Chapter 27

**Homecoming Blues**

*Athena's POV*

I stood at the entrance of the hospital, squinting into the bright afternoon sun. Three days. I'd been in there for three whole days, recovering from a coma that, according to the doctors, should've taken weeks to wake from. I'd heard the words *"miraculous recovery"* so many times I was starting to think it might be my new middle name. Athena "Miraculous Recovery" Mikaelson. Has a nice ring to it.

As I made my way down the hospital steps, the world felt sharp, too bright and too loud. It was strange how the ordinary details of life—cars honking, people walking by, the distant wail of a siren—suddenly seemed overwhelming. After spending days surrounded by sterile walls and soft beeping machines, reality felt like a slap in the face. I could still hear the doctors' murmurs about how I'd beaten the odds, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel lucky or just... unsettled.