Chapter 194
RYKER’S P.O.V
The elders sat in their usual formation around the council table. Their eyes held pity and slight disgust as they stared at the empty chair behind me. Camilla’s presence was obviously missed and it stood out like the elephant in the room. I crossed my arms over my chest waiting for the man who would have the balls to be the first to address the situation but no one dared to say a word.
“Did you call for a meeting just for me to sit here staring at you?” I asked unable to keep the sarcasm out of my tone. “There are more important things that require my time and attention.”
“Like searching for the Queen?” someone asked and I raised a brow. He turned away in embarrassment and his cheeks tinged pink. He looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him and truthfully, it would have been a better alternative than me getting my hands on him. “It has been a while, your majesty.”
“I am aware of how long it has been. If that is what you came to talk to me about then we might as well put this whole thing to an end. I know how long my mate has been missing.”
There was a collective wince at my choice of words. They all believed she was dead and I couldn’t blame them, if it were someone else, I would have probably believed the same thing but I knew better. I could feel her.
“The Lady Christine came to us and suggested a funeral ritual. It is customary that we come to you on that. You ultimately have the final say on it,” it was Caius who spoke and his voice was soft and careful. “You would have to sign a legally binding contract that states that you know she is dead. You cannot back out from it at any moment. It is for your safety as well as ours because most often than not, mates find it hard to admit-”
“Admit that their partners are dead,” I finished for him and he nodded. I knew what he was getting at and I desperately wanted to remind them that she was alive but I knew it would only solidify what they were saying. “I understand and I am ready to sign it.”
The words felt like ash on my tongue and I could see the shock on their faces. That wasn’t the response that they were expecting from me and as the paper was slid over to me, I couldn’t help but feel like I was failing Camilla. This was giving me at most six weeks to find her and there was a nagging voice at the back of my mind telling me that I was going to fail. It felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders and it felt like everything was bearing down on me as I signed my name across the pages.
As I stared at the drying ink on the page, I couldn’t believe that I had done it. I heard Caius speaking but his
words barely settled in my ears. I made an unintelligible statement before rushing to my feet. All eyes were on me but in that moment, I could not bring myself to care. I had signed away every right I would have after the next four to six weeks.
“If you will excuse me,” I began clearing my throat. “Now that this has been signed, I presume my assistance is no longer necessary.”
“Your majesty, due to the sensitivity of this issue we are going to fast track everything and try to round up within two to three weeks,” I turned to the elder who had spoken and the intensity of my gaze had him looking away. “The people have gone on for too long. It has been two months. She deserves to have the best and her memory needs to be preserved.”
“You want to rush things?” I repeated dumbly. “Would it kill you to do things the right way? What if I demand that it has to be done in six weeks?”
“Unfortunately, your–majesty, the only person who has the authority to do that is the Queen. As she is not here, the power lies with us. The decision has been made. It is unhealthy for you and for the princesses to live like this. You have our deepest condolences.”
I didn’t wait to hear the rest of his statement, I just walked out of the room. I could hear their whispers behind me but I didn’t give a shit. They deliberately refused to tell me about the sped up time line because they knew I would never have signed it. My blood boiled with rage and frustration. I wanted so badly to scream but I kept every emotion bottled up as I walked out of the palace. The guards glanced at me in concern and confusion when I ignored their bows and greetings.
“Ryker,” I heard Christine call out to me but I ignored her. Her brows furrowed and she started to follow me. “I wanted to talk to you about something. Were you able to talk to the elders? Do you have any idea when you are going to start-”
“Just stop!” I ground out as I whirled on her and her spine straightened. “I do not want to speak to anyone right now. I am not in the mood for a heartfelt conversation so this is the part where you walk away before I say something that we will both regret.”
She looked taken aback. “I am just trying to help here. I have no idea what is going on and you’re just offloading on me. We are all worried about her.”
“You all think she is dead,” I shot back and she pursed her lips in anger.
I turned away from her and kept walking towards the woods. What I needed was a long run to get rid of the
frustration building up under my skin. I had walked a few feet thinking that Christine had returned to the palace when she suddenly walked in front of me blocking my path. I tried to side step her but she was quick to step in
front of me.
“I don’t have time for this,” I warned. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Good, then you can listen because I have a lot to say,” I wasn’t sure if it was her bravado or the fact that I knew standing in front of me scared her that had me staying still. Nothing scared Christine, but I could see the slight tremor in her stance. “I know this is hitting you harder than it is hitting the rest of us. I understand that you feel like complete shit but you cannot take this out on me.”
“I am-”
She held up a hand to cut me off. “Just let me finish, goddamit.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and gestured for her to keep going.
“I don’t want to think that she is dead. Do you really think I want to be here without her? Camilla is the only family that I have left. Do you think I want to be telling the girls stories about their mother? Of course not. I want more than anything for her to be alive but her being alive would mean that something is wrong, something is keeping her away from home. Call me selfish, but I would rather she be dead than she be suffering somewhere. So yes, I think she is dead but that is because I just want her to be happy. She has been hurt so much, she deserves at least this much.”
I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, I understood where she was coming from and if I were selfless enough, I would think the same but I never pretended to be a good man. I never claimed to be a better person- that was her. I was going to be selfish and I was going to fight tooth and nail to bring her back.
“You are a better person than I am,” I said simply and that was all she needed to know that I wasn’t going to drop this. She let out an exasperated sigh and buried her face into her hands. “I have to go, I don’t have enough time.”
“You have six weeks.”
“I have two,” her mouth fell open. “They decided that too much time has been wasted. I have two weeks to find my mate and bring her back home so excuse me if I don’t have the time to discuss with you right now. There are towns I have to visit and it is going to take the entirety of the two weeks. I might not even be able to get them
all.”
“Let me help,” she began and I opened my mouth to refuse but she cut me off. “If Aurora is who you are worried
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about then someone can watch her while we search, you need all hands on deck for this one. You cannot do it alone. Let Juan and I help you.”
I ran my hands through my hair as I debated what to say. On one hand, she was right but on the other hand, I didn’t want to leave my child alone.
“You know you need our help.”
I opened my mouth to accept when I felt a sharp pain in the center of my chest. It felt like my chest was being ripped open with a hot knife. The last time I felt pain like this was when Reina burned my skin. It took over a month for it to heal and the scar remained. I fell to my knees and Christine was by my side immediately.
“What is going on?” I heard her ask but I couldn’t make out a response. “Do you want me to call the physician? Is something wrong? Did something happen to Camilla?”
“I’m fine,” I ground out as the pain subsided. I managed to get to my feet but my body felt weak from what had just happened.
“What the hell was that?” Christine looked genuinely spooked. “You looked like you were in pain.”
“You know how I told you the mate bond was there but dormant, as if something was keeping it muted?” I asked and she nodded. “Well it isn’t dormant anymore. Something just triggered it.”
