Hades
My gaze locked onto the crumpled figure of Ellen, drenched in blood, clutching Jules' lifeless body with a desperation that tore through the cold air. I took a hesitant step forward, my breath caught in my throat, an unfamiliar tightness constricting my chest.
"No," I whispered, but the word barely left my lips, swallowed by the unbearable weight of the moment. My hands curled into fists at my sides, my jaw clenching so tightly it threatened to crack. "No, no, no—"
Ellen's head snapped up at the sound of my voice, her eyes swollen shut, her face bruised and battered, streaked with blood and tears, her eyes hollowed out by grief. "She's gone," she choked out, her voice barely more than a whisper, yet it cut through me like a blade. "I couldn't save her, Hades. I—I tried... I tried."
