Chapter 27 - The Healing Room
Athena didn't realize her hands were shaking until Elara gently took them.
"Come," she said softly.
The injured man was being tended to now by others. The urgency had passed, replaced by quiet, careful movements. Athena suddenly felt the weight of what she had done settle over her.
Her palms were covered in drying blood.
She hadn't even noticed.
Elara guided her down a smaller corridor beside the room into a space filled with warm light, shelves of cloth, jars, and bowls of water steaming gently.
A healing room.
Athena's chest tightened.
This place felt... familiar.
Not in memory.
In feeling.
Elara dipped a cloth into warm water and handed it to her.
"Wash," she said gently.
Athena obeyed, watching the red swirl into the basin as she cleaned her hands.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to rush in like that."
Elara smiled softly. "You didn't rush in."
She paused.
"You arrived exactly when you were needed."
Athena looked up at her.
Their eyes met.
"You knew what to do," Elara continued. "Without thinking."
"I'm a nurse," Athena said quickly, like she needed to justify it.
Elara nodded. "I can tell."
Something in the way she said it made Athena's throat tighten.
Not impressed.
Not surprised.
Recognizing.
"You miss it," Elara said gently.
Athena swallowed. "More than anything."
"Then don't stop being who you are here."
The words hit deeper than she expected.
She stared at Elara.
"I don't know what I'm allowed to be here."
Elara's expression softened.
"You don't need permission to be yourself."
Athena blinked hard, fighting sudden tears.
No one had ever said that to her before.
A shadow fell across the doorway.
She turned her head.
Silas stood there.
Watching.
He didn't interrupt.
Didn't speak.
He simply observed the way Athena stood in that room.
The way she looked calmer than he had ever seen her.
The way she fit into the space without trying.
Elara followed Athena's gaze and gave Silas a small knowing look.
Athena didn't understand it.
But she felt it.
Something quiet and important passing between them.
And for the first time since she arrived here...
She didn't feel like a guest.
She felt like she had stepped into a part of herself she didn't know had been waiting.