Chapter 121
RYKER’S PO.V
I could see Camilla’s confusion and I could practically hear the unasked question that was swirling through her mind. “Wasn’t the entire point of keeping it here to find out if he had someone in the pack?” She opened her mouth to speak and I knew that was what she was going to say so I cut her off by speaking directly into her mind.
“The halls aren’t safe anymore, someone might be listening. We don’t want to give them a reason to think that there might be more somewhere. Until we are sure that whoever it is has been dealt with, you should speak directly to my mind. Just go with it.”
I saw understanding dawn on her features and she nodded. “What are we going to do now? We don’t even know who took them or how to get some more, it will take some
time.”
“I will go to the generals and the maids and find out every single person who was in the palace at the time of the attack on the school. Someone must have either seen or heard something or even been part of the people who took it.”
“You think there was more than one person?” she asked and I shrugged. “It could have been a solo mission.”
“In a palace this big, someone was bound to have seen something or heard something. Even if the other people weren’t directly involved, they definitely had something to do with it,” I dropped my lips to her ear and whispered. “Go to Christine and make sure that the others are safe. I will come to you later.”
I pulled back and watched as she nodded and disappeared. I looked around the office with a sigh. It grated on my nerves to see it in such disarray but at least we knew to be on edge. The most annoying part about it was the fact that I couldn’t get a hit on the scent. Whoever did it had found a way to keep their scent hidden. They managed to come in, rummage and get out without leaving anything behind.
I walked out of the office and made a m ental note to handle it later. I immediately went to the generals for the list of guards who were in the palace at the time. I didn’t tell them what I needed it for, only that I needed it and they didn’t waste any time in producing it for me. Apparently, they had a schedule and he just handed it over to me.
“The problem with this is that some people left their duty posts to help with the fires,” he explained as he handed the schedules over to me. “There is no way of knowing the exact people who were present and absent at that time but this is the best I can. I can talk to the guards myself and figure out-”
“No,” I cut him off and his brows furrowed in confusion. “I do not want a word of this
Kis
breathed to anyone else. Pretend like this conversation never happened, am I clear?”
He nodded, “Of course, your majesty, but if I could just ask, what is this about?”
“I don’t think it is of any concern to you right now. You have done your part and you have my gratitude for it.”
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I could tell that wasn’t the answer he was looking for but it was all he was going to get from me and he knew better than to argue. He nodded and turned on his heels to walk away. As soon as he was gone, I began flipping through the schedule. There were over a thousand names and I knew there was no way that I was going to interrogate them all. The moment I started with one person, the news was going to spread so I needed to be extra careful with who I focused on.
I left the generals and went to the maids. I got the same kind of schedule and the exact same explanation. Because of the fire, a lot of people were forced to leave their duties and help out elsewhere. There was no exact list that could give me what I wanted. By the time I got back to my wrecked office, I was already frustrated and I buried my head into my palms. I took both lists and sat at my desk. I spread them open in front of me and looked through the names.
I still recognized a few from when we were looking for Eva. There were some that jumped out to me whose names I could remember but that didn’t mean anything. I decided to call for the guard who was guarding the hallway leading up to my office. He was the safest bet and if anyone saw anything then it had to be him.
He arrived in my office less than ten minutes later and when he took in the entire room, his eyes widened.
“Do you want me to call a maid, your majesty?” he began but I shook my head and hist brows furrowed. “They will be able to get it fixed before tomorrow.”
“You can call the maids later, I want you to take a seat,” I gestured to the chair opposite me. I could feel the confusion radiating off him but he still did as I had asked. “You patrol the hallway leading up to here, am I correct?”
He nodded. “Yes, your majesty.”
“Who came in this way?” I watched his face for any trace of emotion but he didn’t let anything slip. It was either he didn’t know anything or he did and he wasn’t saying it. “The thing is, someone took something from here and you are the last line of defense to this place. I am sure you can see how that looks. So you are going to tell me who took it or you are going to produce what was taken.”
He threw his hands up immediately. “I have never come in here, I swear. I had nothing to do with it at all. I didn’t see anyone.”
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“You are permanently stationed at the hallway. How could you not see someone walk in and out? This doesn’t look too well for you.”
“I went to see my girlfriend,” he blurted out and my brows furrowed. “I’m seeing one of the girls in the kitchens. She came to me after she heard about the fire and she was freaking out. I left my post for maybe five minutes but I came back right away. I didn’t notice anyone suspicious leaving. I swear, I had nothing to do with it. Please, don’t kill me.”
I ran my hands down my face in frustration. Of course, he would have taken the time the assailant wanted to use as a break to see his girlfriend. I didn’t know if I was upset with him or just frustrated because of the situation. I simply sat there staring at him not knowing what to say.
“Get out,” I said finally and his eyes widened. “You’re stu pid, yes, but you aren’t the person I am looking for. Leave, and if you utter one word of this to anyone, you are dead.”
“Thank you, your majesty.”
I waited until he had gotten to the door before I spoke. “Get the maid to fix the office before tomorrow morning.”
I knew that I wasn’t going to find the person responsible. They had taken careful precaution but at least I had some more information. Whoever was behind the attack was someone who knew the guards well. They must have known that he would go to his girlfriend or that his girlfriend would go to him. They would have watched for a while and that meant being at the palace for a long time. I had been suspecting Alara but there was no way she could have figured that out in such a short time, not when her every move was being monitored by me.
I let out a sigh of frustration when I heard my office door creak open. I saw Alara walk in wearing something similar to what the maids usually wore and my brows rose. The last time I checked, she had been training with Steven because of her anger towards the vampires.
“When did you start working with the maids?” I asked and she shrugged.
“I just felt like I wasn’t doing much one day so I asked the Queen’s cousin, Lady Christine and she said it was alright. I hope that is fine by you. The others are coming soon but they sent me to get a head start and figure out just how messy the office was,’ she looked around as she said it.
I figured it was best to give them the privacy to do what they needed so I stood to my feet and made to walk out of the room. Just as Alara was trying to walk past me, she tripped over a piece of wood. I reached out to grab her upper arm immediately and somehow, she grasped onto my shoulders and neck to keep herself steady. Her hands
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on my skin grated on my nerves and I wanted nothing more than to let her go and let her drop on her as s but even I knew that was rude so I allowed her get back to her feet.
She still didn’t let go of me immediately and I opened my mouth to berate her when I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I knew who it was immediately and I pushed her off. I turned to find Camilla standing by the door watching the two of us with a blank expression. I couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind but fear gripped my throat.
The last time she left me, it was over a perceived incident like this. I could only imagine what she would do now when she seemingly caught us together. I opened my mouth to speak but she held up a hand to stop me and I cursed under my breath.
I was screwed.
