Chapter 87 - Face to Face
The gates opened slowly.
Not wide.
Just enough.
Silas stepped forward first, Rowan and Kael flanking him.
Athena walked at his side.
Not behind him.
Not hidden.
Beside him.
The sight across the boundary made her chest tighten.
Victor Whitlock stood tall and composed, hands folded calmly behind his back like this was a polite meeting instead of the edge of war.
And beside him-
James.
Her husband.
His eyes found her instantly.
And they didn't leave.
Athena felt the weight of that stare like a hand trying to pull her backward into a life she no longer fit inside.
But something strange happened.
She didn't feel small.
She didn't feel nervous.
She felt... aware.
James's expression shifted as he took her in.
Not the soft, obedient girl he remembered.
Not the quiet wife who shrank to keep peace.
This Athena stood straight.
Confident.
Unapologetic.
Strong.
And the look in his eyes changed from recognition to something darker.
Longing.
He wanted this version of her.
Wanted to see it up close.
Wanted to experience the woman she had become.
Silas felt it instantly.
The way James looked at her.
The hunger in it.
Possessive.
Silas's jaw tightened.
Without thinking, his hand slid to Athena's waist, pulling her firmly against his side.
Not rough.
Deliberate.
Claiming.
Athena didn't resist.
She leaned into him naturally.
Not because she was told to.
Because she wanted to.
Her hand rested against Silas's chest, fingers curling into his shirt.
Victor's eyes flicked to the contact.
His calm expression cracked for just a second.
James's face darkened.
"You look different," James said, voice low, almost reverent.
Athena met his gaze without flinching.
"I am."
He took a small step forward before Victor's hand stopped him.
James's eyes didn't leave her.
"I want my wife back," he said quietly.
Silas's arm tightened slightly around her.
Athena didn't look at Silas.
She kept her eyes on James.
And for the first time in her life, she felt no fear speaking to him.
"No," she said calmly.
"I never belonged to you."
Victor's gaze sharpened.
"You belong with me," he said smoothly.
Athena turned her eyes to him.
Steady.
Certain.
"No," she replied.
"I never did."