Chapter 94 - This Time, I Mean To
The pause around them shattered as another blast of mage fire struck the outer stones.
Dust rained down from the archway.
A second wave was pushing forward.
Rowan shouted something across the courtyard, already moving to intercept. Kael shifted and lunged back into the fight without hesitation.
Silas started to step forward with them-
And Athena's hand caught his.
"Wait."
He looked at her.
She didn't look panicked.
She didn't look unsure.
She looked... focused.
Another crash echoed from outside as wolves met the advancing mages.
Athena stepped away from the safety of the inner gate.
This time, she wasn't reacting.
She was choosing.
Her eyes scanned the chaos.
She could see the pattern now.
The way the mages moved.
The way the wolves were clustering again near the breach point.
Her voice rang out, clear and steady.
"Split the line!"
Wolves turned instantly.
"Push left-don't let them corner you!"
They moved exactly as she said.
Athena felt it.
That strange pull in her chest.
But this time, she didn't resist it.
She leaned into it.
"Rotate the front!" she called. "You're tiring too fast!"
The wolves obeyed without hesitation, shifting positions in perfect rhythm.
Athena's heart pounded-but not from fear.
From clarity.
She wasn't guessing.
She knew what to say.
She knew what they needed.
And for the first time...
She trusted herself.
A mage tried to push through the weakened side of the gate.
Athena pointed.
"Two on him! Don't let him finish that circle!"
They were on him before he could blink.
Silas watched her.
Didn't interrupt.
Didn't override.
Because he saw it.
She wasn't borrowing authority.
She was standing in it.
Athena exhaled slowly as the line stabilized again.
Her hands trembled slightly at her sides.
But her voice didn't.
Her thoughts didn't.
She looked at the wolves moving where she directed them and something settled into place inside her.
Not doubt.
Not fear.
Confidence.
"I can do this," she whispered to herself.