A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 94

A week. 

I lasted a week before I started to get restless, wondering how much longer I‘d need to wait before my body could finally cope again. 

But surely a week was long enough, right? Enough that I would be allowed to begin what I wanted to? 

And so I quickly grabbed the clipboard at the end of my bed, the one that was for my medical chart, and flipped the pages over to start writing on the blank side. 

...And I closed my eyes, concentrating as I gave myself over to the old side of me that knew how to effectively strategise an enemy. 

It took several hours over the course of three days before I finally finished. To be safe, I only worked within small windows every day, choosing to do so between when I would get another dose of pain medication and when I would need to let myself sleep. This was something delicate and I knew I needed t o be at my most relaxed for it to work. 

By the time I was done, it was an in–depth timeline of everything since I‘d been reborn. Correlating the different events to everything I knew Thea had done, and then using those to theorise why it had been done the way it had been. Even in the moments she hadn‘t done something, I was still able to use it to better understand it all. 

… This was it. 

This was a 101 guide to Thea over the last four years 

Now I just needed to have a meeting with the others to let them know. Something I was sure Aleric would be less than pleased with considering I was meant to still be resting. 

Fuck it. 

I knew the time window was perfect. This would be my only chance until tomorrow. 

...Not to mention, that thing* had finally arrived earlier. 

And so I threw my legs over the side of the bed, getting slowly dressed into some normal clothes, and started heading towards the meeting hall. Knowing Aleric, he was probably going to be there this time of the day. 

“Where are you going?” a voice then said behind me, making me jump in surprise. 

| quickly turned around to see Brayden there, right outside my hospital room. 

“… To see Aleric,” I replied, my voice a little tense at seeing him. 

It was because of him. 

If he had just done what he was told, none of this would have happened. 

But as I looked at him more closely, I noticed how he looked exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes and didn‘t have that normal confident air about him that used to annoy me so much. 

“You‘re not supposed to be leaving your room,” he said. “Aleric was pretty strict on that.” 

“So, you follow orders now?” | replied back a bit coldly. 

*Breathe.* 

And I sighed, clearing my head. I needed to remember that there was no reason for me to get angry now. 

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“..I‘m sorry, Arla,” he said, his face crumbling a bit 10 show how quilty he felt, “I didn‘t. I didn‘t realise. I Just wanted to stop her from getting away. If I‘d known she was going to do that 10 you, I never would have engaged in battle. I feel terrible.” 

“Don‘t apologise to me,” I said. “Just.. learn and do better.” 

And with that, I turned around, continuing on iny way to where I wanted to go. 

can‘t just leave. Please. I don‘t want you to get hurt

him. “Stop If I thought I couldn‘t cope with this then I would still be in bed. I‘ve been stuck inside for over a week

just that, though begrudgingly. Going as far as to drive me himself with

on my way there in broad daylight,

speak from the

meeting rooms and found the door slightly ajar, allowing for

then replied, “You‘re basically using all your available people to just keep her safe right now. Clearly, Thea knows where she is o r she wouldn‘t keep sending rogue attacks along the border to split your people and weaken your defences.

cut off abruptly mid–sentence, followed only seconds later by a disappointed sigh.

Aria,” he finished.

how sharp his senses were. Sharper than anyone else‘s.

obviously been keeping from me while I was resting. And they were probably right to do so. If I‘d known we had been suffering attacks because of me, I probably

supposed to be

over to sit opposite them at

more than just walk,” he said, staring down at all the pages of writing I

bit at the inside of

everything you need to know about Thea. Everything I was able to figure out. If we really are

to Cai and saw his expression still stony, eyes narrowed. It wasn‘t as bad

listen to me for a bit,” I continued. “This is going to take a while but it‘s important you all understand. The only way this works is if we start to trust each

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Chapter Ninety–Four 

he was going to at least

events I‘ve experienced in this lifetime in conjunction with the things I‘ve learnt about Thea‘s history, to try and figure out how she operates. Luckily for us, she unintentionally told me more than she probably

on a

to control it due to being stuck in the collar. The most important thing to know is that these abilities are primarily powered by emotional energy. The more intense feeling you‘re experiencing, the easier it is to utilise. So, for Aleric, that would usually be in the heat of battle when you‘re in high–stress situations,

helps create an atmosphere of devotion. It‘s something you probably won‘t understand completely unless you ever meet a proper God in person. Basically, it‘s like an intense pressure to give in and appease

realising what I was

All of her moves against me since the beginning were solely aimed at triggering a negative reaction. Because the more emotional I felt in that moment, the easier it was for her to weave her way

few confused looks from both

work on him in the same way

right,” Cai spoke up finally. “She was messing with me for months. No, actually, it was worse

focus in swaying others to see things her way, yours is more internal in how people perceive you specifically, both stemming from a manipulation in perception. She said it‘s like two magnets of the same polar, pushing away from each other. I take that to mean she convinced you of the physical effects of the mate–bond, like sparks, scent etc, opposed to you actually *feeling the attachment to her. You sort of never

I hesitantly looked up to see Aleric staring at me intensely, making my

couldn‘t jump down that rabbit hole right now.

to do it anyway. This means you‘re the only one of us who is capable of resisting her internal manipulations and should be able to pick up if she is influencing

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bhupter Ninety–tout 

feel sick, something you need 10 start keeping an eye out for as an early warning system. It‘s important to note though that this sickness was something you were

mean that I must have correctly figured out his questionable commitment to Caitlyn perfectly, if

her inside my head. In fact, it was pretty much dead silent and I felt in control for the most part... with one exception; when we met up during what was meant to be my escape. This tells me she is probably limited to a certain range and, possibly, is also limited in how many she can focus on at once. Cai, you mentioned to me in my office that she started leaving for longer periods of time after you started to get more ill... I‘d wager those times she was away from you would match up perfectly to when I was at my worst, moments that took place after I‘d turned eighteen when she was required to be here more. I‘d also guess she never returned to the Silver Lake after I broke the news to you

find ourselves in an actual fight,” Aleric then pointed out. “Fighting is pretty emotionally fuelling and so, really, that would just leave running away.

“Which brings me to the last one... ‘distraction‘.”

a creature that

was something she gave away during our fight and it was how I managed to keep her guard down. Stupidly, she admitted to me that she

writing more notes down.

people she cared for. She gave up her entire life just to make them happy. But when she was

left, what can you possibly do

robbed her of her powers, she wasn‘t able to use her ability to see ahead

in our fight when she had shown her true colours; how it was a mirror image of the way she‘d made

get her angry?”

is the most unreliable one I have and that‘s mostly because it could change at any minute without warning. We need t o keep in mind that this weakness could still very easily turn into a strength for her, what with it also stemming from a strong emotional response. If she learns how to overcome her urge to just immediately attack in a pure rage, she could always use that emotional energy to her own benefit instead. Then we‘d probably be in a lot

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