Her laugh was hollow, brittle. “You still don’t get it, do you? He was never supposed to marry me. He agreed to it because it got him closer to what he really wanted.”
My blood went cold.
She stared at me, something wild and haunted in her expression. “He’s always wanted you, Persephone. Always. Even when we were kids. When you still wore braids and thought monsters only lived in storybooks. He watched you. Protected you. Followed you.”
“No—” I shook my head, heart pounding. “That’s not?—”
“He killed for you,” she said, the words sharp and heavy like stones dropped in water. “You think Liam’s disappearance was a coincidence? Or Kayla’s accident? He didn’t just punish people who hurt you—he erased them. Because in his mind, they touched what was his.”
My breath hitched.
Callista leaned closer, voice shaking now—not with anger, but with fear.
“I saw the way he looked at you. Even when I was standing next to him. Like you were a flame and he was just waiting to be burned. I thought marrying him would keep you safe. That if I stayed close enough, I could control it.”
Her gaze dropped to the concrete beneath us.
“But I couldn’t. I was never the one he wanted. And I knew if I stayed any longer, I’d either end up dead… or I’d watch him hurt you. So I ran.”
I stared at her, words lodged in my throat.
“He doesn’t love you, Seph,” she said, lifting her eyes to mine. “He worships you. Obsessively. Violently. And one day… that love will eat you alive.”
Clint stood just a few feet away, the wind tousling his hair, his expression torn. Guilt warred with resolve in his eyes, and for a second—I almost believed he might step back. Let me go.
“I’m sorry. This is for your own good.” His voice was soft, almost apologetic. “You’ll thank us when you remember who you were before him.”
Before Hades.
Before the fire.
Before I felt alive.
Panic surged in my chest, sharp and cold. My instincts screamed run. I spun on my heel, bolting toward the stairs?—
—but Clint was faster.
He stepped in front of me, not aggressive, not cruel—just… steady. Solid. Like he knew I’d try, like he’d been waiting for this moment.
“Move,” I snarled, the words ripping from my throat like claws.
“Seph,” he said gently, reaching for me. “Please. Don’t make this harder.”
Don’t make this harder. Like this wasn’t a betrayal. Like this wasn’t everything.
I stumbled back—but it was too late.
Callista was already behind me.
I felt the shift in the air before I saw the glint of the syringe.
“No—”
“Shh.” Her breath was a whisper against my ear, and it chilled me more than the night air ever could.
“Callista, please,” I begged, my voice cracking. “Don’t do this.”
But she didn’t stop.
