Pandora's Mistake (Fate of Eros #0) (The Fate of Eros Series) (9 page)

The sun was closer here and brighter. It stung her eyes and took her a moment before she was able to see. Her hair blew in her face, obstructing her vision as well.

She was on top of some kind of cliff. Dirt billowed around her and fell off the cliff. She dared to peek down, even though she was afraid her movements would blow her away, and she saw a desert below her. A desert guarded by a woman holding a snake.

She swallowed. The desert was littered with bones and seemed lifeless. Pandora recognized it from descriptions Zeus had given her of Hades' dark domain. This was the Underworld.Was this Zeus' way of saying that the only escape from this life was death? Or had he not spoken to her at all?

She struggled to pull herself back inside the forest, where the trees sheltered her from the wind, as if she were entering inside a whole new world.

She collapsed on the ground after her struggle and decided it was time to come back.

Zeus wouldn't protect her. She no longer felt safe thinking of him. Was it because she had forgotten her jar behind in the cave? Could he not forgive her for it?

She decided to make her way back and to the one person who could talk any sense into Epimetheus: Prometheus. That was, if she could find her way out of this forest before it was pitch black outside.

She wandered up a hill for a long time and knew she was going the wrong way, until she noticed Prometheus' flames up ahead. She ran towards him.

Prometheus' convulsions woke him. The sun was setting and the raven was pecking his liver. He screamed as he felt the sharp beak dig around inside him. He couldn't breathe. He choked on the blood dribbling out of his mouth.

Sometimes he was able to escape by falling asleep, but when the pain got too bad, he'd either toss and turn or fight with his eyes open.

The battle raged inside him. The pain of his wrists breaking as he struggled against the chains that bound him didn't ache nearly as badly as the stabbing of the raven's beak. Sweat trickled down his body as the inferno above him grew. It spun like a hurricane of ashes, reflecting his torment.

He heard a woman screaming. The only female he knew was Pandora! What was she doing here? It was too dangerous!

His forehead scrunched together so hard, he got a headache, but he still couldn't concentrate enough to shrink the fireball above him.

He saw a shadow of a human running around the woods a little ways away and hoped the flames wouldn't be large enough this time to catch the trees on fire. He was supposed to protect humans and here he was about to possibly kill one!

He tried to call out to Pandora to run farther, but all that came out was a strangled cry. The fire took over all the sky he could see. He passed out and died once again.

*** *** ***

Prometheus woke before the sun rose. Pandora was sitting over him, stroking his face. Her skin was gray with ashes and soot filled her hair. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he gazed into the affection filling her blue eyes. Thank Cronus, he hadn't killed her.

His brother wondered sometimes why he didn't say "Thank Zeus," but Prometheus refused to acknowledge that Zeus was the new god in charge anymore.

"Please take your hand off me," Prometheus said, even though he desperately wanted her to stroke him more. She was his brother's wife and it was wrong for him to lust after her.

When she pulled away, Prometheus was able to gaze at more of her body. He sucked in his breath as he saw a few bruises running up her arms. Had his brother been rough when he slept with her? His stomach turned as he imagined someone else besides himself parting her legs and taking her virginity.

She caught him staring and hung her head low. "I couldn't have sex with him, so he attacked me."

Part of him felt relieved, but another part of him felt disgusted. How could his brother do this to someone as beautiful as Pandora?

Pandora stared at the bird. "But you shouldn't be concerned with me. You have much bigger problems than I do." She clasped her hands together. "I came here because I didn't want to deal with your brother anymore. He'll be furious when he figures it out."

"I'll protect you," Prometheus murmured. "He won't lay a hand on you if I'm around. He knows I disapprove."

Pandora crossed her arms. "You told me sex would be pleasurable."

Prometheus sighed. "My brother has trouble thinking when he feels passionate about something. He probably didn't even realize he was hurting you."

"That's no excuse," Pandora said.

"I didn't say it was, but it's not supposed to hurt. I can ask him to be gentler when he tries again."

Pandora's body shook and her eyes flashed. "I don't want to try again."

Prometheus clenched his jaw. The flames grew above him as his anger flared. "Do you think I wanted to be punished this way either?"

He remembered the look on Hecate's face when he stood on trial before Zeus. Her scream as his sentence was passed down still haunted him. It hurt worse to hear her cry than to be strapped down and gnawed on by the raven.

He hadn't meant to hurt Hecate, but he had to protect his people. Zeus had started unleashing demons upon them to destroy them-ones that could take their lives. He had locked Thanatos up and forced him into a realm that Zeus didn't know about. He sealed him away forever to keep his people safe.

And then he stole the fire. He had to take a stand against Zeus, regardless of the punishment he'd receive. It was the only choice he had.

But Hecate didn't understand why he did it. Love drove him to do anything for humankind. And love that made him want to protect Pandora.

"Sometimes you have to do painful things because they are your duty," Prometheus continued. "You're the only woman in the world. Without you, humanity can't continue to exist. Epimetheus will protect and provide for your children, so they have a high chance of surviving. He's a jerk, but he's the best father you could hope for in this world."

Pandora glared at him. "And you think that because you've sacrificed everything for humanity, I should do the same?"

"You're a human! It will benefit your kind!"

"And make me miserable. I don't want to do it."

Prometheus' face turned a darker red than the heat had burned it. "Why? Because you hate sex?"

Pandora nodded her head.

"If I have to, I'll find a way to break out of these bonds and make you enjoy it!" he roared.

Pandora bit her lower lip, making Prometheus' heart thud like crazy. She leaned down close to him, so her hair cascaded like a waterfall, surrounding his face. "Maybe you should try anyway. You didn't do a bad job last time when you kissed me."

Her voice sounded hoarse. She wanted him.

Prometheus tried to clear his head.
Don't take the bait. You've never let a woman or anything else cloud your judgment. This was Zeus' plan all along!

His mouth betrayed him. "Then come here and kiss me." His voice was a deep whisper.

She leaned closer and shut her eyes. "Epimetheus told me he'd kill anyone I kissed who wasn't my husband."

"I don't care. I can't die."

"But you could lose your brother."

"Might as well, because he's already lost me!"

Prometheus wasn't sure who kissed who first, but their lips touched and the world around them melted away. The flames burned brightly above them as desire coursed through his body. He felt a strange mixture of pain and pleasure because of the raven and Pandora.

They pulled apart. Pandora covered her red cheeks and turned away. Prometheus shut his eyes.
She regrets it.

"What's the matter?" Prometheus asked.

"Your kisses make me feel strange."

Prometheus cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"They make me feel funny in a weird part of my body." She bit her lower lip and that gesture alone drove Prometheus crazy.

"What are you talking about?" He couldn't think straight with her biting her lip enough to comprehend what she was saying.

She grabbed his hand and thrust her hips towards his fingers, so that the tips lightly brushed her womanhood through her skirt.

He wanted to yank his hand away, but he couldn't his tied down arms enough to pull away. "I'm tied down and in pain. I doubt it's possible for me to have sex this way."

"Is that why I feel funny?"

"Yes, you are aroused by me, but you'll have to take that arousal and work things out with Epimetheus. He's free to take care of you-I'm not. You can't love me. My horrible fate is for me to endure alone."

"You don't mean that." Pandora beamed. "I can tell you're lonely when we're not around."

He shut his eyes and opened them again.
Was he that transparent?
"My feelings were never the important thing when I made the decision to steal that fire."

When Prometheus passed out, Pandora left. She was afraid, but Epimetheus was hardly ever home right after sunset. He liked to steal wine from some of the humans after a long day of hunting.

She wanted to ask Prometheus to retrieve her jar for her. Maybe then Zeus would stop being angry with her and come rescue her, but he couldn't help her. He was tied down and sick. She'd have to go to the cave herself.

She stuck to the shadows as she snuck inside. Although it was likely that Epimetheus would spot her anyway, she decided to at least try to camouflage herself. Her efforts were in vain-it turned out Epimetheus wasn't there. Her body sagged in relief.

She reached under the pile of furs she usually slept on and grasped the jar. An electric sensation ran down her spine. The hair on the back of her neck rose as the feeling that someone was staring at her shuddered down her body.

She whirled around. Prometheus sat cross-legged behind her, gazing at her with a dark expression. What was he doing inside the cave?

Pandora ripped the furs off the jar and lifted it into her arms. As it touched her chest, she heard voices whispering, echoing across every wall in the cave. She realized what was happening.

"You're not Prometheus," Pandora said. "You didn't fool me last time-what makes you think you'll succeed now?"

Fake Prometheus put his finger tip to her lips to silence her. She shuddered at his touch. He grabbed her by the nape and pulled her head towards him. Even though she knew it wasn't really him, she wanted to feel his lips pressed against hers. This fantasy of him being free to love her was irresistible.

Heat traveled through her body as she lost herself in the kiss, but a nagging voice in the back of her head insisted on reminding her repeatedly that this man wasn't who he looked like.

She pulled away and glared at fake Prometheus.

His deep, melodious voice greeted her. "I'm sorry for how we treated you last time. We didn't realize that Zeus hasn't shared everything with you."

Pandora narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Fake Prometheus shook his head. "He didn't even tell you about the power you have over us. We're imprisoned because you want us to be. We do the bidding of whoever controls the jar. I appear to you as Prometheus because that's who you want to see."

Pandora raised an eyebrow. "You're lying to me."

Fake Prometheus shrugged his shoulders. "I doubted that you would believe me, so why don't you try making us do something. It'll show you the truth."

Pandora wouldn't have dignified him with a response in the past, but she was no longer sure who she could trust. She stared at the jar and her forehead wrinkled. She willed the whispering coming from the cave walls to silence. The same electric sensation ran down her spine and slowly, the voices died down. She looked back towards fake Prometheus, her eyes wide.

"The only reason we've ever appeared in the first place," he said, "was because you summoned us."

She stared at fake Prometheus as her voice echoed in her mind:
Show me your real form. Show me your real form.
Electricity flowed through her body.

She jumped backwards when his smile curled wickedly and his forehead grew horns. His real voice was scratchy, not at all melodious.

"We were imprisoned by Zeus as well," transformed Prometheus told her. "Like Prometheus, Zeus didn't want humanity to have our gifts. We just want to be free to share with the world."

She crawled backwards. She needed to get away from him. He looked at her as if he wished to devour her.

"We wouldn't have threatened you, but we knew that we didn't have much time."

The air in front of her flickered and a woman who looked like her twin was curled up into a ball and moaning. Her legs were broken and her stomach was bleeding. Epimetheus stood over her and kicked her. She vomited a small puddle of blood onto the floor beneath her.

"Epimetheus will kill you if you don't release us. We've seen how he treats you and we know who you wish to be with, but Prometheus can't always save you from his wrath. We will fix everything and help you start your relationship with your true love. All you need to do is release us."

The whispering returned across the caves, surrounding her. She realized for the first time that the voices were all begging her to help them. They moaned and some of them were so quiet, it was as if their souls were beginning to wither away.

Transformed Prometheus frowned. "Don't you see how desperate we are for your help? You're our master and you were abandoned here by Zeus as well. Will you save us?"

She covered her ears. "I don't know." She needed time to think. She'd hurt herself again if she had to, but instead she screamed and willed the voices away.

When they faded, she grabbed the jar and ran out of the cave. She wasn't sure she could ever come back and didn't want to risk Epimetheus finding it.

Prometheus awoke hours later-sweating and writhing in pain. He hated when he screamed. He always told himself that when the suffering got bad, he'd hold his tongue, but it was too difficult to feel the pain of death without the relief of his soul leaving his body.

As he convulsed, he noticed Pandora sitting in front of him with a jar in her hands. She stroked it lovingly, as if she were holding a baby. Her eyes had circles under them and she was rocking back and forth. She looked down at the jar, nodding her head as if it was speaking to her. Her eyes were glazed over.