Chapter 171
RYKER’S POV
Camilla claimed to be better the next morning and in all honesty, I wanted to keep her locked up in the room where I was sure she could be protected but even I knew that was impossible. She was the Queen and it didn’t matter what was happening in her personal life, she had to show up. I hated it and I wouldn’t have minded da mning the consequences but she wanted to prove something, she wanted to show that she was good, she told me point blank that she didn’t need my permission and was returning to work whether I liked it or not. There wasn’t much I could do in regards to that so I let it slide.
It didn’t mean I didn’t keep a close eye on her though. I had Kevin keeping watch over her and reporting back to me. He did it discreetly because I knew that if she was aware, she would be nothing short of pissed. If I had my way, I would have trailed her myself but I had something else I wanted to do that she didn’t need to find out about.
“I was expecting to see your mate here and not you,” Lyla began when I walked into her room. “What can I help you with, your majesty?”
“You have seen the future, yes?” I asked and she nodded. “I know that you cannot tell me what the future entails but can you tell me how to ensure that it ends in a good way for everyone involved.”
“You know as well as I do that isn’t possible,” her voice was soft and soothing. I wondered how many years it took her to learn to speak to people like that. She must have found that people didn’t take to hearing their future and developed the calm persona as a wall to hide behind. “I am not allowed to interfere in the affairs of humans. I have already risked so much by coming here and I know that I will be punished for it later.”
it De
because you are
“Then why did you?” I shot back and she went silent. “if you are risking your life and potential punishment, why did you do it? Surely
fond of us. Was there something you saw that made you come?”
She looked away and that was enough of an admission of guilt for me. I pushed off the door that I was leaning against and walked over to her. She tried to avoid my gaze but she was squirming, I had her exactly where I wanted her and she didn’t even know. I sat in the spare chair next to her making sure she felt the entire weight of my presence. Lyla was powerful but she was still a person, she had been was isolated for so long and I knew without a doubt that I was making her uncomfortable but it was a necessary evil.
“Tell me, Lyla.” I probed. “What was so important?”
“The goddess asked me to,” she blurted out before slapping her hands over her mouth and muttering to herself about speaking too much. She looked frustrated but I couldn’t focus on her, I was more intrigued by her words.
“What do you mean the goddess asked you to? How did she do that? Did she appear to you?”
“Please, your majesty, I have already said too much.”
“This doesn’t concern our future, it concerns the past which has already happened,” it was a loophole and she knew it. There was nothing prohibiting her from talking to me about it now. “You should suffer no punishment if you tell us considering it has already come and gone.”
She sighed when she realized I had her hands bound behind her back. “She appeared to me in a vision. She said that the queen would be in danger soon and I needed to leave immediately if I was to save her. I left two days before I arrived.”
“She told you about it before it happened,” I deduced and she nodded. “Why would she do that? Wouldn’t she have stood to gain more if she had just let her go?”
The words burned my throat like acid but I needed to know. I needed to understand what I was dealing with if I was going to stand any chance of getting out of it alive. Lyla shrugged in response to my question. She seemed uneasy and if I were a better person, I would have let her go and stopped with my questions but I was willing to make her as uncomfortable as possible as long as it meant that my family would be safe. Nothing else mattered to me besides them as terrible as that sounded.
“I don’t know,” she said finally. “I don’t ask questions. I am simply a se rvant, I am a tool. If the goddess says to go then I leave, if she asks to jump then I ask how high, please do not ask questions I do not have the answer to, you will only make this hard for me.”
It took me a second to realize that she wasn’t frustrated or uncomfortable, she was scared. Her entire body shook as fear coursed through it and I could practically taste the tanginess of it in the air. She couldn’t meet my eye and she kept looking around as if she expected something to fly out and hurt her. I couldn’t help but wonder who or what terrified her so much. I placed a hand on her shoulder and she let out a loud shriek and jumped further solidifying my thoughts. She cleared her throat and attempted to straighten her dress but I had already seen enough.
“Who hurt you?” I asked but she stayed silent. “Was it the goddess?”
“She is my sovereign ruler and leader, everything she does, she does it for my well being and the betterment of the wolves. She leads with love and loyalty and. warmth in her heart.”
It sounded like she was repeating a phrase she had heard over and over again. I noticed that she was also picking at her nails. I wanted to reach out to comfort her but somehow I knew that I was only going to make things worse, the only thing I could do for her was to give her space which was what I did. I cleared my throat and stood to my feet, she took a step back as if wary of me touching her.
“Thank you for all your help,” I said in a softer tone than I normally would have used. “Please enjoy the rest of your day.”
I could feel her eyes on me as I walked out of the room. Even after shutting the door, I could feel the weight of her gaze on my shoulder. There was more to the story, more that she wasn’t saying. There was something or someone that had her turning into a terrified child and I wanted to know who it was, I wanted to know how big of a threat this person was.
A part of me thought it was the goddess but there was no way for me to prove it, there was no way for me to know and these were not the kinds of accusations one went around throwing without proof. The goddess was known to be the symbol of kindness and love but legend also told of her exceptional cruelty when wronged. I forced all thoughts of it out of my mind, it wasn’t my problem. I had more important things to worry about.
I checked on Camilla first and once I was sure that she was happily working away. I made my way back to my of work to attend to that I had
office. I had a sh it ton
put aside because of what happened to Camilla and Riley. I didn’t realize how much work it was until I started sorting through all the files and the people I had to meet with.
I was going through it when I heard a soft knock on my door and it opened to reveal Riley. She was much better now, her skin was completely clear although she still had the occasional dizzy spell and she couldn’t do as much as she used to. She spent most of her time inside because the sun was too harsh on her skin.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked but I immediately shook my head and ushered her inside. “I know we haven’t spoken about this yet but did you tell Damien that I was back? Does he know that I was sick?”
“I didn’t tell him anything,” I answered slowly wondering where she was going with it. I couldn’t imagine her wanting him to know especially after what happened since she left and I figured if he wanted to know, he would have sent a messenger to ask me.
“I was just wondering why he hadn’t sent me any more letters.”
“Any inore?” I asked and her cheeks heated. “Riley, what did you do?”
“He started sending me letters a few weeks after I left. He somehow knew where I was and although I never responded, I never stopped. I responded two weeks ago and told him to stop because I was leaving and going somewhere else. I guess I wanted to see if he would find me.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “What are you doing, Riley? I thought you wanted space from him? You don’t get space by keeping and responding to his letters. You are either all in or all out, if you keep doing this then you’re going to get hurt:.”
“I know,” she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. “I didn’t come here for a lecture from you, I just came to ask a question but forget I even said anything.”
She stormed off and I tried to call her back but she had enough of me. She pulled the door open only to reveal a guard standing there. He looked confused especially when she groaned very loud and stomped off. He shot me an inquisitive look, silently asking if he should go after her but I shook my head. Riley always threw tantrums, it was only a matter of time before she realized that I was only helping her.
“What do you need?” I asked the guard and he cleared his throat.
“There is mail for you, your majesty,” he said and my brows rose. How ironic it was that we were just talking about messages and I got mail. I took it from him and thanked him, immediately going through the stack.
Most were the usual, mails from nearby packs, announcements from the heads of the towns but there was one that stood out and caught my eye. There was an unfamiliar seal on it, I had never seen it before. I wasted no time in tearing open the envelope.
Once I read the contents, I cursed and rushed to my feet after the guard. I found him turning the hallway and I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
“Tell me where you got this.”
