Chapter 71

Chapter 71

CAMILLA’S P.O.V

By the time we had uncovered all there was to know about Frederick’s mother, I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. We were yet to find out where she lived when she was with him but it was clear that they lived alone and he never had the chance to relate with any family. I wondered if he even went to school but there was no way to find out if he did. My heart ached for the little boy he once was and I wished we had met on better terms.

“What are you thinking about?” Ryker asked a few hours later after we were done tucking the kids in and I shrugged. “Is this about Frederick?” I stayed quiet but he already knew the answer. “The spies are searching for him using the things they found in the tunnels. He couldn’t have gone far.”

“You know as well as I do that anything left in those tunnels was inconsequential to him. He had half an hour’s head start and he knows those tunnels. If he wanted those things then he would have taken them,” I eyed the new journal sitting atop my pillow. “I’m not worried about them finding him, he won’t show himself until he is ready. I’m more worried about what we don’t know. Doesn’t a part of you feel like this is wrong?”

He stopped everything he was doing so that he could turn to me. “I’m not sure if I am following correctly. Are you talking about everything he is doing or everything we are doing?”

“Both,” I answered honestly. “He just wants recognition and I can’t exactly fault him for that. I feel like he would make a great ally and we need to focus on trying to get him to consider that.”

Ryker stared at me as if I had grown three heads. His mouth was wide and he had to remind himself to close it after a split second. He walked around the bed until he was standing next to me and made me sit on the bed. He stood between my legs and softly stroked my hair. He slowly cupped my cheek and made me look up at him.

“I love you,” he began slowly, “but you cannot tell me that you believe that he will become your ally when you represent every single thing he wants but cannot have.”

“He could have killed me but he didn’t.”

“Look, I know you don’t agree with me but-”

“There are no buts, you are about to enter a war, Camilla. It might not be the kind of war you are expecting but when the people find out that there is another potential heir, loyalties will be tested. You cannot think like this right now. You need to look out for yourself and the best interests of this palace.”

I didn’t agree with him but I knew that there was no use arguing so I simply nodded. Ryker narrowed his eyes as if he knew I just agreed for the sake of peace. He took a step back and instead of waiting for him to say anything, I picked up the journal and pretended to read. There was too much on my mind for me to actually enjoy the words on the page but I was willing to pretend if it meant that he didn’t speak on the matter again and thankfully, he didn’t.

The next morning, things were a little awkward on my end. Ryker didn’t bring up the conversation but I couldn’t help but think about it. Despite knowing that his hideout had been compromised, I subconsciously waited for a page to appear at the palace doors but nothing came. I was both relieved and worried. It had served as some sort of countdown and now that it was gone, it felt like something even worse was going to happen.

The first thing I did once I was able to get away from my children was train. I hadn’t trained my powers since my mother died. A part of me felt stupid for not using them in the fire. I felt like I couldn’t rely on it and it scared me. If it were left to me, I would have avoided the training for longer but everyone was worried about the threat that Frederick/posed and as it stood, I was the only royal with powers. They were all counting

on me.

Ryker somehow knew that I was dreading training and he stayed by the sidelines watching and cheering me on. Using my powers felt like second nature but I still could not shake the underlying nature that when push came to shove- it would fail me. The instructor- a middle aged man by the name of Lois kept telling me that I would get to a point of mastery where I would be able to create water from moisture or air but I couldn’t believe that. I didn’t believe I would be able to learn it in time for it to

matter.

After training, I felt drained both physically and mentally but I couldn’t rest. I was dragged into another meeting with the elders. I made up my mind that it was going to be the last meeting I had with them concerning this matter. They were more of a hinderance than a help but as far as I

knew, they were the only ones who could tell us where to get information on Eva.

They were waiting for us as soon as we got into the room and I didn’t waste any time before speaking.

“Does anyone know a maid by the name of Eva? She was my mother’s servant.” They were all silent but I saw a flicker of recognition go through all of them. “What I don’t understand is why you knew she was f**king my father and did not see fit to tell me.”

“It was never confirmed,” I heard someone mumble and from the death glare that Ryker shot him, he went quiet.

“You could have saved us hours and days of searching if you had simply told us,” he growled running his hand through his hair. He was more frustrated than I was which said a lot.

“Who would be the best person to go for information on her?” I asked. “There has to be someone in the palace that she considered a friend or family who might be willing to share information about her or Frederick.”

“She was a loner,” the elders spoke. “The only person she was truly friends with was your mother. It was the Queen who requested for her to take a year off and gave her job back to her the moment she returned.”

That was not what I was expecting because I sat up immediately. “Are you saying that my mother knew about Frederick? Could she have known that he was my father’s son?”

“Only the Queen can answer that.”

I couldn’t form words. I waved my hands to dismiss them and I heard rather than saw them leave. I felt like I was in a daze. If my mother knew about Frederick then why did she not do anything? Why didn’t she bring him into the palace or ensure that he would never be a problem? Why didn’t she tell me?

“Camilla,” Ryker’s voice was like an anchor keeping me rooted in reality. “Baby, you will make yourself sick if you think about this. Your mother had her ways of doing things and we might never understand them but we have to trust her.”

“I don’t know what or who to trust anymore,” I whispered and he sighed. “I need some air.”

I stood to my feet and began to make my way outside. I could hear Ryker following me and it filled me with a sense of relief because I knew he

would keep me safe no matter what. I was going past the front door when I heard some noise. I was going to ignore it until I heard the word Queen so I took a quick detour and walked over.

“Is everything alright?” I asked and the guards there instinctively parted to reveal a young shaggy looking man. He was in pants too big for him and a d*rty shirt.

“He was insisting that he needed to see the Queen,” I heard someone say.

The man reached into their pockets and all the guards took out their weapons. The man looked frightened and opened his hand to reveal a scrunched–up piece of paper. “I don’t mean any harm; I was told to give this directly to the Queen. There was some guy. I swear I didn’t even read, it.”

“It’s alright.” I assured him as I took the paper from him,

As soon as I did so, he rushed off like he couldn’t bear to be there for another second. I watched him disappear then quickly turned my attention to the letter. Once I read it, I balled it up and turned on my heels. I didn’t want the guards catching a glimpse of my expression or the potential contents. I waited until Ryker and I were in the private garden before I handed it to him.

“What does it say?” he asked as he hesitantly took it from me. “Is it from Frederick?”

“It is,” I couldn’t look at him as I spoke. “He is giving us two days to make a decision before he takes his first course of action.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The only thing we can do- prepare for an attack.