Page 64 of Kidnapped Plus-Size Mate

Camilla coughs and quickly snatches her hand from mine. “Abuela!” She hops off the bed and rushes to embrace her grandmother. “Thank you for leading me to the light.”

Her grandmother pulls back and says sternly. “We have a lot of work to do,mi hija.There is so much I have to show you. Being a white witch is not an easy task.”

“Erm-” Camilla hesitantly glances at me with her lips pursed in contemplation. Somehow, I know what she’s thinking even before she says the words.

“If it’s okay, there’s something I need to do before we go to the island.”

“Sure,” I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “I’m in no hurry.”

Abuela, on the other hand, narrows her eyes curiously. “Just don’t get yourself in trouble again,” she warns. “It wasn’t this one I warned you about before.”

“I know,” Camilla sighs, pressing a kiss on her grandmother’s cheek. “But I’ll be fine, Abuela. There are just a few things I must round up before we can leave.”

Abuela nods, then turns to me with lips pressed into a firm line as if to silently instruct me to keep an eye on her granddaughter. I take heed, following Camilla and realizing that I’d follow this woman to the ends of the earth.

***

“Wait here,” Camilla says when we end up outside the museum where she used to work.

“I don’t know if your job is still available, Cami,” I chuckle nervously as she stands on her tiptoes and briskly kisses my cheek.

“That’s not why I’m here,” she relents. “There’s something I have to do before we leave the mortal world for good.”

“Okay…” I agree reluctantly, while Camilla assures me that it’s just a loose end she needs to tie. When she heads inside, I’m left on the pavement, pacing the ground until I decide to go inside myself.

I can’t just wait around for her, my nerves unsettled even though she assured me that her boss would understand why she suddenly left without a word. It’s not that she wants the job back, but she needs to get the stuff she left behind before our encounter with Rakon and before I flew her to the safety of the island.

When I entered the museum, I noticed the new tour guide gathering a group of tourists and decided to join just to bide mytime while waiting for Camilla. I quickly pay for the next tour, then join the group in the foyer just before the new guide greets us, and we embark on a familiar journey through the museum.

It’s noteworthy to realize that Camilla was good at her job; her bubbly personality used to shine through despite her anxieties and previous lack of self-esteem. This guide hardly holds my attention, his flat tone doing little to spark my interest as we walk down the aisles and visit the many art rooms in the building.

Perhaps, I lament internally, it’s only because this isn’t my first rodeo in the museum. Before, I’d only been interested in one specific piece of art, and she was addictive to all my senses.

It’s my sense of smell that perks up when we near the room showcasing French artworks—the very same room where I’d spoken to Camilla for the first time when I was allowed to travel back to the mortal world after the ban on the Aurora Dragons was lifted. The walk down memory lane gives me a moment for introspection, while I consider how far Camilla and I have come since then.

In hindsight, I was wrong for forcing her onto the island, but it was only because I was protecting her. It had to be done, and those cruel, harsh words she spat at me before seemed to fade into the distance of my mind.

Even before I knew she was a white witch, I was drawn to her thanks to the fated mate bond served to the dragon shifters on a silver platter with the help of the Cube of Knowledge. But even when I snuck a sneak peek into the Cube’s knowledge and discovered who my mate was before my turn in the human mate process, I was blown away when I saw Camilla for the first time. Awe-struck, I’d been following her as if my life depended on it.

Now I can see that it does. Without Camilla, I was never whole. When the ban on the Aurora Dragons was implemented, and we weren’t allowed to travel to the mortal world, I was losing my mind. She’s the air I need to breathe for these lungs to function at full capacity.

The sweetness of her scent that dances in the air in this room is what I need. Smiling to myself, I break away from the group and head to the painting of Aurora Island, the inside joke never losing its impact as I chuckle under my breath.

“I knew you’d come,” Camilla’s voice chimes from behind, and this time, my smile isn’t an extension of humor. It’s warm and blissful as I feel her presence beside me and wrap my arm around her shoulders, then draw her into my side.

“You knew where to find me…” I whisper. She joins me in staring at the painting, nodding just enough to concede.

“I have everything,” she informs me. “I had to tell them that I had a mental breakdown and left the country on impulse.” she shrugs. “I told them I’m not coming back.”

“So, it’s final then…”

“Did you have any doubt?”

“No,” I chuckle, then stop when Camilla reaches out and touches the painting in the corner where the name “Domingo” is signed. She traces the signature in black and hums with her eyes closed.

“Your sister signed this with her real name before she painted over it,” Camilla whispers softly. “Kairo Vulkan.”

“Wait… You can see that?” I ask in awe, to which Camilla turns and blushes as she nods.

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