A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 61

Chapter Sixty–One 

“...What did you just say?” I asked, my voice thick with disbelief. 

“I said they‘ve declared war,” Alexander repeated. “They‘ve said that if we don‘t release Caius before sunset tomorrow that they will officially announce their intent to bring him home by force.” 

Less than twenty–four hours. I had less than twenty–four hours to free him or we would be initiating a war. 

...And it would be my fault. 

“It‘s not enough time,” I whispered, the panic rising inside me once more. “...It‘s not enough time... It‘s not enough time.” 

I took a step backwards as my mind continued to whirl. This was it. Everything had been leading to this moment and it was finally here. 

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Aleric asked him. 

Alexander frowned as if he‘d expected him to have a different reaction.“... No? Just that we received a letter from the Silver Lake just now... —” 

“You can go then,” Aleric interrupted. “Thank you for telling me as soon as possible.” 

“What? ....Uh, yeah, okay...,” Alexander said, confused. 

He took a few steps backwards, still unsure as to why he‘d been dismissed so quickly, before finally turning around to leave. 

As soon as Alexander was out of sight, Aleric immediately turned his attention to me. 

Everything was spinning, making it hard to focus. What could I possibly do to stop this now? Maybe confronting Thea myself and trying to get her to confess again? But no... that energy inside me had become disconnected, like a flickering light whenever I tried to grasp it. I remembered how sick it made m e last time and didn‘t think I could force anyone to follow my orders right now even if I wanted to. A parto fme knew that doing so would be reckless... potentially deadly. 

“Aria,” Aleric said, his voice cutting through my thoughts. It was enough to make me look up to him, meeting his gaze directly. “Breathe. In and out.” 

As he said the words, I realised my breathing had become shallow, my concentration on thinking taking priority. Slowly, I breathed in deeply and back out again. 

“You‘ve got that same expression that worries me,” he said. “The one where I leave you alone to calm down, only to find out you’re acting completely insane a few days later. We don‘t have time for that anymore. I need smart Aria right now, not self–destructive Aria.” 

He was right, I needed to slow down and think properly. Confronting Thea myself was far too risky and 

almost certainly wouldn‘t work out in my favour. 

And so, I closed my eyes, my breathing still shaky, but I did my best to focus. 

I went over it all in my head, thinking through the different possibilities, the different outcomes... but with the limited time we had left, there wasn‘t much we could do. 

Shaking my head, I frowned. “There‘s no time, Aleric... our best hope is that Jonathan accidentally reveals himself tomorrow or Thea slips up.” 

“... That‘s cutting it pretty close,” he said. 

“I know... which is why I have one more solution as a backup plan that is almost guaranteed to work.” 

He crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. “If it‘s quaranteed then why don‘t we just implement that one first instead?” 

I bit my lip, unsure if I should tell him. I already knew what his reaction would be. 

“Well... because..,” I started hesitantly. 

His frown deepened for a second before finally, he understood what I meant without me even needing to finish. I could see the recognition on his face when he realised what I was planning. 

“No, no way,” he said, a tone of finality in his words. “You‘re not doing that.” 

“Aleric, I don‘t have a choice.” 

“You‘re throwing your life away,” he argued. “Everything you‘ve worked towards, everything you‘ve fought for. You‘re going to give it up for him?” 

“I‘m not giving it up for him... I‘m giving it up for the pack. Both packs. I‘m giving it up to save innocent people.” 

head. “Aria, think

thousands of people die for my mistake. If the worst–case scenario really does happen... I‘m going to confess. There is no other way. The side effects of my punishment

wouldn‘t let it happen. Not again. I‘d participated in too many wars already and knew too well the destruction they left behind. This time the cause wasn‘t even for power or territory... it was over releasing an innocent man. A man

you do... you‘d let me do this. Please don‘t ask me to stand

I can‘t save you from that, Aria. You know as

rest of my life before killing me. He likes the status image

devout nutcase on our doorstep demanding their Saintess‘ freedom. You‘ll become a

at least a more manageable problem. One thing at a time here. First, I‘ll call an emergency meeting scheduled for just after lunch tomorrow.

said flatly.

on with you? Is this really due to dealing with the devout follower backlash or is this about something else? is it Cai? Do you really hate him that much? I

don‘t... whatever.” He sighed in frustration, giving up on whatever he

you going to say?” I

“Nothing. Forget it.” 

Chapter Sixty–One 

irritation. “I say something or do something and you just go quiet instead of telling me whatever it is

are better left unsaid. Would you like me to teach you how

with killing off innocent people for the sake of avoiding a smaller confrontation. Wars don‘t solve all your problems, Aleric. What are you really afraid of here? Is it that you‘re insecure over whether I‘ll usurp you one day? Gather followers of the Goddess around me and take over what you feel you‘re entitled to? Let me give you a quick tip for avoiding that future; don‘t piss me off. I never wanted the job anyway. Why do you think I‘ve tried

give Alpha commands,” he retorted harshly. “You can‘t just pick and choose which title you want whenever it suits

that line. Instead, a moment of icy silence

defeat, running a hand through his dark wavy hair. “Just... do what you think is right, Aria. We‘ll deal with whatever happens after when

both now in each other‘s faces the second that war was finally at our doorstep. It was a cocktail for short fuses and high tempers. Which was exactly why the best decision here was for us to walk away before saying something else we‘d

had their own obstacles, their own pros and cons. And whilst it felt as though Aleric‘s opinion on this right now seemed off, I had to give him credit where it was due. If it hadn‘t been for his support over these last

life on the line as well. He‘d lied about my involvement and had been helping me during all of this mess. If he was found

too,” I mumbled. “It‘s not like I want to do this, Aleric.

tiredly at his eyes. “Aria... that‘s not... Yep.

be okay,” I said with a small smile. “Maybe we‘ll catch

“Hopefully.” 

could see on his face that he looked as though he wasn‘t exactly pleased with the outcome, but I was happy

I said, motioning towards the car. “I‘ll drop you off

you going?” he asked, starting to walk with

Chapter Sixty One 

to

for

found myself walking down a cold hallway, my feet leaving an echo as I went. I‘d come here frequently enough that I was now familiar with these walls, but their contents had continued t o be a source of pain for me these

to the trial grounds in my previous timeline. James barely knew me in this life when compared to the last but my respect for

heir,” he greeted me, inclining

back in acknowledgement. “James. How

“Same as always.” 

say anything further and instead opened

searching until they fell on a pair of familiar gold ones staring

wish for the thousandth time that this wasn‘t real… but I couldn‘t. Not here, not today, and definitely not over the last few months, had I been able to

you?”

to find my voice, my sense of guilt always hitting me hard whenever I got to see him. He hadn‘t hinted at any complaints even once since coming here but I knew it had to be

well, thanks,” he replied. “It‘s good to see

could see in his eyes what he was really telling me and it only made things

and tried to refocus.

telling him the news of the war conditions proposed by the Silver Lake but, seeing him now, I couldn‘t bring myself to do it. He would know what that meant,

sure you‘re still hanging in there,” I half lied, taking a seat

to the larger room it at least feels a little less... prison –y. Kind of feels more like home arrest now… if my home was a white cell

but I couldn‘t bring myself to give him a smile at

what to say. I couldn‘t speak freely with him and yet there was so much I wanted to speak about. It was torture. He was right there in front of me, within arm‘s length, and I couldn‘t even touch

the door within listening

saw just how sincerely I meant that.

sensing exactly what I was feeling, and inside I could feel

I felt overwhelmed, like I couldn‘t breathe. “I should

stand up when his hand suddenly shot out, clasping my wrist

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255