I was confident that would finally make her expression crack. Even just a little. But it didn't. It felt like I knew nothing about this Hera at all. She looked at me coldly, so cold that it felt as if the world itself had frozen the moment she chose to stand there. The forest seemed to hold its breath with her. Her lips moved slowly, deliberately, as if she were choosing each word with care.
"You're right," she said. "I do need you for this. But not to shield the curse. And not to steal the glory of killing them."
She drew in a deep breath, then let it out in a measured exhale. That single motion made my nerves tighten, a quiet warning ringing in my chest before I even understood why.
"I want you to kill me," she continued calmly. "The moment they all fall."
For a heartbeat, my body forgot how to function. Even my knees almost gave out beneath me as her words sank in. It felt like the ground had shifted without warning, like reality itself had slipped one step out of place.
