CHAPTER 21

Athena's POV

Harold is already waiting for us at the curb. Cassian and I slip into the back seat of the car, and I instruct Harold to take us home.

Cassian greets Harold with a polite nod and a “Hello,” before settling next to me. As the car pulls away from the event, a heavy silence fills the space between us. We exchange fleeting, intimate glances, our eyes speaking volumes in the silence.

The drive feels like the perfect nature of tranquility amid the chaos of the evening. We sit side by side, our hands brushing occasionally, each touch a silent reassurance. Though we don’t say much, the connection between us is palpable, filling the silence with its own kind of intensity.

By the time reached the front of my building I felt so anxious it was hard to breathe, I did my best to climb out of the car without falling on my ass. It was simple enough, though with the compounding factors of the uneven gravel and the starlit darkness—plus the painful clench of my inner muscles—I held on to t