Chapter 96 - Break the Circle
The light swallowed the sound of the battle.
Athena couldn't hear the wolves anymore.
Couldn't hear Rowan shouting.
Couldn't even hear her own breathing.
All she felt was pressure.
Heavy. Crushing. Commanding.
The bands of glowing energy tightened around her legs, her waist, her chest like invisible chains trying to force her still.
Be quiet.
Be small.
Be taken.
The thoughts didn't feel like hers.
They felt old.
Familiar.
The same weight she had lived under her entire life without knowing why.
Her eyes locked on Silas through the barrier of light between them.
He was shouting her name.
Reaching for her.
But he couldn't get through.
And for one terrifying second...
She almost gave in.
Almost let the magic pull her into that small, silent place it had kept her for years.
Then she remembered.
You don't get to shrink here.
Her spine straightened.
Her breath steadied.
Her hands clenched at her sides.
"No," she whispered.
The magic tightened.
Her voice grew stronger.
"No."
The pressure pushed harder, trying to force her down to her knees.
Trying to make her submit.
But Athena didn't fight it with strength.
She met it with certainty.
"You don't command me," she said clearly.
The light flickered.
Silas saw it.
Felt it.
Athena's voice rose, not in a scream-but in authority.
"I command you."
The air around her vibrated.
The runes at her feet began to crack like glass under pressure.
The bands of light around her body faltered.
Victor's eyes widened across the field.
Athena took a step forward.
This time, the magic didn't stop her.
"You don't get to take me," she said.
The circle shattered beneath her feet in a burst of white light that exploded outward like breaking ice.
The barrier between her and Silas vanished.
And the ground where the runes had been was nothing but scorched stone.