Pandora's Box | 18+ (completed)

Chapter Forty Eight - PANDORA'S BOX

"Please. Please, please, please get up," I whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead. I was rocking back and forth by his unconscious body—helpless and confused.

I was alone again. And loneliness was a deadly thing. The walls of the Unholy Court seemed to be caving in on me; they stripped me of my senses, strangling the air out of my lungs.

I'd rushed through the winding corridors with blood ringing in my ears. I'd called for every single Sin, every single Virtue. I'd searched all the rooms and training areas. All I found was silence.

The same silence that was coiling around my neck now.

Beast's skin had turned a ghastly blue. I didn't know where to find help—didn't know what to do, didn't know where to go.

But one fact was as solid as concrete in my head. This was all because of the Seraphics.

A rush of cold air bristled past me—except the windows were closed. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with fear.

There was someone behind me.

I could sense their presence around, almost as though the atmosphere had shifted for them.

A cool snarl brushed over my ear. "Pandora, darling."

I shot up, spinning on my feet. That same icy blue skin and icy white hair grinned up at me. The Seraphic was sitting in the same position I had been: its knees drawn up to its chest, its hands wrapped around its knees. It cocked its head to one side as it gazed at Beast—like an animal does.

"What have you done?" I asked, stepping in front of Beast protectively.

Its smile grew wider—a smile that was too big for its face. "Beast has broken a rule," it rasped. It was the voice of my nightmares—a thousand voices layered one over another: some soft, some sharp, some sweet, some biting. "And if he breaks one, we break them all."

I couldn't look away. "What have you done?" I asked again.

It placed a long, bony finger to its dark lips. "Let us think," it mused. "We took the Sins," it counted on its other hand, "we took the Virtues, the Ophidians, Beast and now," its eyes shot up to mine, "you!"

I swallowed, my Vessel creeping down my arms.

"Uh, uh." The Seraphic shook its head. "No powers, Pandora. Or we'll kill him."

"Why?" Anger washed over me in a swarm of red. "Who do you think you are controlling my friends? You think you're some god—don't you?"

"Not God," it said softly, rising to its feet. "Maybe the Devil."

"Bring them back," I demanded.

"Okay," it shrugged. Suddenly, its face was inches away from mine, its white eyelashes and even paler skin ripping the air from my lungs. "Just find the box first."

I frowned, seconds away from lunging at its beastly form. "What box?"

"Pandora's Box."

Somehow, when the Seraphic disappeared into a waft of air, it became even colder. Its unsettling voice continued to echo in my head as I finished searching the last room of the Unholy Court.

There was only one place left.

The grand entrance to the Court—the one place I had never been because I never had a reason to find a way to leave. Even when I was scared, helpless—hopeless—I had my Sins and Virtues. I had Beast. We were more similar than we were different and by the time I'd realised that they'd slipped away from me like sand through a loose fist.

The ceiling towered above me, the golden chandelier throwing specs of light onto the walls. My steps were the loudest thing I'd heard in hours as I came down the final round of stairs.

There they were.

All of them.

Orange, green, blue, purple, red and pink—a rainbow of colours. It was like some sick joke. Each Sin was next to their Virtue, their better half. The same better halves that had been kept away from each other.

Gluttony and Temperance. The Sin of addiction and the Virtue with only one addiction: Gluttony.

Greed and Charity. His Sin wanted everything, and her Virtue only wanted him.

Envy and Gratitude. Envy's blue claws only ever crept out from beneath her knuckles when she saw what she wanted. And they seemed to creep out around Gratitude more than anyone else.

Pride and Humility. Pride is said to be the deadliest of the seven deadly sins. But no one would know how deadly she was more than Humility—because no one would ever understand her more than her Virtue.

Wrath and Patience. The one that couldn't stop raging and the one that wanted it all. His rage, his Wrath, his Sin—everything.

Sloth and Diligence. Sloth never wanted to move. He never wanted to wake up. And perhaps that was because he had Diligence in his dreams and never in his wake.

My Vessel refused to stay inside me; it rattled against where I'd buried it deep inside me, pounding against my ribcage. Black rope was tied around them. The rope seemed to have a life of its own; it snaked along their limbs, tightening around their wrists, feet, and necks.

And in front of their lifeless bodies was what I'd been looking for.

The box gleamed, ice covering its glistening exterior. It was the shade of blue that adorned the sky and the oceans. It hovered in the air, still as a shadow, patient as a poison.

Tears pricked the back of my eyelids. A part of me had always known that I'd bring destruction. That first day when I'd wrapped the darkness of my Vessel around Beast's neck, I knew I'd destroy everything if I could.

Open it, a voice hissed in my left ear.

I'd already opened a box. I wasn't about to open another.

Don't listen to them, a softer hiss sounded in my right ear. My eyes widened and I spun around, searching for where that voice had come from. Something cold and smooth wrapped around my leg and I jolted at the green snake hissing up at me.

The Ophidians.

Come on. Open it.

It would be so easy. My hands would fit perfectly around the box.

Don't listen to them, little one.

But I knew what happened when you opened a box you weren't supposed to. I couldn't do it again. I wouldn't.

Open it, Pandora. Open it now.

The lock would snap open so simply beneath my fingertips.

Don't open it.

Open it or we'll kill him.

Silence cloaked over my shoulders like a heavy fabric.

The Ophidians didn't say anything this time—they couldn't.

I was so numb. Not a tear left my eyes as I inched forward towards the box, my every step heavier than the last.

•••

The second chapter of the daily updates! I know the chapters are shorter, but this is just so I can keep up with everything.

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Love,
Laila.