Hades stepped closer.
He didn’t touch me.
But I felt him all the same.
His shadow loomed over everything—over Cliff, over me, over this house like a curse we couldn’t outrun.
And I knew, with sickening certainty, that this wasn’t just about today.
It was about control.
About belonging.
And in Hades’ world?
There was no such thing as freedom.
Only submission.
My heart thundered in my chest, pounding so loud I could barely hear the question when it came.
“Do you want him to stay?”
Hades didn’t shout it.
He didn’t need to.
His voice was soft. Lethal.
Like a knife pressed just beneath the skin.
I froze.
The words lodged in my throat, sharp and immovable, like saying either answer would cut me from the inside out. My lungs squeezed tight. My mouth wouldn’t open.
Across the room, Cliff was still on the floor, one arm braced over his ribs, breathing heavy—but not broken.
Not yet.
But I saw it in Hades’ eyes—cold, clear, terrifying.
If I said yes?
Cliff wouldn’t leave this house on his feet, if he'd leave at all.
If I said no?
Hades would win.
He’d wear that victory like a crown. He’d twist it into something I couldn’t come back from. I’d never hear the end of it. He’d whisper it in my ear while I slept. While I dressed. While I tried to forget what it meant.
My silence stretched, a scream I couldn’t let out.
I looked at Cliff.
I wanted to tell him to run.
To fight.
