Athena sat alone on a cold stone bench inside the ruins of an old chapel. The place was quiet, but her thoughts were loud.
She hated remembering.
But tonight, the past refused to stay buried.
Ten years ago…
She had trusted Lucien with everything.
His hand in hers felt like home. His laugh could melt her walls. He had sworn to protect her, kissed her under the moonlight, and promised they'd rule together.
She believed him. She loved him.
But that love died the night she heard him speak behind closed doors.
"She's a risk," Lucien had told the council. "If she steps out of line again, I'll take care of it myself."
He said it like she was nothing.
Like she wasn't the girl who gave up everything for him.
She didn't cry. Didn't scream. She just… disappeared.
She let him think she was gone forever.
Because the Athena who trusted him was gone.
She had wandered for months, wounded and hiding.
Her heart had turned colder than the snow-covered forests she passed through.
Every place reminded her of him, and every reminder burned.
The pain shaped her into something stronger. Sharper.
The kind of woman who didn't need anyone.
Now, ten years later, that same man was back, and the blood oath between them had never broken.
Snow began to fall through the chapel's broken ceiling. Her hands clenched into fists.
She didn't know what Lucien wanted now.
But she knew one thing:
She'd never be that naive girl again.