A Gift from the Goddess

The plan was simple; Track down Kieran and demand he fix whatever he did to me.

With Noah tied up and locked inside a cupboard, I would head towards the hotel which had been listed i n Victor Lycroft’s information folder.

With any luck, his son had the same taste in accommodation.

Once I found him and got my answers, I’d then just have him undo the effects before going back to Noah t o finish the job.I'd complete my mission tonight and get back home without any issues.

As a result, Father would begin to trust me again and Gavin wouldn’t need to drag me back into the basement.

Everyone will be happy.

Well...except probably Noah.He’d be dead.

But that was unfortunately just the way it had to be.

‘C'est la vie’ some would say.Now to just pray that nothing went wrong.I hailed a taxi and gave the driver directions to the hotel, doing my best to make my clothes seem more casual on the way over.

There wasn’t much I could do but I worked with what I had.

By the time I arrived, there was nothing on me that would stand out too much in a public setting.

Upon stepping out of the car though, I found the hotel was surprisingly large.

The kind of place only the very wealthy could afford which, given he was the son of a literal mayor, I guess that made sense.

Though for a small town I’d never heard of before, they sure seemed to have the cash to spare.

Whilst this was an interesting thing to note, it unfortunately meant that sneaking in was going to be difficult.

The place would have security cameras and staff walking around everywhere.

So how was I meant to...And then I smelt it.

That intoxicating scent that I could recall so vividly now.

The one belonging to Kieran.

He was here or, at least, he’d been here sometime recently.I would just need to follow it and hopefully scope out the area before entering his room.

But the scent didn’t lead me towards the elevator as I expected.

No, it led me to the hotel’s bar area.

A place where far too many people would be around to witness.

Certainly not an ideal development in this plan.

"Apologies, madam," a man at the entrance said, holding a hand out to pause me.

"I just need to quickly confirm your name and room number, or the room number of the person you're here to see." I stared at him blankly, confused.

This hotel was apparently far more exclusive than I’d realised.

However, I’d had to deal with far worse obstacles than this before.

"Oh! Is that so?" I asked innocently.

"That’s a little awkward...You see, I was sent here to surprise Mr Lycroft but no one told me his room number.I guess i t was just a mix-up.Isn’t there any way I could still g o inside? Just this once?"

He looked uncertain and taken a little off guard.

This wasn’t the kind of job where you’d want to accidentally insult the wrong influential person.

"Oh ...Well I suppose I could quickly go in and find him to confirm.Mr Lycroft you said?"

He took a step away as if to enter, but I knew if he did that and Kieran told them to not let me in, then this whole plan would become messy.

"That won’t do," I said a little too quickly.

I then walked over to gently touch his arm.

"As mentioned, it’s meant to be a surprise.We haven’t seen each other in the longest time and his father, Victor, told m e Kieran was in town."

"Madam...we have precautions in place to ensure the safety and privacy of our gu—."

"The whole family will be so disappointed if it’s ruined.We’ve been planning this for a while now.I know Victor likes to come here regularly when he’s here for business.It would be a shame if this one unpleasant experience tarnished that...Especially if I have to call the family so late for something so petty "

Immediately, he became flustered, but I didn’t give him any more time to process the situation.

After all, bad decisions were always made under pressure.

"Please...," I repeated, giving him my best smile.

And it only took a few more seconds before, finally, h e cracked.

"Okay...very well.I’ll just need your name for the record and you can head on inside."

of smug giddiness rose inside me as I won the small victory,

can call me Raven," I

bar before he could

I’d expected.It was mostly a lot of

atmosphere one would expect from a fancy

I personally liked to have a drink,

for that.I was

catch his scent as it slowly became stronger the further

I walked past, but none were of the man I

by the time I’d done a lap of the entire floor,

hell was he? I kept walking,

when I finally found

itself, but veering off through a door

a sign

wasn’t going

through the door and continued

the

was why was he here of all places...? It was almost as

would have to know I could trace his scent,

were swimming in my head but, as I rounded the

myself falling into that trance

seeing him again made me start to feel

been scratching

because he

was in front of him, within

we first met, he wore a perfectly fitted suit, his dark brown hair styled

every

not just

embrace me, but it was that very

one which

himself as I

relieved, and it caused a shiver to spread through me at the sound

days.Do you have any idea

was the one losing my mind, and yet this guy was almost certifiable, acting a s though

Was I missing something?

" was all I managed to say, so extremely confused by this turn of

cool down before I explained a few things to you, but it’s almost as if you don’t exist,"

out how I could contact you, but out of everyone I spoke to, only one person seemed to know of you.Something that they even admitted to not knowing prior to the

have to be him since I didn’t end up

you looking for

then stalk her? Why are

you’re

I said, cutting him

able to function...or work...or do

anything if I wanted to

can’t just

yelled, and I

you did

civil conversation but he was proving to be stubborn,

was between drawing blood or going back to my father

"Woah...slow down," he said.

take it easy fora

I didn’t let him lull me into another

towards him with the intent of holding him up at knifepoint; just enough to scare him into taking me seriously.I was quick and had training, so it should have been a piece

just as skilled, proving that back when

dagger anywhere near him, suddenly he was wielding one

weapon that looked awfully

definitely mine.He must have kept

"Calm down!" he yelled.

explain everything but you need to just chill for a

But I was angry.

ever felt before

that I wasn’t used to, all

him, at

at my failures, at my situation… and I was

going home, knowing I would b e losing both my father’s respect

again, angry tears beginning to form at my eyes as my desperation

to hurt

me and we can go our

and proceeded to be on the defensive as

as if he'd been doing this sort of thing his

facing someone who was anywhere near as

impressive and concerning at the same

not be as easy as I’d

kept on attacking, aiming for areas that I thought he left open, and yet

faster I moved,

he was moving as quickly

I knew wasn’t

?" I yelled