“Now, Victoria, I want you to walk towards the door of the church. We’ll just head over to the castle and find Inspector Harrison.” Mikayla gestured slightly for Victoria to start moving. She took careful steps over Will as she followed Victoria into the darker part of the church. The door just steps away.
Victoria paused in front of the door. Her hand rested on the door handle. She breathed shallowly, waiting for Mikayla to be within striking distance, and flexed her fingers. As Mikayla got closer, Victoria whirled with an inhuman shriek, nails at the ready. She launched herself at Mikayla, a blur of blue in the darkness.
The flash of light and resounding boom that followed filled the cathedral, echoing back and forth even after the Crown Princess lay crumpled at Mikayla’s feet. A crimson flower blossomed on the belly of the perfect ice blue satin dress, spreading quickly, soaking the fabric.
The hand clutched the stone, another part of its deadly history as the fingers relaxed, allowing the Eye of the Wolf to fill the darkness, a predator claiming another victim.
Chapter 28
His hand was too dark of a contrast against the white blanket that was tucked in around him. His breathing was shallow but regular. His heart was slow but there. Lines of pain etched his handsome features as he fought his way through a nightmare. A nightmare where the good guys never finished first.
Mikayla traced the lines in his hands, soothing the clenching fist as it crushed her hand. He whimpered in his sleep and tossed from side to side, trying to break free of the evil that gripped him. She ran a cool hand over his feverish brow and murmured words of comfort until he settled again, his breathing regular, his heartbeat slower.
Through the window, she could see dawn just breaking over the blue waters of the Mediterranean. Gulls cried and wheeled in the brilliant blue sky, diving and feasting as the world continued on as it had for millions of years. The waves were gentle on the rocks below the window; all seemed peaceful despite the tragedies that had befallen the royal family of Amor.
Mikayla sighed and crossed the room to the window. She leaned against the cool glass and watched a solitary runner on the beach below. He splashed through the waves that rolled onto the sand and moved on, feeling at peace with a paradise that others would envy when he returned with stories of kings and queens, murder and mayhem.
She turned her head and looked at the sleeping figure in the bed. He seemed so small compared to the canopy of navy blue that dwarfed the bed and the royal seal above his head. A sea of midnight spread out from his sleeping form as monitors beeped next to him, reassuring through the night that although he hadn’t opened his eyes, he was still there, still fighting as he had fought that night, just one week before. His blond hair was a stark contrast against the blue ocean around him, mussed by sleep, reminding her of sun-filled ocean breezes and laughter.
Mikayla leaned against the wall and watched him sleep, wishing the world worked differently. Wishing her chartered flight wasn’t leaving that afternoon. Wishing he would open his eyes one time before she exited stage left. She sighed and rubbed a hand across eyes that hadn’t slept in a week as she had kept a silent vigil beside him, watching, waiting. Searching for some sign that he would be the same person. Hoping that when he did awaken, he wouldn’t blame her for the death of his sister.
A slow tear trailed down her cheek as images of that horrible night filled her memory. Maniacal laughter. The gleam of that mystical sapphire in the night. The deafening explosion of the pistol in her hand. The horrifying realization as Victoria slid bonelessly to the floor that she had pulled the trigger. The wonder that accompanied the knowledge that she had killed someone.
Mikayla shuddered as she remembered the sickening smell of ozone in the air and the sound of her own inhuman screams that had echoed through the cathedral. She had no idea how long she had screamed and cried, but someone had heard. Someone had come to find her standing over the body of the dead princess with a gun in her hand. Someone had gently led her from the scene and hidden her from the onslaught of the press.
Now, the world had returned to its own place. The press had abandoned Amor like a sinking ship. They would return once the Dauphin awakened to tell the whole story, but they had their headlines. She shook her head at the horrible headlines that had graced the covers of the world’s newspapers within days. “Eye of the Wolf claims more victims.” Pictures of the royal family had filled all front pages around the world. Pictures of a princess’s funeral, so soon after her grandfather’s. Pictures of an unconscious prince who had yet to regain consciousness after numerous blows to the head. Somehow, her name and managed to stay out of the papers. She didn’t understand. She didn’t want to.
Mikayla crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. She ran a gentle hand down the cheek of the man who lay there, deep in his slumber. She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, inhaling the scent of ocean breezes and summer afternoons as one gentle tear dropped from her lashes onto his cheek.
“Je t’aime.” She whispered softly before rising. Her fingers trailed along his cheek as she crossed the bed chamber away from the bed and the rising sun to the guard who held the door for her. As she stepped through the door, she paused and took one last look at the sleeping prince. “Good-bye, William.”
Mikayla followed the guard down the grand staircase, the marble reflecting her stony face. Silent tears ran down her cheeks, cutting through the faint make-up that dusted those cheeks. Her heels echoed on the marble as she made her way across the foyer for the last time. She stepped through the heavy mahogany doors into the early morning light and breathed in the scents of a tropical paradise. She smirked slightly at the word paradise knowing that there really was no such thing as paradise.
The guard gestured for her to follow him to the gates outside the Secluded City, to the limousine that would take her back to the runway where her plane awaited her return to the real world, a world that had seemed so far away for so many weeks. She paused at the steps leading to the front gate, remembering a walk taken down those same steps just one week before. Only then there had been darkness and a gun pressed against her rib cage. This time there was only sunlight and the smiling servant.
Mikayla shook her head briefly. She gestured for them to wait as she crossed the courtyard and walked out onto the parapets of the ancient castle. Her feet crunched along the stone as she moved along the wall. She finally stopped at the guardhouse and stared into its dark depths. She smiled slightly at the thought of the ancient ghost stories that said King Henry haunted those depths, seeking revenge on his killer. She wondered briefly if he ever found that revenge. She turned from the guardhouse and stared out at the endless blue of the sea. Tiny sailboats winked in the distance as the rich and famous frolicked in the sun. It was the sound of gravel crunching that forced her to turn.
The Queen stood beside her, severe in her black mourning dress. Perfect pearls glowed at her neck. She held her head high, pride evident even as her grief was written in each feature of her face. Though her grief was heavy, she was still the Queen. The women stood side-by-side in silence as the morning grew brighter, watching the never-changing sea.
It was Mikayla who broke the silence. “Good morning, Your Majesty.” Her voice was soft; it had lost its authority that it once had held when she had been just a professor. It was now the voice of someone lost and alone.
Queen Elizabeth smiled slightly and fingered the pearls around her neck as its twin slid down her wrist. Her eyes never left the waves of the ocean. “Mikayla, you know you can call me Elizabeth. I think our circumstance warrants it.”
Mikayla smiled slightly and turned back to the sea. “I apologize, Elizabeth.” There was a lengthy silent pause, both lost in their own thoughts. “I didn’t expect to see you this morning before I left. I thought you would be with Will.”
Elizabeth nodded slightly. “I checked in on him earlier. He is resting comfortably still, but you know that since you stayed beside him all night.” She raised a perfectly
groomed eye brow in Mikayla’s direction. When the other woman didn’t respond, Elizabeth merely turned her attention back to the ocean. “I feel I owe you an apology.”
Mikayla turned her body slightly and stared up at the older woman. Her eyes old despite the agelessness of her features. She said nothing, simply waited for the Queen to continue.
“Mikayla, there were many things that occurred here that involved you that should have never involved you.” She gestured to Mikayla’s sling that held her wounded arm close to her body. “I feel you deserve to know the truth, even if it won’t change your mind about leaving.”
Mikayla shook her head and began to walk away. “Your Majesty, I would prefer to not know what was going on. I would prefer to think of it as some horrific experience, but that there isn’t some sort of explanation.”
“Mikayla, please, before you leave, let me tell you about the Wolf. Let me tell you about a world where women are the forgotten ones.” Elizabeth laid a perfectly manicured hand on the arm of the other woman. Her eyes pleaded for one moment to explain those things that she hadn’t been able to say before.
Mikayla sighed and nodded. She leaned against the stone wall of the parapet and stared up at the windows of the Secluded City. Her thoughts hidden even as her heart ached.
“I loved my son, Jonathan. Now, don’t get me wrong, a mother loves all of her children, but the first…” Elizabeth sighed. “A mother’s love for her first child is different somehow from the love for the later children.” She twisted the pearls around her fingers. “When Jonathan was killed, I had to have someone to blame and William was the best choice. He was responsible because he took them out on that fool boat of his.” She smiled slightly at Mikayla. “I know that that was wrong, but I was heart-broken when Jonathan died. The sight of William, who looked so much like his brother, was more than I could bear. I told him to leave and to not return.”
Mikayla’s eyes remained cool as she stared at the mother of the man she loved, confessing her worst sin was not loving her son. She wondered how a parent could be so cold as to prefer one child over another and to act on that preference. “I can’t offer you penance, Elizabeth. You’ll need to see a priest for that.”
Elizabeth nodded her head and turned back to the ocean. Her eyes focused on something on the horizon, a son that Mikayla couldn’t see. “I made my peace with my choice a long time ago. It was a mistake, but it was a mistake I made. If that was the only mistake I made as a parent, than I would be fortunate. However, I made one other mistake.” She fingered the pearls and held Mikayla’s stare. “I created my daughter.”
Mikayla’s forehead screwed up in confusion. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Elizabeth laughed slightly. “No, I don’t suppose you would. There were many things going on here behind the scenes that you couldn’t possibly have known about.” She turned from the ocean and began to walk along the parapet towards the Secluded City. Mikayla trailed in her wake, listening to the anguish in the older woman’s words. “Jonathan had a strong drive to find the Eye. I encouraged, even helped him. It was something we did together, mother and son. After Jonathan died, I was so desperate for him that I took up his hunt for the Eye of the Wolf where he had left off. I retraced the steps of the children. I even dug up the same cellar floor that they had dug up. I thought that if I found the Eye of the Wolf I would have Jonathan back with me, at least a piece of him. Victoria was so desperate for love at that point. Her father and I were mourning Jonathan, and William had been sent back to England with the directions to remain there until we recalled him.” She glanced at Mikayla as they walked into the courtyard. “It’s surprising that it would be twelve years before I would call for him.”
She seated herself on the edge of a stone bench amidst flowers in vibrant colors. The scents created a heady mixture that made Mikayla’s head swim as she sat beside the Queen.
“Victoria was so desperate for my love that I believe she began to search, innocently at first, and then later with greed in her heart for the Eye of Wolf. As time passed, my wounds healed somewhat and I gave up looking, but Victoria continued. She enlisted the help of Antonio and Monsieur Dejeune to help her with the hunt. She hired you to keep the rest of us off the scent.” Elizabeth patted Mikayla’s leg gently before continuing with her narrative.
“Victoria was educated here on the island by a master teacher. He was very knowledgeable about the history of Amor and from him, she learned a great many things that, I suppose, a princess shouldn’t know. She continued her hunt for the stone and her greed grew. She knew that once her grandfather and her father passed away, William would become king. She also knew that my anger with him had faded. I was considering recalling him from England. She wanted to be queen. She wanted to rule. Perhaps she believed the only way to do that was to find the stone that her brother had sought so desperately.” Elizabeth’s delicate shoulders rose in a shrug of confusion and misunderstanding.
“I knew there was something going on. Servants talk. There were rumors of the Wolf’s spirit haunting the parapets. I’ve known those ghost tales since I first met Andrew and he brought me to Amor, but there was more to the tales. Stories of fires buring and voices talking. People, long-time servants began disappearing. Victoria seemed obsessed with finding the Eye of the Wolf. I feared something sinister was afoot. It was then that I called William and asked him to come home.” She plucked a blossom from a nearby bush and twirled it absently through her fingers. “I needed his help. I was afraid of my daughter, of what I might have made her. I needed to stop her before anything more happened. I told him to get close to the historian. I never guessed how close that would be.” She smiled slightly even as she began to cry.
Mikayla shuffled her feet in the gravel of the path and picked lint from her khaki pants before standing. She looked down at the bent head of the Queen. She felt remorse for the woman who had somehow brought this down on the world, but there was no emotion left for her to display. She had cried for days, waiting for Will to awaken. She had sought absolution for her own sins of killing another person. She had no forgiveness or tears to shed. “I’m sorry for your losses, Your Majesty.” Mikayla turned and walked away, leaving the Queen on the bench, steeped in her thoughts and tears. She stopped only when the Queen’s voice called out to her.
“He loves you, Mikayla. It will kill him to find you gone. Don’t hold him responsible for what happened. It wasn’t his fault, nor his choice.”
Mikayla looked down at the carefully tailored pathway that wound through the enclosed island of paradise. Her own tears began to fall as she remembered his cool voice, his stormy gray eyes, his gentle kisses. Her heart clenched with the thought of never seeing him again, but she also knew she couldn’t stay. Her life was elsewhere. There was too much fear, anger, and distrust here for her to ever consider Amor her home. She lifted her head and walked down the path to the open gates and the waiting car.
Chapter 29
Mikayla took one last look around the island before handing her bag to the steward who stowed it in the luggage compartment in the belly of the plane. Her mind replayed her first impressions of the desolate landing strip in the center of the tropical paradise. The excitement that had filled her with purpose as she arrived in paradise, a world where fairy-tales came true. The grass that grew through the cracks of the tarmac had been trimmed for the festival, a festival that had drawn records from around the world to celebrate nine hundred years of history.
Fashionably dressed couples and families milled around, waiting for their charter flights back to the mainland to catch those final connections to wherever they had come from. Waiting to return to their normal world, but her world would never be normal again. She would never think of Amor without fear, pain, and loneliness. Her heart sat heavy in her chest as she climbed into the small plane, moving past the happy people to the seat in the very back, a seat where she could be alone, where she could forget.
Mikayla settled into her seat, winc
ing as pain coursed through her shoulder and the wound burned from the movement of strapping the seat-belt. She pulled down the blind that covered the window and blocked out the palm trees that danced in the early morning breeze off of the Mediterranean. She closed her eyes and her mind to the people around her, shutting out their conversations as they prepared to end their vacations in paradise.
She was relieved when the engines of the small charter plane revved, and it began to move down the runway. She was more relieved when she felt the slight shudder right before the wheels lifted from the ancient tarmac and lifted into the air, like a bird, prepared to fly to Italy where a flight waited to return her to Washington.
A single tear slipped through her closed eyes and traveled down her cheek as the fairy-tale world of Amor grew smaller, and the opportunity for happily ever after disappeared further into the distance. She was oblivious to the exclamations of the people around her, lost in her misery.
Had she opened her eyes, looked out the window, she might have seen the small figure chasing the plane down the tarmac, his leg in its brace, and the limousine waiting patiently in the distance as he waved his arms. He stopped at the end of the run-way, his arms waving and his mouth working. What he yelled, none of them ever knew, but it was very romantic, the tourists thought.
Then, his arms fell to his sides and he walked back to the limo. With one last glance at the tiny plane disappearing into the clouds, he climbed back into the limousine, sun glinting off of his sun-washed blond hair that fell in a reckless manner over one eye, giving him that devil-may-care look.
Chapter 30
“Throughout history, gems have held some sort of fascination for humans. They hold a power over the human psyche. They are believed to hold the powers of the gods, mystical, capable of great things and evil things, depending on the person wielding the power.” Mikayla clicked the slide to the next gem. A brilliant blue diamond filled the wall behind her. She smiled slightly to herself before turning back to the darkened lecture hall where young undergraduate eyes gleamed in the darkness and whispers spread from person to person. “One such stone is the Hope Diamond, a rare blue diamond originally belonging to Louis the Fourteenth.” Her laser pointer was a dot of red against the screen.
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