A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood

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,

I hissed. “I can‘t let 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 do not overrule the lives of innocents. You‘re

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 accused of my own crimes.

let me do this. Please don‘t ask me to stand by and let people die for me. I don‘t need their names weighing on my soul any more than I

you from that, Aria. You know as well as I do what

won‘t,” I reassured. “He can‘t. He‘d chain me to a pole for the rest of my life before killing me. He likes the status image I provide too much.

have every Goddess devout nutcase on our doorstep demanding their Saintess‘ freedom. You‘ll become a martyr within your own oppression. We‘re potentially trading

to help him see reason. “That‘s at least a more manageable problem. One thing at a time here. First, I‘ll call an emergency meeting scheduled for

said flatly.

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 know you guys

up on whatever he wanted to say and opting for silence instead.

were you going to

“Nothing. Forget it.” 

Chapter Sixty–One 

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

when some things are better left unsaid. Would you like me to

my jaw at the direct insult. “At least I‘m not fine 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

can‘t just pick and choose which title you

I had overstepped that line. Instead, a moment of icy silence hung between us, neither of us wanting to

do what you think is right, Aria. We‘ll deal with whatever

this investigation the last few months, spreading our free time too thin with all the additional work it brought us. It was no surprise really that we were 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

on this right now seemed off, I had to give him credit where it was due. If it hadn‘t

I wanted him on my side for this decision. After all the time and effort we‘d put in, it was now just as much Aleric‘s choice as it was mine since it was technically his life on the line as well. He‘d lied about my involvement and had been helping me during all of this mess.

to do this, Aleric. Just... trust me. You‘ll have my

sighed, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. “Aria... that‘s not...

small smile. “Maybe we‘ll

“Hopefully.” 

he wasn‘t exactly pleased with the outcome, but I was happy that he seemed to be on board at least

head off then,” I said, motioning towards the car. “I‘ll drop you off at

he asked, starting to

Chapter Sixty One 

to go

for the worst–case scenario,” I

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 last few months.

my previous timeline. James barely knew me in this life when compared to the last but my respect for him had remained. Those last moments he‘d gifted me with my father had been

greeted me, inclining his head slightly in

back in acknowledgement. “James. How is the

“Same as always.” 

anything further and instead

on a pair of familiar gold ones staring right back at me. He

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 do

you?” I asked stiffly.

hinted at any complaints even once since coming here but I knew it had to be hard. I could see the circles forming under his

he replied. “It‘s good to see

composure. I could see in his eyes what he was really telling me and it

tried to refocus.

bring myself to do it. He would know what that meant, what two

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

least feels a little less... prison –y. Kind

twitched slightly but I couldn‘t bring myself to give him a

us knowing 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

was at the door within listening range but my back was

hoped desperately that he saw just how sincerely I meant that. How much weight I really

if he was sensing exactly what I was feeling, and inside I could feel that pit of guilt clench. Everything

I felt overwhelmed, like I couldn‘t breathe. “I should be going… I’ll come by to check on you again... When

was about to stand up when his hand suddenly shot out, clasping