Violet
My heart slammed so hard against my ribs I swore the entire room could hear it.
No. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t be here.
For a second, I stood frozen, unable to breathe, as though my entire body had shut down in disbelief. The laughter, the music, the hum of voices below all vanished. The room fell silent. And with a jolt, I realized every pair of eyes was on me.
“Miss?” The familiar voice came again.
I blinked, snapping out of the daze. My body moved before my mind did, jerking away from him as if I’d been burned.
Roman.
My professor. The one man other than Hades who had been there to catch me every time I stumbled. The man who helped me when I didn’t even know I needed it. The one person who had been consistently kind to me.
And now, he stood in front of me.
He wore a d
