Flicker Of Light In The Darkness

Eve

>"How can you cry?" the man snarled, stepping closer, every word a thunderclap. "They removed your tear ducts in the lab. I ordered it myself."

My breath caught.

What?

But Hades didn't answer. He stood frozen, eyes wide, still locked on me—but something else was clawing its way behind them. I saw it. The rupture. The obedience.

The conditioning.

> "Even with your blue eyes dimmed to grey," his father spat, his voice rising, venom in every syllable, "even with your smile filed down, your dimples corrected—you're still weak."

A tremble passed through Hades' frame.

> "A disappointment," the man went on. "A fucking stain. Failing again. Failing me."

His voice cracked like a whip.

> "You were born for greatness, and you chose her. Again and again and again. You chose her!"

With each word, Hades' talons dug deeper.

Tore further.