A Gift from the Goddess

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. 

this whole place on lockdown because you‘re injured. You can‘t just leave. Please. I

face 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

just that, though begrudgingly. Going as far as

m e on my way there in broad daylight,

to say?” I heard Aleric‘s voice speak from the other side of the meeting hall‘s door

meeting rooms and

hiding her somewhere else for a while,” Cai‘s voice 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. It won‘t be long before you‘re fighting a battle from both within and outside.”

not saying you‘re wrong but–.” Aleric‘s voice then cut off abruptly mid–sentence, followed only seconds later by a disappointed

Aria,” he

forgotten how sharp his senses were. Sharper than anyone

finding the two of them alone as they discussed the current issues the pack was facing Things they‘d 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 wouldn‘t have been

to be here,” Aleric said.

over to sit opposite them at the table. “I feel well enough to

walk,” he said, staring down at all the pages of writing I was carrying

at the inside of

to figure out. If we really are undergoing attacks then this might be able to help us come up with

stony, eyes narrowed. It wasn‘t as bad

all understand. The only way this works is if we start to trust each other

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Chapter Ninety–Four 

he was going to at least

out the pages in front of me. “I‘ve used the events I‘ve experienced in this lifetime in conjunction with the things I‘ve learnt about Thea‘s history, to try and figure out

it down on a fresh

to tell you about the abilities themselves,” I said. “You two probably have never tried to figure it out since you‘ve just let it flow naturally. I, on the other hand, wasn‘t that fortunate and had to learn how 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,

understand completely unless you ever meet a proper God in person. Basically, it‘s like an intense pressure to give in and appease them, gravitating without even fully realising it‘s happening. A form of manipulation, even if not

gaze, realising what I was

the first of her weaknesses – ‘detachment‘. 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 in and magnify those already existing fears I had. It‘s how she eventually ended up taking over too; waiting until I was completely at rock bottom so I would give in to everything she was saying. Detaching yourself and reducing those spikes in emotional changes will help with keeping her out. The only one

to earn me a few confused looks from both of

admitted to me herself that it doesn‘t work on him in the same way it does on me… or, if looking at

spoke up finally. “She was messing with me for months. No, actually, it was worse than that. Thinking about it now, it was

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 expressed that much interest in her emotionally when you spoke about ‘Caitlyn... something that was truthfully a bad sign from the beginning. If you are ever able to experience a mate bond one day, and I mean a *real one*, you‘ll know exactly what I mean. When that bond is formed... it‘s like nothing else, no one else. It takes over both your body *and* mind – not just one of

at me intensely, making

yet. I couldn‘t jump down that rabbit hole right

thing ended with you just getting sick from her trying to do it anyway. This means you‘re the only one of us who is capable

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bhupter Ninety–tout 

you 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

wrote the next few notes down before looking up to see Cai had gone completely pale. I took that to mean

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

good defensive tactics but don‘t really help much should we find ourselves in an actual fight,” Aleric then pointed

agreed. “Which brings me to the last one...

against a creature that can see in your head?” Cai

This one 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 considered us pretty similar and, well, though I don‘t like to consider it, it did get me thinking about a few similarities we actually did share. Namely, her own reactions and history.”

more notes

“Rather, I saw Thea‘s origin. She used to be pretty normal. Hardworking, dedicated to the people she cared for. She gave up her entire life just to make them happy. But when she was finally at her happiest, everything was ripped away from her.

left, what can you possibly do to

weakness to distract her, just like they were with me. Both of us became blinded, unable to see clearly ahead when things turned bad. Back when Selene robbed her

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

we just need to get her

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