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. 

on lockdown because you‘re injured. You can‘t just leave. Please.

be in bed. I‘ve been stuck inside for over a week now. If you‘re so scared of Aleríc, just accompany me to the

begrudgingly. Going as far as to drive me himself

though. Whilst I was pretty sure that Thea wouldn‘t publicly attack m e on my way there in broad daylight, it didn’t mean the

are you trying to say?” I heard Aleric‘s voice speak from the other side of

rooms and found

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.

Aleric‘s voice then cut off

in, Aria,” he

sharp his senses were. Sharper

the pack was facing Things they‘d obviously been keeping from me while I was resting. And they were

to be

opposite them at the table. “I feel well enough to walk though.”

he said, staring down at all the pages of writing

at the inside of my

to figure out. If we really are undergoing

and saw his expression still stony, eyes narrowed. It wasn‘t as bad as it was... but he still didn‘t trust

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 

exhaled, softening his expression enough to tell me he

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 should have. I‘ve broken up her weaknesses into three

and wrote it down on a fresh

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, taking

completely unless you ever meet a proper God in person. Basically, it‘s like an intense pressure

instantly averted his gaze, realising what I was implying

brings me to 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 of us who doesn‘t need to worry about that one as much… is

seemed to earn me a few confused looks from both

that it doesn‘t work on him in the same way it does on me…

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

surface level because you‘re both too similar. Where hers is an outward 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

staring at me intensely, making my heart jump a little.

down

and looked back down at the pages. “The whole thing ended with you just getting sick from her trying to do it anyway. This means you‘re the only

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bhupter Ninety–tout 

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 only able t o start recovering from once she left

see Cai had gone completely pale. I took that to mean that I must have correctly figured out his questionable commitment to Caitlyn perfectly, if

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 about who ‘Caitlyn‘ really was. She already knew I‘d told you because she would have seen it

of these are good defensive tactics but don‘t really help much should we find ourselves in an actual fight,” Aleric then pointed out. “Fighting is pretty emotionally fuelling and so, really, that would just leave running away. Doesn‘t really

agreed. “Which brings me to

help against a creature that can see

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

more

to the people she cared

can you possibly do to catch her off–guard?”

It‘s her own negative emotions that are her 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 of

mirror image of the way she‘d

need to get her angry?”

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 of trouble. I was only able to survive because she lapsed into that overconfident