Hades
The silence that followed Silas's outburst was brittle.
Like bone under too much weight.
Across the table, Eve had gone still—her face unreadable, but her hand had curled into a fist in her lap.
I didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.
Instead, I leaned back in my seat slowly, deliberately, like I was weighing a man's worth by how fast he could hold his tongue.
"You seem troubled, Ambassador," I said coolly. "Would you like the entity currently riding shot gun in my skull to clarify the implications of that name?"
The temperature in the room dropped.
Montegue's brows twitched. Kael went tense again. Silas paled a full shade—his lips pressing into a thin line of regret.
"I—" he began.
But I raised my hand.
"No?" I offered mildly, my tone mocking the civility he'd clung to moments ago. "Then I suggest you let the matter lie, before your curiosity courts something far less diplomatic than I am."
Silas stiffened. The others shifted. No one volunteered to back him up.
