The drive went on in silence.
Of course it did.
Hades wasn't the type to fill silence. He weaponized it. Let it stretch like a wire between them, taut and humming. His hands rested on the wheel like he'd done this a thousand times—controlled, minimal, precise. His eyes stayed on the road. Not a glance her way.
Fine.
Alice hugged her arms to herself, pretending she wasn't still cold. Pretending she wasn't confused. Or… oddly grateful. But also scared. Because Hades wasn't simply someone any person in their right mind would follow out. Yet, for some odd reason...
She wasn't sure how to explain it.
Outside, the world shifted.
The estate's wrought-iron gates disappeared behind them, replaced by roads wider than she remembered. Neon lights spilled across the pavement. Tall buildings rose like silent sentinels, their glass surfaces catching the city's reflections and throwing them back in color—blue, gold, red.
It was night, but it felt alive.
