Chapter 54 Camilla
CAMILLA
Aloud horn signaled that the old, half-cracked trading ship we had snuck on had docked at Goldpass.
Elianna, Vincent, and I were completely disguised beneath a cloaking spell, merging into the crowd as we hit the dock.
Several ships clung to the moorings, all old and decades past the point of when they should have been retired.
The newer, fancier ones were on the other side of the river that split the city, running through it like a highway.
People bustled around us, shopkeepers calling to the passersby, advertising their wares and deals.
I dropped my cloaking spell as we continued to make our way to the heart of the city.
“I need to pee,” Elianna said, standing on her tiptoes. “Where is the closest bathroom?”
“Are you serious? How would we fucking know? Can’t you figure anything out for yourself?” Vincent said, caustic sarcasm dripping from his words.
“Must you always be a brute?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Must you always be spoiled?”
“Fine! I’ll find it myself,” Elianna huffed imperiously. She tossed her long red hair, purposely hitting him in the face. He growled and spat the ends out of his mouth, batting the strands away.
I shook my head at their antics. They had gotten along somewhat better, but bickering seemed to be their common language.
Elianna stalked toward a shopping center, weaving through the crowd, deftly avoiding the pickpockets and grifters.
“Are you afraid someone will recognize her since everyone is looking for us?”
Vincent shook his head. “No. We’re so far north that they won’t look for us here. It’s too close to The Eye.”
Well, that probably explained why Goldpass looked so clean and healthy, the people happy and content.
So many wore jewels and finer clothes that I would have sworn we’d been transported to the wealthiest city in all the realms. Which, to be fair, may be the case.
It was one of the largest trading ports, with hundreds of people passing through here every day, coming from far and wide.
The streets were cobblestone, laid out in an intricate, beautiful pattern without a stone cracked or out of place.
The buildings reached for the sky, paying homage to the young sun.
Its beams reflected from the windows, scattering an array of shimmering colors over the people below.
A fountain the size of a small shop graced what must have been the town square.
People sat around it at small tables, eating delicious-smelling food, while lovers strolled hand in hand, and families bustled in and out of shops.
If we’d arrived here first, I would never have expected the rest of the realms to be in such complete and utter chaos.
Perhaps that was the point. People were very good at hiding from truths that didn’t directly affect them.
It was so much easier than facing and fighting the atrocities others endured.
My stomach turned. To have no empathy at all seemed like a curse in itself.
“What is The Eye, anyway?” I asked, looking at Vincent. He ran a hand over the stray hair that had fallen into his face, still unused to the shorter style.
“That, I don’t know,” he said, watching the crowd as we waited for Elianna. “I mean, I knew of the rebels, but I never met any of them, and any from Nismera’s ranks that did ended up dead.”
My brows shot up. “Okay, well, I guess that makes sense.”
He suddenly focused on me, and my pulse jumped beneath all that intensity. “How are you feeling? Magic-wise, I mean. Any more strange dreams? You haven’t seemed like it, and I’ve watched you as you slept.”
“You’ve watched me sleep?” I asked with a snort of amusement.
I’d never known Vincent to blush, but pink stained his cheeks as what he’d said clicked.
“Well … I …” He swallowed. “Yeah. I mean, I wanted to make sure you were okay. Is that weird?”
My heart swelled. He had been so protective of me, and I wondered when his presence started to feel like a shelter to me.
I stepped forward, his breath catching as I rose on my toes and kissed him.
It was the first time since the palace that I had initiated this kind of contact between us, and Vincent froze.
Sure, he had kissed me in the sewers after we escaped the armada, but this wasn’t passion hidden behind closed doors.
It was pure, raw intimacy, a claiming between us.
Vincent eagerly accepted as if he’d been dying to do this for days.
His lips met mine, and his fingers curled into my hair at the back of my head.
I moaned into his mouth as he deepened the kiss, and I realized just how badly I needed him.
Maybe we could ditch Elianna and take care of this heat between us.
“Really? Again?” Elianna huffed, her voice like a bucket of cold water thrown on us.
We pulled apart, and I whimpered softly. Vincent’s jaw ticked, and he rolled his eyes. “That was a very quick bathroom break.”
Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she raised her hands, waving toward us. “I mean this with all due disrespect, but ew.”
I scoffed and started to laugh. Vincent opened his mouth to no doubt retort, but then we both went silent.
We felt it before we saw it. Elianna’s body jerked forward, her eyes widening as blood pooled in her mouth before bubbling from her lips.
She stared at us in horror, and then her eyes glazed over as her heart was ripped from her chest. Her body crumpled limply to the ground before bursting into a bright blue light that soared into the sky.
The courtyard broke out in screams as people fled, but my eyes remained locked on Dianna in all her dark glory.
She stood there, staring at Elianna’s heart resting on her blood-covered palm.
Her eyes flicked up, and she glared at us through her lashes. “You know, I always wondered if she had one.” She shrugged and tossed the fleshy mass to the ground. “Guess we know now.”
Terror ripped through my veins, but not for me. I hadn’t even realized I’d stepped in front of Vincent until cold rage flared in her eyes.
“I will say.” She stepped forward, eyeing the two of us in disgust. “Elianna was right. Ew.”