Chapter 13
Elara
The mirrored hall was my favorite. Or it had been — so far.
We had been walking for a while, Hades quietly pointing out murals and old relics as if giving me a private tour of history itself. It was almost easy to forget who he was. Almost.
The hall stretched before us, light pooling on the polished floor, mirrors reaching from marble to ceiling. My reflection stared back from every angle — dozens of me in endless repetition.
And then, in one reflection, I wasn't alone.
A shadow moved behind me.
I turned quickly, but the real hallway was empty. My heart stuttered.
"Is something wrong?" Hades asked, his voice calm but sharp with attention.
"I... thought I saw—"
Before I could finish, the temperature dropped. A chill swept through the hall, and one of the mirrors — the third from the left — rippled, as though the glass were made of water. A pale hand pressed against it from the inside.
I stepped back instinctively. "What is that?"
His expression changed — just slightly, but enough for me to see the shift from curiosity to cold authority.
"Stay behind me," he ordered.
The glass shuddered. Cracks spidered out from the handprint, and a whisper slid through the air, words I couldn't understand but felt deep in my bones.
Hades moved faster than my eyes could follow. Shadows surged at his command, smothering the mirror in darkness until the cracks sealed and the hand vanished.
When it was over, he turned to me, his voice low. "You were not meant to see that."
I swallowed hard. "What was that?"
"One of the reasons you are not to wander alone."
He didn't elaborate. And I didn't push, though my pulse was still racing. I realized then — this place wasn't just dangerous because of him.
It was dangerous without him.