Eve
My head lolled as my thoughts spun in slow, nauseating circles. The darkness around me felt familiar—like my old prison—but heavier. Tighter. Sleep came in fits, broken by cold sweats and Rhea's restless muttering in the background of my mind.
She was back… but quiet. Exhausted. Distant.
And then the footsteps came.
Slow. Heavy. Purposeful.
My spine straightened against the wall before I could stop myself. The chains around my wrists clinked as I sat up on the bed. Light flooded the cell as the door groaned open, sharp and sudden, making my eyes water.
By the time I blinked away the sting, he was already in front of me.
Hades.
Or… what was left of him.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, posture rigid, too perfect. His skin was paler than I remembered, like moonlight carved into stone. His face looked untouched by time—smooth and sharp—but harder somehow. Harsher. As if every softness in him had been whittled away.
