Chapter 134
CAMILLA’S POV
I barely remembered the walk to the council room. I was so lost in thought that everything else felt inconsequential. My mind was a maze and I didn’t know where the exit was. I found Ryker pacing outside the door and as soon as he saw me, relief poured through his features. He reached out for me and I gave him a small smile in return.
“We can handle them,” I assured him.
I wasn’t used to being the strong one. That had always been Ryker’s role. He was the steadfast and secure one that you could always count on. He never faltered and he never second guessed himself but right now as he stood in front of me, there was no trace of that man. The man in front of me was confused and unsure, he was worried and running on a lack of sleep. He was nothing like my mate and it worried me. I had never seen him like this and I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know if he would be able to face the elders.
“I know we can,” he gave me hand a squeeze. “I’m worried about you after this is over. I’m worried about how this might reflect badly on you.”
“Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself,” he opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “All of this doesn’t matter right now. Let us go in and face them like we always do- together.”
He nodded and pushed open the doors. The elders were already seated and were in deep discussion with themselves. It didn’t skip my attention that Alara was also in the room. I raised a brow but none of them would meet my eye. They held their breaths waiting for what we would say or do but I chose to ignore it as we made our way to our seat.
“This better be important,” I drawled. I wasn’t going to be bullied into anything. I was their Queen. I was their ruler, they answered to me and not the other way around.
“You know of the whispers already, your majesty, do not make us repeat them,” one of the elders began. “You were both seen and the people are already on edge, this could tip them off. They already have doubts in your relationship as a result of the earlier rumors.”
“Everyone will have doubts, you cannot satisfy the public and as for the whispers, it is an out of context rumor. Nothing untowardly happened and especially not with her. If that is all-”
“That is not what she is saying,” another elder cut in and I turned to him. He looked away from me and placed a hand on Alara’s shoulder. “Remember what we told you, you can speak freely here. No one will harm you.”
“Do not make promises you cannot keep, elder. I do recall telling her that if she wasn’t out by noon then her head would be on a spike and that has not changed, neither has this meeting prompted me to shift up the deadline.”
I could see that they were all shocked. I wasn’t the one who dished out threats. Usually, I couldn’t even be bothered to speak but they would be sorely mistaken if I was going to allow her spread false rumors. Ryker couldn’t be trusted to speak because he couldn’t remember anything.
“Your majesty,” Caius began in a soft tone. “Let the girl speak, please. If you already know the truth then there is no harm in hearing her out. As it stands, she could go to the public and claim that you didn’t hear her out and cause them to turn on you.”
I leaned back in my chair. “You’re just giving her a flurry of ideas but whatever. Go on, Alara.”
She glanced over at the elders who nodded before swallowing. She opened and closed her mouth before reaching out for a handkerchief that lay in her lap and dabbing the corners of her eyes with it.
“I just want you to know that it was never my intention to cause this much drama. I swear it,” she sniffled. “I was cleaning yesterday when I heard footsteps. I was so scared that I accidentally knocked down a vase, you can check to be sure I am telling the truth. I went to investigate after and I saw his majesty there. He looked out of it, he was slurring over his words and he wasn’t very stable I offered to get some guards for him but he refused and asked me to help him.”
She paused and glanced at Ryker then quickly looked away before continuing.
“I was helping him but he wasn’t making it easy. As soon as I reached out for him, he kissed me. He told me that he wanted me and I tried to refuse because I owe the Queen my life. I have so much respect for her. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and as much as I don’t want to admit it, I loved the feeling of doing something forbidden so I agreed. I took him back to my room and that was where it happened.”
“That was where what happened?” I cut in harshly and she flinched. The elders began to protest but I held out my hand to stop them. “Let me explain something about the mate bond, Alara. If he has sex with anyone else, I will feel it and vice versa. As you can see, I’m fine, I felt nothing. Your story has plot holes.”
She immediately shook her head. “We didn’t have sex. I knew that and so did he. We just got each other off. It was more of dry humping if I am being honest.”
I turned to Ryker because I didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t believe her story one bit but I wasn’t the one who needed convincing- it was the elders. There was nothing I could say that wouldn’t have looked like I was trying to discredit her. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and stared directly at Alara. She squirmed under his gaze but didn’t look
away.
“Are you really going to sit here and say that I did that?” he asked and she nodded slowly. “Does it even matter if I say anything? You already fashioned this entire fucking story.”
“There is no need to get upset, your majesty,” Caius began in a patronizing tone. “Just tell us what happened.”
Ryker remained silent.
“If you do then maybe we can figure out the missing gaps and-”
“I don’t remember what happened. I remember going to the kitchen but everything else is a blur.”
The room went pin drop silent. He had just given the admission that they needed to pin him to it.
“Is it possible that you were on something? It could be possible that you did it and don’t remember.”
“I didn’t do anything. Besides, we should be focused on why I can’t remember. At least there is one constant in our stories, I wasn’t myself. She must have drugged me.”
“I was with someone, your majesty, I never left my work station until I went to investigate,” Alara cut in. “I can call her in to confirm if you-”
“Don’t! You have done enough. I think it is time that you packed your bags and left.”
She swallowed but nodded. Just as she stood to her feet, one of the elders grabbed her arm.
“Perhaps you should wait in your room for further instructions. Don’t be in such a hurry to leave.”
Alara looked confused but she nodded and walked out. I waited until the door had shut before I spoke.
“I asked her to leave. That was a direct order from the Queen. You have no right to ask her to stay.”
“Maybe, but if she leaves now, everyone will assume that you are trying to cover it up,” he explained. “I am not going to say that his majesty is lying or that she is lying but we don’t know what happened. There are only two people who do and one of them does not have a story. If they did have sex-”
“They didn’t,” I cut in and he inhaled sharply before continuing.
“If they had anything close to sex, she could be pregnant. The last thing you want is another bastard like Frederick coming to stake a claim to the throne. We have to proceed with extreme sution.”
I knew he was right but I didn’t want to admit it. Even Ryker did because he ran his hands through his hair. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place and our next actions could possibly make or break us.
“Do whatever you think is right,” I said finally as I stood to my feet. “But my order stands, get her the fuck out of this palace. I don’t care where she lives until you are certain that she isn’t pregnant but I do not want to see her. If I even catch a glimpse
of her, I will kill her, the people be damned.”
Without another word, I turned on my heels and stormed out. I heard Ryker following behind me and calling out for me but I couldn’t stop. I kept moving until I was in the palace gardens and I let out a scream. The leaves shook as the entire fountain erupted around us. I was soaked from head to toe but I didn’t care.
“Camilla,” I heard Ryker’s voice pleading behind me. “Please, calm down.”
He came up to me and I saw that he wasn’t spared from the water onslaught.
“I am just so upset that one person can cause this much of a problem. What does she stand to gain from all of this? What does she want?”
“I don’t know,” his voice was soft. “It is clear that this is about me and I am so sorry. You should not have to deal with this. If I could-”
“It isn’t your fault,” I cut him off. “it is hers and we will deal with her the same way we deal with everyone else who has stood up against us, okay?”
“You have to realize that we might not win this. People might believe her.”
“I know you, and people don’t have to believe you, they just have to forget. Give it a month, it will be a distant memory in their minds.”
