Chapter 91
CAMILLA’S PO.V
Ryker was acting weird but I didn’t want to push too much. Since we saw that man, he was off his game. He was quiet the entire carriage ride back and he seemed to be lost in thought. When we got back to the palace however, he led me back towards our room and locked the door. I waited patiently for him to say something but he didn’t.
“Ryker,” I began and he sighed.
“I’m thinking of the best way to say this,” he explained. “When Damien was here, he told me about a rumor that was going around of a creature who steals people in the night and returns their bodies in the middle of the woods drained of blood.”
“That sounds like a vampire.”
“That’s exactly what I said and now a b*dy turns up in the middle of the woods freezing cold and pale.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head at him and smile. He was cute when he worried but I couldn’t believe that a vampire was attacking citizens. I grabbed both of his hands and led him to the bed where I pushed him to sit down. He tried to speak but I held up a hand to stop him. Once he was quiet, I crawled up behind him and began massaging his shoulders. He looked confused but allowed me do as I wished without putting up too much of a fight. I waited until his shoulders slacked with relief before I spoke.
“We have never had any interactions with vampires prior to this,” I reminded him slowly as I kept my fingers moving on his shoulders. “I find it hard to believe that a random vampire came out of nowhere and decided to drain blood from someone in the town.”
I saw him frown. “When I heard it from Damien, I thought the same thing but now- you saw the man.”
“There’s no confirmation that a vampire killed him. It gets very cold at night and if he was wandering and unable to shift, he could have frozen to death which would explain why his skin was so cold,” I combatted. “Until we have proof that he died from a vampire attack then we shouldn’t jump to conclusion.”
1
His frown remained and I briefly wondered if he wanted it to be a vmpaire attack. It made no sense. If it were me, I would have taken the excuse I was giving and run with it but then again, I preferred to run from my problems while Ryker loved t face them head on.
“Do you know how many pack members are lost to vampire attacks on a monthly basis?” I asked and he shook his head. “I don’t either but I am sure there is a number somewhere. This could just have been an accident or a lone murder. It probably has nothing to do with what Damien told me. Your mind is just playing tricks on you.”
I felt him tense. I knew it would be hard for him to let go of his preconceived notions. Was there a possibility that he was right? Sure, but I really hoped he wasn’t. I wasn’t sure the palace could handle another attack right now. When I spoke, I was trying to convince myself as much as I was trying to convince him. The idea of a rogue vampire causing problems among wolves wa ssomething that I was sure the covens had heard and I knew that even if it were true, they would do everything in their power to make sure it was handled to avoid another war.
The last time there was a war between vampires and werewolves was over a century ago. According to what I heard, it was brutal and it lasted for years. So many people were lost and a treaty was signed to ensure that none of it happened again. The vampires decided to move into the mountains after that while the wolves stayed in the forest. I doubted that anyone wanted a repeat of that war.
“You’re right,” Ryker said finally. “If I hadn’t heard about that from Damien, I wouldn’t be worried. It is probably nothing.”
“Good,” I leaned down to k*ss him. “We were having such a good night. I’m sure we have a lot of paperwork to do in the morning about the boy’s death.”
I took my hands off his shoulders and he turned to me. He loked a lot better and I couldn’t help but smile. He wasted no time in getting under the covers with me and pulling me into his chest. I pretended not to notice thathe held onto me a little tighter than usual.
The next time I woke up, Ryker was already out of bed and it was almost seven. I never planned to sleep in and I cursed when I realized that he would have met with the elders without me. I got ready in a rush and started towards the council
to take a de room when I heard Aurora crying. I had to a detour and feed her first. It wasn’t until she was peacefully sleeping that I could finally leave. By the time I got to the council room, they were already deep in their sconversation.
“Your majesty,” one of the elders drawled. “How kind of you to join us.”
I didn’t miss the undercurrent in his voice and my eyes narrowed. “Thank you for waiting. Children can be so unpredictable sometimes. The last thing any of us needed was a screaming child in our meetings.” His cheeks heated and he turned away. “Is there something in particular that we are talking about.”
“Not exactly, his majesty was briefing us on the boy that was found at the border. It was such a sad accident, I am sure. Thankfully, he doesn’t have any family in the area. He was much of a loner.”
“Thankfully?” I couldn’t help but ask and I saw the elders shrug.
“It would have been a shame if there was family that we needed to break the news to.”
I wanted to speak. They wouldn’t have been doing anything, I would. It infuriated me when they acted like they had the worst jobs when all they had to do was just sit here like kings and reap the benefits. The words were at the tip of my tongue when I felt Ryker’s hand intertwine with mine. He wasn’t looking my way but I could feel him all the same and he was asking me to calm down.
I exhaled deeply through my nose and forced my shoulders to relax before turning to the elders. “If you are done discussing then I assume the meeting is over.”.
I watched their faces contort in disbelief that I had just dismissed them before they finally filed out of the room. It took all my willpower not to throw something against the wall. Ryker kept his hand intertwined with mine presumably to keep me grounded and prevent me from doing something I would most definitely regret later.
Once they were all gone, I turned to him. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
“I wanted to, but you looked like you needed the rest. This is the only thing we had scheduled for today and I honestly thought you could use one day without having to sit opposite them and listening to their bullsh it.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is there a way we can change the elders? How are they even given their position?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted. “But we can definitely try. Who would we even put in their place?”
I shrugged. “Anyone is better than them right now.”
He was about to reply when someone knocked on the door and I saw a guard poke his head in. he glanced over at me and I immediately knew what time it was.
“You have to train, don’t you?” Ryker asked and I nodded. “You’ll do fine.”
“I hope so.”
I didn’t do fine. I couldn’t do anything more than what I usually could and even at that, it drained me more than it should have. Loris told me that my anger had a deeper hold on me than I thought and I needed to find a way to work on it. I knew he was right and I knew that if Ryker was present, he would tell me the same thing but I didn’t want to hear it from any of them. I was good with pretending that all was good because it wasn’t like my powers were going to come in handy.
We were rounding up training when I heard scurrying feet. I turned to see Audrey rushing over and she practically threw herself into my arms. She was supposed to be having her lessons so I couldn’t help but wonder how she got out.
“Aunt Christie said you were doing magic,” she whispered and I couldn’t help but raise a brow. “Can you show me some?”
“Shouldn’t you be having lessons? I asked and she hid her face from me. “Audrey Valentina, what did do?”
you
“Nothing,” she was quick to defend herself and throw her hands up. “I just wanted to see you so I left.”
“You have to go back,” I saw some guards rushing out of the palace. There was no doubt in my mind that they were looking
for her.
“Just show me one trick, please,” she gave me those innocent eyes that I could never say no to and I ended up sighing.
I didn’t want to let her down so I thought of something that I knew would blow her mind. I stretched out my hand and created an arch over her heads while drawing water from the stream nearby. Her eyes widened and she clapped in glee. I decided to go a step further by making little animals. I couldn’t remember the last time I concentrated so hard. I didn’t want a single thing going wrong. Her cries of excitement were worth the pounding headache I knew I would sh ave later.
I let the water fall back and turned to her. She was grinning from ear to ear. “That was amazing, mummy. You’re the bestest magic person ever.”
I couldn’t stop my own smile as I k*ssed her head. “Thank you, sweetheart. You have to go back now.”
She frowned. “Will
“I will.”
you do some more later?”
I put her down and watched a she ran off towards the guards. I was still watching her when I heard Loris speak.
“That was the happiest I’ve seen you while using your powers,” he mentioned casually. “Perhaps we should have the princess sit in while you train. It might serve as some form of motivation.”
I laughed. “There is no way my daughter is sitting in just to watch me embarrass myself.”
I had expected a frown or something at that but instead, the corner of his l*ps tilted up in a smile as if he had just figured out the answer to all his problems.
“I’m beginning to think that there is still some hope after all.”
