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Chapter Eighty-Three
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2022-04-12 10:31:11As soon as the words had left my mouth though, I slowly started to take in what I was actually seeing before me.
Because it was Cai, butā¦ true to the excuse heād provided, he really didnāt seem well.
I could recall how heād appeared worn out the last time we'd met, however this was on an entirely different level.
He looked pale with dark circles under his eyes, perhaps having even lost some weight. The difference in his appearance was almost like an entirely different person from the man Iād first met all those years ago.
āAria,ā he greeted, his voice having a rasp to it that hadnāt been there before.
And, inside, a pang of guilt hit me.
It seemed I really had dragged him out of his sickbed.
āTake a seat,ā I said, gesturing to the chair on the other side of my desk, and he complied. āI appreciate you coming here to meet with me.ā
āYou didnāt give me much of a choice,ā he replied.
I simply nodded in turn. āWell,
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A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Eighty-Four
The second I saw her standing there, I quickly collapsed to my knees, my grip releasing from the dagger immediately. Iād been merely a second away from doing it. From ending it. From finally letting go. And yet I was still alive. I gasped at the air around me, my body shaking from adrenaline as it pulsed through me. It had started as just a bluffā¦ but somehow Iād found myself almost going through with it. ...Had I really fallen to that point? Regardless of the means though, I couldnāt dispute the results. Because Selene had shown herself. Standing in all her glory, her silver eyes analysing as she silently looked down at me. Even from here, I could feel that air around her. The one that made me want to give myself over to her. Funny how eerily similar it really was to Caiās ability. The familiarity in the energy surrounding her was almost uncanny. After a minute or so had passed, I finally managed to calm down,
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-13A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Eighty-Five
The burning inside my head was enough to eventually snap me out of the vision and I fell to the ground, wincing until the pain subsided. What Iād just seen wasā¦ indescribable. And not just seen, but felt. Iād felt what they had; what both Thea and Selene had gone through. Their pain, loss, sacrificesā¦ all of it. It was a universe spanning far beyond my limited knowledge, a timeline as old as time itself. And it had now been burned into my brain. Selene had been right. Only describing this story wouldnāt have been enough. What Iād just experienced gave me a higher understanding than just simply being told. ā¦But that didnāt mean I accepted what this meant for me. For all of us. Something she was probably expecting me to be lenient on given her status. āā¦We donāt mean anything,ā I whispered to myself, still somewhat in a daze. āWeāre justā¦ fodder. Pawns. Foot soldiersā¦ for you.ā I looked back up sharply a
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-13A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Eighty-Six
āAleric,ā I called out to him and carefully approached. Immediately, I saw how he tensed up at my presence, his eyes flashing dark for just a moment. I suppose it wasnāt that surprising to think heād be furious after all this time down here. However, his words seemed to contradict this first impression, only succeeding in confusing me. āAria,ā he breathed, almost as if in a sigh of relief, before quickly focusing again. My eyes narrowed as I looked at him, unsure what game he was playing at. Was this some sort of act? āYou can let her go now,ā I said, jutting my chin towards Lucy. āIf you kill her, you wonāt have anyone to bring you your meals every day.ā But his head moved back in confusion, taken off guard by my blunt response. ā...What?ā he simply asked, perplexed by my words. āI saidā¦ let her go or youāll probably end up starving,ā I repeated, taking a few more steps towards him. āShe isnāt a part of this... But I g
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-13A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Eighty-Seven
'Why are you letting her live?' The voice inside hissed. 'Sheās a traitor. A rat.' Itād been going on like this for a few days now ever since I made the agreement with Lucy. The original plan had been for Lucy to reach out to her mother in order to uncover Theaās whereabouts, but something had gone wrong with that. According to Lucyās mother, Thea hadnāt come back yet from whatever sheād been doing recently. Which caused several dilemmas. The main one being the safety of Lucyās mother. Someone who apparently was now so scared for her life that she was demanding immunity within the pack for her information. A huge ask considering she was a rogue and it would mean losing an inside connection. Looking at her record, Stephanie Faulkner had crimes of fraud and theft committed against higher-ranked members. And whilst Lucy herself believed wholeheartedly that her mother was innocent, the evidence was stacked up against her.
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-13A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Eighty-Eight
āNO!ā a voice yelled from behind meā¦ ā¦And a wall of muscle quickly tackled me off Cai, sending us both flying along the ground and sliding several feet away. I pushed and shoved against Alericās grip but he was putting everything into this. It was almost impossible to free myself. But I had something he didnāt, something to give me the advantage here; my dagger. And, as quickly as I could, I brought it upā¦ Angling it andā¦ āEnough, Aria!ā Aleric ordered and he disarmed the knife from me, throwing it as far away as possible. āEnough.ā It was over. āDo it then,ā I spat, still wriggling in a futile attempt to escape. āGet it over with. Kill me. Just like my parents, Aleric. Is that the kind of āhelpā you had in mind? Is that how you helped them?ā He growled and pushed my shoulders back down again to try and stop me from struggling. āYes, it is actually!ā he said furiously. āThat is exactly
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-13A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Eighty-Nine
No, no, no, noā¦ No, this couldnāt be happening. Iād been so guarded against everyone else that I hadnāt seen the real issue sinking its teeth within me the entire time. āAria?ā Aleric asked again, grabbing onto my shoulders to steady me. But I recoiled quickly away, taking a few shaky steps away.āNo, donātā¦ donāt touch me. Iāmā¦ Iām notā¦,ā I said disjointedly, unable to even finish my sentence in my current state. āAre you okay?ā 'What if heās just trying to gain your trust,' I heard her say inside. 'What if heās lying to you.' 'What if heās going to betray you again?' Over and over, her voice started to fill my head. All the things sheād told me once before now beginning to overlap until it was the only thing I could hear. As if I were in the middle of a crowded room filled with people shouting. 'You could pull the knife out. No one would
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-14A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Ninety
The pack vault. Reserved for only fully sworn-in ranked members and Elders. It was a place where the Winter Mistās most valuable possessions and secrets were kept, passed down through all the generations. It was my first time coming down here in this life and, out of all the people, I never expected to be accompanied by Brayden; someone who was neither a full ranked member nor someone I particularly liked. I knew he would take this experience to engorge his ego but there didnāt seem to be much choice. I refused to spend my time doing nothing when there was so much going on. Thea or not, I would still make myself useful somehow. The vault was huge and packed from top to bottom with everything one could imagine; books, important documents, items, weapons, heirlooms. A collection more diverse than probably all other packs in the country. Now, considering what I knew about the lineages, I wondered if perhaps our ancient origins were to be thanked for that.
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-14A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Chapter Ninety-One
There was only one choice. Only one that would allow me to salvage what little I did have left. Iād already burnt bridges, destroyed faithā¦ ruined any chance of having the life I used to so desperately crave. I couldnāt necessarily fix what Iād already done but I once used to believe that more bloodshed wasnāt the way to solve the past, and that was probably still true now. Even if Thea made it harder to see things that way. No, I needed to save himā¦ even if it proved more difficult than worthwhile. Calm down and think. I needed to consider this very carefully. There was always a logical explanation for these things when analysed, some sort of strategy. She could mess with my emotions and how I perceived things, but she couldnāt change the hard facts. They were there if I just focused enough. I just needed to push past what I felt I needed to do, and concentrate on what the situation was actually telling me to do. I needed to
ąøąø£ąø±ąøąøąø£ąøøąøąø„ą¹ąø²ąøŖąøøąø : 2022-04-14
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A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 61
I held my breath the entire time the phone rang, hoping that the plan would work. Everything was hinging on the next few steps being successful and I knew just how slim my chances were at pulling this off. With every ring that sounded, my heart clenched a little bit more. I waited... and waited... and waited... ā¦And, to my immense relief, I seemed to be in luck. For now, at least. Because it seemed there actually had been some benefit in my abrupt escape from Ashwood, all those weeks earlier. In my haste to run away, Iād left all of my belongings behind in a suitcase. A suitcase conveniently located inside Kieranās room. So, with no other way to contact him, it sure did seem like good fortune that my old burner phone just so happened to be left in that very pile of belongings. Iād assumed Kieran had stashed it somewhere close yet safe after Iād left. My hope was that it was now in his room or a place heād still be able to hear it vibrate. ā¦And Iād been right. However, whether
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 60
āā¦Clarissaā¦ can you wake up now?ā I asked, several hours later.The sun had set and risen again, but I still remained at her bedside.My head was feeling woozy, having not slept at all, and I was beginning to think that maybe this was it.ā¦Maybe she really wouldnāt wake up.But as I tried to fight off sleep, I couldnāt help but wonder if it was my fault. I shouldnāt have yelled and pushed her past her limit when I knew she was already unwell. My anger and frustration had gotten the better of me, and it seemed I was now seeing the price of that.ā¦Even saying things that I hadnāt entirely meant. Things I wished I could take back.ā*āHave you seen flowers like this before, Rheyna?ā*ā I swore I then heard Clarissa ask.But when I sharply raised my head up to look at her, hoping to see her awake, I found myself somewhere else.ā¦I was in a field.An incredibly young and energetic-looking Clarissa was seated on the ground before me, amongst thousands of overgrown white flowers. There was pin
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 59
It was dark by the time we made it home, having spent the whole day with the Hidden Moon talking.After my conversation with Jax, the two of us had returned to the camp and the topic of war wasnāt broached again - much to my relief. I went through the motions and enjoyed my time meeting the Hidden Moon members, but all the while dreaded the conversation I would need to have once I returned home with Clarissa.She had been worn out to her limit, I could tell. Being out of the home and needing to be so alert for so long had taken its toll on her. Her face was paler than normal and her coughs were more frequent. But even though I was concerned for her, I couldnāt help but still feel salty over her behaviour. Especially at her attempts of overruling our initial agreements.āIām going to bedā¦,ā she mumbled, starting to shuffle her way there.Weād only just stepped through the door when she announced it, not even bothering to justify herself about today.āNo,ā I simply said, making her paus
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 58
āWhy are you still being so moody?ā she asked me, speaking as I carried her on my back.Between her behaviour towards Kieran and whatever plan of Clarissaās this was now, I was certainly more quiet than usual.āIām not,ā I mumbled, continuing to walk.Iād agreed to go to the meeting, if only because Iād been the one to request that my cousin come here originally. As Clarissa had said, it would have been rude to make him come all this way only to then ignore him.āAre you being like this because of this morning?ā she asked, sounding concerned. āOr did something happen last night?āHowever, after sheād gone and organised this without consulting me, and after sheād treated Kieran so terribly, I really wasnāt in the mood to put up with her questioning.āI thought you said you didnāt care what happened between us?ā I snapped back, quoting what sheād told me in the kitchen. āSo stay out of it.āAnd she was instantly quiet after that.I continued to walk into the nearby forest for some time,
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 57
āYou made a promise!ā Clarissa yelled. āThe morning is here now, Kieran. Time for you to make good on your side of our agreement and leave.ā āIām not leaving until I know Rae is okay,ā Kieran argued back. āYou saw her yourself. She was passed out cold last night.ā āAnd why would that be, huh? Care to share?ā āAs if I would know why, Clarissa. Stop thinking that I have some ulterior motive here to hurt her.ā āFine. Then if you wonāt leave, consider our deal brokā.ā āWoah!ā I quickly yelled, rushing in to stop her. āThatās enough.ā Their heads both swiftly turned to look over at me, relief evident in both of their faces to see me awake. āRae!ā Kieran greeted, moving towards me. He quickly touched my face, examining me as if I were a hospital patient. It warmed my heart to see that he was so worried... but the new sensations brought by his mark were making it hard for me to focus. It was as if everything Iād felt for him before had been heightened tenfold. ...This might take a l
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 56
āAriaā¦? Theā¦.?ā my voice trailed off, almost as if I were in disbelief. She simply smiled at my reaction though and nodded her head. āIāve been watching you for a while now,ā she continued. āYouāve been through so much. Iām so sorry youāve had to experience any of this. I know better than any how unpleasant it can be.ā āYouā¦ how can you be here?ā I asked, still confused. āHere? You mean in the Abyss? This has been my home for many years now. I learnt how to navigate its plane and break free of my memories back when I was alive. Not like Selene is around to keep tabs either. Finding you before Clarissa revives you was the difficult part though.ā āā¦Then why are you here? Why did you try to find me?ā And she then looked up at the stars above, a longing in her eyes. āā¦Because I felt it was time I intervene,ā she said. āI swore to stay neutral but, with every death you endure, my heart breaks a little bit more to watch. How many times will this be now, Rheynaā¦?ā Her eyes then met m
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 55
āFound you,ā Kieran said a little while later. After talking to Zac, Iād climbed up onto the roof, hoping to think and reflect by myself for a while whilst Kieran had a shower. The storm was currently only in the distance, it hitting the hardest during the prior conversation. Now, all I could see was the brief flashes of lightning amongst the clouds. āInteresting spot,ā he mused, looking around. āI usually sit here to keep an eye on things,ā I replied back quietly. āI can see why. Youāve got a good view of the forestā¦ with the added beauty of the sky.ā He then looked over at me with something in his eyes that caused my cheeks to burn a little. Apparently, he didnāt even need to speak or touch me, simply his presence and gaze alone were enough to send shivers through me. I stared at him for a moment, a longing inside my chest, but still couldnāt quite work out why heād stayed. After everything heād learnt about me, after everything Iād doneā¦ somehow, he hadnāt given up on me. ā¦H
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 54
āAllisonā¦?ā Kieran repeated, warily. āHow could Allison have that sort of capability?ā Clarissa had been explaining everything to Kieran for quite some time. Everything from her connection with Selene, to what triggers the end. ā¦And also about me. Heād been quietly taking it all in so far but after Clarissa had finished talking, he finally spoke up, albeit he seemed to be slightly dazed. An understandable reaction. Clarissa shrugged. āShe devoted her whole life to her faith. That sort of connection is incredibly difficult to sever. It just goes to show the potential that even those without our lineage abilities can possess.ā āAndā¦ Raeā¦,ā he said, slowly turning to me. āYouāreā¦ a Saintess now? How many times did you sayā¦?ā āThis is the seventh timelineā¦,ā I answered. āThough I donāt have any of my memories.ā Or, ratherā¦ I had just one. Clarissa hadnāt gone into too much detail regarding my previous involvement with him, thankfully, but he still understood that it was mostlyā¦ u
A Gift from the GoddessĀ Ā Ā Book Two - Ch.# 53
āIā¦ Rheyna Knightā¦ of the once lost Silver Mist Pack,ā I started, my voice barely louder than a whisper. āHereby reject yā.ā ā¦But I wasnāt able to finish the sentence. Because Iād been wrongā¦ so wrong. I could see that now. I didnāt recall that prior timeline memory to prepare myself for the pain Iād feel upon completing the rejection. Noā¦ Iād seen it as a reminder. A reminder of why I shouldnāt go ahead with it. And as his lips came crashing down against mine, immediately cutting off my words, this newfound realisation seemed so obvious. Why hadnāt I seen it sooner? It was as if something inside completely broke down the second he reached for me. Now all that was left was this connection drawing me to him. It was so incredibly strong, almost impossibly so. Like this was something I was meant to be doing. I didnāt have the resolve to resist him, instantly kissing him back. There was an urgency in my response as if Iād been starving for this. To just feel the sparks and desir
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