Chapter 249 - Down the Rabbit Hole (1/2)

Palace, Zakynthos Island 1826

Cam's eyes flickered open. The elegant canopy of the royal suite was the first her blurry eyes could focus on. {Ales...} She turned her head and tried to lift it from the pillow. ”Ugg...” She murmured as pain shot through her head.

Ales quickly turned away from the desk he'd been working at. Seeing Cam's hands move to her head, he pushed himself up from the chair and made his way over to the bed. He lifted a damp cloth from a bowl and placed it against her brow. ”You're awake... How are you feeling?” He asked in a low soothing voice.

Cam peeked out from around the cloth. ”Ales? What happened?”

He frowned. ”Do you not remember drinking the poisoned drink?” He perched himself on the edge of the bed as he smoothed away a few loose curls from around her temples.

Cam bunched her brows together as she tried to think past the heavy fog of her mind. Memories of Ales and the poison came rushing back causing her breath to catch and her eyes to widen. ”Ales! Are you alright?” She asked as she fought back the pain sitting up was causing her.

”Shhh.” He whispered as he pressed her back to the mattress. ”You need to rest now. You've been asleep nearly two days and still have a fever.”

She furrowed her brows in concern. ”Fern?!”

”Shhh.” He whispered. He searched her face as he brushed his hands over her damp forehead and hair. ”I can't lose you... I'm sorry things have been so strained between us... but I can't... I can't...”

She smiled up at him, bringing a hand up to stroke his cheek. ”I'm not going anywhere.”

A heavy frown spread across his handsome face. ”The things you said about Fern... do you have any proof... anything at all?”

Cam nodded, uncertainty rapidly replacing her smile. She pushed weakly up from the bed. ”Ugg...” She sighed as she pressed her palm against her temple. ”I know where he's making that.” She said pointing to the decanter still sitting on his desk. Her eyes moved over to him. ”Please tell me you've not drank anymore of that horrid stuff.”

His frown deepened. ”Cam, Fern has the exact same thing in his room... He's drinking it as well...” He looked toward the decanter as he shook his head. ”He said it was a simple sleeping tonic. He even showed me the vile.”

Cam's eyes widened in shock. Everything she had gone through and was still enduring was for nothing if he didn't believe her on this if he wasn't willing to let her prove what she'd found. She grabbed and held his arm as tightly as she could. ”Ales, I swear to you, that is not a normal sleep tonic! Look what it did to you, what it did to me! If he's taking it then it's in a lot lower dosage.” The memories of the night he'd come into Ales's room flashed back. ”The night he was in here, he even said he'd been adjusting the concentrations!”

Ales's turbulent eyes moved away from the decanter back to Cam's worried eyes. ”I want to believe you...” He pulled her into his arms and rested his head against her shoulder. ”Make me believe you... Show me what you know.”

Cam wrapped her arms tightly around him. Tears streamed from her eyes as she nodded her head. ”Thank you.” She whispered against his shoulder. She forced herself to push him away. She refused to waste a second if he was willing to hear her out on this. She gingerly scooted her weak body to the edge of the bed and pulled her gown over her head.

Ales's eyes went wide. ”Wait, what are you doing!”

She sent him a 'are you kidding' glare. ”I can barely stand as I am.” She forced her body to shift as he watched, quickly moving from one form to the other. She looked around the room. Seeing her robe hanging at the end of the bed, she retrieved it and slid it over her n.a.k.e.d body. When she turned back to face Ales, he was still staring at her in wide-eyed fascination and another more primal emotion. She arched a brow. ”What?”

He tried to pull his eyes away from her as the hunger grew in the pit of his stomach but couldn't. ”I... it's just... I didn't expect you to do that...”

Her brow rose higher, ”Ales, we're married. You'll have to see me n.a.k.e.d at some point.” She looked away as she tied a knot in the robe. ”I had hoped for more than just brief nudity upon entering this room the other night...” She mumbled as she walked across the room. She turned toward him as she pulled the door open. ”I'll be ready in a few minutes. I'll meet you back in here.”

True to her word, ten short minutes later, Cam tapped lightly on the door before pulling it open and walking inside. Her eyes followed the movements of his nimble fingers as he buttoned up a plain linen shirt. She pushed down her own nervousness and walked over to him. Brushing away his hands, she awkwardly finished buttoning his shirt. ”By the gods, I am your wife now... and at one point that knowledge would have brought you joy instead of the indecision and disdain I see written all over your face more often than not nowadays.”

He let out a heavy sigh as he cupped her face between his palms gently. He searched her pale, troubled eyes. ”It's not disdain... I could never feel such a way for you... I want to believe you, to side with you... but it's hard... it's my brother, my flesh and blood.” He shrugged not taking his hands or eyes off her. ”I love him. He's my only family I have left.”