Chapter 107
RYKER’S PO.V
The girl was awake.
She was seated up on the bed with a bowl of oats in her hands when we walked into the quarters. She looked a thousand times better than she did when she was brought in. As soon as our presence was noticed, both of them bowed and the physician rushed up to us. He looked excited. I could practically see him floating in mid air.
“I can’t believe it worked, your majesty,” he whispered more to himself than any of us. I glanced over at Camilla to see how she felt about everything but she was staring pointedly at the woman. “I can only imagine the things your blood can do. If it is powerful enough to heal the vampire bite then-”
“There is company in the room, physician. The walls have ears. You should try keeping your excitement down to a minimum,” I said in the most bored tone I could muster.
“I understand your majesty but this is the discovery of a lifetime. I have never heard or seen anything like this before. It is absolutely-”
“This topic can be addressed another day, physician,” I cut in and he looked a little sheepish as he bowed and walked away. I dropped my voice to a whisper once he went back to the patient. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I am just shocked, that’s all. Let’s go talk to her.”
She slipped her hand out of my grip and made her way over to the edge of the bed. The girl realized we wanted to speak to her and placed her half eaten bowl on the bedside table. Now that she looked a little healthier, I was almost certain that she was slightly older than Camilla. She had a mature air around her.
“Thank you, your majesties, I thought I was going to die. I don’t know how I will ever repay you,” her voice was deep and husky. Up close, I could see the color of her eyes and there were a deep green color, similar to the color of dark leaves.
“You don’t have to thank us, we were doing our job,” Camilla assured her with a soft hand on her shoulder. “What’s your name and what happened to you?”
She swallowed deeply and turned to face the window. There was a tension in her shoulders that I knew came from having to remember such a traumatic experience. If I could, I would have told her not to bother but it was important that we knew if Alastair was the one causing this and what happened before she was bitten.
“My name is Alara. I was born here but I left for a while to live with my uncle. I returned a year ago after my mother died. I was out collecting herbs in the evening
Chapter 107
when it happened. I assumed that because it wasn’t completely dark yet then I was safe. I had ventured too far into the woods. The trees were so tall ad thick that it was a struggle to get through. I heard him before I saw him.”
She shut her eyes and a shudder went through her. Camilla instantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her soft words of encouragement. Alara’s eyes were wet with unshed tears. Camilla glanced over at me as if silently asking if we could just let her be but I shook my head. It was important that we knew everything so we could know how to properly handle the situation.
“What happened next?” I asked and she inhaled sharply.
“He called out from the trees. He told me to run. He said he would give me a two minute head start and if I managed to avoid him then he would let me live. I left the basket in the forest and I ran. I thought I was getting away but he grabbed me. He pinned me to a tree and said I was pretty,” her brows furrowed. “Why would he say that
to me?”
“I don’t know,” Camilla’s voice was soft and soothing. “You are pretty but maybe he just ́ wanted to throw you off your game. It’s okay, tell me what happened after that.”
“He said that he wouldn’t usually go for me but I would be good enough to pass the message across and the next thing I knew, he bit me. It felt like a thousand needles were being pierced into me at once. I was on fire but I couldn’t scream. I thought I was going to die from just the pain alone. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was-”
“It was ice cold and burning hot at the same time,” Camilla cut in and Alara’s eyes widened. “It felt like your insides were being peeled out. It felt like pure death and at that moment, you were more than willing to embrace death if it meant that the pain would stop.”
“How did you know?”
“I experienced it too,” Camilla’s smile wavered slightly. “Did he leave you there?”
“No, he dragged me over to a more open part of the forest. I could hear voices there. He dumped me there and told me that he would be watching. The next thing I remember was being picked up by the guards and now this. Why me? What was so special about me that he chose this?”
“He is a psychopath and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that,” Camilla embraced her in a tight hug. “You should rest for an extra day. By tomorrow, you will be healthy enough to return to the village, is that okay?”
The girl nodded and Camilla made to move but she grabbed onto her arm. “I feel like he will come back for me. I don’t have any family to protect me. I know it is a lot to ask, your majesty, I know I am not the most important member of the town but if I could have some form of assurance that I will be safe.”
“Of course,” Camilla said immediately. “You will have guards watching over you. Nothing will happen to you, I promise.”
“Thank you your majesty,” she released her arm and the moment Camilla was close enough to me, I wrapped my arm around her side.
“You should rest,” I said to Alara. The physician will make sure that you have everything you need.
We walked out of the room but Camilla didn’t say a single word. I could see all the wheels turning in her head. She was getting lost in her thoughts and overthinking. I was sure she didn’t even know where I was leading her so I stopped in front of my office and turned her to face me..
“What’s going on in there?” I gestured to her head and she sighed.
“My blood can heal,” she stated and I nodded. “Do you realize how dangerous that information is? Alastair prided himself on knowing that his bite was fatal. If he finds out that Alara is alive, he will come for her and try to find out why she is alive. He will kill her again and he will come for me next.”
“What do you propose?” I asked and she shrugged. “He has to know that you are already alive, right? He is probably already wondering why you are alive. The way I see it, we can use Alara to our advantage.”
“What do you
mean?”
“We can feed her some bulls hit about a rare plant mixture and a spell that reverses the effects of the vampire.bite. She will most likely tell her friends in the town and somehow, the news will get to Alastair. It might take him off our backs long enough because he would want to make sure that no one else is able to get healed that way again. It will give us some time to come up with a proper plan to get rid of him.”
She went silent as she pondered over my words. “That might just work. You are absolutely brilliant Ryker. What do we do in the meantime?”
“You need to make sure that not a single soul knows about this healing property of yours. Focus on your other power. I have never heard of a royal having more than one power so that alone is something worthy of envy. You cannot do your solo expenditures anymore. Right now, there is a lot at stake. If someone is able to get their hands on you, they would be practically unstoppable.”
“Ryker,” she began but I cut her off.
Chapter 107
he will come back for me. I don’t have any family to protect me. I know it is a lot to ask, your majesty, I know I am not the most important member of the town but if I could have some form of assurance that I will be safe.”
“Of course,” Camilla said immediately. “You will have guards watching over you. Nothing will happen to you, I promise.”
“Thank you your majesty,” she released her arm and the moment Camilla was close enough to me, I wrapped my arm around her side.
“You should rest,” I said to Alara. The physician will make sure that you have everything you need.
We walked out of the room but Camilla didn’t say a single word. I could see all the wheels turning in her head. She was getting lost in her thoughts and overthinking. I was sure she didn’t even know where I was leading her so I stopped in front of my office and turned her to face me.
“What’s going on in there?” I gestured to her head and she sighed.
“My blood can heal,” she stated and I nodded. “Do you realize how dangerous that information is? Alastair prided himself on knowing that his bite was fatal. If he finds out that Alara is alive, he will come for her and try to find out why she is alive. He will kill her again and he will come for me next.”
“What do you propose?” I asked and she shrugged. “He has to know that you are already alive, right? He is probably already wondering why you are alive. The way I see it, we can use Alara to our advantage.”
“What do you mean?”
“We can feed her some bull shi t about a rare plant mixture and a spell that reverses the effects of the vampire.bite. She will most likely tell her friends in the town and somehow, the news will get to Alastair. It might take him off our backs long enough because he would want to make sure that no one else is able to get healed that way again. It will give us some time to come up with a proper plan to get rid of him.”
She went silent as she pondered over my words. “That might just work. You are absolutely brilliant Ryker. What do we do in the meantime?”
“You need to make sure that not a single soul knows about this healing property of yours. Focus on your other power. I have never heard of a royal having more than one power so that alone is something worthy of envy. You cannot do your solo expenditures anymore. Right now, there is a lot at stake. If someone is able to get their hands on you, they would be practically unstoppable.”
“Ryker,” she began but I cut her off.
“I need to know that you understand what is at stake here. Your powers are dangerous at best and world ending at worst. I don’t know why the goddess chose this but you need to be careful. Am I clear?” I asked and she nodded. “Good, for now, we go back to our investigation of the vampires as usual. If we are to get rid of them, we need to figure out how. Where were we before everything happened?”
She cleared her throat and looked away from me. I could tell she was still pondering my words and while I could have told her in an easier and softer way, she needed to understand what was on the line here. Lots could die if she got into the hands of Alastair. She was no longer just the queen, she was a potential weapon and needed to be treated with the utmost care.
As I watched her, I made a me ntal note to get some guards to watch her from a distance. I couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t make a hasty last-minute decision that would jeopardize her life if given the opportunity.
“We were looking into my father,” Camilla said suddenly snapping me back to reality. “Christine was offering to take us to his room I think.”
“Isn’t his room the one next to the secret library?” I asked and she nodded. “Is it open?”
She shook her head. “It’s locked up but I know where the keys are.”
“What are we waiting for then? Our investigation awaits.”
