Chapter 106
CAMILLA’S PO.V
I couldn’t bring myself to leave her side. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work at all but I couldn’t just let her be alone. We didn’t know anything about her life or her family and no on deserved to be alone during a time like this. Ryker had to go and check in with the guards to scout the place ahs was found. I must have slept off sometime while I was sitting because the next thing I knew, I felt a warm hand on my back.
I looked up to see Ryker smiling softly at me as he gestured for me to get up but I shook my head. “Nothing is going to happen to her here. You need some rest.”
“She deserves my attention,” I whispered back. “She is the first female that he has bitten and she might die. If that happens it will be completely my fault. I cannot let that happen. You have to understand that.”
“I do, but Camilla, you have never watched someone die in your arms. That is not something that you want to be burdened with for the rest of your life,” his voice was soft, almost pleading. “You have done everything that you can for her. You need to sleep.”
I glanced over at her. She was still immobile on the bed but at least she was breathing and despite it being very shallow and not visible, I hoped that counted for something because I was about to lose my mind.
“She’s someone’s daughter and someone’s mate, I would hope that if your child is in the same position then someone would do the same for her,” I told her. “If I had just mastered-”
“No,” he cut me off. “This is not your fault. You cannot blame yourself for this. You didn’t ask for any of this and you know that. You have done all that you can for her, okay?”
I reluctantly nodded and he helped me to my feet. I wrapped my arms around his torso and we stayed there for what felt like hours. When I finally pulled away, he k*ssed my forehead softly. He walked me out of the room and when we got to the door, I glanced back over my shoulder at her. I could have sworn that I saw her finger twitch but before I could analyze it further, Ryker had pulled me out of the room and shut the door behind us.
I tried to explain to him what I saw but he assumed it was my way of trying to convince him to let me go back and sit with her so he dismissed it and said that the physician would handle it. He didn’t let me go until I was safely under the covers in our room and despite trying to fight it, I was asleep within seconds.
Chapter 106
When I woke up the next morning, my thoughts immediately went to the girl. As soon as I was dressed, I rushed over to the physician’s office hoping that she would be awake but she wasn’t. The physician was already there and he was doing a routine check on her when I entered. He bowed but I waved him off. I wanted to know what was wrong with her.
“Is she going to wake up?” I asked and he shrugged. “I need more than a shrug as a response, physician. You said she would not make it past the night if it didn’t work. She is still alive as far as I can see.”
“I think it might have worked to an extent. Let us wait and see how she progresses today. I think it might be working but once again, I cannot make a definite statement. The poison isn’t moving through her system again. I can tell you that much for certain,” he pulled me to another corner of the room and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Remember that you have the blood coursing through your veins. It would have worked a lot quicker for you than it would for her and that is if it works at all.”
I ran my hair down my face in frustration. I opened my mouth to thank him but the door to the room opened and Ryker walked in. As soon as he saw me, I knew that something was happening. I muttered a small curse under my breath and rushed over to him.
“What is it?” I asked but he didn’t respond immediately. “Did someone else get bitten?”
“No, I just wanted to know if you were here. You have to stay here, do not come out.”
My brows furrowed. “Not a chance in hell. What is going on? Is it the elders? Did they do something? I need you to talk to me.”
“There are some disgruntled members of the town. It doesn’t matter, I can handle it, don’t worry,” he started to leave but I grabbed his hand and shook my head. We stared at each other blankly for a few seconds before he sighed. “Fine, but just stay close to me. People do the most out of pocket things when they are angry. The last thing we need is for you to get hurt, okay?”
I waved him off which he didn’t like considering that he gritted his teeth but he said nothing. He held my hand tightly as he led me down towards the front of the palace. I heard the people before I saw them. There was a lot of shouting and crying and I saw a number of guards rushing that way presumably to hold the peace. I glanced at Ryker briefly but he just squeezed my hand in support.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but when we got there, I saw about a hundred people of all shapes and sizes. They were yelling but I could see the same fear evident in their eyes. Ryker was talking to one of the guards and trying to figure out what happened when I broke free from his hold and made my way towards them. He tried to grab me but I weaved through the guards until just one line of defense stood between me and
Chapter 106
the people.
They all went quiet the moment they saw me. They probably didn’t think they would see any of us and had not planned for that possibility. I heard Ryker whisper yelling my- name but I ignored him and faced the people I had been tasked with protecting. They were all staring at me wondering what I was going to say but even I was quiet. I couldn’t say a single word. All I could do was try to feel a fraction of what they did.
“I thought you were going to send a representative to talk to us like you did last time,” I didn’t know what he meant by that. I assumed it happened while I was unconscious. “Do you see us now, your majesty? How many deaths did it take for you to finally address this?”
“I’ve always seen you,” I kept my voice deliberately soft. “A million apologies will never take away your pain but the truth is that I am sorry. No one ever wishes for something like this to happen. I didn’t think that this would happen in my wildest dreams.”
“Did you do something to piss off the vampires?” he asked and I shook my head. “Then why do they want us? What do they want from us?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. It was a weird thing to admit but I had to say it. I didn’t know why Alastair wanted us. I didn’t know why he chose this time to attack us. I couldn’t lie to the people about it. “All I know is that one day, a power hungry vampire decided that he was bored and wanted to play with lives. We have been at peace with the vampires for over a century. The vampires want war on us for whatsoever reason but we haven’t left you stranded.
‘You haven’t even been seen,” one woman shouted from the back. “You deserted us. You went to safety while we suffered.”
‘I went into the mountains to find the vampire,” they all went silent. “I wanted to broker >eace for your lives. You are that important to me. I tried to find him, I found their home but no one was there. It is our main priority right now to make sure that no one lse gets hurt that is why we keep the curfew and the borders. Until we can catch the ampires who are guilty then you have to stay safe. This is a war zone and there will be asualties. What matters is that we win it at the end.”
To one spoke for a full minute afterwards. I didn’t know whether they would scream at ne or agree with me so I held my breath. After what felt like hours, they sighed and I aw the first person turn on their heels and leave. Slowly, they all walked away in esignation and I finally allowed myself to exhale deeply.
inally, it was just the man I was conversing with. HE had a foreign expression on his ice as he regarded me.
My son was one of the people killed,” he said slowly and I felt my heart break for him. When you find the bastards that are responsible, I want you to make sure that they
suffer.”
“I will.”
It was the least I could do for him.
Once I had said that, he sighed and turned on his heels. I watched him disappear and Ryker rushed over to my side. He looked furious and I gave him a shaky smile.
“On a scale of one to ten, how pissed off are you at me right now?” I asked and his eyes narrowed at me. “I will take that as a ten. Listen, they just wanted to know that they were being heard. I was able to give them that.”
“I know but that doesn’t mean that it was not reckless as hell. You were putting your life in danger. You need to learn a lesson on security.”
“Your majesty,” a guard walked up to us effectively cutting off her conversation. “The physician asked that you come to his quarters. He said that it was important.”
