Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

B y the time the three of them landed safely back on the beach, the crowd had grown in size and everyone was chanting their names. Their god names.

Everyone gathered around them, cheering and hugging Theo. Moments later, the water separated a few feet from the crowd as Prometheus stepped out from the sea.

"I see you disobeyed the gods," he said to Dante. "Well done." He smiled and slapped him on the shoulder before turning towards Amy. "Sister," he said with a quick nod. "Welcome back."

"Is this it then?" Dante asked. "Will you send us home now?"

Prometheus chuckled. "I was not the one who brought you here."

"But you can send us back, right?" Amy asked.

He turned fully towards her. "No, sister. You are the only one here with that power."

"Me?" Amy was shocked. "I… I…" She shook her head.

"You are the one who came here, to him,"—he motioned towards Dante—"on your own powers. You are immortal and omnilingual, as with all gods. Your knowledge surpasses even mine." He waved his hands slightly as if convincing her. "You've been known, in the past, to create weaponry out of thin air."

"I have?" She looked down at her hands and willed a dagger to appear. Sure enough, moments later an intricate silver blade with a bright yellow stone on the tip of its hilt appeared. She'd had visions of this knife before. Seen her past self-wielding it in battle.

"Cool," Dante said, getting her attention.

"No, sister, it is not I who will send you to your next step in your journey." Prometheus bowed his head slightly. "I am out there in your time, waiting for your arrival and awaiting my fate." He glanced at Dante. "As it has always been, I will stand beside you both when the time comes for the final battle. It is up to you, Pandora, to ensure that the last piece is in place to finally end this game." He glanced down at Theo. "Well done, boy." He winked at the kid, then turned and walked back into the sea.

Amy's mind swirled as Prometheus disappeared into the sea, the waves closing in as if he'd never been there at all. His words echoed in her mind— You are the only one here with that power. Her?

Immortality, omnilingualism, the power to create weaponry from thin air. Could she do all of that?

She thought about how she could easily understand the ancient Greek everyone spoke around her. How she could read the writing on the temple walls. Then she realized that even though she'd been reborn, that was, in a way, immortality.

Dante stepped closer, placing a hand on her back. "You okay?"

"I… I don't know," she admitted softly, her eyes still fixed on the spot where Prometheus had vanished. Everything was happening so fast. The gods, the power inside her—powers she had barely scratched the surface of. And now, to learn that she was the one responsible for getting them home.

Dante gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, we've gotten this far. We'll figure it out. Besides, I can fly." He wiggled his eyebrows and she laughed.

His calm confidence steadied her, and she took a deep breath. She squeezed the hilt of the dagger she had just conjured, marveling at its weight and craftsmanship. How had she done that?

Thinking quickly, she held out her other hand and a thick leather strap appeared. It matched the dagger perfectly, and when she slipped the blade into it, she knew that this too was hers for all time.

"Pretty cool," he said as she wrapped the thing around her waist.

Theo, still beaming from the rescue, wiped at his eyes and turned to her and Dante. "Thank you," he said quietly, his small voice lost in the sea of cheers.

Dante ruffled the boy's hair, grinning. "You did good, kid. I think you were a lot braver than we were."

Amy bent down to meet Theo's gaze, her heart warming at the sight of him safe and sound. "You were really brave," she said softly, her hand resting on his shoulder.

Theo smiled again, his youthful face brightening. "I knew you'd come for me," he repeated, like a quiet, steady mantra. Amy's chest tightened at the faith this boy had in them—in her.

The villagers led them back to the village, where a feast was quickly put together. Large wooden tables were brought out to the center of the square.

They sat at the head table under arches of flowers and decorations the villagers had hurriedly strung up. Music filled the air, joyous and celebratory, as the smells of roasting meat and bread wafted around them.

It was almost surreal, like something she'd seen in a movie. The entire village had turned out to honor them, to praise them as gods. They'd barely wrapped their heads around their identities as Pandora and Epimetheus, and yet here they were, celebrated and revered. It was a strange, heady feeling.

The villagers talked about how they had not only saved Theo but the entire town. If they hadn't stopped Thanatos, he would have destroyed everything and everyone there.

Amy supposed that it could be true. From what she could remember of the myths, Thanatos would have wiped the entire village from history without blinking an eye.

The feast stretched on for hours—dancing, laughter, and an endless flow of food and something close to wine. Amy tried to join in, smiling and nodding as villagers approached her with gifts and words of thanks, but her mind was far away, still turning over Prometheus' parting words.

You are the only one here with that power.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, her exhaustion finally caught up to her. She exchanged a glance with Dante, who seemed equally drained.

"Ready to head back?" Dante asked, leaning in close so only she could hear.

She nodded gratefully. "Yeah, I think I've had enough ‘godhood' for one day."

They quickly said their goodbyes before making their way back to the temple. The familiar sight of the ancient structure brought a strange comfort to Amy—it was the closest thing they had to a home in this strange world.

As they entered, the sounds of the feast still faintly carried on the breeze, but here, in the quiet of the ancient stone walls, Amy could finally breathe again. She sank down onto the bed and ran her hands through her hair, still processing everything that had happened.

Dante sat beside her, stretching out his legs and letting out a long sigh. "Today was… something."

"Yeah," Amy agreed, her voice barely above a whisper. She stared at the ground, her thoughts a whirlwind of power, gods, and responsibility. How could she control all of this? Could she truly figure out how to use her powers to get them back home?

Dante must have sensed her anxiety, because he placed a hand on her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm just… scared. I don't know if I can get us home."

Dante wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer. "You can," he said firmly. "I have faith in you. Like Prometheus said, you have the power. You made that." He motioned to the knife that sat beside her on the bed.

"Yeah." She smiled slightly. "I didn't even really have to think about it."

"So maybe the power to take us back is like creating the dagger?" he suggested.

She shook her head. "No, I've tried several times to just think about taking us back."

"And nothing?" he asked, and she nodded. "Maybe…" he started but then stopped.

"What?" she asked after a moment.

"Well, maybe you don't want to go back?" he surprised her by saying.

"I…" She stood up and walked over to look out over the water as the truth bubbled inside her. He was right. She didn't want to go back to a world she knew would soon be destroyed.

He moved behind her and when his arms wrapped around her, she leaned back against his chest.

"It is peaceful here," she said softly. She glanced up at the moon and felt a shiver race through her. "And the world isn't destroyed or on the verge of it."

The weight of his arms around her was grounding, and for the first time since Prometheus had disappeared into the sea, Amy allowed herself to relax, just for a moment. They stood there in the dimming light, the temple quiet and still, a brief moment of peace amidst the chaos.

But deep down, Amy knew this was only the beginning. The journey ahead was fraught with danger, gods who sought to destroy them, and powers she was only really beginning to understand.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon, plunging the temple into darkness, Amy closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I know it's time to go," she said, taking a deep breath. Then she turned into his arms. "But can we have one last night together here?"

He smiled down at her. "One last night." He brushed his lips across hers. In that instant, her entire body reacted almost as much as it had when they'd been in danger. Every fiber of her being was on fire, heated, as his hands ran over her.

In the past few nights together, they'd explored one another until there was an invisible connection holding them together. Cosmic strings that defied time and space bound them together.

Tonight, somehow, everything was different. The knowledge that this might be the last night of peace they would have had their movements slowing. The passion built until an urgency spilled over and the speed fed their desires.

"My god," Dante whispered as he hovered over her. "Where have you been my entire life," he said with a grin.

She ran her fingers through his thick hair. "Right in front of you."

"Amy, I know I've said this to you a few times now, but"—his eyes locked with hers—"I love you."

Her smile was quick. "You have said it a few times and I know it's true. Each time, we've loved like this."

He shook his head. "No, this time is different."

She frowned slightly. Could it be different this time?

The thousands of times he had told her how he'd felt in past lives played in her mind. He'd told her that he loved her more times as she'd watched him die.

This did, however, feel different. Maybe because she was here, now. Or maybe because she wanted it to be different.

"I hadn't expected the frown and that sexy little crease right here." He touched her forehead. "Not the response I'd hoped for."

She relaxed her face. "Just remembering all the other times we said those words to each other in our past lives." She shook her head. "I love you. And most importantly, I would love to hear you say it a million times again."

He chuckled. "I suppose for someone like you, who remembers all those times we've said it to one another, this isn't the most romantic time."

She cupped his face and brought it down to hers until his lips were inches from her own.

"This is the most important one to me," she whispered before they kissed.

Amy woke a few hours later, her heart pounding in the stillness of the night. The soft rise and fall of Dante's breathing beside her was the only sound in the room, a steady rhythm that grounded her amidst the whirl of emotions swirling inside her. She blinked, slightly disoriented, and glanced towards the window. The moonlight filtered in through the open balcony doors, casting a soft glow over the temple's stone walls.

For a moment, she stayed still, listening to the quiet, but something pulled at her—a deep sense that this was not just another sleepless night. Quietly, she slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Dante. His arm slid off her waist as she moved, his warmth lingering on her skin.

She grabbed her long gown from the floor and pulled it on as she padded barefoot across the cool stone floor towards the balcony. The soft night breeze carried the scent of the ocean, and the horizon was a dark, endless stretch beyond the cliffs. She leaned against the railing, her fingers gripping the cool stone, and gazed out at the sea. The world felt so still, but her mind was racing.

How did we even get here?

The last few days had been a blur of ancient gods, powers she never imagined, and the discovery that she and Dante were bound together in ways deeper than anything she could have anticipated. And now, as they prepared to return to the future, she couldn't shake the feeling that something crucial was missing—something she needed to do before they left this ancient world behind.

Suddenly, her vision blurred, and the world around her shifted. It was as though time itself was bending. Amy gasped, gripping the balcony as her mind was pulled into another place, another moment.

She was back in Hidden Creek. The familiar scent of pine and earth filled her senses as she stood on the edge of town, watching herself from the future—her other self . The one who had been left in the hotel room after Ryan had broken things off suddenly. After which, she'd returned home, broken, but had decided to stay in Hidden Creek, and because of that, she'd ultimately found her way to Dante.

However, in this vision, Ryan didn't break things off and they returned to town together as planned. They had stayed at her parents' place for less than a night and had fought the entire time before returning to the city together. She hadn't met Mia. Hadn't rented the little cabin, flirted with Dante, or gone to Xtina and Michael's place that fateful night. Which meant… she glanced back at Dante's sleeping form and returned to the vision quickly when the entire world exploded without her even fighting for the chance to save it. She'd been at work in Atlanta, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

Then, the vision changed, and this time she stood outside the hotel room—the one she and Ryan had stayed in just before everything changed. She was wearing the long nightgown that she was currently in. She watched herself move over to where Ryan was sitting on the stairs, smoking. As she sat next to him, she reached out, touched his hand, and knew that if she didn't break things off with him, none of what she'd just gone through in the past few months would ever happen.

She had a choice.

To live in ignorance with Ryan, a man she didn't love, until the world was destroyed or to love Dante and fight with him to the very end.

I have to do this.

If she hadn't made this choice—if she hadn't traveled forward and broken up with Ryan—none of what had happened would come to pass. She and Dante would never have been reunited. The future would shift, their bond severed by a choice not made.

Amy's heart clenched, and she closed her eyes and willed her body back to that fateful night at the hotel when she felt the power surge through her like electricity.

When she opened her eyes, she smiled as she stood just outside her hotel door.

Inside, she knew that her past self was sound asleep, blissfully unaware of the storm that was about to break.

Ryan sat a few feet away, his back to her, sitting on the stairs just outside their room, staring down at his phone as he smoked. He was unaware that she'd just traveled through time and had appeared out of thin air.

When she stepped forward, he glanced up, obviously startled when she walked towards him. His face softened in confusion, the boyish smile she had once desired flickering across his face as his eyes ran over her long gown.

"I thought you were asleep," he said. "New getup?" He chuckled.

She sat next to him with a shrug. "I couldn't sleep," she said truthfully, ignoring the comment about her gown. He probably wouldn't remember that detail when he left in the morning, because she had still been under the bed covers when he rushed from the room.

She hesitated, her heart constricting at the knowledge of what came next. Her entire future, hers and Dante's future, depended on what she did next.

"Ryan," she began, her voice barely a whisper. She cleared her throat, trying to steady herself. "We need to talk."

He blinked, his brow furrowing in concern. "What's going on? You look… upset."

She shook her head, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, but she forced them back. "I—I care about you, Ryan. I always have. But… things have changed. I've changed. And I need to be honest with you."

His face fell, the realization dawning on him. "Amy, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this"—she gestured between them—"isn't right anymore. I'm not the person I was when we met. I'm… different. I need to be somewhere else, and I need to be with someone else." She swallowed hard, the words catching in her throat. "I'm so sorry."

He stared at her for a long moment, his face a mixture of hurt and confusion. "Is there… is there someone else?"

Amy's chest tightened. Dante . The name echoed in her mind, but she didn't speak it aloud. She simply nodded, the weight of her confession hanging in the cool night air.

Ryan's expression hardened, the pain evident in his eyes. He stood, pacing a few steps away, running a hand through his hair. "I… I don't understand. After everything we've been through, after all this time, you're just… dumping me?"

"I have to," she said softly. "I'm sorry, Ryan. I am. I know you're tired. Please, get some sleep before you head home in the morning."

There was a long silence, broken only by the distant sounds of cars passing by on the highway. Finally, Ryan let out a shaky breath and nodded, though the sadness in his eyes cut her deeply. "I guess I can't stop you, can I?"

Amy shook her head, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "No."

He sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I hope… I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for."

She wanted to say more, to explain everything, but the words wouldn't come. So she simply stood up and turned as if to walk back into their hotel room. His eyes stayed glued to the cigarette as she melted and returned through time.

She had done it. The choice was made, and the path was set. Now she could return to Dante.

Once more she was standing on the temple's balcony, the cool night air brushing against her tear-streaked cheeks. She inhaled deeply, her chest heavy with the weight of the choice she had made, but also lighter, knowing that it had been the right one.

She turned and quietly slipped back into the room, her gaze falling on Dante's sleeping form. He was lying on his side with his face relaxed as the moonlight cast soft shadows across his features. This time, her heart ached with the love that she felt for him. She knew that her choice, the pain that she'd put herself through, was worth it—every painful moment, every heartache, was to get her back to this moment.

She slipped back into bed beside him and sighed when her body fit perfectly against his. Dante stirred slightly but didn't wake as she listened to his steady heartbeat and knew that the love she felt for him was beyond any cost she had paid in the past.

As the first light of dawn began to creep through the windows, Amy closed her eyes, knowing that whatever the future held couldn't be stopped.