Daybreak neared on the Upperworld, but darkness remained in the Underworld. Hades stroked Pandora’s cheek as her breaths came in soft waves. The extra blanket enveloped her, covering the creamy curves he spent hours worshipping. They’d fallen asleep in a tangle of limbs after finding their satisfaction. 

Multiple times. 

He’d allowed her to take her anger and morph it into something tangible. Her nails had bitten into his flesh, leaving proof of each warring emotion she failed to put into words. She could hate him for his actions, yet he refused to  apologize. 

Afterward, he’d taken his time, savoring the moment. He memorized every dip and swell of her until images of her burned into him. With each release, they reclaimed a piece of themselves that had crumbled since they’d started this affair. 

She stirred beneath his touch, her attention settling on him. A conflicted smile spread across her face as her fingers curled around his. The cover shifted, exposing the swell of her breasts. He traced the tantalizing curve and delighted in the hitch of her breath. 

“Your beauty outshines the clearest night.” He pressed his lips to her ear. “I shall erect a statue of you to worship you as the goddess you are.” 

She laughed. 

Hades let her believe he was joking. 

He had already commissioned a small keepsake of her because he was not as strong as she gave him credit for. He would crave her long after her last memory of him left her. 

His obsession would consume him. 

It wasn’t the correct way to cope, but he refused to give a fuck. Nyx was sure to chastise him and beg him to let Pandora go. He intended to. 

But he would never forget her. 

“Will I miss you?” 

Her question, heavy with sleep, interrupted his spiral. 

“Maybe not in the traditional sense.” His fingers hovered above the jagged scar that bisected her sternum, the tail disappearing under her cover. “I don’t know what to expect, my darling. I do not make it a habit to separate lovers.” 

She looked away, gathering the fabric tighter as she sat up. His touch fell. Her thoughts wandered somewhere beyond his reach. Unshed tears glistened along her lash line, reflecting the bioluminescent glow. 

“I’m still so angry with you.” The confession was soft enough that he almost missed it. “You’ve given me everything, but taken the only thing that’s ever been mine. My choice.” 

She trailed off, staring into the distance. He waited. 

“I love you, Hades. From the moment I saw you to the day my soul fades. Even if I don’t recognize you.” She swallowed, and a tear broke the precarious threshold. “I wish you had allowed them to remove my memory without telling me. At least I wouldn’t have tried to fight back.” 

He didn’t bother correcting her. Let her believe she stood a chance against the inevitable. Unfortunately, he would be the one to take her memories. 

The Fates never dirtied their own hands. They chose someone else to carry out the task. 

This matter had fallen to him because he had begged for her release. 

“I love you, my darling pixie,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. 

The warmth of her settled against him. Soon, only he would remember how perfectly she fit there. She clung to him, nails biting into his bare flesh as tears soaked his shoulder. 

“I love you, Hades.” 

Her words cut through him, and he faltered. Should any memory of him remain, the deal would be forfeited. He’d stalled too long. 

With a fleeting thought, he dressed them, their clothes slipping into place like a second skin. He couldn’t do this without affording her some dignity. 

Not when he knew what came next. 

“I adore how your nose angles up at the tip,” he whispered, brushing his nose against hers. 

“The way your face crinkles when you genuinely smile.” He traced her cheek, lingering where her hidden dimple lay. 

“Your sharp tongue and quick wit.” She nipped at him, and he chuckled. 

“How deeply you care, but how scared you get when others try to return the gesture.” 

Her smile faltered. She lowered her gaze, but her fingers tightened around his wrist. 

He waited until she looked at him again. 

It was time. 

His lips pressed to her temple, and a burst of memories slammed into him, filling his veins with fire. 

He saw himself. 

Not through his own eyes. 

Through hers. 

Towering. Infuriating. Beautiful. 

He sensed the spark of determination when she shoved Marcus behind her, ready to fight the God of the Underworld. She’d have gone to war for that minuscule soul. 

The world tilted the instant their gazes met. 

Gods above, he’s striking. He could hear the things she never said out loud. 

Not terrifying or angry. Just stunning. 

He felt her confusion when the curse dragged her toward him, overwhelming him. Then came the terrible realization that she didn’t know where its influence ended, and her own desire began. 

A strangled sob tore from her in the present as the first thread of them snapped. 

It did not disappear. 

It became his. 

One snap. 

Another. 

Then a cacophony. 

“I shall love you even when you can no longer love me.” 

“Hades.” 

It was the final word that tumbled from her before her mortal body couldn’t withstand the agony. 

She slipped into unconsciousness as the last thread broke. 

He held her weight against him as his dam of tears burst. He was gentle at first, letting the droplets splatter on her cheeks. His arms tightened around her as the pieces of her slotted into his mind. 

Nothing woke her. 

*** 

Pandora shot upright, clutching her chest as her heart hammered. She had been having the most intense dream of a faceless man. His sobs echoed through her as she choked down her own. 

She didn’t understand why she was so emotional. The sensation felt foreign… yet so familiar, as if she’d dreamed of him before. 

Maybe she had. 

But he was already becoming smoke and shadows as the adrenaline bled from her veins. 

Her mind slowly steadied until she could focus on the room surrounding her. Her bedroom was as she always left it; green and earthy. A massive mahogany bed, the sheets twisted from her restlessness. Pale shafts of light sneaking past the blackout curtains. The gentle glow of the nightlight in her bathroom that only Helen knew existed. 

Unable to settle, she slipped off the mattress. Her thighs ached, though she hadn’t trained recently. Had she? She rubbed at the soreness along her inner thigh and scrunched up her nose as the ache ran deeper than expected. 

This wasn’t a muscle strain. 

Her core fluttered as if remembering a stranger’s hand gliding over her skin. Their breath followed, and she resisted the urge to curl her toes. What had she been dreaming about? 

She padded to the bathroom, needing to get rid of the suffocating feeling that clung to her. A hot shower would do the trick. 

And it did. 

When she reemerged into the steam-filled room, the sensation had passed. She had so much to do today. It felt as if a week had passed since her last training session, and she vaguely remembered Athena calling for a family dinner tonight. 

That meant she had a job for them, and Pandora craved the distraction. 

She absently stroked the starburst scar that had appeared after she killed the nameless god. Her fingers drifted lower. 

Another wound bisected her sternum. 

She frowned and wiped the condensation from the mirror. 

Where had that come from? 

Pain followed. 

Pressure built inside her skull until her knees buckled. Bone struck tile, and a crack reverberated. She didn’t hear it as she suppressed a scream. 

Was she being further punished for His death? 

A scar for every decade that passed since she ended his life? 

Ridiculous or not, nothing else fit. 

Nausea trailed after the torment, and she lunged for the toilet. Her stomach was empty. Bile burned her throat, sending another wave roiling through her. Sweat beaded along her forehead as she sprawled on the cool floor. 

“Pandora,” a phantom voice called. 

She curled into herself, pressing the heels of her palms to her ears. 

The sound came again, clearer now. 

“My child!” Athena yelled from the doorway. She rushed in and gathered Pandora up. “What is happening?” 

“Food poisoning?” Pandora guessed, having no other explanation. “I’ll be fine. I’m sorry for worrying you.” 

“Let me help you to bed.” 

She whisked them into the bedroom, trying to cover an emotion she failed to tame. Pandora barely registered the shift before the mattress sank beneath her. 

“Helen and Warin are out for the day. Perhaps a date?” Athena pulled the blankets over Pandora. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” 

Athena sounded too chipper; not like herself at all. 

“What’s happening, Athena?” 

Her eyes widened, and her mouth popped open. The look on Athena’s face surpassed worry. It bordered on panic. 

“Like you said: food poisoning.” She patted Pandora’s crown. “I’ve warned you that those hole-in-the-wall diners aren’t good for you.” 

“You’re a terrible liar.” 

“I am a goddess. I do not need to lie.” 

“That was another one.” 

Athena’s expression soured. 

Pandora would have laughed if her skull hadn’t felt as if someone had tried to split it apart. She sank deeper into the pillows instead. Athena fussed over Pandora before brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead. 

Her palm slid lower, to where Pandora’s rested over her stomach. It hovered there. Warmth settled into Pandora, and Athena recoiled. 

Pandora frowned. “Athena?” 

“Sleep, my child.” 

There was an unsteady pitch in her tone. Fear, maybe? The idea seemed ludicrous. Athena did not experience fear. 

“You’re going to tell me what’s happening.” 

“Later.” 

“I’ll hold you to that.” 

“I know.” 

Pandora let the question go. Her eyelids slid shut as Athena continued smoothing her hair. 

The faceless man waited behind them. 

His sobs were quieter now, distant enough that she could almost convince herself they belonged to a ghost. She still couldn’t see him. Couldn’t remember the sound of his voice or why imagining him left an ache somewhere beneath her ribs. 

She hoped he was all right. 

The thought made no sense. 

Pandora let it follow her into sleep, anyway. 

Editor: Lucy Cafiero