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 clearly.”

clearly!” I hissed. “I can‘t 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. The side effects of

This

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

you to death? What then, huh? I can‘t save you from that, Aria. You know as well as I do what the punishment

pole for the rest of my life before killing me. He likes the status image I provide too

demanding their Saintess‘ freedom. You‘ll become a martyr within your own oppression. We‘re potentially trading one war for

more manageable problem. One thing at a time here. First, I‘ll call an emergency meeting scheduled for just after lunch tomorrow. In the morning before that, we‘ll see how Jonathan goes with Thea then… well… worst–case scenario, I‘ll be using the meeting to finally clear all this mess up.”

said

backlash or is this about something else? is it Cai? Do you really hate him that much? I know you guys don‘t get along but this

No, Aria... You don‘t... whatever.” He sighed in frustration, giving up on whatever he

what? What were you

“Nothing. Forget it.” 

Chapter Sixty–One 

say something

smart decisions and knowing when some things are better left unsaid. Would you like me to

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 think I‘ve tried so hard to become a

retorted harshly. “You can‘t just pick and choose which title

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

sorry, I shouldn‘t have snapped 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 deal with whatever happens after when we get to that point, just as

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. It was a cocktail for

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 these last few months, I would have been worse off and probably done something far more drastic already by now. I n

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

this, Aleric. Just... trust me. You‘ll

tiredly at his eyes. “Aria... that‘s not... Yep. Okay, sure. Thank

I said with a small smile. “Maybe we‘ll

“Hopefully.” 

looked as though he wasn‘t exactly pleased with the outcome, but

said, motioning towards the car. “I‘ll drop you off at

asked, starting to walk

Chapter Sixty One 

I knew exactly where I needed to go next. Only it wasn‘t

prepare for the worst–case scenario,” I replied.

I went. I‘d come here frequently enough that

last but my respect for him had remained. Those last moments he‘d gifted me with my father had

inclining his head

“James.

“Same as always.” 

and instead

immediately darted around, searching until they fell on a pair of familiar gold ones staring right back at me. He was seated at a small table that had been set up to

Not here, not today, 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 guards

you?”

here but I knew it had to be hard. I could

he replied. “It‘s good

me lose my composure. I could see in his eyes what he was

tried

come here with every intention of telling 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 know that this was goodbye. Regardless of how it went, tomorrow Cai would be

in and make sure you‘re still hanging in there,” I half lied, taking a seat at the table opposite him. “Are they treating you okay?”

“Can‘t complain. Since being upgraded to the larger room it at least feels a little less... prison –y. Kind of feels more

slightly but I couldn‘t bring myself to give him a smile at his

speak freely with him and yet there was so much I wanted to speak about. It was torture. He

I mouthed to Cai silently. James was at the door within listening range but my

Cai couldn‘t hear me, I hoped desperately that he saw just how sincerely

at me with concern, as if he was sensing exactly what I was feeling, and inside I could

okay,” I said, no longer having the strength for this anymore. I felt overwhelmed, like I couldn‘t breathe. “I should be going… I’ll come by to check on you again...

to stand up when his hand suddenly shot out, clasping my wrist to