The Devil's Broken Doll
She hesitated, then added, softer, almost resentful of herself, “He was… handsome.”
The word landed like a spark in dry kindling. Apollo didn’t move, but the temperature in the chamber shifted — not hotter, not colder, just tighter. As if the air itself had drawn a careful breath and decided not to release it.
Handsome.
Not brutal. Not monstrous. Not crowned in flame.
His jaw flexed. Slowly. Deliberately. “Handsome,” he repeated, tasting the word like something spoiled.
Adelaide lifted her chin a fraction, defiance flickering weakly through her exhaustion. “Not in the way you are,” she said quickly. “Not… overwhelming. He was quieter. Sharper around the edges. Like—”
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