|| ATHENA's POV ||

As the evening wore on, tensions between Asher, Viktor, and myself seemed to reach a boiling point, exacerbated by Supreme King Ajax's attempts to mediate the situation. I watched as Ajax engaged in a heated discussion with Viktor, his words falling on deaf ears as Viktor continued to shoot me dark glares from across the room.

Feeling a knot of apprehension forming in the pit of my stomach, I couldn't shake the sense of unease that settled over me like a heavy cloak. Despite Ajax's best efforts to diffuse the tension, it was clear that there was still much unresolved animosity between Asher, Viktor, and myself,...