“So what now?” Orion asked. “What’s the plan going forward?”
“I need to learn how to control this,” Athena said. “Really control it, not just stumble through it hoping for the best. The power, the little girl, she’s part of me now. We’re working together instead of fighting each other. But I need to understand her better, need to practice using this in a way that’s safe.”
“That’s going to take time,” Derek said. “And careful practice.”
“We have time,” I said, looking at Athena. “And we’ll all help you figure it out.”
Sarah came out with a tray loaded with sandwiches and chips and fruit. She’d made enough food for twice as many people, probably because she needed something to do with her hands, needed to feel useful after feeling helpless for so long.
We ate and talked about what came next. Derek wanted to run some tests, nothing invasive, just basic stuff to see how Athena’s body was handling the power now that she’d made peace with it.
Orion wanted to make sure we had a contingency plan in case anything went wrong, because that’s what Orion did. He planned for
every possible disaster.
But mostly we just sat together and appreciated the fact that we were all still here, all still alive and breathing and whole.
I watched Athena as she talked with her brother, saw the way some of the tension had left her shoulders, saw the way she smiled
more easily now.
She was still scared, I could tell, but it was different. Before, she’d been scared of herself, of what she might do. Now she was just scared of the unknown, of learning something new, and that was a fear we could work with.
After we finished eating, I noticed her eyes starting to droop. She was fighting to stay awake but losing the battle, her head nodding forward every few minutes before she’d jerk it back up.
“You should sleep,” I told her. “You’ve been through a lot today.”
“So have you,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, but I got to take a nap while I was dying,” I said, trying to make her laugh.
It worked. She smiled and shook her head at me. “That’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” I said.
“It’s really not,” Orion said, but there was no heat in his voice. “But he’s right, you need rest. You both do.”
1/2
15:01 Wed, Jan 14 d
Chapter 225
19:4
Athena was barely keeping her eyes open as we climbed the stairs, leaning against me for support.
694
She fell asleep almost the second her head hit the pillow, still holding my hand. I watched her breathe, slow and steady and peaceful, and felt something settle in my chest that had been restless for days.
She was going to be okay. We were both going to be okay.
All of us.
I stayed with her until I was sure she was deep asleep, then carefully extracted my hand from hers and headed back downstairs. I needed to move, needed to process everything that had happened, and I couldn’t do that lying still.
Orion was still in the dinning, he looked up when he heard my footsteps.
“She asleep?” he asked.
“Out cold,” I said. “I don’t think she’s really slept in days.”
“Neither have you,” he pointed out.
“I’m too wired to sleep right now,” I admitted. “Everything that just happened, it’s still processing.”
We were quiet for a minute, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Then Orion spoke.
“That was your idea, wasn’t it? The whole plan.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I knew she needed to face whatever was inside her, and I knew she’d never risk it as long as she thought she might hurt someone. So I gave her a reason, gave her a situation where facing it was the only option.”
Comments
R Visitor
I wonder if she will try and heal Orion’s son
7 days ago
5
SHARE
1 Comments >
2/2
Wed, Jan 14
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
