Chapter 70
CAMILLA’S PO.V
I knew in that moment that I didn’t have many options so I decided to explore the tunnels. The walls were so close together, I didn’t need to stretch my hands out before I was touching them. It was moldy and smelled like dust. There were also cobwebs everywhere and I accidentally walked into one. I didn’t know where I was going but I hoped I would find an exit soon.
The further down in the tunnels I got, the cleaner they got. It wast obvious that I was approaching the area that Frederick lived in or at least used often. I saw empty packs of snacks and I even came across what looked like discarded clothes but I didn’t stick around to find out. I got into what looked like a clearing and that was when I saw his sleeping
area.
There was a black sleeping bag and lying next to it was the journal. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands, It was just like the others but it weighed considerably less and I assumed it was because of the pages he had ripped out. I had a feeling that this one would have the answers I was looking for. I turned to leave but I felt something sharp at my lower back making me freeze in place.
“I was going to come to you in a few days, I never thought you would come looking for me,” Frederick mused in my ears. “Tell me, Camilla, where is your mate? Is he close by or are you here all alone?”
“I’m alone,” I knew it was stupid to reveal that but I knew that if he wanted to hurt me then he would have done that already.
He allowed me turn until I was staring at him face to face “Welcome sister, I thought it was only befitting that I lived in the palace as I should have been, don’t you?”
“I know about your mother,” I began and he scoffed.
“You don’t know half of what you think you do,” he took a step back and to my shock, he pocketed his knife. “Leave, Camilla, I am many things but a coward is not one of them and I have no plans of killing you in the tunnels. If I will take your life then it will be where the entire world can watch. No one respects a king who is a coward.”
“İş being king really that important to you?” I asked. “You can live in the palace as a member of the royal family, I am willing to give you that. You
don’t have to do all of this.”
He laughed humorlessly. “You have no idea what it has been like for me. I would not expect you to understand, you had everything you could possibly want handed to you. I want what is rightfully mine and I will do everything in my power to get it. Do not mistake my act of mercy for foolishness. The next time you stumble into my space, I will kill you.”
“I lived as an omega for the first eighteen years of my life,” I began slowly.
was raped and rejected before I came here. Didn’t you know I was missing? I heard it was the talk of the town when I was found.”
“My mother wanted me to have nothing to do with the palace.”
He didn’t need to say it but I knew that his mother’s death must–have been the catalyst for his actions. I took a step closer to him and decided to try something. It was clear he cared for his mother and I knew my next words could either have good or disastrous consequences.
“Your mother wouldn’t want this.”
His eyes snapped up to me so fast and despite the darkness, I could see the anger in them. He wrapped his hand around my throat and I let him. I could have broken free but I knew he would not hurt me. I could feel him vibrating with anger and hurt and he snarled in my face but I stayed immobile.
“Don’t ever talk about my mother again,” he spat and he pushed me back. “Take that path straight down and take the second right, you’ll find yourself at a wall. There’s a loose patch on the floor, step on it and you will find an opening. Get out.”
I didn’t hesitate before I turned on my heels and began walking away. I was nearly out of earshot when I heard him speak again.
“Do you even know her name?” he asked but I stayed silent and he scoffed. “Of course you don’t, she was never more than a flimsy servant to you all but she was the one who captured the king’s heart.”
“The king was not the kind of man whose heart could be captured.”
“Bull shit,” he spat. “He came to see me every week until he died, he told me about these tunnels, he loved my mother.”
I smiled wryly. “What was her name, Frederick?”
“Eva, now leave before I change my mind and putting a knife in your back. Your seven days is almost up, Camilla, I won’t hesitate then.” This time when I left, he allowed me go. I followed his directions and
when I got to the wall, it was a bit difficult to find the loose floor piece but I did and the wall cracked open to reveal the front of the palace. It was a small secluded area that not many guards patrolled and I realized that he had given up his way into the palace. It only meant that he had no plans. on using sit anymore.
I had to blink repeatedly to adjust myself to the bright light. My clothes. were dusty when I got out but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I had the journal under my arm and I had two entrances to the tunnels. I made my way to the front doors and the guards stared at me in shock when they saw me. A lot of them blinked as if they were staring at a ghost and only one had the courage to rush up to me.
“Are you alright, your majesty? Did something happen?” he asked but I shook my head.
“Ask the spies to assemble and wait for my instruction, I will be with them shortly.”
He looked confused but he rushed off to do as I had asked. The first place I went was not to the room to get changed, but to Ryker’s office. He wasn’t there when I checked and I went on a search for him. I was checking the council room when I heard a gasp from behind me. I turned to see Christine and there was relief etched on her face as she pulled me into a hug.
“Where have you been?” she asked me. “Ryker has been looking for you for almost half an hour now. He was losing his mind the last time I saw him. Also, why are you so filthy?”
“I’ll explain everything but where is he?”
She opened her mouth to speak but closed it immediately and nodded. behind her. I turned to see my mate standing there, he looked like he had died a thousand times already and he slowly made his way over to me. He cupped my cheeks as if confirming that it was really me.
“I thought he took you,” he whispered. “I found something and I went looking for you but you weren’t there. Where did you go and why did you leave your things in the dining room? Do you have any idea-” His fear and frustration were beginning to bleed out so I cut him off. “I found one of the entrances and I found Frederick.”
“Where is he?” it was Christine who asked and I told them everything about my encounter with Frederick. By the time I was done, they were quiet and I could see the wheels turning in both their heads. “It doesn’t
make sense.”
“What do you mean?” I asked but Ryker spoke.
“He wants the throne and he has to know that he has no claim to it. The easiest way to get it is to get you out of the way. He could have done that but he didn’t. There is something much bigger at play.”
“I think he is just hurting. He probably wants peace but he is acting out. He implied that his mother passed away recently and I think he is just lashing out because he feels like she was abandoned. He doesn’t really want to hurt anyone.”
“I love you, Camilla, but this is a man who wants revenge. You are wrong on this one,” I frowned but Ryker didn’t even look at me as he spoke ton Christine. “Tell the spies where the entrances are as Camilla described. Do not go in with them. He would have left by now but he may have left something behind.”
Christine left immediately leaving me alone with Ryker. I was staring up at him in disbelief that he had completely disregarded my words. He had never done that before and I still believed that he had the wrong idea about Frederick. When he spoke to me, he sounded like a broken man, not a man who wanted to wreak havoc and revenge.
“Have you had a chance to go through that yet?” Ryker gestured to the journal in my hands. “I want to confirm something I think I might know who his mother is.”
“No need, he already told me, her name was Eva,” I saw recognition flash across Ryker’s face. “Do you know her?”
“I saw her file, come.”
It didn’t skip my attention that I was still covered in filth and my skin was a bit itchy but I wanted to know what he found so I ignored it. He led me to his office and I couldn’t help but note how messy it was with the papers scattered all over his desk. He fl*pped through them until he got to a specific file and he pulled it out. He handed it over to me and although there was no picture of her attached, she was described as being very beautiful.
“She was one of the servants who was responsible for cleaning up after the royal family,” Ryker explained. “There was nothing special about her, she never got into fights, she was described as quiet and demure but I did notice that your father specifically asked that she be placed as your mother’s maid and there was a brief moment shortly after your parent’s
marriage where she took a break for about a year.”
“She was pregnant,” I deduced and he nodded. “Does she have any family in the area? Is there anyone who can tell us anything about her?”
He shook his head. “She was an orphan. Frederick is her only remaining family. Shortly after you went missing, she left the palace and never returned.”
