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.” 

his head. “Aria, think

does happen... I‘m going to confess. There is no other way. The side effects of my punishment do not overrule the lives of innocents. You‘re the

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 was

the Winter Mist, and I know you do... you‘d let me do this.

then, huh? I can‘t save you from that,

me to a pole for the rest of my life before killing me. He likes the status image I provide too much. The ‘Winter Mist Saintess‘. No, he won‘t

Goddess devout nutcase on our doorstep demanding their Saintess‘ freedom. You‘ll

for just after lunch tomorrow. In the morning before that, we‘ll see how Jonathan goes with

said

bristled my temper once more. “Aleric, what the hell 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 you guys don‘t get along

giving up on whatever he wanted

were you going to say?” I pressed.

“Nothing. Forget it.” 

Chapter Sixty–One 

“I say something or

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

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

don‘t give Alpha commands,” he retorted harshly. “You can‘t just pick and choose which title you want

that line. Instead, a moment of icy silence hung between us, neither of us wanting to concede. Finally though, his eyes softened,

through his dark wavy hair. “Just... do what you think is right,

here, I knew that. 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. It was a cocktail for short fuses and high tempers. Which was exactly why the best decision here was for us to walk away before saying something else we‘d regret.

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

it was technically his life on the line as well. He‘d lied

I mumbled. “It‘s not like I want to do this, Aleric. Just... trust

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

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

“Hopefully.” 

each other, neither of us moving. I could see on his face that he looked as though he wasn‘t exactly pleased with the outcome, but I was happy that he seemed to be on

the car. “I‘ll drop

you going?” he asked, starting

Chapter Sixty One 

knew exactly where I needed to

prepare for the worst–case scenario,” I

after 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 familiar with these walls, but their contents had continued t o be a source of pain for me

in my previous timeline. James barely knew me in this life when compared to the last but my respect for him had remained. Those last moments he‘d gifted me with

inclining

“James. How is the

“Same as always.” 

further and instead

sight, my eyes 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 the

that this wasn‘t real… but I couldn‘t. Not here, not today, and definitely not over the last few months, had

how are you?” I asked stiffly.

of guilt always hitting 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 of him paying a price

replied. “It‘s good to see you.”

his voice almost made me lose my composure. I could see in his eyes what he was really telling me and it only made

throat and tried to refocus.

would know what that meant, what two paths

still hanging in there,” I half lied, taking a seat at the table opposite him. “Are

feels a little less... prison –y. Kind of feels more like home arrest now… if my home was a white

to give him a smile at his attempt at humour.

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, and I

the door within

that he saw just how sincerely I meant that. How

I was feeling, and inside I could feel

glad you‘re doing 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... When I can.”

to stand up when his hand suddenly shot