Chapter 90
CAMILLA’S PO.V
“Of course,” her response was quick as she gathered the girls.
Audrey came over to give me a hug and I k*ssed her hair softly. When she got to Ryker, I heard her speak.
“Will you be there to tuck me in?” she asked softly and he nodded. She smiled wide at those words and k*ssed his cheeks before ski pping over to meet Christine.
I wanted to leave with them but I knew that would only prove my guilt so I forced myself to stay still. The door
! shut behind me but no one spoke. For the first time, silence between us was suffocating and awkward, I expected him to pick up the conversation from where it ended before but he didn’t. To my shock, Ryker just held out his hand for me to take.
I hesitated for a split second which caused his eyes to narrow. He led me out of the dining room and out of the palace. It was windy but I could barely focus on the cold because I was so anxious to know where we were going. We walked in silence ignoring the guards who greeted and bowed to us. I thought we were going to take a walk but Ryker led me towards the royal garden.
“What are we doing here?” I asked but he ignored me and went to stand directly in front of the fountain. He gestured for me to come to him and I did so slowly. “Ryker, what is this?”
“We’re going to practice,” I raised a brow and he gestured to the water in the fountain. “I don’t know how long it is going to take for you to get over your resentment but that isn’t going to happen until you begin to enjoy your powers again.”
“I still don’t understand what that has to do with all of this,” I gestured around us. “I practice every morning with Lois. What good does an extra hour of practice every night?”
“This isn’t out of obligation,” I stared at him blankly and he sighed. “You used to sit here and make animals out of the water, do you remember? Audrye loved it. While you were pregnant, you would sit here and just play around with the fountain. You said it calmed you down.”
“I was stressed out, I’m not anymore but if you want me to make animals,” I waved my hand and a large ball of water rose from the fountain in the shape of a dog. I made a show of making it run around for a few seconds before dropping it into the water. “Is that good enough? Would you like me to create fishes too?”
“I am more of an amphibian person,” I conjured up a water lizard. “Try being a little more enthusiastic about it.”
His tone dripped with sarcasm and I flashed him a smile while doing it to which he laughed. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling too. I hadn’t felt so light using my powers in a while even if I was just using it to mock
him.
“I don’t know what you want me to do, Ryker.”
Ryker made his way over to me and stroked my cheek soft. “That’s the thing, you don’t have to do anything. I just want you to sit here and remember. It is in your hands right now. This isn’t practice where you are obligated to practice.”
“So I can just sit down and do nothing if I want.”
He frowned. “I wouldn’t like that but yes. We only have half an hour so we can tuck Audrey in.”
I thought about if for a second then I sat down gently on the ground with my legs crossed in front of me. I saw the disappointment on Ryker’s face but I ignored it. After a split second, he sat down next to me.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sitting with you,” he said simply. “Whatever you choose, I will do it with you. Every night, without fail, we will sit here if that is what you want.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
So we did.
For the next half hour, we just sat there doing nothing. I rested my head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around my shoulder. By the time half an hour was up, Ryker helped me to my feet and led me into- the palace. Audrey was already half asleep when we got there but she was excited to see that we had kept to our promise. We also checked on Aurora before finally making our way to our room.
I noticed that Ryker was weirdly silent as we got dressed for bed and I couldn’t help but feel like I had done something wrong especially when I put on my favorite white night gown and he didn’t seem to notice. He had his back to me so I made my way over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. He stiffened before turning
around.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked and he gave me an incredulous look as if I had asked him to grow an extra head. “You’ve been quiet. If I embarrassed you earlier-”
“You didn’t,” he cut in almost immediately. I didn’t believe him and he must have noticed because he sighed and closed the distance between us. “Do I wish you did something different? Of course, but Camilla, there is no timeline on this. You can move at whatever pace you want. I can’t be embarrassed by you.”
“You looked disappointed earlier and you have barely even looked at me.”
“I was giving you space,” he sighed. “You can be hard to read sometimes but I thought you wanted space.” He k*ssed me softly. “I just want to know that you’re alright.”
“I’m alright.” I assured him and just like that, everything was better.
He ran his eyes over my b*dy. “Don’t think I missed the night gown. You look exquisite and there are so many things I would love to do to you tonight.”
“Do them,” I whispered and the corner of his l*ps quirked up.
“I’m afraid that there may not be enough time.”
It was late when we finally went to bed. I was wrapped up in Ryker’s arms and buried under the blanket. Neither of us had bothered to put on clothes because we didn’t expect to be woken up until morning. However, that wasn’t the case because I heard frantic knocking on the door. At first, I thought it was a part of my dream but it became more insistent.
“Camilla, are you awake?” I quickly recognized the voice as Christine’s as I roused from sleep.
Ryker was awake too and he looked as confused as I felt. He began to rise but I waved him off and assured him that I could handle it. I grabbed the closest thing which was Ryker’s shirt and threw it over my shoulders: I pulled the door open and Christine stood there looking frantic.
“The guards have been trying to get your mind link for hours but you were both asleep. Thankfully, I was awake so they were able to get to me. I thought I could handle it because I wanted you to rest but, Camilla, this is beyond my pay grade, I have no idea what to do about this. I didn’t want to wake you but-”
“Christine,” her rambling had woken me up completely. “What is it?”
“I think you need to see it.”
I closed the door so I could get dressed. Thankfully, Ryker was already out of bed and getting dressed. I handed him his shirt and pulled on my night gown before throwing one large coat over it to give a sense of decency. I couldn’t be bothered to get into a dress at- I glanced over at the clock- one a.m.
Christine was waiting outside the door and she quickly rushed off in the direction of the front doors. A carriage was waiting and I wondered where we could be going at such an hour thatrequired a carriage. I could tell by looking at Ryker’s face that even he was curious but no one said anything. We just held onto each other’s hands and got inside. Christine was tapping her feet anxiously and she looked like she was five seconds away from throwing up.
The carriage ride took less than ten minutes and by the time we got there, I noticed that there was a huge crowd. The guards were gathered at the edge of the woods. They bowed when they saw us and it was one of the generals who crossed the line to meet us.
“We are so glad you came, your majesties,” he said. “We didn’t want to wake you this late but we didn’t know what to do. We haven’t touched anything.”
“Show us.”
He nodded and directed us to follow him. We walked for another five minutes before we came across another handful of guards. They were standing in a circle around what I realized was a b*dy as I saw the leg sticking out. They parted the way for us and it was obvious that the man was dead.
“He is a miner from one of the lower towns,” the general explained. “He went missing a few days ago and he suddenly turned up here. There are no I juries or wounds on him but he is-”
“Dead,” I deadpanned. “Why is he so pale though? He almost looks like a statue. Did he die a long time ago?”
“That has been one of our major questions but I don’t think so. His b*dy hasn’t started ton decay yet. It seemed he died a few hours ago but I have never seen anything like this. He was so cold when I touched him, almost like ice.”
“Is that unusual?”
I stepped forward but Ryker reached out a hand to stop me. He turned to the general. “Inform his family that he has been found and convince them to have him buried as quickly as possible with minimal questions.”
“Do you know what happened?” I asked but he ignored me.
“Make sure no one breathes a word of this to anyone. If they ask, he died of poisoning and that is why he is pale. Am I clear?”
The general nodded and went off to do as he asked. I turned to Ryker with my arms crossed over my chest. “Are you going to tell me what it is?”
“I will. I have a hunch but I really hope I am wrong about it.”
“Is it bad?” I asked and he nodded. “On a scale of one through ten?”
“I would say an eight,” my eyes widened. “I need to get you out of here first before I say anything else. I don’t want to risk anyone overhearing. Do you trust me?”
“Always.”
“Good, now come.”
