Chapter 78 - The Way They Look at Her
Athena didn't feel different when she stepped into the corridor.
She still felt tired. Weak. Like her body had been emptied and refilled with something she didn't understand.
But the moment she walked past the first pair of wolves stationed outside the healing wing...
She knew something had changed.
They didn't just nod.
They bowed their heads.
Not deeply.
Not ceremonially.
But enough that her steps faltered.
She kept walking.
Trying to convince herself she was imagining it.
The next wolf she passed stepped aside before she even reached him, giving her more space than necessary.
His eyes didn't hold curiosity anymore.
They held respect.
Athena's chest tightened.
This wasn't because of Silas.
This wasn't because she had healed him.
This was because word had spread.
Goldenthorn.
The name followed her down the hall like a whisper she couldn't escape.
She didn't feel like royalty.
She didn't feel powerful.
She felt... small.
Confused.
Unworthy.
Her hands curled into the sleeves of her shirt as she walked faster.
A voice stopped her.
"Princess."
Athena froze.
She turned slowly.
Kael stood a few feet away, posture straight, expression serious.
He didn't look skeptical.
He didn't look distrustful.
He looked respectful.
And that made it worse.
"I..." her voice faltered. "You don't have to call me that."
Kael shook his head once.
"Yes. I do."
Her throat tightened painfully.
"I'm still the same person," she said.
Kael studied her for a long moment.
"That is exactly why we do."
Athena looked away quickly.
Her vision blurred with tears she refused to let fall.
She didn't feel like someone wolves should bow to.
She didn't feel like someone meant to lead.
She felt like the girl who had spent her whole life trying to be small enough to be acceptable.
"I don't think I deserve this," she whispered.
Kael's voice softened, but remained firm.
"It is not about what you think you deserve."
She swallowed hard.
"It is about what you are."
Athena's chest ached as self-doubt crept in like cold water filling her lungs.
She didn't know how to carry this.
Didn't know how to be this.
And for the first time since learning who she was...
She wondered if she was strong enough to live up to it.