Evangeline emerged from the blinding light with a sharp intake of breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she stumbled forward. The brightness clung to her vision, searing and overwhelming, forcing her to raise an arm to shield her face until the ache behind her eyes slowly subsided. When she finally lowered her hand and dared to look again, the scene before her made her heart jolt.
Hades stood motionless before the roaring fireplace, his tall figure cast in flickering shadows. In one hand, he held a tangled bundle of black feathers, and when Evangeline focused, her breath hitched. It was the crow!
The creature was being held upside down, flailing and cawing in frantic distress, its sharp cries echoing through the chamber as it struggled uselessly in his grip. Behind Hades, his vast black wings shuddered violently, trembling with barely restrained fury, much like an enraged beast holding itself back from tearing its prey apart.
