Chapter 159
RYKER’S P.O.V
There was an underlying tone of panic ru There was an underlying tone of panic running through the palace over the next two days. We had kept the issue with the crops nder wraps but Camilla was working herself to death trying to find a way to control her powers. She had been trying for months but so far was only able to stop it if the tug was slight- whatever that meant. I hated that I didn’t understand what was happening because it meant I couldn’t help.
She barely came back to bed unless she was too exhausted to move or passed out and I had to carry her in. It didn’t matter that she was working herself to an early
didn’t care. She felt solely responsible for everything that happened and no matter how many times I told her that she wasn’t, she didn’t listen.
grave, s
This morning, she managed to sleep in and I didn’t wake her up. When the maid arrived to rouse her for training, I sent her away. She slept well into ten a.m. before she finally woke. I was seated by the edge of the bed with a tray of breakfast ready for her. I saw the confusion on her face get replaced with a small smile for one full minute before the panic kicked in and she leaped from the bed like one being chased.
“Camilla, stop,” I said softly but she wouldn’t listen to me. Her attention was elsewhere as she tried to gather her bearings. “I canceled all your training for the day. I sent Loris home and I asked the maid not to make you .”
every
She stilled in a way that was so comical, I would have laughed had it not been a dire situation. She turned to face me slowly and her face was devoid of emotion as she spoke. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you need a break, have you taken a second to look at the bags under your eyes?”
“That is a weird way to tell your mate that she looks beautiful.”
I sighed as I stood to my feet, abandoning the tray of food on the bed. I crossed the length of the room until I was standing in front of her, I wasn’t sure who made her night gowns but they were a dream. They flowed to the floor unhindered but somehow managed to give a perfect silhouette of her curves. Every time I saw her in them, I was blown away and grateful that I was the only man who got to see her like this.
I ran my hands up her shoulders softly until m fingers tangled in her hair. I tipped her head back so that she was staring into my eyes and I heard her breath hitch in her throat. “What are you doing?”
“You look beautiful,” I whispered ignoring her question. “You always have and you always will but I also need to tell you that you need to rest, Camilla. You are exhausted and if you continue like this, I can guarantee that you will not be available to help when you are needed the most.”
“I am getting closer.”
“No you’re not,” it wasn’t meant to discourage her, it was just the truth. What she wanted to learn would take years at least, something had messed with her powers and she couldn’t fight the universe, she couldn’t fight nature. “At this point, it is best to just take precautions.”
“I can do more,” she argued. “I know I can, you know I can.”
“I know that you are doing your best and that should be enough for now,” I walked her over to the bed and led her to sit gently. “Relax, eat, you have a day off and goddess knows how many you will be able to get in the coming days.”
Her brows furrowed as suspicion climbed up her spine. “Why did you say it like that? Did something happen?”
“Nothing of importance right now,” I gave her a small smile. “The elders asked us to meet with them but they can wait. This is about you, alright?”
I could see her hesitate so I leaned forward and kissed her. She froze for a second but in no time, she melted against my lips and I felt her shoulders sag with relief. It was a dream to feel her relaxed against me. I reluctantly pulled back and the desire in her eyes knocked me back. I forced myself to swallow the lump in my chest and cleared my throat.
“Eat, baby, please.”
She smiled slyly as if she knew exactly what she was doing to me. “Okay, sit with me, will you?”
When she asked with those wide eyes of hers, I couldn’t bring myself to say no.
We didn’t end up leaving the room until after noon. The elders were quick to assemble in the council room although they didn’t look pleased about it. We had formed a sort of cordial relationship where we only met when things were dire, we mostly tried to stay out of each other’s way because it was not a hidden secret that we didn’t like them and vice versa. The only elder we got along with was Caius and wed that was because he wasn’t a self righteous asshole like the others.
“Your majesties,” one of them drawled as Camilla and I made our way in. “We were under the notion that this meeting would hold in the morning.”
“It is holding now,” was Camilla’s quick response. “What do you want?”
“There have been some complaints from the towns folk. It was a downright pity about the crops that died. People are worried that there will not be enough food for the year. That farmer was one of the biggest suppliers and his entire-”
“See to it that the people have enough to eat. We have store houses filled with to eat. We have store houses filled with grain, I am sure that some can be taken out for the people,” I cut him off and he frowned. It was clear that was not what he would have chosen but he knew better than to argue. “Is that all?”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Then we would have to bid you-”
I was cut off when the door flew open. At first, I thought it was Christine because only a member of the royal family would dare to throw open the council doors like that. I was shocked however when I saw a common guard. There was pure fear etched on his face as he made his way inside but something else was buried underneath- something akin to worry, only more potent.
I vaguely heard one of the elders yelling but I lifted my hand to silence him. I turned to the boy. “What is the matter? You look like you have seen a ghost.”
“There is a man, outside, he is walking but he is dead, you have to come see him.”
The boy looked like he was about to pass out so I quickly gestured to one of the guards to go to him. He had barely reached when the poor boy slumped. He was still breathing but it was clear that whatever he had seen had spooked him. I watched him being led away before grabbing Camilla’s hand tightly in mine and leading her towards the front of the palace,
Christine and Juan caught up to us with curiosity and worry etched on their faces. It was clear that news of whatever this was had already spread round the palace. It also meant that we needed to nip it at the bud because rumors never made things easier.
By the time we got to the front door, it was packed with guards. They were standing in a circle around something but they made a path once they saw that it was us. By the time we got to the center, I was stunned. I pulled Camilla behind me gently because I had no idea what we were dealing with and the last thing I wanted was for my mate to be within reach of it.
The man in front of me- if he could be called that- looked like death on legs. His- skin was a sickly pale shade so light that I could make out his veins. His eyes were red and bulging and he looked like he was one second away from keeling over. His lips were white and ashy and his entire body trembled yet he looked sentient enough to be standing upright.
“What happened to you?” I asked and he turned his attention to me. “When did this start?”
“I woke up this way,” his voice shook and his entire body moved as he spoke. “Please help me.”
“Where is the physician?” I yelled and as if summoned, I saw him rush through the crowd with his son at the side.
He gently guided the man into the palace and I saw the guards split open a passage for them as if scared of being infected. The whispers began almost immediately and I couldn’t even blame them. This was terrifying at best and a prank at worst. I had never seen something so terrible in my entire life.
“What are you doing standing here?” I yelled towards the guards once the man was gone. “Return to your posts, now! If I heard even a word of this breathed, the offender will be punished.”
They immediately cleared leaving just the four of us. Once they were gone, I noticed the stricken look on Camilla’s face and immediately turned to her.
“What is it? Do you know him?” I asked but she shook her head. “Then tell me.”
“It was my powers, I could feel it calling out to him.”
My brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean it was calling out to him? How does that work?”
“You know the tug that I feel? Imagine that but intensified. It felt like a mate bond, like whatever was inside of him or wrong with him was a distant relative to what is inside of me.”
“I don’t understand,” I told her and she groaned.
“I know I am not making any sense but that is what I felt. I need to see him.”
