A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter Sixty–One 

“...What did you just say?” I asked, my voice thick with disbelief. 

“I said they‘ve declared war,” Alexander repeated. “They‘ve said that if we don‘t release Caius before sunset tomorrow that they will officially announce their intent to bring him home by force.” 

Less than twenty–four hours. I had less than twenty–four hours to free him or we would be initiating a war. 

...And it would be my fault. 

“It‘s not enough time,” I whispered, the panic rising inside me once more. “...It‘s not enough time... It‘s not enough time.” 

I took a step backwards as my mind continued to whirl. This was it. Everything had been leading to this moment and it was finally here. 

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Aleric asked him. 

Alexander frowned as if he‘d expected him to have a different reaction.“... No? Just that we received a letter from the Silver Lake just now... —” 

“You can go then,” Aleric interrupted. “Thank you for telling me as soon as possible.” 

“What? ....Uh, yeah, okay...,” Alexander said, confused. 

He took a few steps backwards, still unsure as to why he‘d been dismissed so quickly, before finally turning around to leave. 

As soon as Alexander was out of sight, Aleric immediately turned his attention to me. 

Everything was spinning, making it hard to focus. What could I possibly do to stop this now? Maybe confronting Thea myself and trying to get her to confess again? But no... that energy inside me had become disconnected, like a flickering light whenever I tried to grasp it. I remembered how sick it made m e last time and didn‘t think I could force anyone to follow my orders right now even if I wanted to. A parto fme knew that doing so would be reckless... potentially deadly. 

“Aria,” Aleric said, his voice cutting through my thoughts. It was enough to make me look up to him, meeting his gaze directly. “Breathe. In and out.” 

As he said the words, I realised my breathing had become shallow, my concentration on thinking taking priority. Slowly, I breathed in deeply and back out again. 

“You‘ve got that same expression that worries me,” he said. “The one where I leave you alone to calm down, only to find out you’re acting completely insane a few days later. We don‘t have time for that anymore. I need smart Aria right now, not self–destructive Aria.” 

He was right, I needed to slow down and think properly. Confronting Thea myself was far too risky and 

almost certainly wouldn‘t work out in my favour. 

And so, I closed my eyes, my breathing still shaky, but I did my best to focus. 

I went over it all in my head, thinking through the different possibilities, the different outcomes... but with the limited time we had left, there wasn‘t much we could do. 

Shaking my head, I frowned. “There‘s no time, Aleric... our best hope is that Jonathan accidentally reveals himself tomorrow or Thea slips up.” 

“... That‘s cutting it pretty close,” he said. 

“I know... which is why I have one more solution as a backup plan that is almost guaranteed to work.” 

He crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. “If it‘s quaranteed then why don‘t we just implement that one first instead?” 

I bit my lip, unsure if I should tell him. I already knew what his reaction would be. 

“Well... because..,” I started hesitantly. 

His frown deepened for a second before finally, he understood what I meant without me even needing to finish. I could see the recognition on his face when he realised what I was planning. 

“No, no way,” he said, a tone of finality in his words. “You‘re not doing that.” 

“Aleric, I don‘t have a choice.” 

“You‘re throwing your life away,” he argued. “Everything you‘ve worked towards, everything you‘ve fought for. You‘re going to give it up for him?” 

“I‘m not giving it up for him... I‘m giving it up for the pack. Both packs. I‘m giving it up to save innocent people.” 

“Aria, think this through

let thousands of people die for my mistake. If the worst–case scenario really does happen... I‘m going to confess. There is no other way.

let it happen. Not again. I‘d participated in too many wars already and knew too well the destruction they left behind. This time the cause wasn‘t even for power or territory... it

him see reason. “Aleric, if you really cared about the Winter Mist, and I know you do... you‘d let me do this. Please don‘t ask me to stand by and let people die for me. I don‘t need their names weighing on my soul any more than I already have.”

death? What then, huh? I can‘t save you from that, Aria. You know

the rest of my life before killing me. He likes the status image I

their Saintess‘ freedom. You‘ll become a martyr within your own oppression.

here. First, I‘ll call an emergency meeting scheduled for just after lunch

he said flatly.

is going on with you? Is this really due to dealing with the devout follower backlash or is this about something else? is it Cai? Do you really hate him that much? I know

He sighed in frustration, giving up on whatever he wanted to say and opting for silence

were you going to

“Nothing. Forget it.” 

Chapter Sixty–One 

“I say something or do something and you just go quiet instead

left unsaid. Would you like

jaw at the direct insult. “At least I‘m not fine with killing off innocent people for the sake of avoiding a smaller confrontation. Wars don‘t solve all your problems, Aleric. What are you really afraid of here? Is it that you‘re insecure over whether I‘ll usurp you one day? Gather followers of the Goddess around me and take over what you feel you‘re entitled to? Let me give you a quick tip for avoiding that future; don‘t piss me off. I never wanted the job anyway. Why do you

just pick and choose which title

had overstepped that line. Instead, a moment of icy silence hung between us, neither of us wanting to concede. Finally though, his eyes softened, sighing in release o ftension.

at you first,” he said quietly in defeat, running a hand through his dark wavy hair. “Just... do what you think is right, Aria. We‘ll

We had burnt ourselves out with this investigation the last few months, spreading our free time too thin with all the additional work it brought us. It was no surprise really that we were both now in each other‘s faces the second that war was finally at our doorstep.

the best decision here. Both paths ahead had their own obstacles, their own pros and cons. And whilst it felt as though Aleric‘s opinion on this right now seemed off, I had to give him credit where it was due. If it hadn‘t been for his support over

him on my side for this decision. After all the time and effort we‘d put in, it was now just as much Aleric‘s choice as it was mine since it was technically his life on the line as well. He‘d lied about my involvement and had been helping me during all of this mess. If he was

Aleric. Just... trust me. You‘ll have my support with

his eyes. “Aria... that‘s not... Yep.

I said with a small smile. “Maybe we‘ll catch Jonathon tomorrow and be dragging his ass into that meeting instead.”

“Hopefully.” 

each other, neither of us moving. I could see on his face that he looked as though he wasn‘t exactly

I should probably head off then,” I said, motioning towards the car. “I‘ll drop you off at the packhouse on

are you going?” he asked, starting to

Chapter Sixty One 

I knew exactly where I needed to go

go prepare for the

that, I found myself walking down a cold hallway, my feet leaving an echo as I went. I‘d come here frequently enough that I was now

James, positioned on guard duty. He was the warrior who had escorted me from m y cell to the trial grounds in my previous timeline. James barely knew me in this life when compared to the last but my

he greeted me, inclining

nodded back in acknowledgement. “James. How is the

“Same as always.” 

and instead opened the door, accompanying me inside.

the room beyond came into sight, my eyes immediately darted around, searching until they fell on a pair of familiar gold ones staring right back at me.

and definitely not over the last few months, had I been able to do anything remotely close to that. We were forced to strict professionalism due to the ever present eyes of

how are you?”

me hard whenever I got to see him. He hadn‘t hinted at any complaints even once since coming here but I knew it had to be hard. I could see the circles forming under his eyes and how he‘d lost a little bit of weight. It was all signs

well, thanks,” he replied. “It‘s good to

eyes what

and tried to refocus. “You

him the news of the war conditions proposed by the Silver Lake but, seeing him now, I couldn‘t bring myself to do it. He would know what that meant, what two paths would potentially be waiting for me now. But, more importantly, he would

there,” I half lied, taking a seat at the table

it at least feels a little less... prison –y. Kind

couldn‘t bring myself to give him a

us knowing what to say. I couldn‘t speak freely with him and yet there was so much I wanted to speak about. It was torture. He was right there in front of me, within arm‘s length,

at the door within listening range

though I knew Cai couldn‘t hear me, I hoped desperately that he saw just how sincerely I meant that. How much weight

what I was feeling, and inside I could feel that pit of guilt clench.

for this anymore. I felt overwhelmed, like I couldn‘t breathe. “I

stand up when his hand suddenly shot