-PIPPA-
One word. Four letters.
"Mate," Lamia’s voice was gentle. Sweet. But it struck like the sharp edge of a blade—cutting through me, carving a wound I’d never heal from.
Because behind me, there was nobody but Helios.
Lamia stepped forward—slow, deliberate. My pulse hammered, drowning out all other sounds. And still, she moved. Again. And again. Until she passed me, stopping just a few feet from him.
The floor had opened beneath me, dragging me into some cruel alternate reality. I couldn’t move. Frozen.
I was a helpless spectator to my own destruction—trapped in a nightmare, watching the horror unfold with no way to stop it. My breath hitched—tight, strangled. There was no air. No relief.
Lamia’s fingers trembled as she reached out, barely grazing his cheek with the tips of her
