Alessandro stirred the crackling bonfire, the glow of the flames dancing in his storm-gray eyes. The Di Angelo siblings sat opposite him, Nico fidgeting with a celestial bronze coin while Bianca's gaze lingered on Alessandro with curiosity and something else—sympathy. Despite the warmth of the fire, the air was heavy with silence, broken only by the occasional howl of wind rustling the pine trees that surrounded their woodland refuge.
"You hate your father," Bianca finally said, her voice soft but steady. It wasn't a question.
Alessandro's hand tightened around the iron poker. "Hate isn't strong enough a word," he muttered. "He abandoned me. Left my mother to fend for herself when the gods found out I existed."
Bianca exchanged a glance with Nico, who looked up, his dark eyes filled with a mix of fear and defiance. "What happened to her?" Nico asked.
The firelight cast long shadows over Alessandro's face as he spoke. "When Zeus sent his wrath to kill me, she shielded me. Took the brunt of the lightning. I survived because of… this place." He gestured around them, the boundaries of Chrona Salvàta shimmering faintly. "But she didn't."
Bianca's lips parted, but no words came out. Instead, she moved closer, placing a hand on Alessandro's arm. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. Neither of you did."
Her touch was grounding, and for a moment, Alessandro allowed himself to feel the weight of her words. He'd carried his mother's loss like a stone in his chest for years, but this small gesture lightened it ever so slightly.
"My father is no better," Bianca added, her voice barely above a whisper. "Hades may have given us life, but he didn't care what happened to us after. We were just pawns in his endless game."
"Maybe that's all we are to them," Alessandro said bitterly. "Pieces on a board. Tools to use and discard. But I won't be their pawn. Not anymore."
Nico leaned forward, his voice quiet but firm. "Neither will we."
In the shared silence that followed, a fragile bond formed between the three demigods. They were children of the gods, yet they were outsiders, united by loss and anger. It wasn't trust—not yet. But it was a start.
As the fire crackled and the stars twinkled above, Alessandro looked at his newfound companions and made a silent vow. He would protect them, even if it meant defying the very gods themselves.