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."

inside me as I won the small victory,

me Raven," I

the bar before he could

than I’d expected.It was mostly a lot

one would expect from a fancy

of place I personally liked to have

today for

right now, I could still catch his scent as it

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

time I’d done a lap of the entire floor, I was beginning to worry I’d

was he? I kept

that’s when I finally

scent, not within the room itself, but

that held a

that wasn’t going to stop

looking, I slipped through the door and continued to follow his scent until it led

pretty untouched for the most part, clearly

had though was why was he here of all places...? It

know I could

were swimming in my head but, as I rounded the corner, everything seemed to

myself falling into that trance as [ met his expectant hazel

was hard to explain, but seeing him again made me start

been

because he was

I was in front of him, within feet of being

night we first met, he wore a perfectly fitted suit,

every

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 me remember why

was to fix this exact issue, one which was

quickly stopped himself as I took a step

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

for days.Do you have any idea how worried

I was the one losing my mind, and yet this guy

Was I missing something?

say, so

cool down before I explained a few things to you, but it’s almost as if

you, but out of everyone I spoke to, only one person seemed

be him since I didn’t end up slaying at the event long enough to meet

hell were you looking for me?"

girl then stalk

didn’t do anything.What you’re experiencing is

said, cutting him

don’t just meet someone and instantly become infatuated.It doesn’t stop them from being able to function...or work...or do anything.I tracked you down for the sole

I needed it.I needed it more than anything if I wanted to stay

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

yelled, and I pulled out

you did

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

or going back to my father empty-handed,

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

it easy

me into another trance, choosing to

enough to scare him into taking me

also just as skilled,

anywhere near him, suddenly he was

that looked

fact, upon closer inspection, it was definitely mine.He

"Calm down!" he yelled.

you need to just

But I was angry.

ever felt before in

bubbling inside that I wasn’t used to,

angry at him, at my

failures, at my situation… and I was

b e losing both my father’s respect

my dagger again, angry tears beginning

have to

and we can go our separate

and proceeded to be on the

he'd been doing this

was anywhere near as skilled,

and concerning at the same

not be as easy

left open, and

faster I moved, but nothing seemed

as quickly as I was at full

I knew wasn’t

?"