Chapter 60 - Under Guard
Athena noticed the change immediately.
She didn't have to be told.
Two wolves stood outside the healing wing when she arrived that morning. Not in her way. Not watching her directly.
Just... present.
Another waited at the end of the corridor when she left.
She stopped walking and looked back at him.
"Are you following me?" she asked.
The wolf dipped his head slightly. "Yes."
Athena blinked.
"Why?"
"For your safety."
The words felt too familiar.
Too close to something she had spent her life inside.
Her chest tightened as she turned and walked back toward the main hall.
She found Silas speaking quietly with Rowan near the map table.
He looked up the moment she entered.
Her expression was enough for him to understand.
"You posted guards on me," she said.
"Yes."
Her jaw tightened.
"I don't like it."
Silas stepped away from the table and walked toward her.
"I know."
She crossed her arms.
"I spent my whole life feeling watched. Managed. Kept in place. I don't want to feel like that here too."
Silas stopped in front of her.
Close enough that his presence felt grounding, not imposing.
"This is not the same," he said quietly.
"It feels like it," she admitted.
Silas's voice softened.
"You were controlled before. Your choices limited. Your world small."
She held his gaze.
"This is protection," he continued. "Not control."
Athena exhaled slowly.
Her shoulders relaxed just a fraction.
"I don't want to be the reason your people have to change how they live," she said.
Silas stepped closer.
"You are not."
She searched his face.
"They're doing this because you are worth guarding," he said gently.
The words settled in her chest differently than she expected.
Not heavy.
Not suffocating.
Reassuring.
Athena nodded slowly.
For the first time, she understood the difference.
She wasn't being contained.
She was being protected.