72__Aching Hearts

The first thought that clicked into his mind when she fell was that she was Kamilla. Viktor’s face slackened. That was Kamilla who’d just fallen off the cliff. *His* Kamilla!
The ice that had frozen his heart thawed as Viktor hurriedly pushed away from Rogan.
“Kamilla! Kam—”

Viktor’s departure was stopped by Rogan’s grip on his shirt.
“Where’re you going?” Rogan groaned, blood seeping from the cut on his face and into his mouth. Viktor looked back at him with frustration. “Finish this!” Rogan growled at Viktor. “She’ll die anyway, if you walk away now, you lose both her and the chance to kill me! This is what you want. Go on... we’re no different, Viktor. We’re both monsters. Accept it.”

Gritting his teeth, Viktor ripped Rogan’s hand off of him and raced to the edge of the cliff.
He’d been about to dive but stopped when he saw her. Kamilla stared up at him, her gaze dazed as she hung onto the tip of Witcher’s Cliff with both hands.
Her green eyes were glassy, her scarlet hair blowing wildly in the wind as they stared at one another, stared into one another.

The cave emptied as the bats swarmed out, circling Kamilla like the thirsty creatures they were. They were huge, their wings spread out to a length nearly equaling her height.
Viktor felt like his entire soul was trembling. “Kamilla!” he called to her.

Staring at Viktor silently, Kamilla took in the sight of him. The man she loved from one lifetime to another. The man she'd repeatedly sacrificed herself for. Kamilla felt her fingers lose strength. She released a gasp as she fell. Oh, God. Ursula had been right.

“Kamilla!” Viktor screamed.
Her gaze did not leave his face as she fell and, ripping his shirt off, Viktor plunged down after her, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

It didn’t matter if she hated him, he thought. It was okay if she found him repulsive and thought him to be the worst thing to have ever happened to her. He would not let her die again. He would not let her suffer for knowing him.

Kamilla felt like she was in a matrix, her entire mind and soul felt afloat with her body. She felt a bizarre calm within her as she stared up at Viktor. He was above her, reaching for her from out of his darkness.
It was like a dark cloud was falling with her, like the spirit of death was following her rather than waiting for her at the bottom.
Kamilla watched as the darkness shattered and she felt a swarm envelop her, so that the dark clouded her vision and she saw nothing else but him. He surrounded her, carrying her within his darkness.

It was gentle and yet still so powerful as Viktor slowly lowered her to the ground.
What she felt first as they landed were his arms around as Viktor cradled her against his chest.

“Kamilla?” he whispered, and for the first time, Kamilla heard his voice tremble. His fingers stroked her face desperately. “Kamilla? Please say something. Kamilla?”

His arms wrapped around her, holding her against his chest as Viktor rocked her back and forth and no matter how badly she wanted to open her eyes and look at him, Kamilla felt powerless to fight the darkness that took her under.

***********************
Rogan pushed a hand through his hair, holding it away from his forehead as he spat out blood.
With dark eyes, he looked at the edge of the cliff. A scoff escaped him as his mouth curved and Rogan shook his head, pushing himself off the ground.
Viktor had chosen a woman over revenge for his parent’s death. He’d chosen a woman over his Vampire King’s pride.

Rogan chuckled. It didn’t matter. One way or another, Rogan would find the escape he sought. If Viktor wouldn’t kill him, something else eventually would.

“Are you happy now?”

Rogan spun around and looked at Damon who was slowly approaching him.

“Are you happy?” Damon repeated.

Rogan put a hand to his jaw, flexing it before he tilted his head at Damon. “What are you doing here? Came to try what Viktor couldn’t do?”

With a scoff, Damon crouched where Rena was holding Ursula and put a hand to Ursula’s forehead, relieved when she became conscious.
He looked at Rena. “Are you alright?” he asked her quietly.
Rena nodded. “Y-yes... but Kamilla...”
“Viktor's taking care of her. Don’t worry. Give me a moment and I’ll take you two home.” With a nod, Damon rose once more to face Rogan.
He sighed. “You’ve been a pain in the ass, Rogan.”

Rogan’s mouth curved with distaste. “Get out of my face, Damon. You, your king and your whole entire kingdom have been a pain in *my* ass!”

“Your grudge is based on bullshit, Rogan!” Damon told him through gritted teeth.

Rogan laughed humorlessly. “What the fuck do *you* know?”

Damon raised a brow. “I spoke to Vernon. I know everything. And let me tell you this: whatever you think Viktor took from you, I assure you he never had. Sure, Darrius was an asshole, more evil than anyone really knew, but you weren’t the only one who’d felt that! You think he raised Viktor on a bed of roses?! Viktor felt *hated* by the late King!”

“I don’t care how he raised Viktor,” growled Rogan. “I had to watch that man murder my mother just because she wouldn’t let him have me. And after all that, he brought me here just so I could watch him get married, have another kid and play happy families! That throne should have been *mine*! The identification of being Darrius’s son that Viktor has should have also been *mine*!”

Damon nodded. “I get that! I get why you’d feel that way, but I need you to understand that Viktor never even wanted to be his son. While you wanted Darrius to acknowledge you, Viktor always wished he’d never been his father. For you to make Viktor pay for something the father you both hated did, is illogical!”

One corner of Rogan’s mouth curled. “When the fuck have I ever been logical?”

Taking his glaring eyes away from Damon, Rogan walked away from it all, passing Damon, his aunt and Rena as he waked away.
He clenched his jaw in irritation. He was done with every single one of these people.
Done.
*****************************

The touch was gentle on Kamilla’s cheek, drawing her nearly to the surface, but still unconsciousness held her under.

“Kamilla,” he whispered. Viktor. Kamilla wanted to call out to him, but found herself unable to move.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered again. His gentle fingers stroked her hair back. “I’ll make it better, my Queen. I promise. I’ll protect you from all of this...”

Kamilla heard the sadness in his tone and felt her heart wrench. It reminded her of Charming.

A lone tear silently slipped out from under her closed lid and stroked down the side of her face.
Viktor wiped it gently away.
“I’ll protect you from me,” he whispered. “So I can never hurt you again.”

His warmth surrounded her as he leaned in and Kamilla felt his lips press gently against her forehead. Drawing away, he kept his face close and let his fingers touch her cheek.

“I love you.”
****************************
Her body felt like a truck had rammed into it. Kamilla flinched as she regained consciousness, careful not to make her body hurt more.
She turned her head to the side, groaning with the effort as she squinted her eyes open.

Someone gasped. “Kamilla!” It was Demetrius. Kamilla felt him draw closer. “Are you okay?!”
Kamilla heard the sound of a door opening. “Is she awake?” It was Grace.
Both of them huddled around the bed, peering worriedly down at her with wide eyes.

Her vision cleared and Kamilla blinked up at them. She swallowed to moisten her dry throat. “Water...”
Demetrius rapidly ducked out of her vision and straightened with a glass of water in his hand. “Here! Water.”

Kamilla tilted her head forward, supported by Grace’s hand to drink. Demetrius pulled the glass away when she lowered her head back onto the pillows, sighing up at the ceiling of her chambers.
It hit her then and Kamilla jerked up. “Viktor!”

Demetrius immediately held her shoulder. “Calm down, don’t move like that.”

Kamilla eased back, her body feeling even weaker as shook her head. “Wait, where’s Viktor?”
Grace and Demetrius exchanged looks, making Kamilla’s heart clench in worry even more. Her stomach knotted so badly, she thought she would pass out. “Is... is he okay? Did something happen to him?”

Demetrius shook his head with a smile. “What? Of course not. What could possibly happen to our King?” Kamilla wanted to say something more, but Demetrius abruptly stood. “Right, you need to eat! You haven’t had food in you for a while, you must be so faint.”

“I’ll go and get the food,” said Grace before hurrying out of the room.

Kamilla looked up at Demetrius. “How... how long have I been asleep?”

Demetrius bit his bottom lip. “About... three days.”

Kamilla’s mouth fell open. “What? That’s... insane.” She frowned. “Wait... did I really fall off... Did I fall from Witcher’s Cliff?”

Demetrius sat back down, his eyes clouding with worry. “Yeah. When Viktor brought you in here, we all nearly died from worry. But you’ll be okay, he healed you.”
Kamilla felt her eyes fill as she remembered what happened that night. She remembered what had happened to Viktor, making him change before her eyes. He'd changed so drastically that he even pushed her off a cliff. “Where is he?” she asked quietly.

Demetrius pursed his lips and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. He’s... okay.” Raising a hand, he petted her head gently. “You really scared us, my Queen.”

Kamilla slowly felt her eyes fill as her heart clenched in her chest. “I’m not...” she whispered shakily. “I’m not your Queen, Demetrius. Not anymore.”

Looking her dead in the eye, Demetrius swallowed hard, knowing what had happened between her and Viktor. “You, Kamilla,” he told her. “Will always be our Queen.”

Holding her hand, he gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. Kamilla smiled shakily at Demetrius when the door opened.
She looked up. “Damon... hey.”

Damon paused in the doorway for a moment, staring at Kamilla as though he thought he’d never see her again.
Slowly walking in, he stood by her bedside with hands behind his back. “You’re... awake. How are you feeling?”

Kamilla nodded. “Horrible. Probably cause Viktor’s power’s left me. But I’ll be okay.”

Clenching his jaw, Damon reached out and brushed a hand over her head once. “It’s good to see you awake, Kamilla.”

Kamilla genuinely smiled. “You’re being so nice to me.” He only smiled back and Kamilla nervously tilted her head. “Damon... where’s Viktor?”

His smile dimmed. “He’s around. Don’t worry about him. When Grace brings food, eat as much as you can, alright? You need strength after all that.”

Kamilla’s brows drew together in a slight frown. “Oh... okay.”

Damon clenched his jaw. “When you’re done... we need to leave.”

Kamilla blinked. “Huh? Where... where to?”

Lowering his face, Damon cleared his throat. “The King has given orders for you to be taken back to your family... whether you like it or not.”