Hades had meant every word he spoke. It was not because he cared about these humans or their safety, nor because he feared the Hunters or the clan that stood behind them. Fear had never been the reason.
He was simply smart enough to understand the inconvenience of being hunted, how it would turn into a shackle, dragging behind him whenever he wished to linger in his freedom, whenever he wanted to move, act, or exist without these irritating creatures snapping at his heels like starving roaches driven mad by hunger.
He warned them not out of mercy, but calculation, a mercy from what he sees but of course not to the humans.
Yet humans were born with skepticism carved deep into their bones. Their world was built on betrayal and hatred, on half-truths and broken trust, and so instead of questioning the woman who had led them here, their suspicion turned sharply toward him. Their eyes narrowed, hardening with reflexive disbelief.
