Pandora is given a box. Quite simply, she must never open it.
And Pandora is normally very good at following rules.
Until she isn't.
Out comes her curiosity and out comes the contents of her box.
It's not all the disasters you've read about in t...
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𝑙𝑎𝑤. TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
•••
"Relax," spoke a gruff voice. A body turned over—Wrath turned over, and I caught a glimpse of Patience by his side. "We're not dead."
My eyebrows furrowed. "I thought Sins don't sleep?"
"Not in any other realm, we don't," came a sleepy reply from the opposite end of the room. Gluttony sat up to reach for her flask—she stopped mid-movement. "Where's Beast?"
I fought to keep the annoyance out of my voice. "Dead, hopefully."
Gluttony chuckled. "Goodnight, Pandora."
It was such a normal thing to say, such a human thing to say.
Temperance kept a careful eye on her flask, releasing a breath of relief when she didn't reach for the alcohol once more.
"Goodnight," I replied quietly.
The green hue of Nadine's hand seemed to glow from within as she waved me over to her, the veins across her temples visible beneath the near-transparent veil of her skin. I settled down next to her, muttering a quick thank you for the blanket she handed me.
"It's a survival strategy."
I draped the blanket over my shoulders, the rich and heavy fabric warming me instantly. "Sleeping on the floor is a survival strategy?"
"The Sins and Virtues," she whispered, "are preys in every other realm apart from their own. Here, they're predators."
"Not Lust," I murmured, "he's always going to be a predator. Sometimes I want to throw my shoe at him, or better yet, a fist. And then I realise he'd have a hand at my throat before I could even think about it."
Nadine grinned. "You can kill him tomorrow."
I let out a sharp, frustrated breath. "No, I can't."
The Ophidian cocked her head to one side. "And why is that? I'll slip you a blade, if you like."
"He told me to stay in my room. Because of the full moon." I reeled in surprise at the defeat in my voice.
As if I'd stay in a room all day. Curiosity itched through my very blood; answers and questions fuelled my existence—a closeted room was not something I could keep myself locked in.
"The full moon?" Nadine scoffed, "Don't listen to him. The child's mad."
My mouth twisted. "Child? He's—"
"Old," she finished for me. "But younger than me. I've lived ten of his lives over."
I didn't want to calculate Nadine's age. The simple notion of immortality put me off. Restless nights spent under the same dark night, the same bright sun—
