Bianca's POV
My hand flew to my mouth, cutting off the gasp before it could escape.
I pressed my palm against my lips, holding it there like a dam against the flood of sound threatening to break free. My spine hit the wall hard. My legs felt like water, but I refused to collapse. I would not give her that satisfaction. Standing in that shadowed corridor, I stared at the space where she lingered and forced the words past my trembling fingers.
"You are not real."
The smile materialized first. That cruel, knowing curve of lips floating in the darkness like something from a fever dream. Then the rest of Hera assembled itself around that terrible grin, her head cocking to one side with that familiar mocking tilt.
Then she vanished.
