Chapter 93 - Not Like That
The clash of battle still echoed beyond the gate, but for a small pocket of space around them, the noise felt distant.
Muted.
Silas kept one hand braced against the stone while the other rested at Athena's waist.
Not because he needed support anymore.
Because he needed to be near her.
She was still staring at him, confusion written across her face.
"I didn't do anything," she insisted softly. "I just told them to help you."
Silas shook his head once.
"No. Not like that."
Her brows pulled together.
"What do you mean?"
He glanced past her at the wolves reforming their line with a new intensity, a new cohesion.
"They didn't respond because you spoke," he said.
"They responded because they felt you."
Athena's breath caught.
"I don't understand."
Silas's eyes held hers, steady and filled with something that made her chest tighten.
Pride.
Deep. Unshaken. Certain pride.
"I felt it," he said quietly. "Even through the pain. Even through the spell holding me down."
Her heart pounded.
"Felt what?"
"Your command."
She shook her head faintly.
"I didn't command anyone."
Silas's jaw softened.
"That's exactly what makes it powerful."
Athena's breathing grew uneven.
"I didn't mean to..."
Silas's thumb brushed lightly against her side.
"And that," he said gently, "is the point."
She searched his face, trying to find doubt.
There was none.
Only admiration.
Only certainty.
Only pride in what she had done without even realizing it.
"You didn't force them," he continued. "You didn't shout over anyone. You didn't try to take control."
He gave a faint, almost disbelieving smile.
"They followed you because it felt natural to."
Athena swallowed hard.
Her chest felt too tight for her lungs.
Silas leaned closer, his voice dropping softer.
"I have never been more proud of you than I am right now."