28. Chapter 26 Camus

Chapter twenty-eight

Chapter 26: Camus

I wrap the towel around my waist, and head toward the door. As my hand touches the door knob I glance over my shoulder to make sure Arden is covered before I open it and expose her to the entire castle.

My grandmother is waiting on the other side with Ursa and her minions in tow. Her eyes fall to my bare chest, and she frowns.

"You're injured."

"I got into a fight with an actaeon. I'll live."

Grandmother clicks her tongue as her gaze settles on Arden. "And you. You're injured as well?"

"It's just a flesh wound," Arden says and snorts quietly to herself.

"But you're well enough to cook?"

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" I protest. "She's minimizing. An arrow went through her arm. It missed the bone, but the muscles are damaged. She needs rest since she cannot be healed!"

"And what's your excuse for not allowing Sterling to heal you ?" Grandmother stares at me, waiting for an answer which I refuse to provide. After tense seconds she accepts that I'm not going to tell her and continues, "We have a schedule to keep, Camus. I won't tolerate your schemes to delay it."

"It wasn't a scheme. She got shot!"

"Protecting the beast that hurt you ! A beast that will be put on trial for attacking a royal."

"What!?" Arden shouts and stomps toward the door. "It was an argument that got out of hand."

"Silence! You're on thin ice as it is. Killing a guardian of the forest, overstepping your bounds. I should disqualify you on that alone. But since I didn't explicitly say you could not hunt for your ingredients, I don't have a leg to stand on. But insubordination will not be tolerated."

I interject, "You can't put the beast on trial. That's too harsh of a punishment, Grandmother. I overreacted to the actaeon showing her kindness."

"Overreaction or not, I will not tolerate the subjects of this kingdom harming my heirs. Now get dressed so we can discuss this properly."

Ursa hands Arden a dress, and the girl assigned to Arden's handling steps into the room. Arden scowls at her.

"I have to fix your make up," the girl explains with a frown.

"She doesn't need it. Get out," I command.

Arden puts her hand gently on my forearm. I know I'm losing control, but her being injured is pressing on a nerve. I'm desperate to ensure it doesn't happen again, and the stakes of this training are already so high.

"Prince Cam-" Ursa starts.

"I said 'no'. She's been through hell today, and she doesn't need it. We'll get her dressed and meet you...where? In the throne room? Say fifteen minutes?"

"She'll lose points for that," Ursa warns.

"And she'll gain them right back during this stupid challenge you have set for her. Now let us get dressed."

I shove the makeup girl out of the room and slam the door in their faces, panting and grasping to the last shred of self control I have. The sound of footsteps receding down the hallway echoes back to us.

"I don't think you should come with me to talk to your grandmother," Arden whispers.

"I'm not letting you go in there alone!" I snap back at her.

"You're not doing any of us any favors behaving this way. You've just shown a large portion of our hand because you can't keep your temper in check."

I stare at her incredulously. "You wanted me to just stand by and let her speak to you that way? I had to at least try to advocate for you. How are you supposed to accomplish anything with your arm like that? You couldn't even undress yourself!"

"But we agreed we were going to play it cool, and not let on how much you care for me." Her gaze is soft and sad as she approaches me. "I appreciate you standing up for me, but I survived two months with Zorvan tearing me down and batting against me at every turn. I can handle your grandmother. And if I need your assistance I'll let you know."

I pull her flush against me, and stare down into her blue eyes that threaten to swallow me whole. "The truth is that when Ursa told me that you'd failed to return from the woods—if I had lost you—I know that..." No matter how many different ways I start the sentence, none of them feels right.

"Why are you being weird?" Arden asks with a laugh.

I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. "I don't know how to keep my cool when it comes to your safety. It occurred to me while you were 'missing' that my grandmother might have hired someone to dispose of you. I was going to give it until sunset and then I was going to come and find you because I will not lose you.

"Regardless of how all of this plays out, we're getting you out of Solardin. It's abundantly clear that you are not safe here. If I had lost you today, I would have eviscerated every fae in this kingdom until I was sure the one responsible had perished. And then I would have ended my own life. Because a life without you is not a life worth living."

"Camus..." her tone is warning.

I press my finger to her lips as she tries to interrupt me. I need to get the words out before I allow my fear of rejection to consume me.

"I love you, Arden."

Her mouth falls open and she stares at me before saying, "I...don't know what to say."

A look of anguish flashes across her face, but then she schools her features. She's always holding back a piece of herself that she doesn't want me to see.

"You don't have to say anything. I know this started as some desperate grab at power for me, and that I stole a proper mating from you. And for that I am sorry. But I will not apologize for making you mine. My only regret is that my choices may have irreparably damaged your ability to love me back.

"I just hope that someday you might give all of yourself to me, and not just the parts I've forcibly taken."

She drops her gaze to the floor, and I can hear her heart pounding in her chest, though I'm not sure what's causing the palpitations. For a second I think that maybe—just maybe—

"We should get dressed," she whispers and pulls away.

My heart cracks, ready to shatter in my chest. I let her go, and watch on as she scoops up the dress that Ursa provided, from the settee, and lays it out on the bed, preparing to go see my grandmother.

Ten minutes later we're approaching the throne room. I raise my hand to knock on the door, but pause and glance down at Arden.

"Are you ready?"

"Let's just get this over with."

I knock twice and open the door. She's expecting me, but because it's not during typical throne room hours, it's required that I announce myself before entering for safety purposes.

Grandmother sits on her throne, and her icy blue eyes follow us as we walk toward her. Two of her guards are present—not that they're any more powerful than her of course. She only has them there for decoration. Ursa, her girls, Solina, and Dira are seated around the room. They all hush as we approach.

Out a window to my right, the sun is beginning to set. The days are short this time of year, and Arden was out in those woods for hours. It's well past dinner time.

"If I may?" I ask, knowing that Grandmother never likes to make the first move. I'll give into her eccentricities if it gains me a tiny amount of good-will.

She nods, granting me permission to speak.

Arden interrupts me, "I would like to be docked points rather than have Phinestros put on trial."

"Arden!" I snap.

"This was my mistake. Not yours, and not his, Camus. Please. Let me fix it."

"I was the one who hurt him!" I protest, trying to get her to see reason.

Grandmother narrows her eyes at me then her gaze shifts to Arden. "You know what's at stake here, don't you? My grandson has not sugarcoated anything?"

"My life is at stake, yes. Camus is always truthful with me."

"Don't let her do this—" I start.

"Enough," Grandmother says, her voice calm. Her gaze is piercing, as if she's trying to figure Arden out. Finally she cocks her head slightly to the right and says, "I'll make a deal with you—"

"The fuck you will," I say.

"Interrupt one more time, and I'll disqualify her on principal. This is between me and Arden."

"I've got this," Arden insists. "What's the deal?"

Helplessness settles in. Arden is just as stubborn as Grandmother is, and I'm stuck between the two of them.

"You will not just be cooking for Camus, you will also be preparing a meal for me. I was hesitant in the beginning to have him be your target because he clearly cannot be objective when it comes to you." Her scathing gaze settles on me. "We won't do it tonight. I've already eaten. We will do it tomorrow. Your heart will keep in the cold box until tomorrow.

"You should know ahead of time that the heart is my favorite of the muscles to consume. In fact, it is a rare treat that I've been gifted Guardian heart to eat. Once it is prepared, you must dine with me and my entire family without causing issue. If you can prepare a meal that impresses me as much as your selflessness does, then you will automatically gain seventy five points, and I will not put that beast on trial."

"What's the catch?" Arden asks.

"Yes, Grandmother, do enlighten us."

"If you fail, I will deduct one hundred and fifty points, putting you in the negative. And the actaeon will be put on trial; his sentence will be death. And I should warn you that the people of this kingdom almost always come back with a guilty verdict if a life is on the line. They're bloodthirsty, as is our nature."

"And how do I know that you will remain objective, Your Majesty," Arden asks, keeping a neutral tone. "Setting me back the number of points required to succeed is certain death for me."

"My family will be there to keep me in check. We'll set it to a vote. They will be compelled to speak truthfully."

"Using truth serum?"

"We have no use for that, here. One of our seers is an empath. He's able to tell when people are lying so long as he's ingested their blood."

Arden glances at me for reassurance, and I nod. "He's not well liked by myself and my cousins. He was always ratting on us when we were children."

Arden smirks, and sucks in a deep breath. "One more stipulation."

"I'm open to one last negotiation, and then I'm taking the deal off the table," Grandmother says, her patience ready to snap.

"If I fail tomorrow, you give me one more challenge than you normally give the girls to allow me to make up for it. Phinestros will still go on trial, but I need an extra credit assignment if I have any hopes of completing this thing."

"I suppose that's fair," Grandmother says. "Do we have a deal?"

Arden steps forward and extends her hand toward my grandmother. A knot forms in my gut. Linking herself to my grandmother could be the end of her. I wait with bated breath, but Grandmother doesn't take Arden's hand, and Arden frowns.

"We do not need to make a formal deal, my dear. We have witnesses, and you have no choice but to hold up your end of the bargain."

"I've never known you to turn down a deal, Grandmother."

"There's a first time for everything, dear. Now please escort these ladies back to the dungeons."

"Arden is staying with me tonight."

"That was not—"

"If she goes back down to those cells, she will get an infection and die. She'll be staying with me at least until she is healed."

"What about me?" Dira asks as Grandmother scowls at me.

"It would seem that Gormon couldn't be bothered, once again, to show up, and you are not injured. You will be sent back to the dungeons. Ursa, have one of your girls take her."

"This isn't fair!" Mandira protests. "Why does she get special treatment?"

"I also have far more on the line than you do," Arden snaps. "You're not at risk of being fucking beheaded in front of the entire kingdom."

"Two points for swearing," Ursa mutters to Arden's shadow.

"Let the girl keep her points, Ursa. She's going to need them. And a fucking beheading is something I would swear about too."

I eye my grandmother suspiciously. She's being too nice to Arden which means she has something awful up her sleeve. I need to figure out a way to get Arden out of Solardin, and I need to do it now.