Chapter 2 - Something Watching
Athena couldn't shake the feeling.
It followed her through the house like a shadow.
She tried to ignore it. Tried to busy herself the way she always did when her mind started wandering too far. Laundry. Dishes. Dusting shelves that weren't dusty.
But the silence in the house felt louder today.
Heavier.
James had left an hour ago, and already she missed the structure of him being there. The way his presence filled the rooms. The way she always knew what to do when he was home.
When he wasn't...
She didn't quite know who she was supposed to be.
She stepped outside onto the back porch, drawn again to the trees lining their property.
The forest seemed closer than usual.
Darker.
Her heart began to thud slowly in her chest.
A strange thought entered her mind.
Run.
She didn't know why.
She didn't know where.
But every part of her body suddenly felt like it wanted to move. Like standing still was wrong.
She gripped the porch railing tightly.
"What is wrong with me..." she whispered.
A breeze moved through the trees, and for a brief second, she swore she smelled something unfamiliar.
Earth.
Pine.
Wild.
Her pulse spiked.
Then it was gone.
She shook her head and went back inside.
?
James Whitlock did not go to work on Thursdays.
Athena didn't know that.
She believed he had private meetings. Important ones. Business deals she didn't understand.
He liked it that way.
The less she knew, the better.
An hour later, he sat in a private lounge beneath an upscale casino, staring at the woman across from him with thinly veiled anxiety.
Seraphine.
She poured him a drink like this was a casual visit.
Like his life wasn't quietly unraveling.
"You look stressed, James," she said smoothly.
He didn't reach for the glass.
"How much?"
She smiled.
"That's not how this works."
She slid a folder across the table.
He opened it.
And felt his stomach drop to his shoes.
"That can't be right."
"Oh, it is," she replied calmly. "Interest grows when payments don't."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I can get the money."
She tilted her head.
"No. You can't."
Silence stretched between them.
Then she said something that made his blood turn to ice.
"But you do have something of value."
He looked up slowly.
"No."
Her eyes gleamed. "Your wife."
James stood abruptly. "She's not part of this."
"You borrowed from the King's family," Seraphine said softly. "Did you think they only deal in cash?"
"She doesn't know anything about this world!"
"All the better."
His breathing grew heavier.
"Why would they want her?"
Seraphine stood and walked around the table, stopping beside him.
"They've been watching her for months."
His heart stopped.
"Why?"
She leaned down, whispering near his ear.
"That's not information you're important enough to know."
She walked away.
"You have three days, James. Money... or your wife."
?
That night, Athena set the table for two.
The candles were lit.
The food stayed warm.
James didn't come home until close to midnight.
She had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him.
He stood in the doorway and watched her for a long time.
Something twisted in his chest.
Guilt.
Fear.
And a sick, selfish relief that she looked so small and trusting.
He knelt in front of her and brushed her hair from her face.
"Athena..."
Her eyes opened slowly. "You're home..."
She smiled at him like she always did.
Like he was her whole world.
He kissed her.
And for the first time in their marriage, there was something desperate in it.
Something that felt like a goodbye.
She didn't notice.
She only melted into him.
Outside, in the trees beyond their property, something watched the house with glowing silver eyes.
Waiting.