Heartless

Eve

Hades' breath was warm against my temple, but his words were ice. Cutting. Peeling me apart layer by layer.

"The nightmares," he murmured, his lips brushing my skin as if to soften the blow. "They aren't just memories. They're echoes, aren't they? The past replaying itself over and over in your mind, trapping you there every time you close your eyes."

A shudder ripped through me, violent and uncontrollable. My hands clenched into fists, nails biting into my palms. The air in the room thickened, pressing down on me.

Hades felt it. He felt me. And he did not stop.

"I remember when we first met, you flinched a lot even before you realized who i was. Your eyes were darting around the room," he continued, his voice dropping lower. "You were afraid."

I gasped, my body jerking beneath him as a sharp, blinding memory tore through me.

The cold bite of metal restraints around my ankle.