A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter Ninety–Three 

...What the hell is this? 

I should be dead. I know I should be. I‘d received a lethal blow to my shoulder with silver. No one could survive that. 

And yet... 

And yet I couldn‘t help but notice that, if I were dead, then the Abyss smelled oddly like a hospital room. A new renovation they must have added since the last time I visited. 

Everywhere in my body ached, everywhere felt... cold. Except for one place. My hand. My right hand felt warm compared to the rest of me. 

So, if I‘m not dead... then what sort of intervention had Selene done this time? Was this the same year or had she brought me back to an earlier time? 

Honestly, it wouldn‘t surprise me if she had just sent me on my way without even telling me. After all, I did try to kill her the last time we met face to face. That probably didn‘t instil a desire to catch up and chat. 

Though how many times could she do that without completely destroying herself? I‘d seen the way Selene looked after reviving me the first time... she‘d basically faded into nothing from exhaustion. Knowing what I knew now, I was pretty certain that she‘d already used up whatever she could spare. 

But if I was alive… didn‘t that mean I could warn the others? Tell them everything I‘d learnt? 

And with that thought, all the past events suddenly started to swarm at me inside. The things Thea had told me, the fighting, the pain... all of it. The weight of the memories finally hit me and I felt my face wincing under its brutal reminder. 

Cold. My hand abruptly felt colder now. As if whatever had been warming it just disappeared. 

“Aria. Are you awake?” 

It was a voice I was familiar with. 

And my breathing caught in my throat, relief instantly flooding me. 

So, I really was alive... and he was here. 

Despite all my failures, I‘d somehow been given my final wish after all. 

I slowly opened my eyes and turned to see Aleric by my bedside. 

I‘d never seen a sweeter sight. 

Only, he looked tired. His black, wavy hair out of place, appearing the same way as when he was woken u p too early. Though, all things considered, that didn‘t really surprise me. He‘d probably been out leading the search for Thea for however long I‘d been in here 

...But that would mean I was still in my own present time, lessening the chance of Selene being involved. 

Which then still begged the question... 

“...How am I alive...?” | asked, my voice barely louder than a whisper. 

He didn‘t look surprised or taken aback by my question. A reaction that told me he probably knew just as well as I did that my survival shouldn‘t have been possible. 

“I guess you could call it a medical miracle,” he answered. “One that you can thank your old silver collar for.” 

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Chapter Ninety Three 

“My... collar?” I asked, frowning. Maybe I really was dead as that would have made more sense than what he‘d just said. 

“The doctors are pretty confused too but everyone seems to agree that the collar is the most likely cause of your survival,” he said, “They think that, because you were exposed to silver all day, every day, for such an extended period of time, your body built up a sort of… natural resistance to the poisoning effects. Trace amounts must have been entering your system via the irritation it left on your skin.” 

When Elder Luke had once said that the effects of prolonged silver exposure were unknown, I don‘t think anyone would have predicted this. This was... completely unheard of. 

“I‘m immune… to silver?” 

“Silver ‘poisoning‘,” he corrected. “And, no, not entirely. Just a better resistance. I guess it‘s sort of like when people regularly subject themselves to low doses of poison if they deal with venomous animals. Makes the effects not as bad should they ever get bitten.” 

“I don‘t...,” | started but wasn‘t sure what to say. I was so confused… but at the same time, none of this seemed possible even if it were true. “I saw the blood… there was so much of it. Too much to survive.” 

“Don’t remind me,” he said, his eyes narrowing from the memory. “Honestly, I‘d never felt so sick in my entire life before when I saw you just lying there, lifeless as your blood embellished the walls and floor.” 

He then paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “…But, that being said, you managed to start healing before it became irreversible. In fact, by the time I arrived with the others, you‘d already stopped most of the worst bleeding on your own.” 

or not, I wouldn‘t have been able to use my natural accelerated healing had I not taken extreme

die, Aria...,” he said, a small crease forming between his brows.” Calling it a close call would be a gross understatement. Over the last few days, you‘ve undergone several surgeries and a blood transfusion to fix what your body couldn‘t

the wall, completely in shock over everything he was telling me. If what he was saying was

then.... 

alive because of Tytus and

I never thought I‘d say in my life. Somehow their barbaric approach at imprisoning me in silver, forcing me to suffer through the humiliation and burning for over a year, had become the very thing that had allowed me to live. If I still believed in divine plans,

Aleric then softly chuckle under his breath, catching my attention to see he

I couldn‘t help but ache a little at seeing him do so; to see his smile. To think I almost never

something like that.”

and I‘m not dead,”

“... Not dead.” 

perhaps beyond even Selene‘s interference. The chances of

it‘d healed. Unlike the rest of my injuries, the dislocation was probably the easiest to mend given no silver was involved. And, after

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checks, I was pleased to feel that

lot

wanted to start working through everything I remembered before I forgot. Especially when the information included theories of, not only how Thea‘s ability most likely worked, but also how to

figure out during our fight. It was the only reason I‘d been able to hide m y plan from her, the one to

more clues from just within a ten minute encounter alone than out of the entire four years I‘d been

going to be easy. In fact, if my theories were correct, it might not be possible at all for a while; not

nagging bond inside that used to be the place I mistook for my ‘past self‘. I might have let her in, allowing her to dig through, but it was also

would know I had survived...

dig my claws in enough to live... and that very fact alone would be eating

when I started to suddenly move. “You shouldn‘t do that....”

bed but immediately hissed from the pain in my shoulder. I wanted to start work a s soon as possible. There was too much to do. Even if that just meant writing

I huffed, grimacing from the effort.

I was going to do it whether he helped me or not, and stood up to assist.

of it; asking someone to help me sit up. Only I swiftly realised my mistake as the contact made me recall the revelation I‘d had right before I was going to

how close his body was as his arm wrapped around my back, supporting my weight to

turned my head right

found myself picking up little details I probably wouldn‘t have normally noticed. Things like his calm breathing, the warmth seeping into my skin from where he held

I wondered

finished helping me up and was about to pull away, but, before he could even take a step, 1

gave me. Having almost lost it forever made

his eyes

I‘d wanted to say before dying. So much

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Cluple Nuitty Ihree 

more. A debt I was never going to be able to repay.

so badly to apologise, to find out if he hated me for what i‘d done to him. To hear

the dangerous, unpredictable one now.

I wanted to know I hadn‘t

said, unsure how to say the words I needed to.

walked into the cells, it was like all of my anger and frustration just immediately evaporated, **‘ was what he‘d said to me not long ago. ‘*“Almost as though the world just completely stopped... and there was

well what it was like to want to hate someone under its influence; to be trapped by the emotions the bond forces you to feel. I‘d often found it disgusting how it could make you forgive the most

of me to exploit

me... and it meant that, if I were to

.Broken.‘ 

...Insane.’ 

... Monster. 

head as Thea‘s influence reared its ugly head inside me. A reminder to stop this chain of thoughts immediately before I

before but obviously not enough. I still had a long way to go in m y journey

could process all the information I‘d gathered and work on countering what I could. It

“Aria?” 

the drugs are wearing off,” I lied, letting

to get

“That‘ll just knock me out. We both know it‘s more important to

looked like he was going to argue but hesitated, probably realising I was right. This information could b e time–sensitive and who knew how long medication might make me

my request “There is only so much he remembers because he doesn‘t have any context for what you and Thea were

right. Brayden wouldn‘t have known about my first life, or about the lineages, or even Thea‘s involvement

he was able to tell you,” said. “Much, much worse. Before now, Thea wasn‘t able to touch me; or any of us, for that matter, directly. It was caused by some sort of curse