CAMILLA''S POV


    It was exactly forty-five minutes before someone came to find me. I would have expected it to be either Christine or


    Ryker but it was Juan who walked into the private living room. I had opted against going to the bedroom because I


    knew that would have been the first ce anyone checked. Juan took the seat next to me but didn’t say a word, he


    just ced his legs up on the center table and leaned back.


    I watched him for five minutes before speaking. “The silent treatment doesn’t work on me. It isn’t going to make me


    miraculously start speaking.”


    “And yet, here you are, speaking to me,” he drawled and I rolled my eyes. “I figured you could use somepany.


    Ryker asked to give you space but that word doesn’t exist in my vocabry.”


    I snorted. I was still exhausted from what happened at the river but I was slowly getting my energy back. Just


    because I didn''t keep all of the negative emotions didn’t mean I wasn''t feeling the effects of them. If you are not


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    for free. It was too much for me to handle and with the knowledge that I didn’t know what was happening with Reina


    I felt like I was going mad.


    “We had an idea,” he said suddenly. “We are going to take the dagger and lead Reina into where we want her. She wil


    follow it and once she is on our turf, we can defeat her once and for all.”


    “Is that smart? Taking the dagger out in public, I mean. It doesn’t seem like a very good idea. It is what she wants an


    we risk it falling into her hands.”


    “It is the best we have,” he shrugged. He looked like he wanted to say more but the door to the office opened and


    Audrey walked in. I was shocked to see her walking around the pce without anyone behind her.


    I rushed over to her and bent down until I was at eye level with her. I ran my hands over her trying to make sure


    there were no obvious injuries. “Are you okay? What are you doing out here?”


    “Dad and Uncle Damien are talking,” she said simply. “I closed my eyes and Aunt Riley thought I was sleeping. I


    wanted to make herugh but I saw them outside the door. She is worried about Uncle Damien and everyone is mad


    Is this because of the bad woman?”


    I gave her a small smile. “You don’t have to worry about anything, okay? You are fine, everything is fine. Dad and


    Uncle Damien are probably just having adult talk.”


    “Daddy seemed mad,” she whispered as if it were a secret. “He was waving his hands all around,” she waved hers for


    added effect. “His face got all red and Uncle Damien looked sad. Are they fighting?”


    I nced over at Juan over my shoulder who just shrugged. He had no idea what was going on either and I couldn''t


    ask him to check for me- he hated Damien. To him, this was the best thing that could ever happen. After a moment o


    hesitation, I picked up Audrey and bnced her on my hip before carrying her all the way to Damien and Riley''s


    room. To my utter surprise, she was right.


    They were arguing in hushed whispers that died down the moment they saw me. “l am d that you have situational


    awareness when I am present and not when a child walks in. She came here to find you all and met you arguing so


    badly that she had to find me.”


    They all had the decency to look guilty. I ced Audrey down and smoothed her hair with my hand.


    “Why don’t you go into the room and y with your dolls, hm? I will be in to see you very soon. I just need to have


    some adult talk right now.”N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    “Promise me no fighting.”


    I sighed. “I promise.”


    She held out her tiny finger. “You have to do the promise or it doesn’t count mummy.”


    With a small smile on my face, I hooked my finger with her and kissed her forehead. “I promise I will not fight with


    anyone unless it is absolutely necessary.”


    That definitely wasn''t what she wanted to hear but it was enough for her because the next minute, she skipped into


    the room. Once the door was shut behind her, I turned to the three adults.


    “Someone better have a good exnation for what the hell just happened here because you,” I gestured to Riley,


    “were supposed to be watching her. I get that it isn’t your job but you offered to help and if at any point it got too


    much for you, you could have told me.”


    “It didn’t get much. The issue here is that Ryker is using Damien of being a spy for the witch!” she eximed.


    Ryker pinched the bridge of his nose with obvious frustration. “I didn''t say he was a spy, he told me that he met


    Reina once while hunting. She was still Reina and not Peggy. She must have done something during that time


    because she had a doll that was connected to him. He got the second cut.”


    My eyes widened in shock and I turned to Damien. “Why didn’t you tell us about this?”


    “I didn’t think it was important. It was a cut for fucks sake. I didn’t know any of this was going on. You have kept us


    both in the dark,” he pointed an usatory finger at us. “You chose not to include us in any discussions.”


    “It is a good thing we did because she would have found out from you.”


    That seemed to piss Riley off because her face got red and splotchy and she marched up to me. “He would have


    never sold you out. How dare you say that? What is this even about? Why are you all attacking him? Is this because o


    what happened with Christine?”


    I sighed. I knew it was going toe back to this. That was one of the reasons I hated the entire love triangle


    because it was now the basis for every interaction. It would always seem like we were choosing sides when in reality,


    there were no sides.


    “Nobody is talking about Christine, Riley,” I muttered in the calmest voice that I could. “Please leave her out of this


    and focus on what matters. Peggy was using Damien and now we are unsure if she has created another doll. She


    could be using you again.”


    Riley looked like she wanted to scream. I couldn''t me her, she was just trying to protect the man that she loved


    but she wasn’t seeing the bigger picture. If I was right, we could all be in danger. He wouldn''t willingly hurt us, I knew


    that, but Reina could make him and then, I didn''t think he would be able to control it.


    “Say something!” Riley screamed at Damien. “Why are you just standing there and watching them attack your


    character? Tell them that you would never.”


    “Riley,” his voice was deceptively soft. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “No one is attacking me. They know


    me better than I know myself. We have to be extra sure because I don''t want to be responsible for anyone getting


    hurt”


    “But you would never do that,” her voice cracked on thest word. “This isn’t fair. I know that someone put them up


    to this. How do we know that Reina isn’t controlling them?”


    “Riley,” I began but she held up a hand to stop me.


    “I''m done talking to the both of you. You made it clear what side you were on when you used him.”


    “You are being unreasonable,” I couldn''t keep the annoyance out of my voice. “No one threw usations except you.


    You are refusing to listen.”


    “Fine,” she shrugged. “I''m done. I''m not going to be your puppet or your baby sitter anymore. The moment things are


    safe, I am leaving”


    She stormed off before I could say another word. Damien looked embarrassed. He ran his hands down his face in


    exhaustion. “I''m sorry, guys. I''ll talk to her and get her to listen. I don’t know why she is being so emotional about


    this”


    He rushed off after her leaving Ryker and I in the hallway wondering what the hell had just happened. Riley never


    acted like that-ever. She was young and immature sometimes but she was smart as hell. She knew how to separate


    emotions from logic most times and she should have understood that no one was trying to attack Damien. Even


    Damien understood it so why didn’t she?


    Ryker whispered something in my ear before walking into the room to get Audrey. She was oblivious to everything


    that happened as we walked her back to her room. She just kept chattering on about all she wanted to do with Riley


    tomorrow and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she might not get the chance to spend time with Riley


    tomorrow. I settled her in her bed and sat cross legged on it facing her. She had a doll in her hands that upied he


    full attention.


    “What do you think about spending tomorrow with us?” I asked slowly and she looked up at me. “You can spend time


    with me and your dad. We could go out and do something fun.”


    “You''ll be busy tomorrow,” she shrugged and my brows furrowed.


    “What do you mean?”


    “You have to catch the mean woman.”


    I turned to Ryker in a silent question but he quickly shook his head. If he hadn''t told her about Reina then how did


    she know. Did she overhear us?


    “What mean woman, Audrey? Did you hear someone say something?” I asked and she shook her head. “What mean


    woman are you talking about?”


    “The one with the bad magic. We have good magic and she has bad magic. She ising tomorrow and you are


    going to be busy with her”


    “We?” I asked and she nodded. “Who is we?”


    “I can''t tell you,” she whispered. “She said I shouldn''t tell you.”


    I was even more confused now. “Who is she?”


    She rolled her eyes as if I were slow. “The goddess mummy, she said I shouldn''t tell you. It''s a secret and you''re to


    find out.” “Audrey,” I kept my voice soft which was the stark opposite of how I was feeling. “How do you know about


    this?”


    “I saw her in my dreams.”