A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood novel 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.” 

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–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 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 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. 

I took a breath, calming my voice back down to help him see reason. “Aleric, if you really cared about the Winter Mist, and I know you do... you‘d 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 already have.” 

“And what if Tytus sentences you to death? What then, huh? I can‘t save you from that, Aria. You know 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 for another.” 

“Don‘t worry about that,” I said, desperately trying 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 just 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 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 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 wanted to 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 say something or do something and you just go quiet instead of telling me whatever it is you‘re thinking about. 

“It‘s called making smart decisions and knowing when some things are better left unsaid. Would you like 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 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 so hard to become a Beta instead?” 

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

I wanted to argue back but he was right, I had overstepped that line. Instead, a moment of icy silence 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 through his dark wavy hair. “Just... do what you think is right, Aria. We‘ll deal with whatever happens after when 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 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 decision 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 ahead 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 few months, I would have been worse off and probably done something far more drastic 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, 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. If he was found 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 my support 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 be dragging 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 though he wasn‘t exactly pleased with the outcome, but I was happy that he seemed to be on board at least for now. 

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

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

“Same as always.” 

As soon as the room beyond came into sight, my eyes immediately darted around, searching until they fell on a pair of familiar gold ones staring right back at me. He was seated at a small table that had 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 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 anything remotely close to that. We were forced to strict professionalism due to the ever present eyes of guards watching. 

I‘d come here with every intention of 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, what two paths would potentially be waiting for me now. But, more importantly, he would know that this was goodbye. Regardless of how it went, tomorrow Cai would be free. I‘d make sure of it. 

“I umm… I just wanted to check in and make sure you‘re still hanging in there,” I half lied, taking a seat at the table opposite him. “Are they treating you okay?” 

We were quiet for some time, neither of 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 front of me, within arm‘s length, and I couldn‘t even touch him. 

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

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

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