Chapter 120
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
For the next two days, I was on edge, I kept waiting for Alastair to attack the palace and take revenge for the death of his friend but he never did. If anything, he was quieter than before. I began to wonder if the other vampire had been bluffing just so we wouldn’t kill him. I wanted to tell Ryker about my worries but I didn’t want to jinx it. If nothing had happened yet, then I was more than happy to keep it that way. Things were going perfectly, we had the night lock and the guards were training. The town people had become more vigilant and there were fires set at every boundary. There hadn’t been any deaths in two days and I found that to be a record.
“Damien wrote back,” Ryker’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I found him at the door to my office. “He thanked us for the poultice and even asked what was inside. He also mentioned that he was going to try to visit soon because he had been hearing about everything that was happening.”
“Are you going to respond?”
“Not right now, there are more pressing things on ground,” he shrugged as he made his way into the office. “We need to figure out a way to get rid of Alastair permanently. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder wondering if you are safe.”
“I know,” I sighed as I ran my hands through my hair. “I’m just here hoping that he is going to change. I know it is fantastical and it is not going to happen but you can’t fault me for believing, right?”
He was about to answer when the bell started to ring. I was out of my chair in seconds and we both rushed out of the room. There were guards already getting ready to ride into town. They were so engrossed in their work that none of them even turned to pay heed. Kevin made to walk past me but I grabbed his upper arm pulling him to a complete stop.
us any
“What is happening?” Ryker asked and Kevin hesitated before speaking. “You’re not mute so don’t start now.”
“It’s the school,” he explained slowly and that was all I needed to rush into the stables and grab my horse. I couldn’t even wait for someone else to saddle it for me, I started doing it all on my own.
“Camilla, stop,” Ryker said to me but I ignored him. “I don’t want you there.”
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“I don’t care, my daughter is out there so I am going. You can either deal with it or you stay behind. Nothing is stopping me from going,” my eyes burned but I tried to convince myself that she was fine- she was safe. Audrey was not going to die much less at the hands of a vampire.
I couldn’t help but shake my head as I thought of Alastair. We had hit him where it hurt so he was trying to do the same thing. At this point, I didn’t care about anything, if I saw him then I was going to kill him myself. I got on the horse and didn’t even wait for Ryker before I started riding in the direction of the school.
I felt the heat before I saw the fire. A good portion of the gate was on fire. No one could go in and out. I could see the guards trying to weave their way in to get the children from inside. I got off my horse immediately trying to see if I could get an opening to go in but there was nothing. Suddenly, I felt Ryker by my side.
“I’m going to get her out,” he whispered and before I could process what he had said, he literally dashed through the flames. I tried to reach out for him but one of the guards held me back.
“Why would you let him go in there?” I screamed but I still wasn’t allowed to move forward. I felt a pair of eyes on me and I looked around.
It was like a magnet directed me to Alastair. He was standing in the trees and once he saw that he had my attention, he tipped his head forward. There was a sick smirk on his face and I saw a torch in his hands. He was the one who had set the fire. He knew he could have died from it but he risked it just to hurt us.
“Good luck,” he mouthed before disappearing into the woods and I felt blood bubble up in me.
I wanted to chase after him but my major concern was for my family that was currently stuck in the flames. I noticed the guards were rushing in and out of the woods to get the water so I closed my eyes and tried to feel for the source. It took me a few seconds but I felt it- it was a stream with a waterfall a few feet away. it was further than anything I had tried to reach for but I wasn’t going to give up now.
I pulled as hard as I could and with a scream, I heard the rush of water. Everyone stared in awe as I swirled the entire stream overhead. A few looked at me with awe while others looked at me with fear in their eyes. I figured that I would handle that problem later as I dumped the entire thing over the burning building. The fire was out but I felt so dizzy that I could barely stand on my own. I didn’t know how much energy it would take to maneuver that much water over that kind of distance.
I stumbled back a bit but the guard behind me who I realized was Steven kept me
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stable. He had a hand on my shoulder and I watched as the other guards rushed in to retrieve the people who were inside. I stood with baited breath watching the people going in and out and waiting to see my family. I saw Audrey’s hair before I saw her. She ran straight from me and despite how tired I felt, I still allowed her throw herself into my arms.
Ryker reached me next and he placed a k*ss on my forehead. “That was incredible, I saw the entire thing.”
“You’re a hero, mummy,” Audrey whispered and I couldn’t stop the tired smile that grew on my face. I handed her over to Ryker who was more than happy to take her from me. He had soot on his clothes but overall he was fine.
“Did anyone die?” I asked but he shook his head.
“Not from the students, no, I haven’t checked with the guards yet, so I am unsure of that,” he stopped mid sentence to look at me. “Are you alright? You look a little green. Do you feel sick?”
“No, I’m fine, I just didn’t know it would take that much to hold that much,” my vision. was hazy but I managed to keep myself upright as I leaned on Ryker’s arms. “I just need a second or an hour or a very long nap to recuperate.”
“Do you want me to call a carriage for you?” he asked but waved him off because I knew shaking my head would be a very bad choice.
“I can ride, I promise.”
It wasn’t that I was going to pass out or anything, I was just tired and everything hurt. Ryker kept his arms around me as he led us back to our horses. He had to help me get on mine because I couldn’t do it myself then he got on his own with Audrey in front of him. We rode back to the palace at a slower speed than the one we did to get to the school and I knew it was for my sake so as not to make the dizziness worse.
By the time we got to the palace, I just wanted to get a snack and take a nap. Christine was in front of the palace holding Aurora and Audrey rushed into her arms. I saw relief pool over her features as she embraced her. Ryker took Aurora from her and I leaned over his shoulder at my sleeping infant. I knew how much this issue with Alastair had pulled me away from her but I was determined to make things work as soon as we got him where he belonged. I didn’t care for peace anymore, he came for my daughter and I was going to make sure that he died a very slow and painful death.
“I got you some chocolate,” Christine produced a bar from behind her back and I thanked her as I took it from her. I wasted no time in biting down as Ryker and I walked
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into the palace.
“I need to get something from my office first,” he told me. “Do you want to wait here for me?”
“It is fine,” I assured him. After eating the chocolate, I felt relatively better. I followed him to his office and right from the door, I knew something was wrong because Ryker never left his door open.
He handed Aurora to me and I held her close as he pushed the door open. I braced myself for an attack but what I saw was even worse. The entire room was in disarray, the papers on his table had been thrown all around, his bookshelf had been destroyed and everything was a mess. It was almost as if there had been a fight in there.
“Did they come looking for you?” I asked but he shook his head. I watched as he rushed towards his dresser and he pulled it open. He muttered a curse under his breath and wiped his hand across his forehead. “What is it?”
“They got the berries,” he said simply and my eyes widened. “The school was a
distraction. He wanted the berries and he got
them.”
