8. Chapter 8
Camille
Irubbed my eyes as I tried to focus on the room around me.
My vision was unfocused and blurred. I assumed that we must have finally made it to Jovalia.
I appeared to still be on the ship. I was alone and my head was fuzzy from the drugs.
Traveling had become my least favorite part of the journey.
I hated that I always missed planning and was consistently out of the loop during our travels.
I propped myself up trying to steady myself.
My head remained disoriented from the serum.
I sat up slowly, trying my best not to fall back over or even worse, throw up, when I noticed a handwritten note on the table next to me.
I fumbled the note with my uncoordinated fingers and sighed in frustration as I read it.
Camille,
I had to step out to handle some issues upon arrival that just couldn’t wait until you woke. I’m sorry you had to wake alone. Please use the clothes I left on the end of the bed and Jade will accompany you when you are ready.
With love,
Jerrod
I wondered what could have possibly been so important, considering we weren’t even expected to be visiting.
Were there issues on our travels?
Had new information been given to us while I had been out?
After waiting several more minutes for the dizziness to wear off, I quickly put on the clothes that had been left for me and threw my long hair into a loose braid. I made my way out to the entrance of the ship, legs still a little wobbly, and saw Jade patiently waiting for me.
“Sister, you are awake at last!” Jade said excitedly.
“Jade, you can call me Camille like everyone else, you know?” I laughed. “But yes, I am awake finally. I definitely wish I didn’t have to be sedated every time we moved around.”
“I apologize, it is a hard habit to break,” she smiled with an embarrassed grin. “But, I will try my hardest… if it makes you… uh… uncomfortable.”
“Not uncomfortable, I just would like to think we are far past pleasantries,” I admitted with a sigh. I really hadn't meant to make her feel bad about her keeping everything so formal.
“I would agree… but it is just a respect gesture on Salioes. We are… friends,” she said awkwardly.
“Good! Then it’s settled!" I said trying to lighten the tone of the room. "So, where did Jerrod go off to?”
“I will take you to him now,” she said hesitantly.
“Is something wrong?” I asked her with a raised brow.
“No, nothing at all,” she said dismissively.
I found it odd that she was acting so strange about the question. I didn’t say anything else and followed closely behind her.
We walked out of the ship and my eyes were in literal awe. It looked like the entire world was made out of metal! The entirety of my vision was swept up by the metallic sheen and I let out a soft ‘ooohhhh’ as I took the view in front of me in.
“Welcome to Jovalia,” Jade smiled, as she regarded the look on my face. “It is quite an interesting place, is it not? Most people react the same way coming here for the first time.”
“I can imagine! It almost doesn’t look real!” I admitted, still in utter shock.
“Wait until you see the people,” she winked with a smirk.
I continued to follow behind Jade, taking in all of the scenery.
The unusual trees swayed in the breeze and I could hear a light clinking sound as the leaves around us clicked together.
There was a small pond in the distance and it looked as though someone had dumped quicksilver into the water.
The sight was extraordinary and as much as I hated that I had been tasked with such an impossible job of saving my world, I found myself thankful for the experiences.
Had I not been the "Chosen One", I never would have known this beautiful world even existed.
I understood instantly what Jade had meant by the people! They too, had a metallic look to them. Their white skin had a kaleidoscopic shine to it that reminded me of opals. When I thought of aliens, these people fit my preconceived notions perfectly.
They had no hair and their eyes, with prismatic irises, were far too big for their faces.
Their noses were similar to that of a human baby, like tiny little buttons and their small lips were a pale shade of blue.
I wondered how they could tell each other apart because they all seemed to carry such similar features.
The people around the area eyed us in curiosity as we quickly passed by. I could hear murmured voices around us as we made our way into a castle that was close by the ship. A Jovalian individual greeted us at the door and I instantly understood the language that they were speaking in.
The high pitched voice startled me initially and the sound was very unpleasant to my ears, “Welcome, I will show you to The King.”
They ushered us through the hallway to a set of double doors.
I could hear voices inside. As the door opened, I could see Jerrod standing close.
His eyes collided with mine and I felt a momentary sense of calm.
But, that calm ended really quickly, as the door swung open the rest of the way and standing closely next to Jerrod, was Josiah.
Alive.
Completely unharmed and alive.
Our gazes met and I felt like I had just been hit by a freight train. My eyes instantly went from calm, to surprised horror. I could feel the panic rising in my blood. The anxiety coursed through my veins. My entire body went rigid.
I wasn’t ready to face what I had done. I wasn’t ready to accept that I had picked Jerrod instead of Josiah. I had meant to kill him when that bond had severed. I had selfishly given in to my own wants and disregarded all of his.
I was fucking disgusting.
I saw Josiah’s body language instantly change as he saw me.
I could see he was about to move toward me as he noted the look on my face, recognizably registering the alarm written all over me.
I looked between him and Jerrod, my eyes darting back and forth erratically.
I wasn’t sure what to communicate here. I wasn’t sure what I needed in the moment.
Josiah took a step forward and Jerrod threw up his hand into his chest.
“Don’t,” Jerrod said sternly.
“She is my mate!” Josiah snarled back at him.
“She was,” Jerrod clarified softly.
“What the fuck is your problem, Brother?” he asked, clearly furious.
But he didn’t need an answer. I could see it all unfold as the wheels had begun to turn in his head.
I watched in trepidation as he put all of the pieces together with that sharp intellect of his, watching him look back and forth between Jerrod and then me.
He stumbled back from Jerrod’s hand. The hurt on his face was stifling.
My chest suddenly felt like it was caving in.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me right now! So this is how you managed to break the bond?” he accused, as he flailed his hands between Jerrod and me, the pain was etched all over his face now.
“I… I um… Jesus I… Listen, Josiah I…” I stammered, trying to make a coherent thought come out of my mouth, which was clearly not going to happen.
“You were killing her,” Jerrod said matter-of-factly, his tone low. “You may not have noticed what the bond was doing on your end, but she would have died if action was not taken.”
“So you bound to her? She is mine!” Josiah screamed.
“Again, she was,” Jerrod said calmly, but I could feel the anger rising in him very quickly as it pulsed through the bond.
The tears rimmed my eyes as I watched the two of them going back and forth. My breaths were coming in short and panicked. I could feel my face starting to prickle as the breaths came faster. I was gasping in short puffs of air. My stomach began to roil as the sweat began to bead on my forehead.
What better way to stop a fight, then to pass out in front of everyone, I thought to myself.
Before I got to that point, Jerrod was moving toward me, the argument with Josiah completely forgotten to him.
“Camille, I need you to breathe, you’re going to pass out. Look at me,” he commanded softly, as he took my face into his hands. “Just breathe.”
“Oh, you have got to be fucking shitting me!” Josiah shrieked. “So, you didn’t just do this to save her life!”
“SHE IS MINE!” Jerrod growled, quickly losing his temper.
I looked over at Josiah and the tears spilled over, “I’m so sorry, Josiah. We tried. We didn’t think we could save you.”
He scoffed, “So you decided to bond to my brother? But, I was already dead anyway, right?”
I didn’t even have a chance to fully comprehend what he had said to everyone, before everything in the room exploded into pieces.