.”  

The tension in her shoulders faltered as she blinked rapidly.  

One night.   

She wanted to yell at him. Remind him how selfish she was, how eagerly she would have chosen him, anyway. Then, she longed to admit the awful truth: she would have done the same.  

She needed to hold him while she cried and covered him in sorrowful kisses. Ached to claim his body and leave some evidence of herself on him.  

She wanted a lifetime.  

Not a single night.  

Nyx observed them. The galaxy beneath her skin fell into disarray. Stars slipped from their constellations while meteors streaked between them, as though the heavens grieved.  

Her lips parted.  

Nothing came.  

She was going to lose him and wouldn’t even remember she had.  

“I think we need to be alone,” Pandora said, disrupting the stunned hush, proud that her voice only quivered on the last word.  

“Yes,” Nyx nodded.  

Hades snapped his fingers, and the portal swirled to life behind Nyx. He stood first and offered to help her to her feet. She hesitated before taking it. Electricity coursed between them, charged by too many emotions.  

“I’ll be here whenever you need me, Pandora,” Nyx assured as they approached the gateway. “You will not lose everything.”  

Then they disappeared.  

***   

Hades  

Hades refused to take her to his chambers. He needed her to understand his intentions. Tonight, he craved only her presence.  

They reformed on a cliffside overlooking the River Styx. Bioluminescent lights twinkled around a small pond, where a chorus of frogs sang a mournful song. Lush grass rustling in a breeze that shouldn’t have existed this deep underground. Far below, rushing water swallowed the cries of passing souls.  

He had prepared the place earlier, hoping she would choose to spend these final hours with him. A nest of blankets and pillows waited near the cliff’s edge. Beside it sat a basket filled with cheese, cured meats, and fruit. A bottle of wine nestled among them—something he hoped she would find amusing.  

Her gaze landed on the label, and the world stilled while he awaited her response.  

“Pomegranate?” Her nose scrunched, and he ached to tap it. “Really?”  

His lips twitched. “Too much?”  

A startled laugh escaped her. He clung to the sound, knowing he would carry it long after tonight.  

“You know how to woo a woman. Don’t you?” She picked up the bottle with trembling hands as her laughter turned into a choked whimper. She replaced the wine and gingerly touched his cheek.  

“No, not really.” He guided her toward the overlook. “I am the worst.”  

“I completely agree.” Her delivery was serious, betrayed only by the small but mischievous grin tugging at her lips.   

“I do not love her as I love you,” he blurted.  

Her smile softened.  

“I never claimed you did. But you care for her.” She lowered herself onto the bedding. “You’ll be a wonderful father, Hades.”  

He had no answer for that.  

Pandora plucked a grape from the basket and popped it onto her tongue, chewing as she turned her attention to the view below.  

“This place is beautiful.”  

Hades studied her.  

He understood.  

No more talk.  

Morning belonged to the Fates.  

Tonight was theirs.  

“I want to kiss you,” he whispered as he caressed her tresses.  

“What are you waiting for?”  

“Your permission.”  

He brought her to himself. She tasted of fresh fruit and ambrosia; his own intoxication. His tongue stroked into her mouth, claiming and devouring, desperate to memorize every inch of her.  

She was his. She always had been.  

Even when she wasn’t, he would make sure she never truly loved another.  

Because Hades was greedy, despite pretending otherwise. This was for her. Of course it was. But he would never allow her to leave. Not this readily. The Fates had to believe he would.  

Her hands plunged into his hair, and she pushed him backward. He went willingly, pulling her down with him as a possessive growl rumbled from him. She owned him and could take whatever she could from him. Before tomorrow took everything from her.  

“You are wearing too many clothes,” she panted when she broke away. Her stormy eyes burned with desire.  

Yes, my pixie. Claim me.  

Hades tore his shirt open, buttons scattering across the blankets.  

Her fingers scalded him, but it would never be enough. He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her down for a subsequent kiss. She moaned against his lips, and heat flared between them.  

“How am I supposed to let anyone touch me this way?” she mumbled.  

The question knocked his world off its axis. Jealousy tore through him, vicious and immediate. Another man’s touch on her. Someone else learning every caress that curled her toes. Her cries of pleasure filled another’s bedroom.  

No.  

He couldn’t handle that.  

Hades didn’t answer. He pulled her closer instead, desperate to suppress the thought. He rolled his hips against hers, and she went rigid. Her nails bit into his pecs as desire surged between them.  

“We can talk later, darling,” he purred into her ear. “Right now, I intend to remind you how you deserve to be touched.”  

“Please.” 

Editor: Lucy Cafiero