The Scarred Queen's Rise (Athena) novel Chapter 94

Willow was so frightened that tears streamed down her face. Eloise gathered her into her arms and softly comforted her.

Seeing Athena persisting, Eloise’s expression turned frosty as she scolded her, “It’s just a lantern. Why must you reduce your

sister to tears?”

Even her three brothers took Willow’s side, scolding Athena and calling her so childish.

In the end, Athena was punished and made to stand facing the wall in reflection, while everyone doted on Willow because she was sick.

While everyone doted on Willow, not a single person spared a glance for Athena, who spent the whole night clutching her broken rabbit lantern and sobbing.

What Nicolas saw as a lighthearted childhood story was, for Athena, a painful memory she’d rather forget.

It took her years to finally let go of that memory.

Little did she expect that the old wound she thought had finally healed would be cruelly reopened by Nicolas.

Athena looked up at Nicolas, her voice calm yet strained. “You think this is funny?”

Athena’s sudden shift in mood left Nicolas at a loss. He gave her a forced smile and said, “It’s just a silly childhood story. Why take it so seriously?”

“To you, Lord Nicolas, it’s just an amusing childhood tale. But to me… it was a nightmare,” Athena said quietly.

His smile froze as he sighed, “Athena, you always take things too seriously. But can you really tell things apart so clearly in this world? Sometimes, if you’d just lower your pride a bit, you could have what you want, like this lantern.”

Nicolas extended the lantern toward Athena once more. “Athena, you’re a smart girl, surely you understand what I am trying to do.”

Athena thought to herself, ‘How could I not see it? Nicolas is trying to make peace, but at the same time, he’s issuing a warning.

‘Even if she married into the Mcgee family, her true support would still come from the Monson family.

‘If Ferris were to die someday, as a widow, I’d still need my natal family’s support, the Monson family, wouldn’t I?‘

Nicolas was extending an olive branch, but Athena was never one to compromise. She would rather walk her path to the bitter end.

Athena gently pushed away the lantern Nicolas was holding, her smile laced with quiet irony. “No means no, Lord Nicolas. Why force what can’t be forced?”

Ahead, Ferris watched the two of them with a puzzled look. Athena smiled at him and said, “Coming.”

Just as Athena was about to rejoin Ferris, a sudden surge of the crowd swept between them, instantly separating the two.

At that moment, Willow was with Michael. As the crowd surged toward them, she instinctively reached out for his hand, only to grasp at empty air.

She saw Michael being swept away by the surging crowd, carried farther and farther into the distance.

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“Michael!” Willow called out, her voice tinged with urgency.

Just as Willow stood frozen in panic, a strong hand suddenly yanked her by the arm.

Willow turned and found herself face to face with Nicolas’s worried expression. He gently pulled her close and said, “Don’t be scared, Willow. I am right here.”

Nicolas quickly pulled Willow to a corner against the wall, shielding her tightly behind him to keep her safe from harm.

Athena found herself jostled onto the bridge, helplessly swept along and pushed back and forth by the surging crowd.

Athena frantically scanned the sea of faces for any sign of Ferris, but the crowd was so dense she couldn’t make out a thing.

More and more people crammed onto the bridge, making the wooden structure sway gently. The railings groaned and creaked under the strain.

The bridge was already at its breaking point, on the verge of collapse at any moment.

Athena was pushed to the edge of the bridge, trapped and unable to move. Then came a loud crack, suddenly her body went weightless, plunging uncontrollably downward.

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