Chapter 282

The Goddess beams at my question. “You really like this one, don’t you?” She nods her head to the side to indicate Jackson, still frozen next to me.

I raise my chin, my teeth clenched, not bothering to answer. Because I’m sure she can see it, read it in every line of me – that Jackson is the most precious thing in my life right now. And that if she takes him from me and gives him to another mate?

There’s going to be hell to pay.

I mean, I have no idea how I would wreak vengeance on a Goddess but…I would figure it out.

The Goddess laughs, light and tinkly, and again comes close, wrapping me up in her arms. “No, my flame,” she says, enveloping me in her grace, allowing it to flood and comfort me. “You are his only mate – I am not so generous with my gifts as you might think me. I don’t know what sparked his magic – probably puberty, or something like that. All of your mates are only mated to you. They are my gift! Enjoy them.”

When she pulls away I wipe briskly at my face with my wrist, wiping away the fast tears of relief that sprung to my eyes.

“Okay,” I say, nodding and sniffing, looking down at my feet. “Th…thank you.”

“Oh, I do like you, little girl,” the Goddess says with a graceful sigh, drawing my eyes back to her face. “You are living up to your promise. Now. Get those marks.” She points a willowy finger at me and gives me – of all things – a cheeky wink.

But there’s no time to consider my shock as time snaps back into place, everyone jumping a bit and looking around in confusion. I grimace a little, seeing what everyone else sees - that the Goddess is in a different place than she was what they perceive as half a second ago and that I’m suddenly standing with my chair knocked over.

“Ariel,” Jackson gasps, reaching for me, a hand going around my wrist. “What – are you –“

“I’m fine!” I say, my voice still a little choked as I fold my hand into his and give it a squeeze before turning towards my chair, picking it up and settling a little awkwardly into it, trapped as I am under six wondering stares. “Um. No need to…look at me…everything is normal. Nothing happened just…lost my chair for a second.”

Everyone continues to stare at me, no one believing my blatant lie.

“So, are we done here?” the Goddess asks, smiling beatifically around at everyone.

“Mom, we like…just got started,” Cora says, pulling her gaze from me and turning towards her mother with a frown.

“Oh, nonsense, there are no more questions,” the Goddess says, waving a dismissive hand. “Everything is perfectly clear and I have business to which I must attend.” To my shock, her form begins to fade in the air.

“Wait!” Rafe calls, getting to his feet quite suddenly, his own chair skittering back – though perhaps not as dramatically as mine.

We all turn to him, the Goddess’s light brightening, her form becoming more vivid.

“Please,” Rafe says, his eyes fixed on the Goddess. “When…when will I meet my mate?” My heart twists when I see my brother’s shoulders shaking with emotion, see how badly he wants that connection. A sly smile takes the Goddess’s lips as she considers him.

“Are you questioning the wisdom of my timeline, little grandson?” she asks, curious and playful.

“No,” Rafe says immediately, but then he sighs, looking down at his desk. “I just want to access my magic – I want to help, the way Ariel and Jesse can.”

“You will have patience,” the Goddess says gently, her fondness for her first-born grandchild clear in her voice. “Your mate will come along and make you the craftsman you were meant to be, have no fear.”

Rafe frowns at her words, looking up into her face, more confused now than he was when we began.

“But…” the Goddess looks away for a moment, her eyes going somehow deeper as she stares across space…maybe across time. Then she blinks and looks again towards Rafe. “You do not have long to wait.”

“And I…have not already met her?” Rafe ventures, his voice breathless.

The goddess shakes her head, smiling deeper now. “If what you’re secretly asking, child,” the Goddess says, a soft smile coming to her lips, “is if the seamstress is somehow for you…” Slowly, as if aware that her answer gives great pain, the Goddess shakes her head. “You need a mate who challenges, not comforts, my little Rafe-wolf. Much rests on your shoulders – you will have the love that you need, if not perhaps the love you currently want.”

Rafe hangs his head, his eyelids dropping shut, and we all sit very quietly as we witness his grief.

“All right,” the Goddess says, looking around the room at all of us. “I think that is sufficient. Unless…” she pauses when her eyes land on Tony. “You have not asked a question or received new information. Is there anything you want to know?”

“Nope,” Tony says instantly, staring at her warily, holding his hands up as if to protest his innocence. “I’m…good.”

The Goddess laughs then, the sound somewhere between the tinkling of bells and the soft shush of ocean waves. “My boy likes a mystery, then.”

“Your boy?” Tony asks, shocked. “But I thought you said my magic –“

But the Goddess just laughs again, wrinkling her nose at him like she thinks he’s cute, and begins to fade.

And quite suddenly, as if she was never here…

The Goddess is gone.

Silence rings between us for a long, long moment, each of us processing our wonder and our fear, all of the information we got that will, I’m sure, be keeping us each up at night wondering how to deal with this.

“Well, that was sufficiently stressful,” Tony murmurs, crossing his arms and staring down at his desk as he tries to make sense out of the Goddess’s cryptic words.

“What happened?” mom whispers, turning towards Cora even as she moves to Rafe, who hasn’t looked up from his own desk. Mom wraps her arms around Rafe’s shoulders and he rests his head against her, eyes shut. “What did she say?”

Jesse and Cora move to mom and Rafe, filling her in, while I turn to Jacks.

But he’s already there at the side of my desk, reaching for me. A desperate little groan breaks from me as I reach for him, wanting him close. I stand so I can wrap my arms around his neck. Jackson instantly takes my meaning, lifting me up off the floor so that I’m pressed against his chest, one arm solid under my ass as the other wraps me up tight.

I rest my head down against the soft space between his neck and his shoulder, my face turned in towards him.

“Are you okay?” he whispers, anxious. I can feel his heart pounding against me and I press my right hand to his chest, willing it to slow, to rest.

“I’m okay,” I whisper back, assuring him. “I just…it was so much at once, wasn’t it?”

“What happened?” he asks, even as I feel him start to relax down the bond now that I’ve assured him I’m okay. “Why were you…why did your chair fall down?”

“Goddess stopped time,” I murmur, suddenly exhausted. “We had a…private chat.”

“What!?” he breathes, shocked. I lift my head to look into his eyes.

“Wait, what?” I hear behind me, and I turn my head to see my family looking at me, apparently having heard my words.

“Eavesdroppers,” I mutter, giving them a glare.

“Secret-keeper,” Jesse returns, putting his hands on his hips. “Why did you get a secret conference!?”

“Because I’m the favorite,” I sigh, putting my head back down on Jackson’s shoulder even as I grin at Jesse. “And the prettiest. She told me so.”

Jesse scoffs. “I am clearly the prettiest –“

“You’re the only guy she didn’t call handsome,” Tony quips, and as Jesse goes pale at the realization that he’s right, Jackson turns so that we can both see Tony standing by the desk at the front of the room, his bag over his shoulder. “Is it okay to call an end to class now?” he asks, clearly unsettled, looking around at all of us. “I mean, it was for sure the most informative class we’ve ever had but…” he shrugs, “a lot to process.”

“Of course, Tony,” Cora says, her eyes crinkling as she nods to him. “We’ll see you next week – and don’t hesitate to get in touch in the meantime.”

“You got it,” Tony murmurs, giving a little salute and heading for the door.

“Tony!” Jesse calls after him, and Tony turns. “Come to our room tomorrow, after the Games. We’re going to have a little unwinding celebration and we’ll want to see you there.”

Tony smirks, his eyes crinkling, I think pleased at the invitation. “All right,” he says, giving a nod. “I’ll see you then.”

“Good,” Rafe says, the word a little squeaky. He clears his throat, I think remembering his manners. “We’ll be glad to have you.”

Tony nods again and I wave to him, glad Jesse remembered to invite him. Tony – he really is a part of the group now, at least as far as I’m concerned.

“All right,” Cora says, glancing at mom. “We should get into some of the details of this before we head back to the Capital –“

“Actually,” I say on a sigh, lifting my head and looking at my mom, who turns towards me. “Do you think…we could have a minute? Just…me and you?” Jackson’s arm tightens around me in silent request and I grin, glancing towards him. “And Jacks?”

My mom nods once to me, a smile forming on her own lips as she gives Rafe another squeeze. “Sure, trouble. What’s up?”