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."

as I won the small victory, and I instantly

call me

the bar before he could ask any

expected.It was mostly a lot of people sitting close together

of atmosphere one would

liked to have a drink,

here today for that.I was

could still catch his scent as it slowly became stronger the

the faces of every person I walked past, but none were of the man I met

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

I kept walking, heading towards another

I finally

but veering off through

a sign saying

wasn’t

I slipped through the door

space seemed pretty untouched for the most part, clearly

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

would have to know I could trace his scent, which was already unnatural

but, as I rounded the corner, everything seemed to

again I found myself falling into that trance as [

to explain, but seeing him again made me start to feel

something inside that had been scratching away

he

front of him, within feet

like the night we first met, he wore a perfectly fitted suit, his dark

in every possible

so.It took everything I had inside me to not just immediately rush into his arms...though I couldn’t say the

he instantly moved forward as if to embrace me, but it was that very same movement that made

exact issue, one which was causing me to feel this way about

as I took

shiver to

you have any

was thinking that I was the one losing my mind, and yet this guy was almost certifiable,

Was I missing something?

managed to say, so extremely confused by this turn of

give you some time to cool down before I explained a few things to you, but it’s almost

asked several different people about you, trying to find out how I could contact you, but out of everyone I spoke to, only one person seemed

be him since I didn’t end

you looking for me?" I

this your grand scheme? Drug a girl then stalk her? Why are

do anything.What you’re experiencing

I said, cutting him

from being able to function...or work...or

more than anything if I wanted to stay

it doesn’t work like that.I can’t just undo it.It has to

I pulled out my

you did to

civil conversation but he was proving to be stubborn, giving me excuses rather

or going back to my

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

it easy fora

I didn’t let him lull me

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 of

e was also just as skilled, proving that back when we’d met the

he was wielding one of his own as he

weapon that

fact, upon closer inspection, it was definitely

"Calm down!" he yelled.

everything but you need

But I was angry.

before

that I wasn’t used to, all jumbling around

at him, at my own

my failures, at my situation… and I was

losing both my father’s respect and my usefulness

so I swiped my dagger again, angry tears beginning to form

to hurt

and we

deflected the dagger again and proceeded to

doing this sort

me, it was the first time facing someone who was anywhere near as skilled, if not more so,

both impressive and concerning at the

might not be as easy

areas that I thought he left open, and yet he somehow

and faster I moved,

moving as quickly as I was

speed that I knew wasn’t

are you! ?" I yelled