The door crashed open, and the darkness spilled inside like ink bleeding into water. It wasn’t just the absence of light—it was alive, shifting, writhing, pulsing with a hunger that sent ice down my spine.

  The serpents hissed, their bodies coiling tightly against me. Every instinct screamed for me to run, but I stood my ground, the dagger gripped so tightly in my hand that my knuckles ached.

  Orion moved first, his blade flashing as he struck at the creeping shadows. The steel met something solid, and a shriek erupted from the darkness, high and grating, like bones snapping all at once.

  Then the Shades stepped forward.

  They weren’t human—not anymore. Their forms flickered between shapes, their features distorted, their eyes burning with hollow, silver light. They moved like broken marionettes, their limbs jerking unnaturally as they closed in.

  I stepped back, my breath sharp. “What are they?”

  “Remnants,” Orion growled, slashing at the closest one. His blade cut through it, but the wound didn’t bleed. Instead, black mist seeped from its body, curling into the air before vanishing. “They were human once, before the gods abandoned them.”

  The word abandoned sent a shudder through me. I knew what it was to be forsaken. I knew the emptiness of reaching for salvation and finding nothing but silence.

  One of the Shades turned its head toward me, its neck twisting unnaturally. “Medusa,” it rasped, the sound stretching, slithering like a whisper from the depths of the sea.

  My blood turned to ice.

  The name tasted foul on its tongue, and in that moment, I knew—it knew what I was.

  The room seemed to close in, the air thick and suffocating. The echoes of my past clawed at me, dragging me backward, through time, through pain—

  Marble pressed against my back, cold and unyielding. The temple had never felt like a prison until now.

  Poseidon loomed over me, his shadow swallowing the light of the sacred flames. His hands were rough, unrelenting, the scent of saltwater thick in my nose.

  I fought. I screamed.

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  No one came.

  Not Athena. Not the gods who claimed to protect their own.

  The walls bore witness, the sacred halls once meant for prayer now desecrated by his cruelty.

  When he was finished, he stood, adjusting the folds of his robe as if I had been nothing but a momentary amusement.

  He knelt beside me then, his lips curving in something that should have been a smile, but it was sharp, cruel, carved from arrogance and divine impunity.

  “Did you think they would save you?” His voice was soft, mocking. “That she would save you?”

  Tears burned my skin as I turned my face away, unable to meet his gaze.

  Poseidon chuckled, standing to leave. “You were mine the moment I set my eyes on you. And now, you will belong to no one.”

  The words shattered something inside me.

  I tore myself from the memory with a ragged gasp, my chest heaving. The serpents thrashed wildly, sensing my distress, their sharp fangs bared.

  The Shade took another step forward, its body stretching and shifting, as though trying to reshape itself into something I would recognize.

  “You do not belong here,” it hissed. “You never belonged anywhere.”

  Rage snapped through me like a whip, sudden and consuming.

  I lifted my head, meeting its glowing eyes. “You’re wrong.”

  The glow in my irises intensified, and the Shade froze. The weight of my curse surged forward, the air between us thickening as the magic awoke.

  It tried to turn away. Too late.

  The transformation was slow, agonizing. The mist that clung to its form solidified, hardening, the silver light in its eyes flickering as its body turned to stone. Its mouth opened in a silent scream—

  And then it was still.

  A broken statue, cracked and lifeless.

  Silence.

  Orion stared at me, his breath unsteady. “You—” He exhaled sharply. “You don’t waste time.”

  I turned away from the petrified Shade, my pulse still hammering in my ears. “They wanted me to be a monster.” I stepped forward, the serpents curling against my shoulders. “Now they’ll see what that truly means.”

  Orion’s lips parted slightly, something unreadable flickering across his expression. But there was no time for hesitation.

  The other Shades moved, shifting through the darkness, surrounding us once more.

  A low chuckle echoed from the doorway. It wasn’t from the Shades.

  Orion stiffened, his fingers tightening around his blade. “No.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but the sheer weight of the word sent dread coiling in my gut.

  The figure stepped forward. Unlike the Shades, he was solid. Real.

  Tall, draped in black, with golden eyes that gleamed like dying embers. His presence filled the space, pressing against me like a tide that threatened to pull me under.

  I had never seen him before, and yet… something about him felt familiar.

  He tilted his head, his lips curling into a slow, knowing smile. “You’ve caused quite a mess, haven’t you, Gorgon?”

  I didn’t answer, my muscles locked in place.

  Orion shifted slightly, moving in front of me. It was the first time I had seen fear in his eyes.

  The stranger laughed, dark and rich, as if he could taste the tension in the air. “You’ve forgotten me already?” His golden gaze locked onto mine, and a flicker of something twisted in my chest.

  My vision blurred. The past, the present—colliding.

  A temple. A throne. The cold weight of a god’s judgment.

  A name, whispered in the dark.

  Hades.