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 beforesunset 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 initiatinga 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 tothis 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 receiveda 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 finallyturning 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? Maybeconfronting Thea myself and trying to get her to confess again? But no... that energy inside me hadbecome disconnected, like a flickering light whenever I tried to grasp it. I remembered how sick itmade m e last time and didn't think I could force anyone to follow my orders right now even if Iwanted 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 thinkingtaking 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 tocalm down, only to replace out you're acting completely insane a few days later. We don't have time forthat 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 riskyand

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 accidentallyreveals 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 towork."

He crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. “If it's quaranteed then why don’t we just implement thatone 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 evenneeding 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'vefought 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 saveinnocent people.”

He shook his head. “Aria, think this through clearly.”

“I am thinking clearly!” I hissed. “I can't let thousands of people die for my mistake. If the worst-casescenario really does happen... I'm going to confess. There is no other way. The side effects of mypunishment do not overrule the lives of innocents. You're the one who needs to think clearly here.”I wouldn't let it happen. Not again. I'd participated in too many wars already and knew too well thedestruction they left behind. This time the cause wasn't even for power or territory... it was overreleasing an innocent man. A man accused of my own crimes.

I took a breath, calming my voice back down to help him see reason. “Aleric, if you really caredabout the Winter Mist, and I know you do... you'd let me do this. Please don’t ask me to stand byand let people die for me. I don’t need their names weighing on my soul any more than I alreadyhave.”

"And what if Tytus sentences you to death? What then, huh? I can’t save you from that, Aria. Youknow as well as I do what the punishment for treason is.”

"He 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. The “Winter Mist Saintess’. No, he won't kill me.”“Then we'll 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 one war foranother.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I said, desperately trying to help him see reason. “That's at least a moremanageable problem. One thing at a time here. First, I'll call an emergency meeting scheduled forjust after lunch tomorrow. In the morning before that, we'll see how Jonathan goes with Thea then...well... worst-case scenario, I'll be using the meeting to finally clear all this mess up.”

“No,” he said flatly.

His plain refusal bristled my temper once more. “Aleric, what the hell is going on with you? Is thisreally due to dealing with the devout follower backlash or is this about something else? is it Cai? Doyou really hate him that much? I know you guys don’t get along but this seems a little extreme.”"What? No, Aria... You don't... whatever.” He sighed in frustration, giving up on whatever he wantedto say and opting for silence instead.

*I don't’ what? What were you going to say?” I pressed.

“Nothing. Forget it.”

Chapter Sixty-One

I crossed my arms defensively. “You always do this,” I said, not bothering to hide my irritation. “I saysomething or do something and you just go quiet instead of telling me whatever it is you'rethinking about.

“It's called making smart decisions and knowing when some things are better left unsaid. Would youlike me to teach you how that's done?”

I clenched my jaw at the direct insult. “At least I'm not fine with killing off innocent people for thesake of avoiding a smaller confrontation. Wars don't solve all your problems, Aleric. What are youreally afraid of here? Is it that you're insecure over whether I'll usurp you one day? Gather followersof the Goddess around me and take over what you feel you're entitled to? Let me give you a quicktip for avoiding that future; don't piss me off. I never wanted the job anyway. Why do you think I'vetried so hard to become a Beta instead?”

"Betas don't give Alpha commands,” he retorted harshly. “You can't just pick and choose which titleyou want whenever it suits you.”

I wanted to argue back but he was right, I had overstepped that line. Instead, a moment of icysilence hung between us, neither of us wanting to concede. Finally though, his eyes softened,sighing in release o ftension

*..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you first,” he said quietly in defeat, running a hand throughhis dark wavy hair. “Just... do what you think is right, Aria. We'll deal with whatever happens afterwhen we get to that point, just as you said.”

We were both in the wrong here, I knew that. We had burnt ourselves out with this investigation thelast few months, spreading our free time too thin with all the additional work it brought us. It wasno surprise really that we were both now in each other's faces the second that war was finally at ourdoorstep. It was a cocktail for short fuses and high tempers. Which was exactly why the bestdecision here was for us to walk away before saying something else we'd regret.

In truth though, I was sure neither choice presented was the best decision here. Both paths aheadhad their own obstacles, their own pros and cons. And whilst it felt as though Aleric’s opinion onthis right now seemed off, I had to give him credit where it was due. If it hadn't been for his supportover these last few months, I would have been worse off and probably done something far moredrastic already by now. I n a way, I owed him.

Which was why I wanted him on my side for this decision. After all the time and effort we'd put in, itwas now just as much Aleric's choice as it was mine since it was technically his life on the line aswell. He'd lied about my involvement and had been helping me during all of this mess. If he wasfound to have been withholding information, I was sure Tytus would not be pleased.

“..I'm sorry, too,” I mumbled. “It's not like I want to do this, Aleric. Just... trust me. You'll have mysupport with whatever happens afterwards, I promise.”

He sighed, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. “Aria... that's not... Yep. Okay, sure. Thank you.”

“It's going to be okay,” I said with a small smile. “Maybe we'll catch Jonathon tomorrow and bedragging his ass into that meeting instead.”

“Hopefully.”

We stood facing each other, neither of us moving. I could see on his face that he looked as thoughhe wasn't exactly pleased with the outcome, but I was happy that he seemed to be on board at leastfor now.

"Alright, I should probably head off then,” I said, motioning towards the car. “I'll drop you off at thepackhouse on the way if you want.”

“Where are you going?” he asked, starting to walk with me.

Chapter Sixty One

There wasn't much time left but I knew exactly where I needed to go next. Only it wasn't somewhereI wanted to bring Aleric.

*..I'm off to go prepare for the worst-case scenario,” I replied.

Not long after that, I 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 hadcontinued t o be a source of pain for me these last few months.

Outside a door stood James, positioned on guard duty. He was the warrior who had escorted mefrom my cell to the trial grounds in my previous timeline. James barely knew me in this life whencompared to the last but my respect for him had remained. Those last moments he'd gifted me withmy father had been precious. Although it did feel almost surreal to see that he would be the warrioron duty today given the circumstances.

“Beta heir,” he greeted me, inclining his head slightly in respect.

I nodded back in acknowledgement. “James. How is the prisoner today?”

"Same as always.”

He didn't say anything further and instead opened the door, accompanying me inside.

As soon as the room beyond came into sight, my eyes immediately darted around, searching untilthey fell on a pair of familiar gold ones staring right back at me. He was seated at a small table thathad been set up to the side.

My first instinct was to run to him, nestle my head into his neck, and wish for the thousandth timethat this wasn't real... but I couldn“t. Not here, not today, and definitely not over the last fewmonths, had I been able to do anything remotely close to that. We were forced to strictprofessionalism due to the ever present eyes of guards watching.

“Cai, how are you?" I asked stiffly.

It had taken me a moment to replace my voice, my sense of guilt always hitting me hard whenever Igot to see him. He hadn't hinted at any complaints even once since coming here but I knew it hadto be hard. I could see the circles forming under his eyes and how he'd lost a little bit of weight. Itwas all signs of him paying a price he hadnt signed up for.

“I'm well, thanks,” he replied. “It's good to see you.”

Hearing his voice almost made me lose my composure. I could see in his eyes what he was reallytelling me and it only made things so much harder.

I cleared my throat and tried to refocus. “You too.”

I'd come here with every intention of telling him the news of the war conditions proposed by theSilver Lake but, seeing him now, I couldn't bring myself to do it. He would know what that meant,what two paths would potentially be waiting for me now. But, more importantly, he would knowthat this was goodbye. Regardless of how it went, tomorrow Cai would be free. I'd make sure of it.“l umm... I just wanted to check in and make sure you're still hanging in there,” I half lied, taking aseat at the table opposite him. “Are they treating you okay?”

He shrugged. “Can't complain. Since being upgraded 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 with uncomfortablefurniture.”

My lip twitched slightly but I couldn’t bring myself to give him a smile at his attempt at humour.We were quiet for some time, neither of us knowing what to say. I couldn't speak freely with himand yet there was so much I wanted to speak about. It was torture. He was right there in front ofme, within arm’s length, and I couldnt even touch him.

..I'm sorry.” I mouthed to Cai silently. James was at the door within listening range but my back wasfacing him.

And though I knew Cai couldn't hear me, I hoped desperately that he saw just how sincerely I meantthat. How much weight I really meant behind those words.

He looked at me with concern, as if he was sensing exactly what I was feeling, and inside I could feelthat pit of guilt clench. Everything was becoming too much.

“Well... I'm glad you're doing okay," I said, no longer having the strength for this anymore. I feltoverwhelmed, like I couldn't breathe. “I should be going... I'll come by to check on you again..When I can.”

I turned my face and was about to stand up when his hand suddenly shot out, clasping my wrist topause me.

“Wait,” he said. I stared down at his hand in disbelief that he'd just done that with James in theroom.” Why does it feel like I'm never going to see you again?”

“Cai...” I whispered, darting my eyes in James’ direction so he“d get the hint.

He looked over at him in irritation, as if he were an obstacle more than a person, and immediatelywalked over to him before I could get another word out.

I watched as Cai then started to speak to James in a low voice, smiling and laughing the whole time,before something unimaginable happened.

"Yeah, all good, man,” James finally said loud enough for me to hear,

"Ah, you're the best,” Cai said, patting him on the shoulder like they were best friends. “I'll makesure to go easy on you next time.”

.. Then James gave me a small nod... and left the room.

Cai strode back over towards me like nothing insane had just happened, and I just stared at him,too stunned to move. But he didn't notice, not even pausing in the slightest. Instead, Caiimmediately leant over, grabbing my face gently in his hand, and brought his lips down to mine.His taste, his scent, all of it instantly overwhelmed me. In a span of a few seconds I'd gone fromaccepting that I might never see him again, to kissing him in a cell with a guard on the other side ofthe door.

..On the other side of the door.

Reality kicked back in and I pulled away, breathless.

“Cai... what the fuck was that,” I asked incredulously.

"What? James? He's a good guy. We play poker all the time when he’s on duty. Not a lot to do whenstuck i na cell twenty-four seven.”

*..And so he just broke orders... because you guys are pals?”

“Yeah! Well, I mean, he’s not really breaking orders. Just hanging out on the other side.”

"Cai..." I said cautiously. “Did you... did you order him?”

"What? No. Of course not. I couldn't even if I wanted to,” he replied. “Aria, trust me. All I did was askif we could have a moment to talk in private. He really is just a good guy.”

Chapter Sixty One

I paused for a moment, thinking it through, before finally nodding. Cai sounded completely sincereand I knew from personal experience that James was capable of bending rules slightly. He'd donethe same thing for me. Not to mention that Cai really had a way with words. I'd seen him talk hisway out of all sorts of situations before. This really shouldn't have been so surprising.

I sighed. All of this was too much to wrap my head around without the added stresses. After all, ifthings didn't fall in my favour, it might be me living here by this time tomorrow.

"What's going on, Aria?” he asked, bringing my attention back. “Every time you've come to visit methese last few months you've always had this look of determination about you. But today... you lookshaken.”

*..l, umm," I started, unsure what to say.

Was I really going to tell him? It wasn't that I wanted to hide it from him. It was just that telling himfelt like acknowledging that this really was the last time I'd see him. And honestly, I didn’t have anystrength t o spare in order to say goodbye one last time.

“It's nothing, just stress,” I lied. “I found some information and might have a lead to get you out ofhere... but it's dangerous. I'm just worried I might not be successful.”

“Hey,” he said, lifting my chin up to look him in the eyes. “I believe in you. You'll pull it off and you'llbe back here telling me the good news in no time.”

“Cai... just in case I don't-"

He cut me off, silencing me with a kiss.

“Don’t,” he said after we'd broken apart again. “Don't talk about things you don’t know yet. Focuson protecting yourself first, don’t worry about me. When I see you next, you can tell me the goodnews.”

.. There wasn't going to be a next time. This was it. This was going to be the last time I saw him. Thebest case scenario was that I might see him again one day at a political meeting from afar... if Iwasn't in prison and still a Beta.

I gently brought my hand up to his face, tracing his cheek with my thumb. Being here, next to him, Iwanted nothing more than to lean in and relax against him. I wanted that infectious energy of his tohelp me forget everything that was going on, help me forget everything I was scared about. But Icouldn't. Now, more than ever, I needed to show restraint. I needed to be strong enough to sacrificemy own freedom for his should it come down to that.

“No matter what happens to me, please look after yourself,” I said. “Knowing you're safe and alive isenough to make me happy. Please remember that.”

I saw him frown as he was about to open his mouth to speak, but a knocking suddenly came fromthe door, stopping him before he could.

“Everything is going to be okay,” was all he ended up saying.

He leaned in, giving me a final quick peck on the forehead, before pulling away completely.

I wanted to reply, to say something, anything, but I couldn't. I knew that if I tried to speak that myvoice would betray me. Tears were already threatening to spill from my eyes at any second.

And so I smiled. One last time. Because this was probably going to be the last image of me he everhad.

Tomorrow, a new fate would be decided. ...A fate where I couldn't follow him.