Chapter 3 ATHENA
ATHENA
“Mom, I need your help.”
My mother’s eyes snapped up the moment I spoke. It was just us—finally. I’d waited until I was sure my father wouldn’t be home before slipping into her office. She closed her laptop slowly and offered me that soft, warm smile that always made me feel like a little girl again.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, already sounding worried.
“I just wanted to talk to you about something,” I said, tucking a lock of red hair behind my ear as I stepped closer to her desk. She lifted a brow, curious now, nodding for me to continue.
God, why is this so hard? I knew the words. I’d practiced them, but saying them in front of her it felt like I was committing some form of treason.
“It’s about a trip,” I began, biting my bottom lip. “Isadora and Seraphina mentioned it. Just a weekend at the resort in the next town. Ace wants to go too.”
I held my breath. My mother’s face didn’t change. That unreadable, still expression meant one thing- she was calculating.
“It’s just a little getaway,” I rushed on, my words tumbling fast. “We’ll be with friends. Nothing wild.”
I just want to feel normal. But I didn’t say that. I wanted to be Athena, not The Athena King. Not the golden daughter of the King Family. Her gaze softened, but her reply was as expected.
“Tini… you know it’s not that simple.” My body slumped at the nickname for me since I could remember. “It’s dangerous, and you know that,” she added gently. I sank onto the velvet couch across from her.
“I want to feel like a normal girl, just once,” I confessed, unable to look her in the eyes. “ I wasn’t allowed to go to school or make friends. I’ve spent my life behind walls.”
“You know everything we do is to protect you,” she said.
“I’m twenty.” I lifted my eyes to hers, defiant and desperate. “I need to feel like I have a life of my own.”
Her shoulders dropped. She stood and came around the desk, sitting beside me. Her eyes shimmered with too many emotions.
“Your life does belong to you, Tini,” she said softly. “And I know you’ll do great things.”
“I can’t if I never leave this damn house,” I replied. The silence that followed meant she heard me—really heard me.
She took my hands. “You want this trip that much?”
“More than anything.”
Her lips curled into a faint smile. “Alright. I’ll talk to your father.”
Hope surged in my chest like a bullet train. “Really?!”
“But that doesn’t mean you’ll be going without security.”
I didn’t care. As long as I could go, breathe, exist outside this house—I’d take it.
I hugged her tightly. “Are you sure Dad will agree?”
She laughed, soft and knowing. “Tini… when have I ever asked your father for something and not gotten it?”
The second I was out of the house, I texted Mason. Now we were parked at our favorite overlook in his sleek, black Mercedes, the town below glittering with little lights.
“I can’t believe you’re coming,” Mason said, smiling like he couldn’t help it. His dirty-blonde hair fell into his eyes, infuriatingly perfect.
“I’m not officially going yet,” I corrected, though my own smile betrayed me.
“Your dad is obsessed with your mom,” he laughed. “You know you are coming.’’
I laughed, biting my lip. “I can’t believe I actually stood up for myself.”
Mason reached over and placed a hand on my thigh, his touch sending a rush of heat through me. “And I’m proud of you, Athena.”
My fingers slipped over his, intertwining like we were made to fit. “I can’t wait to get away with you.”
“A little escape from here,” he murmured, leaning closer. “I don’t care who else is there. If you’re there, that is enough for me.”
God, how does he do that? His voice was like velvet and wildfire wrapped in desire, and I felt it melt through every bone in my body.
“Have you ever thought about… us?” I asked quietly, “The future?”
He nodded. “I think about asking your father for your hand the second we’re old enough for him to fully trust me with you. Then you’ll be mine, and I’ll be yours.”
My breath hitched. “I want that too.”
He smiled, then leaned in and kissed me.
Soft at first, gentle, but it didn’t stay innocent for long.
His mouth moved with desperation and restraint all at once.
His hand caressed my cheek, while the other tightened on my thigh like he wanted me closer.
Every part of me screamed for him. His lips moved to my neck, and I arched instinctively, inviting his touch.
I moaned softly when his teeth grazed the sensitive spot just below my ear.
Then I made the mistake of opening my eyes.
And I saw a shadow in the rear view mirror. Tall, unmoving, and dressed in black. A mask covered his face, white and smooth with dark hollow eyes. Watching us.
A scream died in my throat as I jerked back, pushing Mason away and twisting toward the window. Nothing. Just shadows and trees.
“Athena? What is it?” Mason’s voice cut through the haze, concern sharpening his every word. I looked again but nothing. Only darkness.
“I… thought I saw someone.” My voice was shaky, uncertain. Was it real?
“You’re okay,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “You’re safe with me.”
I forced a kiss back onto his lips, needing the distraction. We kissed until the tension dissolved into breathlessness, and eventually, he drove me home, waiting like always until I was inside. But that didn’t stop the feeling.
That icy chill and creeping paranoia. Even with guards outside and locked gates and a house built like a fortress—I didn’t sleep that night. Because when I closed my eyes, I could still see the shadow. And somehow, I knew he could see me too.