~~~
Hazel awoke slowly, as if surfacing from deep water. The first thing she felt was warmth — not the blanket over her, but the steady heat of a hand wrapped around hers. Her eyes opened to find Hades sitting beside her bed, his head bowed, shadows pooling at his feet like restless smoke.
Her breath caught. He looked… different. Not just the dark, commanding king she'd come to know, but tired, as if he'd been holding back the weight of the entire Underworld with his bare hands.
"How long—" she began, her voice rough.
"A day," he said without looking up.
Her heart skipped. "You… stayed here?"
His gaze lifted to meet hers, and there it was — that same unyielding, consuming focus that made her forget the rest of the world. "Where else would I be?"
Hazel shifted, trying to sit up. "You had other duties—"
"They can wait." He reached forward, adjusting the pillows behind her, his touch surprisingly gentle. "You can't."
Silence lingered for a moment. Hazel's eyes studied him — the rigid lines of his jaw, the faint tension in his shoulders.
"You were… angry," she said quietly.
His gaze darkened, but not with denial. "I wanted to tear the garden apart. To drag their bodies across the stones until there was nothing left but dust."
She swallowed. "Why? You've told me before — this is how the court works. Power plays. Challenges."
"Not against you," he said sharply. His fingers tightened around hers. "Never against you."
The words hit her harder than she expected. "I can take care of myself."
"I know," he said, softer now. "But I don't want you to have to."
Hazel's throat tightened. "Why?"
His lips curved — not into a smile, but into something raw, almost dangerous. "Because if you fall, Hazel, the rest of the world will learn what it means to lose everything."
Her chest felt too small for her heartbeat. She didn't know if he meant the Underworld or himself — and part of her wasn't sure she wanted the answer.
Far away, in the west wing of the palace, Velia stood in her chambers with her fists clenched at her sides. The serpent demon stared at the cracked mirror, her golden eyes wild.
She could still hear his voice. She is not useful. She is mine.
It had been centuries since anyone had cut her this deeply. She had been his weapon, his favored companion, the one he trusted in battle and in council. And now, this mortal girl — soft-skinned, wide-eyed, with no roots in this realm — had taken it all.
Velia's chest ached, but she refused to name the feeling. It wasn't heartbreak, she told herself. It was betrayal.
Lysa appeared in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame. "Still sulking?"
Velia's head snapped up. "I don't sulk."
Nyra stepped in behind her, her tone quieter but edged. "Then plot faster. He nearly killed us today."
Velia turned back to the mirror, tracing the crack with a fingertip. "He's blinded by her. That means she's the weakness."
Lysa's lips curled into a slow, knowing smile. "And we do know how to deal with weaknesses."
Back in Hazel's chambers, the tension between them softened, replaced by something more fragile. Hazel reached out, brushing her fingertips along Hades' wrist.
"You said… 'mine'," she murmured.
His eyes held hers without flinching. "Yes."
"And if I said I'm not yours?"
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Then I'd spend the rest of my existence convincing you otherwise."
The words made her pulse jump. "You're… dangerous."
"Yes," he said simply, leaning in until his breath warmed her cheek. "But only to everyone else."
Her lips parted, and for a moment she thought he might kiss her — but instead, he lifted her hand to his mouth, pressing a slow kiss to her knuckles.
"You don't need to be afraid here," he said, his voice low and deliberate. "Not of me. Not of them. If anyone tries to take you from me, Hazel… I will let the world burn."
Something inside her broke and mended at the same time. She didn't answer — she just let her fingers tighten around his, anchoring herself to him.
He didn't leave that night. He stayed, stretched out on the couch in her chamber until she drifted off again. And when nightmares clawed at her, she woke to find him there, his hand warm on her shoulder, his voice steady in the dark.
It wasn't love — not yet. But it was something just as dangerous.
.
.
.
Velia paced her room long after Lysa and Nyra had left. She knew what needed to be done. This wasn't just about reclaiming her place — it was about ensuring no one could ever threaten her again.
And if she had to bleed the Underworld dry to do it, so be it.
She would find allies in places Hades wouldn't expect. Rogue witches. Banished vampires. And perhaps… something even older, something powerful enough to finally get her on top.
If Hazel wanted the King's crown and his heart, Velia would make sure she kept neither.