His Broken Mate

Chapter Five: Beneath the Surface

By the time Athena got home, the sky had settled into a soft amber glow. But nothing about it felt warm.

She stepped out of the car before it had even fully stopped, her boots hitting the gravel like she needed to feel the ground hold her weight. Her mom called after her, confused, but Athena didn’t answer. She just walked—fast—straight through the side gate and into the house.

Nyt was already waiting.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, eyes sharp. He had showered, changed, and somehow still looked like he hadn’t slept a second.

“You saw it?” he asked.

Athena dropped her bag to the floor with a dull thud. “It vanished. Before I could shift. It was watching.”

Nyt didn’t respond right away. He pulled a chair out at the table, motioned for her to sit. She did—but barely. Her leg bounced beneath the table.

“I don’t think it was meant to do anything yet,” she said. “It was just...making sure I knew.”

“That it could get that close,” Nyt murmured. “To you. To the school.”

“To me,” she echoed bitterly.

There was a silence that settled between them—heavier than usual.

“You should’ve stayed home,” he said after a while.

“You faked being sick.”

“I did,” he said, and didn’t apologize for it. “But you didn’t have to run toward it.”

Athena leaned forward, pressing her hands to her face. “I can’t just wait around, Nyt. Something’s coming. You feel it. I feel it. And I don’t care what the Elders say about tonight—it’s wrong. Everything is off.”

Nyt tapped his fingers against the table once. Twice. Then stopped. “The coronation goes on. We can’t delay it, not without a reason that won’t throw the whole council into chaos.”

“I have a reason.”

“You have a feeling.”

Athena looked up at him sharply. “Since when did you stop trusting those?”

Nyt didn’t flinch. But he didn’t answer, either.

From the hallway, their mother’s voice rang out, cheerful and unaware. “You two better be dressed and ready in an hour! The guests are already starting to arrive!”

Athena closed her eyes. Of course they are.

She stood, walked to the stairs, then paused.

“You’re still going through with it?” she asked over her shoulder.

Nyt’s voice was quiet. “We both are.”

Athena didn’t reply.

She climbed the stairs like every step might be the last quiet one she’d get. And as she opened her door, she hesitated in the threshold—just a second. Her room looked the same, but the air felt thicker somehow. Still. Watching.

She shut the door behind her.

The world hadn’t fallen yet.

But it was standing on the edge.