A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 157

Book Two – Ch.# 48

“What?!” I yelled, feeling as if my legs were going to give out from under me. “What did you just say?”

… You killed him,” she repeated, stating it in a matter-of-fact way. “Why are you so surprised? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so queasy about killing someone before.”

Was this some kind of sick joke? How could I not be surprised to hear that? I owed so much to Kieran that even the thought of ever physically hurting him seemed unthinkable.

“…Rheyna… the way you’re acting…,” she started, looking confused again. “It’s almost like… well, it’s just… you don’t have feelings for him, do you?”

Instantly, I became flustered feeling put on the spot. This conversation had taken such a turn that I didn’t know how to react.

“Well, I… I-I mean…,” I stuttered. “He did so much to help me….”

And Clarissa’s face paled even more, clearly not expecting that answer. “…I thought you were just joking. I never expected you of all people to fall for him, let alone give a shit about the mate bond. Rheyna, his sister literally tries to kill you, not to mention she brings doomsday. He’s just like the rest of them-.”

“-No,” I said, cutting her off. “No, he’s not. He’s different.”

But Clarissa just shook her head slowly in disbelief. “…This is a bad dream. I can’t believe this is happening right now,” she whispered to herself.

How could I be so different to my past self? None of this was making any sense. If this timeline was meant to align with the first one, then how was it that we had completely different mindsets towards

Kieran? Let alone have it in me to… do that to him.

…Almost as if I’d never changed from the Raven I’d been for my father.

“You need to reject him as soon as possible,” she then said. “I mean it. There is a war coming, one that we will emerge victorious. But I can’t have you distracted from what needs to be done in order to achieve that.”

“Reject’? I already told him we couldn’t be together…,” I said, unsure of her meaning.

However, she sighed, clearly annoyed by my ignorance. “I mean you need to break the mate bond. Officially reject him. Normally, it’s one of the first things you do upon returning. Once there is no connection between you, it removes one more catalyst for Allison. Plus, it’s not like you usually care about magical bonds anyway.”

…But it wasn’t really the mate bond that had made me fall for Kieran. It was merely something that added to it.

“I need to warn you that it’ll be incredibly painful,” she added. “But the pain will become bearable if you just don’t pay attention to it. After a while, it’ll… sort of become like background noise. Or so you told me. Though I don’t think the dreams. ever truly stop, unfortunately.”

“That sounds horrific…,” I pointed out. How the hell would that help either of us?”

“…Because if there comes a time where you finally have a chance to end Allison once and for all…,” she started darkly, “…then I need to know you won’t hesitate in doing what needs to be done. We can’t have anything holding you back from our mission.”

I stood perfectly still, confliction flowing through me. She wasn’t wrong in thinking it had been Kieran’s influence that had stopped me from attacking Allison sooner, but… that didn’t mean I wanted to go

through with what she was proposing.

“Rheyna,” she said, snapping me from my thoughts. I looked towards her tentatively. “I need you to promise me that you’ll do this.

Book Two Ch.# 48

That you’re committed to the cause and doing whatever it takes.”

“I…,” I fumbled.

Hadn’t I told Clarissa I’d stop fighting her and do exactly what she said? To put my faith in her? And whilst I hadn’t expected this… wouldn’t my pain still be worth it if it meant ultimately saving so many people?

“I… Okay,” I said, though my voice lacked any real confidence. “I’ll… I’ll reject Kieran when we next cross paths.”

Clarissa immediately looked relieved. “Good. I’m glad at least some sense can get through to you.”

She continued to talk after that, rambling off about how the rejection process worked, but the entire time she spoke, I just stared down at my hands. Almost as if I were seeing them coated in the blood of doing something unspeakable to Kieran… and it reminded me of something.

Weeks ago, when he had convinced me to try shifting in the Lockdale City Hotel, the time I had awoken from the blackout believing I had killed him… it had felt so real. I’d seen the blood everywhere, saw the large gash across his chest.

…Had that image of him actually been a… memory?

And a cold shiver then went through my body, nausea filling me.

Perhaps it was for the best I didn’t recall my past lives.

“Rheyna!”

I looked up sharply again.

“Are you listening?”

“Y-Yes…,” I stuttered, trying hard to stop thinking about the memory any further. ” Sorry… just trying to process everything. It’s a lot of information.”

“I know, but you need to stay focused,” she said. “We’ve still got a long journey ahead, though… speaking of which, we’ll need to start moving soon.

My body ached at just the thought of carrying her again so soon.

“To where? Aren’t we still being hunted? It’s not like we can go back to the Silver Mist…,”

I pointed out.

But she shook her head.

“Obviously, there is only one place we can go to stay hidden,” she said. “You don’t need your memories to figure that one out.”

Internally, I went through the options presented, but none of them seemed right. The safest place to hide from Ashwood had recently been with my father… though I wasn’t sure how to explain who Clarissa was, nor if I even wanted him to meet her.

But she sighed before I could come to an answer, annoyed by my lack of deduction.

…Who else knows how to hide a body? Or… in this case, two?”

…And recognition instantly clicked… followed by confusion.

“Wait… you don’t mean….”

We set off two hours later. Just long enough to eat the soup and mentally prepare myself for the long trek ahead.

Clarissa explained about the territories we’d pass through, detailing how we’d find a car within the next town to help us travel but that we would need to make the last part of the journey on foot. She didn’t need to explain further about why. My first attempt at crossing the human border in a car had already gone terribly. Something made completely impossible now due to the fact that they were actively hunting us.

But it did lead to an interesting explanation.

Because I learnt about the differences between influence and orders. This had been something nagging at me ever since Clarissa had demanded answers about the guard during the escape.

Apparently, to order someone was within the authority of a Saintess, one holding the power of the Goddess. An irrefutable command that forced the other to do as they wished, regardless of the pack they hailed from.

However… my birth ability, this influence over others… it was something that made the person believe it was their own decision, their own choice. Completely undetectable as they took all responsibility for their actions. And this had been the deciding factor in how long we were able to stay at the house in prior timelines… how long Myra had lived for.

…I’d just needed to influence the border guard.

In my fear of being caught though, I’d ordered them. Demanded that they allow me through. Something that was noticeable to those around them, instantly alerting them to the discovery of someone capable of placing alpha orders over a person who was not from their pack.

…An ability only a Saintess could do… or, more specifically in recent times, someone from the Silver Mist.

And I knew then that it really had been my fault.

The entire journey ended up taking around three days. A day to make it to the next town where we stole the car, a half day to then drive as close as we could to the Silent Forest pack… and then, finally, one and a half days of trekking until we eventually made it safely across the border. A task that was made exceedingly difficult as we had to constantly be on the lookout for patrols.

…But we did successfully make it.

“What now?” I huffed, continuing to walk down the main road out of habit. “It’ll be another few days if we try to walk on foot to the closest human town.”

“I’m aware,” Clarissa said.

“So, then what’s the plan? You’re not actually expecting me to walk all the way there, right? I’m already exhausted….”

“You won’t have to. We made it just in time.”

And, just like that, I could hear the sound of a vehicle then approaching behind us. A large one at that.

“We’re hitchhiking?” I asked incredulously.

But she simply answered by holding out her little thumb over my shoulder.

“How am I meant to explain why we’re out here? There’s nothing around here for miles.”

“You’ll think of something,” she said.

And I watched as a huge transport truck then started to slow down, pulling over to the side of the road.

“Goddammit, Clarissa…,” I mumbled, walking over to the passenger side.

“You kids okay?” asked the man. “What are you doing out here?”

…Think…

“Hi, there! Ummm… we were camping and my little… cousin… got sick,” I said awkwardly. “Car battery died and I’m trying to get her back to Lockdale City. Are you heading that way?”

“Poor things…,” he said. “Yeah, I’m heading back to Lockdale. But wouldn’t it be better to drop you off at Swanston? It’s a lot closer and there is a hospital there.”

“Oh! She has a… rare medical condition. Her specialist lives in Lockdale,” I said.

“If she really is that sick though, then wouldn’t it be better to get her checked-.”

“*Please*,” I interrupted. “If you could help us get to Lockdale, we would *really*

appreciate it….”

He held my gaze for a few moments, his expression softening as he took in my request, and then finally he nodded in confirmation.

“Right, Lockdale,” he agreed. “Better to see the specialist. I’ll give you a hand to lift her into the truck.”

And I sighed in relief.

Without wasting any more time, I pulled Clarissa off my back and waited as the man started to get out of the truck to assist.

“You could have helped me,” I grumbled quietly to her.

“Why?” she whispered back. “If I’d told you what to say, you might not have been able to influence him to take us to Lockdale, the literal worst-case scenario. Failure meant he would have driven us to Swanston hospital and he even alerts the police too, fearing for our safety. The guy thinks we’re runaways or escaping from something darker. So, I get you might not like it, but stress is an emotional energy and you’re having to learn how to fluently influence from scratch again. You should be thanking me.”

Somehow, I had the feeling this wasn’t the last time she would use my ignorance as a teaching method.

It took a few minutes and a little maneuvering, but the man and I did finally manage to lift Clarissa into the truck, and it wasn’t too long afterwards that we then began our final journey to Lockdale.

…To a place I never expected to find myself given the recent events.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

“Are you sure about this?” I asked.

“Yes, Rheyna, it’ll be fine,” she assured. ” We do this every time.”

“But what if-.”

…And the door suddenly swung open, cutting me off before I could say anything else.

It caused an odd feeling of relief and stress to rush through me all at once as I came face -to-face with the familiar lanky, young man with blonde hair.

“…Raven?” Zac asked surprised. “It’s so good to see you. You know, I’ve been so worried about last time and whether I offended-.”

**CLAP**

Clarissa had jumped off my back as he’d spoken and waddled to the door quietly. It seemed she knew about the influence without needing to be told and clapped in his face, breaking whatever I’d accidentally inflicted on Zac from the last time we’d met.

“What are you…. ))

And his attention then slowly moved away from my face to the one of Clarissa’s instead.

She didn’t say anything immediately, just simply looked up at the stunned boy. Which I could only imagine the thoughts going through his head as he looked at her. It was obvious how unusual her appearance was, not to mention it was odd for me to show up suddenly with a random girl in tow.

“Who…?” he tried to ask.

But Clarissa spoke before I could explain.

“Hey, Zac,” she said, a tone that would imply they were close friends. “How’ve you been?”

And without even waiting for a reply, she then waddled right past him to go inside the house, a familiarity in her movement that suggested she could have lived there.

Zac and I simply stared as she did so. Him. probably out of confusion from the whole situation, me more so over how I was going to even begin explaining her behaviour or what was happening. And,

after another few seconds passed, he finally turned back towards me.

“Uhh…? What’s going on?” he managed to ask. “…Who’s the ghost-looking girl?”

“She’s my… um… cousin,” I answered, feeding the same lie I’d told the truck driver. “Long lost blood relative.”

It was close enough. We were once from the same pack, I guess.

Though the explanation didn’t make him look any less confused. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“It’s a long story,” I quickly added, brushing it off. “But it’s understandably a weird. situation now. Especially given my father, you know? So, we were kind of wondering if maybe… Well, would it be okay if we stayed. with you here for a-.”

…But then I heard it.

A piercing scream coming from somewhere inside the house, a shrill to it that made me flinch. One that I immediately knew was coming from Clarissa.

And though I instantly sprinted into action, running to find her without any hesitation… there was one thought that did manage to cross my mind.

Because for a girl who knew exactly what was going to happen next…

…Just what could make her so afraid?