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The cold wind whipped across the jagged cliffs beyond the Citadel's walls, carrying the faint scent of distant fires and the iron tang of the underworld's rivers. Velia stood at the edge, cloak snapping behind her like a living shadow. The Citadel was far behind them now, its towers vanishing into the night mist, but its memory burned in her mind brighter than any flame.
Gavriel approached quietly, boots crunching over the frost-hardened stone. He had been silent for most of the journey since their exile, the tension between them as sharp as the blades they once wielded in service of Hades.
"You're quiet," Velia said without turning. Her voice was low, controlled, but every syllable carried a lethal edge. "You're thinking about them, aren't you? About Hades, about the Citadel, about… her."
Gavriel hesitated. "I… am thinking. This banishment, it's a punishment, yes, but what comes next? You said it yourself—'the Citadel's worst nightmare.' What exactly do you mean by that?"
Velia finally turned, letting the moonlight catch her golden eyes. They gleamed with a cold fire, unsoftened by doubt or hesitation. "I was Hades' ally once," she said slowly, letting each word settle into the darkness between them. "I gave him everything. My loyalty, my skills, my devotion. I bled for him. I served him, trusted him… and he threw me aside." She took a step closer, her gaze piercing Gavriel's chest like a blade. "And now? Now I will be the Citadel's worst nightmare. Every corner of that place, every shadow they hide in—I will haunt it. They will regret the day they ever crossed me."
Gavriel swallowed hard, his unease apparent even beneath his calm demeanor. "Velia… I understand anger, yes. But… you've always been methodical, precise. You don't just act on blind rage. You plan. And I need to know—what is this plan? How far do you intend to go?"
Velia's lips curved into a sharp smile. "Gavriel… patience is a weapon just as much as a dagger." She leaned forward, letting the wind carry her words like whispers of doom. "My plan… it will be devastating. It will cripple their trust, fracture their alliances, and leave them scrambling for answers that will never come. Hades will be left blind, vulnerable, and forced to watch as his precious Citadel burns under my hands."
Gavriel frowned, trying to keep the rising tension in check. "That's… not exactly reassuring. I need specifics, Velia. How do we begin? Where do we strike first? Are the people involved? The Queen—Hazel—she's still there. If we aren't careful…"
Velia's eyes glinted, sharp and merciless. "Hazel is a pawn, Gavriel. An inexperienced, naive pawn. She doesn't yet know how deep the world's shadows run. Let her learn. Let her see the cost of underestimating someone like me."
Gavriel's jaw tightened. He had served Hades loyally, had fought and planned alongside Velia countless times. He knew the precision, the intelligence, the cunning that had made her an invaluable ally. And now, all of it was turned outward, directed at the one they had once protected.
"You've changed," he said quietly, almost to himself. "The woman I knew—your ambition, yes, but tempered. Now… I barely recognize you."
Velia let out a short, harsh laugh, the sound cutting through the cold night air. "You never knew me, Gavriel. Not truly. I hid my hunger, my fire, my fury… because I served. But Hades' rejection has shown me who I really am. I am not a tool, I am not a shadow. I am Velia—and they will all remember me."
The wind tore through the cliffs, tugging at their cloaks, and Gavriel shivered—not from cold, but from the realization of the storm they were about to unleash.
"You really intend to bring the Citadel to its knees?" he asked, voice low. "Even if it kills innocents?"
Velia's smile was razor-sharp, gleaming in the moonlight. "Collateral," she said simply. "Necessary. Pain is the instrument by which power is understood. By the time Hades realizes what I've done, it will be too late to stop me. And when the Citadel burns, he will remember… Velia."
Gavriel remained silent, caught between awe and fear. He had always known her brilliance, her cunning. But this—this was another level. He realized fully that whatever came next would not be a mere skirmish or act of revenge. This would be a calculated, intelligent devastation, a storm they could not easily contain.
Velia stepped back from the cliff's edge and looked toward the distant horizon. The Citadel was gone from sight, but it lived in her mind, every detail etched with venomous clarity. "We begin soon," she said, turning her back to Gavriel. "And when we do… watch closely. Learn quickly. Or be left behind in the wake of everything I am about to unleash."
Gavriel nodded slowly, understanding that he was no longer just an accomplice. He was a witness to a reckoning, to the rise of a force that Hades himself had underestimated. And in the silence that followed, both of them knew: the Citadel would never be the same.
Velia's whisper cut through the night one final time, meant for no one but the shadows themselves. "They will remember me… as their worst nightmare."
The wind carried her words far, and the first faint glimmers of dawn stretched across the horizon. Somewhere in the Citadel, Hazel slept, unaware of the storm gathering beyond the walls. And Velia smiled, savoring the inevitability of it all.