The Pandora Principle

“Cassi?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

 

I nodded. “Can you tell me what happened?”

 

She gave a choking sob and flung her arms around me. I teetered back but caught my balance with the help of a chair behind me. The burning in my tattoo faded as she soaked my shirt with her tears. Whatever it was had left in a hurry.

 

Katy looked at us with furrow brows. “Should I call the police?”

 

“No.” Sheridan pulled away from me, rubbing her nose. “I’m fine.”

 

“You don’t look fine,” I said.

 

She straightened up and pulled her strap back into its rightful place only for it to fall again. “I just needed somewhere with light.”

 

“Hey,” Serenity said. “How about you come back to our apartment and we can get you cleaned up?”

 

Sheridan blinked at her and smiled. “Thanks.”

 

Serenity guided Sheridan into the backseat of my car and sat beside her as I started it up. I turned the radio on low for the way home. The music was interrupted every now and then by a squeaky sob from Sheridan followed by a soothing murmur from Serenity. I glanced in the rearview mirror. Sheridan had laid her head back with her body turned away from Serenity. I gripped the steering wheel and pressed my lips together. I’d felt the burn before she’d entered. Unlike the electric charge Mercer had given me, this had felt like my arm was on fire. A daimon had been nearby and possibly responsible for the attack on Sheridan.

 

At our apartment, Serenity sat Sheridan on the couch while I ruffled through the cabinets in search of tea. In the back of one of the top shelves, I found a small box of chamomile. It would have to do. I stuck a mug of hot water in the microwave and moved to the doorway, leaning against it with my arms closed.

 

Sheridan hunched over her knees with her arms wrapped around her. Her lower lip trembled as she stared at our coffee table with watery eyes. Serenity emerged from the bathroom with a box of tissues and held it out. Sheridan slowly raised her hand and pulled one from the box with a trembling hand. The microwave beeped, and I returned to the two of them with a steaming mug of tea.

 

“Can you tell us what happened?” I asked.

 

She cleared her throat and wrapped her hands around the mug. “Everything seemed to be going great. I mean the movie was a bust, but it was laughable enough. I should have known, though, since he was more interested in getting me alone.”

 

I lowered myself to the couch and placed my hands close to her, careful not to touch. Her head hung low, but her shoulders held a tightness, as if she would bolt for the door at the slightest graze.

 

“He kept pushing.” She whimpered. “I swear, he’d never acted like that before. He’d always seemed like a nice guy. Why do they turn out to be the assholes?”

 

I pulled the mug from her hands before she dropped it. The tea sloshed on the floor and table as I set it down.

 

“Were you with Mercer?” I leaned closer to her as my heart sped up at my question.

 

Serenity stiffened and crossed her arms.

 

Sheridan looked up at me with a confused look. “No. Why would you think that?”

 

“The two of you seem to have gotten close this last week.”

 

She gave a harsh laugh. “You’re seeing things. As much as I’ve tried, Mercer’s never shown any interest beyond talking about plans for the project.”

 

I let out a long breath I’d been holding, and my shoulders sagged as the knot in the pit of my stomach loosened. Not that is made any difference. He was still a god, and my bloodline stood against them. Serenity raised an eyebrow at me before returning her focus back to Sheridan.

 

“Then who did do this to you?” she asked.

 

Her bottom lip trembled. “His name is Marcus. He’s a business major. We, uh, share a marketing class.”

 

I stood and pulled my phone from my pocket and unlocked it with the slide of my thumb. Whoever this Marcus who was, he needed to pay.

 

Sheridan glanced up at me with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

 

“Calling the police,” I said. “You need to report this.”

 

She slapped the phone from my hand, and it hit the carpet with a soft thud before sliding under the couch. I dropped to my knees and ran my hand under the couch with a small glare at her. Luckily, it remained unblemished. She stared at me with narrowed eyes and clenched fists.

 

“No,” she said.

 

“You can’t just let him get away with this,” I said.

 

“He deserves so much more than that,” Serenity said with a hard voice.

 

“And be called a slut?” Sheridan crossed her arms over her chest. “It’ll be his word against mine, and we all know how well that goes, especially since this started out as a date.”

 

“You have a better chance if you report it now,” I said.

 

She shook her head and rose. “I just want to forget the whole night. Can someone take me home?”

 

“At least let us drive you to the hospital so you can get checked out.”

 

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