Chapter 111
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
Ryker went to answer it and it ended up being Alara. I had no idea what she was doing in front of our door. He spoke to her for a while before she left and that was enough time for me to get the sleep out of my eyes. I was already on my feet and preparing to leave the room by the time he returned. I raised a brow in a silent question and he just shrugged in my direction.
“Apparently she was lost and wandered over here but she couldn’t find her way back. I told her to ask one of the guards to direct here,” he explained and I hummed. “Where are you going?”
“Training, I might as well just get it over with.”
He looked like he wanted to protest but at the last minute, he said nothing and just allowed me walk past him. By the time I got to the training field, Loris was seated on the chair and tapping his foot impatiently. Once he saw me, he sighed and waited for me to approach before speaking.
“Did
you plan to come, your majesty?” he asked and I shook my head. “I figured as much. Maybe next time you can inform me so I don’t spend half an hour sitting outside while I wait for you.”
“I apologize. Things have been very hectic lately with the vampires. A lot tends to slip my mind.”
“I understand,” he gestured for me to begin and while I was working, he spoke again. “I heard there is someone new in the palace- a girl. Are the rumors true or unfounded?”
“I never took you for a gossip, Loris,” I teased and he shrugged with a smile as if to say ‘it is what it is. “Yes, there is someone staying with us in the palace until further notice. She was attacked by the vampires and I have good reason to believe that they will try again. Now, are we going to stay here and gossip or are we actually going to train?”
He smiled. “I believe it is my turn to offer up apologies, your majesty. Let us begin.”
Training went on smoothly despite the fact that I was still unable to conjure up water from moisture. I was beginning to think it was a waste of time. I would have tagged it impossible but from where I stood, I wasn’t sure I would ever tag anything as impossible again considering that I now had two powers instead of one and the second was still some sort of a mystery and I couldn’t speak about it to anyone. I wanted to tell Loris considering that he had trained with both my father and mother on their powers
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Chapter 111
but I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk putting anyone else’s life in jeopardy because of my
powers.
“It seems like we have an admirer,” Loris spoke close to the end of training and I turned in time to see Alara watching us from behind some bushes. I immediately dropped my hands making the water I had raised from the stream splash back.
“How did she get here?” I asked more to myself than him. I turned back to Loris. “I think we can stop there for today. I will see you tomorrow.”
He didn’t protest or say a word as he stood to his feet and walked away. I made my way over to Alara and she panicked briefly when she noticed that she had been caught. She instantly dropped her face to the ground and began fiddling with her fingers anxiously. I gave her a warm smile to let her know I wasn’t upset but she couldn’t even meet my eyes to see it.
“Are you alright?” I asked and she nodded. “Do you need something or did you get lost again?”
“Not at all, your majesty, I was just taking a walk when I felt that there were people around. I decided to go and investigate. I should have left but it was just so beautiful to watch. I have never seen anything like it before.”
“You don’t have to explain,” I assured her but I could tell that she still felt guilty. “I tend to be a little curious myself but this side of the palace is off limits to a lot of people. Do you understand?”
She nodded immediately. “I promise you that it will not happen again.”
“Good, I can walk you back in if you would like.”
We walked back into the palace together and I was making my way back to my room when the physician rushed up to me. He looked panicked and terrified. There was a light bead of sweat on his face and his clothes looked like a mess. I instantly stopped in my tacks because I knew that something was wrong. He was always so put together and now he was the complete opposite.
“You can go back to your room,” I said to Alara not wanting her to hear anything that could be said. She nodded and rushed off and once she was a few feet away, I turned back to the physician. “What is wrong?”
“My son,” he could barely get the words out due to the rapid rising and falling of his chest. “I can’t find my son. He hasn’t returned from going to get herbs and I just know that something bad has happened to him.”
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Chapter 111
“I’ll get Ryker and we will meet you.”
“Your majesty, my son is missing in the woods. He could possibly be dead.”
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“I know that, but I cannot go running into the woods blindly to save him. I just need you to sit still in your office while I get Ryker. We will take some guards and we will find your son.”
He didn’t look like he wanted to leave but I called over some guards to ensure that he made it safely to his office. I mind linked Ryker immediately and told him what happened. Within two minutes, he had found his way to my side. He looked conflicted and very frustrated but he said nothing as we went to the physician’s quarters. The physician was a mess and so was his office but we had to put on a brave face for him.
“Tell me where your son was going, I will personally go with some guards to check the area and make sure that he is brought back to you,” Ryker said to the old man.
“He went to the woods behind the palace. There are some saffron leaves there and I needed some for the poultice that I was making. I would usually go by myself but I am getting older and my back hurts sometimes. He didn’t want to go but I forced him.”
“it is not your fault,” I whispered but the old man wasn’t listening to me. I turned to Ryker. “Come, we have a boy to find.”
Once we were out of the room, Ryker grabbed my hand. “You are not coming with us. I have no idea what we are going to encounter out there. I don’t want you where it isn’t safe.”
“I am coming whether you like it or not. The way I see it, you can either agree or you can spend the entire time being upset about it,” I shot back and he frowned. “I cannot just sit here and do nothing. I want to help and I need to make sure that the boy gets back to his family. I don’t even know his name.”
Ryker hesitated for a second before sighing. “You have to stay close to me and do not wander off. I don’t care what you see. Am I clear?”
I nodded and it was settled. We carried an entire battalion of guards and spies to go searching in the woods. The space behind the palace was large and the sun was already beginning to set so we had to split up into three groups. We had less than three hours to search and return to the palace before the sun set and we officially became food for the vampires but we were determined to do it right and find the boy.
The first hour proved to be fruitless and I could tell that Ryker was losing hope. We were getting into a denser part of the forest when I felt someone staring at me. I turned
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in time to see a pair of red eyes in the trees. I was about to yell vampire when he put his hands to his lips. I looked around and it was amazing that no one else but me had noticed him. He stepped out from behind the trees a little and I realized that he was the vampire who had led me to Alastair all those weeks ago.
I was confused as to why he was out until he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. I immediately understood what he was saying. He disappeared almost immediately and I turned to Ryker.
“I think I saw something there,” his brows furrowed but he nodded and gestured for the guards to follow us.
I just hoped the vampire wasn’t leading us into a trap. The trees were denser in that part of the forest and a lot harder to navigate but we managed to get through. As we got further, I smelled something that had my b*dy tensing.
“Do you smell that?” I asked and Ryker nodded.
“Blood.”
We pushed through the trees until we got to a clearing. There was no b*dy but there was blood around. It wasn’t enough to think that someone had died but it was enough to know that they were badly wounded. I wasn’t sure who it belonged to until I saw the coat on the floor. Ryker ordered one of the guards to pick it up and as soon as it was displayed, I had to shut my eyes.
“It’s his,” I whispered and Ryker nodded.
“Mark this area, it is getting late. We will come back tomorrow and investigate further. Take the coat with you,” he turned to me. “How did you know he was here? What did you see?”
“A vampire told me.”
