Hades' POV
Her hazel eyes—farmiliar, like a memory half-buried in smoke. But where have I seen them?
Or maybe I haven't seen them at all.
Her scent—sweet pineapples over herbs and smoke—pulls me closer. Like her eyes, it flickers through my mind like a shadow I can't catch.
I can't hold it.
Her hands tremble as she backs away on the bed. "Please… don't."
Her voice chills me—faint, familiar. I've heard it before… somewhere in the past I'd rather forget. And every time the curse stirs, that voice returns—a little girl's scream slicing through my head like daggers.
That girl… her olive skin, the same as this hybrid's.
"Saphyra." My hand lifts toward her throat before I can stop it.
"Don't." She shudders, voice breaking on the word.
My fingers brush her skin. She flinches, and something inside me ignites. Heat races up my arm, flooding my chest.
My breath catches—ragged, uneven. The curse is awake.
