*****
The fire in the chamber burned low, casting the room in a restless glow. Shadows stretched across the walls, flickering like phantoms, and though the battlefield confrontation was over, its echoes still clung to the air.
Hades stood at the window, his back turned, his hands gripping the stone sill so tightly that cracks splintered beneath his palms. His shoulders rose and fell in shallow, tense movements. Power still coiled around him, dark and volatile, refusing to quiet.
Hazel lingered near the hearth, her own heart unsettled. She had seen his wrath unleashed, felt it surge through the field like a storm. But this silence… this heavy stillness around him was worse.
She watched him for a long moment. Then, softly:
"Hades."
He didn't turn. Didn't answer.
She swallowed, stepping closer, the soft padding of her feet against the stone breaking the silence.
"They said his name. Eliot."
At that, his head tilted slightly, though his face remained in shadow.
Hazel took another step. Her sword calluses still tingled, her body sore from sparring, but her voice held steady.
"Tell me what really happened."
Finally, Hades spoke. His voice was rough, low, like gravel dragged across steel.
"He was more than a brother."
Hazel's breath caught. She had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed made her chest ache. She moved closer until she was at his side, her silver hair catching the glow of the firelight.
"You cared for him," she whispered.
For a long time, he said nothing. Then he turned his face toward her, and in his fiery red eyes was a depth of sorrow she had never seen before.
"Eliot was the only one." His words cracked. "The only one who didn't look at me like I was cursed. The only one who… saw me."
Hazel's throat tightened. "Tell me."
Hades exhaled, his grip on the window loosening. Slowly, heavily, he turned away from the night sky and faced her. The firelight carved his features in sharp relief, but it was the pain in his eyes that struck her deepest.
"You want to know why they despise me?" he asked, voice brittle. "Why they call me monster?"
Hazel nodded once, resolutely.
And so he began.
"I was born wrong."
His gaze drifted past her, into memory.
"Silver hair. fiery red eyes . The dark priests said I was cursed by the heavens, that my birth was an omen. My father hated me for it. My brothers—Deus, Zion—they never let me forget it. I was the shame of our bloodline."
His jaw clenched. "They told me my darkness would consume me one day. That I would destroy everything I touched. And I… believed them."
Hazel's chest ached as she reached for his arm, but he pressed on.
"Eliot was different. He was the firstborn, the heir. Strong, brilliant, admired by everyone. And yet… he never treated me like I was less. When they mocked me, he stood between us. When my father ignored me, Eliot would sneak food to my chamber, sit with me when no one else would. He—" Hades' voice cracked, his throat working. "He told me I wasn't cursed. That my silver hair made me unique. That my power wasn't something to fear. He was my brother. My… best friend."
Hazel's eyes burned.
Hades shut his eyes briefly, his fists curling. "But one day, I did something unforgivable,"
His voice dropped lower, and Hazel felt the weight of dread coil in her stomach.
"I was still a boy. Deus and Zion locked me in a closet. Small, dark, filled with crawling things. Worms, insects—things that clung to my skin, my hair. I screamed for them to stop. I begged. I pounded on the wood until my hands bled. But they only laughed."
Hazel's breath shuddered. "That's awful,"
"It was so dark, Hazel," Hades whispered, his voice breaking. "So tight, I couldn't breathe. And something inside me… snapped. The shadows… they answered. My body burned, my veins turned black, and my silver hair darkened into smoke. My eyes… they weren't mine anymore. A literal flame burning."
Hazel could see it, the boy locked in darkness, his fear twisting into something uncontrollable.
"When the door blew off its hinges, they laughed no longer. I appeared behind them. I could smell their fear. And Eliot—" His voice shook. "Eliot grabbed my arm. He was trying to stop me. He… he said my name."
Hades' hand trembled now, his eyes fixed on hers with torment. "I turned my head. I didn't mean it. But the power—" His jaw locked. "It disintegrated him. In an instant. The only person who ever loved me, reduced to ashes by my hand."
Silence.
Hazel's vision blurred. Hot tears slid down her cheeks before she realized, her heart breaking for him—for the boy who had lost his only friend, his brother, his protector.
Hades' brows creased as he noticed. His eyes softened, confusion breaking through his torment. He reached out almost hesitantly, his calloused thumb brushing one of her tears away.
"Why are you crying?" His voice was low, rough, trembling.
Hazel caught his hand, pressing it to her cheek, her own tears wetting his palm. She smiled through her grief.
"Because you shouldn't have borne that alone," she whispered. "Because no child deserves that pain. Because even in your darkest moment… you were still just a boy who wanted to be loved."
Hades stared at her, his breath faltering. Her words cut through him deeper than any blade, unraveling walls he had held for centuries.
Something inside him shifted. Broke.
And before he could stop himself, he cupped her face with both hands and kissed her.
It was not tentative. Not restrained. It was desperate, consuming, the kind of kiss that tasted of grief and longing and a thousand unspoken truths. Hazel gasped against him, her tears mixing with his breath, but she didn't pull away. She pressed into him, arms curling around his neck, answering with the same fierce need.
Hades groaned low in his chest, his fingers tangling in her silver hair as though afraid she might vanish. For once, there was no war between them, no walls, only raw, searing connection.
When they finally broke apart, foreheads pressed together, both breathless, Hades whispered, almost to himself:
"You make my heart… flutter. It's terrifying."
Hazel's lips curved, her tears still falling, but her voice steady.
"Then let it. You've kept it caged too long."
And in that fragile, powerful silence, Hades realized she was no longer just the bride forced upon him.
She was the flame in his darkness.