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Hazel's POV
Morning came far too quickly.
I woke with the faintest trace of last night's tension still knotted in my chest, the remnants of that charged, uncomfortable silence lingering in the corners of my mind. The incident in my room played over again, not in sharp detail, but like a shadow that moved just beyond reach — enough to keep my thoughts circling back to it.
It wasn't the first time Hades and I had clashed, but last night had been… different. His presence had felt closer, heavier, as if a boundary had thinned between us without warning. And though nothing overtly scandalous had happened, the memory of his nearness was still there — a quiet, unspoken thing I wasn't sure how to name.
Maybe that was why, when I sat up and caught sight of the sunlight spilling faintly across the balcony, my first instinct was to escape. Not in the dramatic, "run away from the Citadel" way, but in a smaller, quieter sense — to get out of my chambers, to breathe air that wasn't thick with unspoken words.
And there was only one person I knew who would help me do that without asking too many questions.
I found Alyssa in one of the Citadel's side halls, draped in an opulent robe that looked like it had been woven from midnight and moonlight. Her black hair shimmered faintly under the light filtering through the tall, narrow windows.
"Morning, Queen Firebrand," she greeted with that sly smile of hers, as if she already knew I was up to something.
"Don't call me that," I muttered, but my lips twitched despite myself. "I need a favor."
She arched a brow, folding her arms. "That's never how good stories start."
"I want to go outside," I said plainly. "Not beyond the Citadel walls, just… into the town. The market streets, the plazas—anywhere that isn't one of these endless, brooding corridors."
Alyssa's smile widened. "You want to slum it with the locals? Oh, I like this side of you."
"I just—" I hesitated, glancing down the hallway to make sure no one was listening. "I need a change of scenery."
Her eyes softened a fraction, which for Alyssa was practically an embrace. "Alright. Let's get you out of this fortress. But first, we—"
"Going somewhere?"
The voice cut clean through my mood, deep and laced with that subtle weight of command that instantly made my shoulders tense.
I turned to see not just Hades, but Aries and Lycan as well — all three of them emerging from an adjacent corridor like they'd been conjured by fate or, more likely, my bad luck.
Alyssa, ever the picture of composed mischief, leaned against the wall as if she'd been expecting this.
"Your Majesty," she drawled at Hades, "Hazel and I were just—"
"You will not be leaving without me." His words were a flat declaration, no room for debate.
I blinked. "What? I'm not trying to cross the Red Sea. I just wanted to walk around the town."
"Exactly," he said, stepping closer, his gaze locked on mine in that way that felt equal parts protective and possessive. "And as Queen Consort, you don't just walk around without escort."
I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself. "It's not like the town is going to rise up and assassinate me in broad daylight. I just wanted to hang out with Alyssa, not—"
"You'll have both," Hades interrupted, his tone softer than usual but still immovable. "Alyssa, and me."
Beside him, Aries chuckled under his breath, and Lycan's mouth twitched like he was holding back a smirk.
"What's so funny?" I demanded.
Aries tilted his head at Hades. "You're… different this morning. No frostbite in your tone, no 'touch her and you'll lose a hand' glare. Are you unwell?"
Even Lycan, who rarely spoke unless provoked, gave Hades a sidelong glance. "Your aura feels lighter."
Hades ignored them, but I caught the faintest flicker of discomfort in his expression.
"We'll make it an official tour," he said, straightening as though to seal the decision. "Since the leaders of the other regions are here, they can join. The Citadel deserves to be seen through the eyes of its rulers."
I stared at him. "So now my casual outing is turning into a royal parade?"
"If you're going to see the Citadel," he replied evenly, "you'll see all of it."
And that was that.
Alyssa shot me a look that said she was thoroughly enjoying my plight, and Aries winked at me like this was the most entertaining thing he'd witnessed all week. Lycan just nodded once, the ghost of a smirk still hovering on his lips.
I sighed, resigning myself. "Fine. But if this turns into some ceremonial ordeal where people start bowing and kissing my hand, I'm blaming you."
Hades' mouth curved — not quite a smile, but close enough to make me suspicious. "I'll take the blame."
---
Hades' POV
It was strange, the way the morning felt.
I had woken early — earlier than usual — because the thought of running into Hazel unprepared was enough to unsettle me. After last night… after standing in her room, close enough to feel the shift in her breath, close enough to catch the flicker of defiance and something else in her eyes, I found myself uncertain.
Not about her safety. That was constant.
About me.
I wasn't used to feeling… nervous. It was a foreign, irritating sensation, like wearing armor that didn't fit. Normally, my presence alone was enough to command control over any situation, but with her, control had become a fragile, precarious thing.
So when I overheard her with Alyssa, talking about leaving the Citadel, my first reaction wasn't annoyance — it was a sharp, almost instinctive no. Not because I doubted her ability to walk through a marketplace without getting lost or causing trouble, but because the idea of her being out there without me felt… wrong.
The underworld had rules, unspoken and brutal. Being Queen Consort made her a target in ways she didn't fully understand yet. And after last night, the thought of her being too far from me — out of reach if something happened — was intolerable.
But instead of saying that, I found myself acting… differently. My voice lacked the usual bite. My tone carried less ice. Even Aries noticed, which was as infuriating as it was telling.
I had no intention of explaining myself to them. The truth was, I needed an excuse to be near her today — one that wouldn't make her think I was hovering out of sheer… attachment.
So I made it a formal tour.
That way, I could be there, close enough to watch over her, without her accusing me of shadowing her every move.
But even as I said it, I knew I was already breaking my own rules. I wasn't supposed to… lighten my tone. I wasn't supposed to meet her gaze and let it linger a moment longer than necessary.
Yet here I was. Acting out of character. And I had the sinking feeling everyone including her had noticed.