The Messiah [1]

8: Athena

The cell-like room was windowless, the only light coming from the buzzing industrial lights above her. It was sparsely furnished, with a bed in one corner and a chair in the center. Athena had yet to sleep in the bed. She was chained to the chair all hours, nodding off frequently as her body tried to rid itself of the drug.

When she finally awoke for good, Athena spent hours staring at the white paint of the door in front of her, memorizing the cracks. If she thought about the King's promise, her heart felt it would burst from her chest. Her palms were already sweaty, and it took nearly all of her attention to focus on the breathing exercises her brother had taught her. The constant tension made her muscles stiff, and achy, heavy in a way they had never been. The straps that bound her wrists chafed when she tugged, and Athena could already feel welts forming. Cold air from the AC system blew on the back of her neck, raising goosebumps and involuntary shivers.

"I just want to see her, I swear I won't be long."

"You get two minutes, Jax. If your father knew I was doing this, he would kill us both."

"You're the man, Basil."

A deep voice echoed outside the door, followed by a slow turn of the knob. Athena sucked in a breath, preparing herself for the worst. A soldier trained in the art of torture was going to enter; an air of control would cloak them. Hopefully, they would accientally kill her, but she doubted that. Athena was prepared for disturbing machinery and a man similar to Mr. Hyde, but instead got someone that could be the boy-next-door. Dark hair sat upon a pale face, but his eyes. Every color of the spectrum seemed to be inside those eyes, yet when she didn't focus they were a nondescript shade of brown. The boy, she assumed he must be Jax, stared back at her, equally dumbstruck but for a different reason, which he vocalized a moment later.

"Er – are you really the Messiah?" he asked, his tone conveying the confusion that furrowed his brow.

Jax leaned back against the door, gaping at Athena, who was very unaccustomed to such blatant attention. At the compound the others had the social grace to at least avoid eye contact but this boy seemed to be perfectly content with staring at her. It wasn't widely known that the messiah had been discovered; a tactical move by the council. So no one was sure if Athena was the real thing or if she was just a talented actress the desperate rebellion had found.

Athena tried to shift, but the bindings made that nearly impossible, so instead she glared at him, refusing to speak. Jax continued to stare for a moment more, then seemed to realize his time was limited. Pushing away from the door, he made his way over to Athena, his long-legged stride effortless.

"Holy shi—"

He jerked to a stop in front of Athena, leaning down and brushing a lock of her hair away from where it had fallen on her face. Athena fought not to cringe and would have managed it if Jax hadn't inhaled sharply and pulled away from her, rocking on the balls of his feet. The sheer audacity of Jax touching her choked Athena and reinforced the vulnerability of her position. Furiously, she struggled against the bonds – but it did nothing.

"With eyes as bright as those, you're definitely the Messiah...but you don't..." Jax trailed into silence, his eyes clouding in thought. Athena watched as he seemed to wage an inner battle, his face shifting through a myriad of emotions.

"I'm not what they say. I-I'm not a monster."

The words came out softly, but fell into the silence like stones ready to drag Athena down. She knew it was risky speaking to anyone, but she couldn't stomach the thought of someone believing the lies spread about her. To the public she was a murderer, yet no innocent blood lay on her hands out of anything other than necessity. The king constantly spread propaganda, detailing that Athena was a deranged psycho capable of murdering children. The irony would have been funny – but the innocent blood that coated the king's hands brought tears to Athena's eyes.