Chapter 56: Chapter 56

KAMORA

^PRESENT DAY^

“That was the day your accident happened,” Lord Maroke said, speaking for the first time since Kamora began narrating her story.

Nodding, Kamora continued, “I rushed out without thinking, hoping to find you and heal you myself if your injuries were fatal.”

“Petal insisted on going along with me. As I had just given birth, I still wasn’t strong enough.”

“We asked to see the man who had brought the news, but he had already left.”

“We told the maid to relay the news to Claudia and quickly left.”

“I never had an accident that day,” Lord Maroke said, his face etched in a frown.

“The person who made up such a lie wanted to lure you away from the house. They might have made plans in case you came with guards, but when you arrived with just Petal, you made it easier for them.”

“That was what I thought when I saw Gwen in the place you were supposed to be in.” Kamora’s eyes deepened with malice.

“She was crazed, bent on destroying me. She couldn’t accept the fact that I became the wife of a lord, while she lost everything.”

“She demanded to have my blood, and I refused to give it to her. Then she attacked.”

“I fought as hard as I could, but I was still weak.”

“Petal also fought, but she helped me to escape, bringing the both of us out of the inn.”

“We began to run away, but I slowed her down, as I was very weak.”

“I asked her to run and get help, but she was determined not to leave me alone,” Kamora sniffed, not knowing when she had begun crying.

She quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen on her face and continued.

“Gwen caught up to us, and she said something strange.”

“What did she say?”

“That if she couldn’t have my blood, at least she’d get enough money to make up for it. And she could always take blood out of my corpse. It’s still considered fresh.”

Lord Maroke remained silent, brooding.

“Will you be able to recognize the maid who brought you that news if she were in front of you?”

Kamora nodded. “I won’t forget. But I doubt she’s in this manor.”

“You only just recovered your memories. You have to check again to confirm.”

“You suspect she is still in this house?”

“Yes, and I will get my answers from her even if I have to use force.”

He stood up from the bed and began to pace.

“Something still feels strange. Claudia always waited for me at the entrance of the hallway.”

“When the person who brought the message came to our manor, it should have been her who received it.”

“But even if that news was fake, and it was just that suspicious maid who lied, then how did that maid get into our home?”

“She might have hired a new maid. She might have been somewhere else on the lookout for when you returned.”

“She might have gone to get something, and that maid used the opportunity to deceive me. Probably by the time Claudia knew I was missing, it was too late.”

“Something just doesn’t feel right.” He paused his pacing and walked up to her, kissing her forehead.

“I am sorry you had to hide your true self because of me. You must have been so worried that I’d find out and leave you. I’m so sorry for ever giving you that impression,” he said. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

“So, you won’t leave me?” Kamora asked, her eyes wide with hope.

“How can you ask me that, my love? I love you. I can’t do without you. My life for eight years was anything but good.”

“Immediately you came, everything changed. We are fated to be together and nothing can ever tear us apart.”

“But your curse,” Kamora said sadly, placing her hand on his chest. “I wasn’t able to help you with it. You still have to take that substance, and you have to endure a whole day of pain every month as a side effect of the drug.”

“I don’t mind living like that for the rest of my life,” he whispered, placing his forehead atop hers. “As long as I can be with you.”

Kamora leaned into him and kissed him with all she had, showing her sincerity, her love, and her gratefulness.

Some part of her was scared that he was going to leave her, even with how brave she was acting.

But to hear him confirm with his own mouth that he’d never do such a thing, to hear him say how much he loved her, gave her so much strength and hope.

They eased away from each other. Kamora rested on his chest while he kissed her hair.

“Do you have someone you suspect?”

Kamora nodded. “The princess. I might not have been able to come to this conclusion, had she not poisoned my son. Gwen used the same exact poison on Petal and me, before knocking us out.”

“Do you remember how she brought you to the forest?”

“No. I was unconscious then. I do remember tumbling down a harsh slope. I thought I’d meet my end, or perhaps I even did, if not for the timely intervention of those hunters.”

“How was Petal able to escape?”

“I have no idea, and she seems to have lost her memories too. Perhaps she is also fated to be my very good friend.”

“Or it’s a very good coincidence.”

Kamora straightened slightly to look at him. “You suspect her?”

“Until I get to the bottom of this, I don’t trust anyone around you,” he said.

“But you already have your suspects, don’t you?”

Lord Maroke nodded. “I have also been suspecting the princess for a while. And your story confirms it. I just have to find the glamour Fae, and then I’ll have proof.”

“Glamour Fae?” Kamora asked. “A glamour Fae was involved?”

“Yes,” Lord Maroke replied. “Glamour Fae can alter people’s memories one or two at a time—some can even do three people, but that’s the highest that has ever been recorded. Everyone in the manor lost their memories of you and all the years you were around simultaneously. It couldn’t have been a coincidence, and it would take so many glamour Fae to cause such a major accident. That can’t happen without alerting the rest of the kingdom.”

“So you suspect one person did this?”

“Yes. That person is apparently strong enough to wipe out the memories of everyone in the manor at once. If my theory is true, then the princess is more dangerous than I thought, to have someone like that working for her.”