Chapter 34 Chapter 34
LENORE
A sudden clattering noise jolted me awake, and I quickly glanced around the room with wide eyes before realizing it had come from the room’s automatic shutters going down. Fabien had told me they always went down at sunrise and went back up at sunset.
I sucked in a breath. Cameron.
I’d barely slept through the night. My thoughts had been haunted by what could have happened to him, and none of them had been good because Killian had rendered him defenseless before separating us. To say I was worried about him and pissed at Killian would be an understatement.
What if the King killed him? popped into my mind for the nth time since last night and I shook my head sideways before pushing myself off the couch. I began to head toward the door, but my steps faltered as I remembered the guards Killian had placed outside the suite’s main door to prevent me from leaving.
He and this city were infuriating.
I understood he was trying to keep me safe, but how could I just sit here when my brother was in trouble. If the King—hopefully—hadn’t done anything to him, he was going to make him participate in the stupid tournament, and I didn’t want that to happen. I couldn’t let that happen.
But what could I even do?
Tears gathered in my eyes and as I furiously blinked them back, but that didn’t stop them from escaping. The thought of asking Killian to help me fix it came to mind and I let it linger for a moment before dismissing it. The tournament was his father’s plan and he was his father’s son. Why would he go against him just because he was attracted to me? Again, what was I even doing with him? He was the vampire prince!
As I wiped away my tears, sniffling, a knock came on the door and was immediately followed by a, “Good morning, my lady.”
It was the maid that had been bringing me food since I moved to the first prince’s palace. When she began to push the door open, I quickly turned and walked back to the couch, wiping my face as I sat down.
“I brought breakfast,” she said, and I glanced over to see her wheeling a serving cart into the room.
“I’m not hungry,” I muttered, looking away while she paused.
“...Are you okay, my lady?”
“I’m fine.”
Several moments passed without her saying anything else. Then she resumed pushing the serving cart, stopping it next to the couch I was on. “I’ll leave this here. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Anything except for my brother, of course.
“I need a phone,” I said when she began to wheel away the untouched serving cart she’d brought last night.
I didn’t know if Cameron had his phone with him. I didn’t even know his number, but I knew William’s, so I should call him. I needed to know if he had heard from Cameron and if he hadn’t…
My stomach churned, and I swallowed.
If he hadn’t, I’d tell him what had happened. I’d also tell him the true purpose of the tournament since they must have heard of it from other packs.
“Noted, my lady,” the maid said before leaving the room.
I leaned back in my seat, heaving a sigh. Not more than a minute had passed since she shut the door behind herself when someone knocked again, and my gaze jerked in the direction of the door
Killian was the only person I figured it could be, so I scowled and turned away from the door as it was opened.
He hadn’t come back to the room last night. He’d sent a doctor to check on me, and he’d placed guards at the door to prevent me from leaving, but he hadn’t come to see me. I didn’t even think he’d been in his study.
“Lenore?” It was a woman’s voice.
My brows snapped together, and I glanced over my shoulder to see a dark-haired woman standing in the doorway. “Uh…”
“Hi.” She gave me a small smile and a wave. “I’m Calley.”
I still stared at her with furrowed brows, but I couldn’t help notice she kinda looked like—
“I’m Fabien’s sister and your bodyguard,” she added, and I muttered an oh before my frown deepened at the last part of her sentence.
“Bodyguard?”
“Courtesy of His Highness.”
Oh… My lips twitched into a small smile as it dawned on me that he must have assigned her to me because of the rogue attack yesterday… Or he just wants someone to always have their eyes on me.
The smile slipped off, and I bit back a groan. I hated feeling like this—helpless and confused.
I rested my head against my fist while she walked into the room with a bag in her hand. “...And where’s Killian?”
“He left the city,” she answered, coming to a stop next to me, and I jerked my attention back to her.
“What?!”
“He had something to take care of,” she quickly added, eyes wide at my reaction.
“He just left me here!”
I couldn’t believe it. He left me—not just in the palace, but in the fucking city—without telling me. Was it because I hit him last night?
“Uh…” She reached into the bag she was holding and pulled out a rectangular box. It was a phone. “He asked me to give you this,” she said while I quickly collected it from her, removing the device from it. “His number’s already on it. Mine and Fabien too.”
Tightening my grip on the phone, I asked, “When’s he coming back?”
“Hopefully before noon was what he said. He’ll definitely be back today though”
According to the phone, it was currently 6:25 AM. “...Okay.”
She flashed me a smile. “I’ll be in the study if you need me.” Then she turned and began to head for the door.
“Wait,” I called, and she paused, turning to face me once more. “Do you… Do you know where my brother is?”
“He’s in a room on the fourth floor of the main palace. He had dinner with the King last night, but he didn’t eat anything and just kept asking for you. He tried to make a deal with the King, so you would be able to leave the city, but the King wasn’t interested. The King has also confined him to his room for the meantime, so he can’t go out or receive visitors. Apart from that, he’s fine,” she stated everything like she’d been waiting for me to ask. Then she gestured at the phone. “His number is also on it.”
“I—” I took a deep breath to reorient myself around the relief flooding through me. “…Thank you, Calley.”
She smiled again before leaving the room, and I didn’t hesitate to call Cameron.. He answered on the second ring.
“Lenore?” he asked before I could say anything, and I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching into a small smile.
“Are you okay?”
He sucked in a breath the moment I spoke. “Are you okay?”
“You shouldn’t have… You shouldn’t have come here, Cameron.” I was fine before he did. The King hadn’t just given me to Killian to punish my father, it was also because I was useless to his tournament. Cameron was not useless to his tournament, and was now in imminent danger.
“I’m fine, Lenore. Where are you?”
“Killi—” I snapped my mouth shut and cleared my throat. “The first prince’s palace.”
Cameron didn’t say anything after that, and I just knew he was confused about what was going on between me and Killian. I didn’t say anything either because how was I going to explain that the vampire prince and I were intensely attracted to each other all of a sudden? I’d only been here for five days!
After a while, Cameron cleared his throat, and finally spoke again, “There are guards at my door, and the palace is being heavily patrolled, so leaving won’t be possible right now.”
“I know.”
“I’ll get you out of here though. I’ll definitely do that.”
I honestly couldn’t imagine how he was going to pull that off, so I didn’t comment on it. “I’m more worried about you,” I muttered, gripping the hem of my shirt, and he snorted.
“Don’t be. I… I’ll see you soon, little sister.”
An odd warmth instantly bloomed in my chest, then curled there, making my eyes water and my bottom lip quiver. As I wiped away my tears when they began to fall, I remembered that just a couple of days ago, I’d thought I was all alone.
I was glad I’d been wrong.
“Okay, Cameron.”