Chapter 72

RYKER’S P.O.V

We spent the next two days preparing for a potential attack. The guards were prepped and ready and border patrol was tightened. We knew that Frederick was within the borders but if he had an army, there was no way they were going to cross our territory. I wasn’t worried as worried about the war as I should have been because most of my energy was spent worrying about Camilla.

Ever since our last conversation about Frederick, I noticed that she has been more sympathetic to his plight. Her kindness was one of the things I loved most about her but Camilla needed to learn that it was not needed in every situation. She was under the delusion that Frederick would change his mind but I had fought enough wars and seen enough of them to know that Frederick was not going to stop until he got what he needed and he was going to damn everyone else to do so.

At the end of the two days, the tension in the palace could be felt. Not everyone knew the situation but everyone knew that something terrible was going to happen. Even Aurora was extra frolicky and I could see that Camilla was at her wits end trying to navigate everything which was why I took the child from her and handed her over to Christine who was more than happy to have an excuse to stay away from her duties.

“What if he was just bluffing and he isn’t going to attack?” Camilla asked as we were walking out of a meeting with the head generals. “If he was going to, don’t you think he would have by now?”

“It is a battle strategy,” I tried to explain it as calmly as possible. “He wants to keep us on edge and make us wait because he thinks it will make us sloppy,”

It was clear she didn’t like my response because she frowned. “Do you really think that he is incapable of change?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking. Power can be a dangerous thing, Camilla, you have not seen what the want for power had done to people and to families.”

She sighed and dropped the conversation even though it was clear she didn’t

want to. We went off with the rest of the day in silence and I could feel a visible distance between us over it. I hated it but there was nothing I could do about it. I knew better than anyone else how stubborn Camilla

could be when she wanted to and I knew that unless she saw with her own eyes that Frederick wasn’t going to change then she would continue to believe in him.

It also didn’t help that Frederick didn’t attack. Camilla was relieved thinking that it was a testament to her faith in him but I knew otherwise. That threat wasn’t a mere threat, he had every intention to attack and I knew that he must have done something that was small enough that it went unnoticed but I knew that we would see the repercussions soon.

While Camilla went for dinner with the children, I managed to hold a very quick discussion with the generals. I could tell that even they were confused at the absence of an attack.

“I am going to make this as quick as possible,” I said as soon as I walked into the council room. “Send out some of your best men to make sure that everything is fine in the pack. I don’t believe that Frederick had a change of heart and decided to stand down.copy right hot novel pub