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.” 

off then. Resistance or not, I wouldn‘t have been able to use my natural

almost 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

everything he was telling

then.... 

of Tytus and Elder Nathaniel?‘

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

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

so;

like that.”

not dead,” |

“... Not dead.” 

even Selene‘s interference. The chances

test how much it‘d healed. Unlike the rest of my injuries, the dislocation was probably the

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feel that it had

because there was a lot of

forgot. Especially when the information included theories of, not only how Thea‘s ability most likely

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

arrogance had given me more clues from just within a ten minute encounter alone than out of the entire four

In fact, if my theories were correct, it might not

feel that nagging bond inside that used to be the place I mistook for my ‘past self‘. I might have let her in, allowing her

she would know I had survived...

despite even the outcome of our battle, somehow I‘d managed to dig my claws in enough to live... and that very fact alone would be eating

asked, a little alarmed when I started

in bed but immediately hissed from the pain in my shoulder. I wanted to start work a s soon as

up,” I huffed, grimacing from

less than pleased by this idea but probably assumed I was going to do it

innocent enough request when I first thought 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

how close his body was as his arm wrapped around

if I turned my head right now, his face

noticed. Things like his calm breathing, the warmth seeping into my skin from where he held

I wondered if....

helping me up and was about to pull away, but, before he could even take a step, 1 quickly pinched at his shirt to pause him

reaching out for the comfort his presence gave

unable to meet his eyes as I stared at my hand.

before dying. So much

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Cluple Nuitty Ihree 

to him and more. A debt I was never going to be able to

what i‘d done to him. To hear from him that things hadn‘t been completely destroyed between

the dangerous, unpredictable one

I wanted

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

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 only you.“*‘

that wasn‘t *him*. That was just him describing the effects of the mate bond. I knew all too 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

it would be wrong of me to exploit that.

everything that had happened in the last few months. If I were him, I would want t o hate me... and it meant that,

.Broken.‘ 

...Insane.’ 

... Monster. 

Thea‘s influence reared its ugly head inside me. A reminder to stop this chain

I still had a long way to go in m y journey of recovery.

for the time being. Something that would need to wait until ! could process all the information I‘d gathered

“Aria?” 

wearing off,” I lied,

you not to get up. I‘ll get a doctor.”

“That‘ll just knock me out. We both

was right. This information could b e time–sensitive and who knew how long medication might

about what happened but it wasn‘t all that helpful,” he said, giving in to my request “There is only so

the lineages, or even Thea‘s involvement with Selene. The only

was able to tell you,” said. “Much, much worse. Before now, Thea wasn‘t able to touch me; or