Chapter 141
CAMILLA’S P.O.V
There was a palpable relief that could be felt by everyone once Alara was in the cells. For the next three days, there was nothing but peace and calmness. The pandemonium in the towns had been dispelled because everyone was sent copies of her transcripts. The people knew what she had done and they knew that Ryker was innocent. The truth was, I wasn’t as bothered by her alliance to the vampires as I should have been. Thinking back on it, it made a lot of sense. She was always sneaking around and in places where she shouldn’t be.
I couldn’t believe I didn’t piece it together sooner. She must have been the one who told the people about what happened at the waterfall with Alastair. I was relieved to know that she had been caught but I was more relieved that Ryker was vindicated. I saw how the weight of the accusation was crushing him and I couldn’t stand it. He was always helping me and I felt relieved that I was able to play a small part in helping him.
There was a visible spring in his step over the past two days. He seemed lighter and he spent more time with the girls. It was great seeing him happy and I couldn’t help but share in his joy, that was why I didn’t tell him about my plans this morning. When I woke up, I simply told him that training might run a bit late. Alara’s execution was set for evening but I wanted the chance to speak to her before then. There was a lot I still didn’t understand.
After an hour of training with Loris, I called an end to it. I didn’t even bother changing first before I made my way to the dungeons. If the guards were surprised to see me, they didn’t say a word. They just watched me carefully as I made my way to the front of her cell. She looked like a mess with her red hair covered with dust and grime and her pale grey dress.
She didn’t turn to me as she spoke. “Have you come to gloat? Is seeing me in a cell up to your standards? After this evening, I will be out of your hair.”
“For someone who is about to die, you don’t sound very apologetic or worried. Why is that?” she finally turned to me and I saw the guards clutch their weapons tighter but she wasn’t a threat. She was behind silver bars and was chained with silver. “Give us a minute.”
They were stunned by my order. Even Alara was shocked because her brows rose so high that they disappeared behind her hairline. The guards hesitated for a second before nodding and exiting in a single file. Alara waited until the last of them had disappeared before she spoke.
“Is this your way of telling me that I don’t scare you?” she drawled out, “I remember a time when I did, I remember when I was the biggest problem in your life. It was a good run.”
I ignored her taunt and made my way over to the bench that was close to the wall and sat down. Her eyes tracked my every movement with rapid attention. It was almost as if she expected me to hurt her and was trying to brace herself for it and I couldn’t help but shake my head.
“I had no plans to hurt you, Alara, I am not you,” I told her and I saw relief flash across her features before she quickly masked it.
“I wasn’t worried about that. I don’t care if you put a spear through my heart right now.”
“You can say that all you want but I know better, Alara. I didn’t come here to argue with you, I just have a few questions that I think you can help me answer. If there is one thing I know, it is that you take pride in your brilliance. You could have easily gotten away with this but you didn’t. Why is that? Why did you ally yourself with the vampires in the first place?”
“Flattering me will get you nowhere,” she shrugged but I could see the small smile growing on her lips. “The only reason you were able to get me was because I made the mistake of telling you where I actually came from. I suppose a part of me hoped that something bad would come out of your meeting and you would end up wiping the pack. I miscalculated because I was in a panic.”.
I sighed. “Let’s make a deal, Alara. I know you don’t want to die and I can make your death as painless as possible. If you tell me what I need to know then I will ensure that it is over within seconds.”
I saw her debate it for a minute before turning away. I let out a sigh of defeat. I actually hoped that she was going to agree but since she didn’t, I stood to my feet and prepared to leave. I had just gotten to the door when she finally spoke.
“Fine, but this is happening on my terms.”
I tried to hide my excitement as I made my way back to the bench. She wasn’t looking at me and I wasn’t sure if it was to hide her emotions or just because she could. Alara enjoyed power games and with her, it was sometimes hard to know where you stood.
“I wasn’t born in that town. I got there when I was eighteen. My parents were deadbeats who didn’t deserve to be parents. When I was six, they dropped me off in front of a vampire cave to be killed. Alastair found me and took me in. He always told me how much potential 1 had and he raised me. No matter how much I begged, he wouldn’t turn me but once I was old enough, he helped me kill my birth parents. It was the best moment of my life. I was sixteen then and Alastair made love to me in the living room right next to their dead bodies.”
I didn’t know what I was expecting but that wasn’t it. My mouth fell open in horror and I was grateful she couldn’t see my face because she would have definitely stopped her story.
“You were a child and he practically raised you.”
She turned to me so I could see her roll her eyes. “He didn’t groom me if that is what you think. I was old enough to know what I wanted and if you’re going to make assumptions about my life then we might as well just end the story right here.”
I knew that whatever he had done had tainted her for life and there was nothing I could do about it so I nodded. As much as I knew the story would disgust me, I was prepared to listen to it in its entirety. When she saw that I wasn’t attacking Alastair anymore, she continued.
“When I turned eighteen, he told me that it was dangerous for me to be with the vampires and he convinced me to move into that town. He picked my victims for me, he chose men who had wronged him in the past and my job was to seduce them and create a path for him to kill them. It was very easy and I was good at my job. No one could pin it on me. I was having the time of my life until he asked me to come here. I suppose you already know the rest of what happened. He tried to get you as revenge for what your father did to him but you managed to best him. I’m surprised.”
“You’re not pis sed that I killed your lover?” I asked slowly and she shook her head. “Why not? He was your first love?”
“I outgrew Alastair,” she said simply. “Ryker was supposed to be another target but there was something about him. He was the only person who didn’t look at me like a prized cow. He didn’t look at me as something to be won. He didn’t immediately want to have sex with me and I loved that, I craved it even. I knew I had to have him and more so, I knew that you didn’t deserve him.”
She spat the last words like a curse and I flinched from the sheer violence of her words.
“When Alastair died, I figured it was my chance to get him to myself.”
“You failed,” I deadpanned and she shrugged. “For what it is worth, Alara, I think you have been dealt a terrible hand at life. You grew up with the wrong people but that is no excuse for what you did. I want nothing more than to take you off the execution list and try to rehabilitate you but I cannot guarantee that you will not try this again.”
“Let me make this easy for you, I will,” she stated it simply. “There is no changing me, this is who I am. Now, if you are done bothering me, I would like to get some rest before my execution. Even if I am dying, I need to look good.”
I was shocked that anyone could be this dismissive but there was nothing I could do except honor her wishes because she had once again turned her back to me. I slowly made my way out not really understanding what had happened. I was so distracted that I didn’t realize Ryker was at the top of the steps and I bumped into him. I would have fallen backwards if he didn’t reach out to wrap his arms around my waist. I grasped onto his shoulders for dear life.
“Are you alright?” he asked and I nodded. “I was told that you were with her. Did she say anything to you? Did she do anything?” I shook my head but he wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure? Why did you go? Why didn’t you tell me that you were going?”
“Relax,” I ordered and I waited until he had taken a deep breath. “I wanted to know some things and only she could tell me. I didn’t want her story to die with her.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ve always been kinder than the rest of us. What did she say?”
“I’ll tell you, but not here. I don’t want to spend any more time than I need to. I want to be with you in our space, does that make sense?”
His featured softened and he leaned down to kiss my forehead. “Of course, baby, come with me. I know the perfect place for us.”
