The weight of his presence filled the room like a slow-moving tide, pressing against my skin, seeping into my bones. The serpents stilled, their hissing replaced by a tense, eerie silence. Even they knew who he was.

  Hades.

  The god of the underworld stood before me, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips as if he were amused by my reaction. He wasn’t like the other gods I had known—he didn’t radiate the untouchable arrogance of Olympus, nor the reckless cruelty of Poseidon. No, Hades was something different.

  He was patient. Calculating.

  And that made him far more dangerous.

  “Well,” he said, stepping forward with measured grace. “You’ve certainly been busy, haven’t you?”

  I didn’t respond. My body was still caught between fight and flight, my heart pounding in my chest. Orion had moved in front of me, his body tense, but even he didn’t dare to strike.

  Hades chuckled, his golden eyes glinting in the dim light. “Come now, Orion. Surely you’re not foolish enough to think you can protect her from me?”

  Orion’s grip on his blade tightened, but he said nothing.

  Smart.

  Hades turned his attention back to me, his expression shifting into something unreadable. “I must say, Medusa, you’ve made quite the mess of things.”

  I clenched my fists. “If you’re here to kill me, get it over with.”

  He raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. “Kill you?” He laughed softly, shaking his head. “No, my dear. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have bothered coming in person.”

  A chill ran down my spine.

  “You’re valuable,” he continued, his voice smooth as silk. “And the moment you awoke, I knew it was only a matter of time before we crossed paths.”

  I hated the way he spoke—as if my existence had always been part of his plan, as if my suffering had been written into his grand design long before I had ever drawn breath.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “I don’t belong to you,” I said coldly.

  Hades tilted his head slightly, as if considering my words. “No,” he mused. “But you do belong to something. And that means I have use for you.”

  Orion stiffened. “Whatever you’re planning, leave her out of it.”

  Hades barely spared him a glance. “And why would I do that? She is, after all, the perfect tool.”

  Tool.

  The word sent fire through my veins, rage bubbling beneath the surface. “I am not your tool,” I spat.

  Hades smiled. It was the kind of smile that sent the weak to their knees, that made even the strongest question their own reality.

  “Oh, Medusa,” he said, stepping closer. “You’ve been a tool since the day the gods laid their hands on you. The only question that remains is—will you wield your own fate, or will you let someone else do it for you?”

  The words struck deeper than I wanted to admit.

  He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice as if whispering a secret meant only for me. “You want justice. I can give it to you.”

  My breath caught.

  I hated him. Hated the way he spoke as if he knew me, as if my thoughts were nothing but an open book for him to read.

  “I don’t need your help,” I said through clenched teeth.

  Hades hummed, clearly unconvinced. “No? You think you’ll simply carve your own path, unchallenged? You’ve already drawn too much attention. The hunters. The Shades. They will never stop.”

  I swallowed hard, but I refused to let him see my hesitation.

  “Join me,” he said smoothly. “And I’ll ensure they never touch you again.”

  Orion’s hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. “Don’t listen to him.”

  Hades’ gaze flicked to Orion, amusement dancing in his golden eyes. “Oh, Orion. Still playing at being a hero? How charming.”

  Orion didn’t flinch. “You don’t care about her. You never have. You only care about what she can do for you.”

  “And?” Hades said, as if Orion’s words were nothing more than an obvious statement. “I am what I am. And what I am is someone who understands power.”

  He looked back at me, his expression shifting to something far colder. “You want to survive? You want to take back what was stolen from you? Then you will need power, Medusa. You can take it now, or you can wait until the world burns it out of you.”

  His words struck a nerve so deep I almost flinched.

  Because the truth was, I did want power. I wanted it so badly it ached. I had been powerless for so long, had been used and cast aside, had been cursed for surviving what a god had done to me.

  And now, here Hades stood, offering me the one thing I had been denied for centuries.

  But at what cost?

  Orion was still gripping my wrist. His presence was grounding, solid. “You don’t have to take his deal,” he said softly.

  Hades smirked, watching me carefully. “No, she doesn’t.” His voice darkened, the amusement fading. “But she will.”

  The way he said it sent a shudder through me.

  Because deep down, I knew he was right.

  The world wouldn’t let me exist on my own terms. I had spent lifetimes learning that lesson the hard way.

  If I wanted justice… if I wanted vengeance…

  I might have to become the very thing they feared.

  I might have to take his hand.