Chapter 13 - The Throne Room
The car door opened.
Cold air rushed in.
Athena didn't move at first.
Her eyes were still fixed on the fortress rising out of the mountainside like something carved from a nightmare. Stone towers. Iron gates. Torches burning along the walls. It didn't look real.
It looked ancient.
Impossible.
"Come," the passenger said gently.
She shook her head. "I'm not getting out."
Neither man forced her.
They waited.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Athena slowly stepped out of the vehicle on her own.
Her legs felt weak beneath her.
The gravel crunched loudly under her bare feet as she looked up at the structure towering above her. It felt like the mountain itself was watching.
They guided her forward without touching her.
Through the massive iron gates.
Across a stone bridge.
Toward a set of doors taller than anything she had ever seen.
They opened before they reached them.
Her heart pounded so hard she thought she might pass out.
Inside, the air felt different.
Heavier.
Warmer.
Like the building itself was alive.
Torches lined the walls, casting flickering shadows across long stone corridors. The sound of their footsteps echoed as they walked.
Athena's eyes darted everywhere.
No windows.
No decorations.
Just stone. Fire. Silence.
They turned a corner and entered a vast chamber.
Her breath caught.
It was enormous.
A throne room.
And at the far end...
Someone sat waiting.
She couldn't see his face yet.
Only a dark figure seated on a raised platform carved from the same stone as the mountain.
Still.
Watching.
The two men who brought her in stopped walking.
Athena didn't realize she had stopped breathing.
Her heart slammed against her ribs as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light.
And then-
He stood.
Tall.
Massive.
Broad shoulders stretching beneath dark clothing.
Black hair.
Blue eyes that caught the firelight and reflected silver.
The moment their eyes met-
The world stopped.
Athena forgot how to breathe.
A strange heat shot through her chest like lightning striking bone.
Her fingers curled involuntarily at her sides.
She didn't know this man.
She had never seen him before.
So why did her body react like she recognized him?
Like she had been waiting for him.
The man on the throne didn't move for several seconds.
He simply stared at her.
His expression unreadable.
But something in his eyes changed.
Something primal.
Possessive.
Alive.
Athena felt it.
Deep in her chest.
A pull so strong it made her knees feel weak.
She staggered slightly.
One of the men behind her stepped forward to steady her, but the man on the platform spoke for the first time.
"Do not touch her."
His voice was deep.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
The man behind her immediately stepped back.
Athena's pulse roared in her ears.
She couldn't look away from him.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't understand why her heart felt like it was trying to climb out of her chest.
Silas Silverwood descended the steps slowly.
Every movement deliberate.
Measured.
Predatory.
He stopped a few feet in front of her.
Close enough that she could see the silver threading through his blue eyes.
Close enough that her entire body felt aware of his presence.
He inhaled slowly.
And Athena felt it.
Like he was breathing her in.
His jaw tightened.
A muscle ticked in his cheek.
He spoke quietly.
"What is your name?"
Her lips parted.
But no sound came out.
Because the only thought in her mind was:
I know you.