The Umbra King (Vincula Realm Book 1)

Rory asked Bellina to grab her a sundress from the shop in town to wear to Asher’s party that night. Leggings were a bitch to put on, and loose dresses seemed like the easiest option.

Her face was bruised and swollen, and her lip looked like it went ten rounds with Lo’s fangs. Bellina blew through the door with multiple shopping bags on her arms and smiled. “We have plenty of options.”

Rory blanched. “You didn’t use all your credits, did you?”

The smirk on Bellina’s face made Rory immediately suspicious. “The king told the store clerk you have unlimited credits.”

Rory scoffed with indignation. “I’m going to kill him.”

Bellina waved her off. “Let him buy you things. If it weren’t for him, you would’ve never been a target to begin with.”

She had a point. Rory peeked into the bags and pulled out different dresses. Nestled at the bottom of one bag was a long, soft, cotton dress. It was red, and Rory marveled at the color.

“I’ll wear this one,” she announced.

Bellina looked over and snatched the dress. “This is for the ball tomorrow. Fancy dresses are harder to get on, so I got you a soft cotton one.”

Rory sighed and reached back into the bags, settling on a pretty blue dress that hung comfortably on her frame.

“Why didn’t they use a potion on your bruises and cuts?” Bellina asked. “Don’t they have potions for sore muscles?”

“I don’t know. I have a pain relieving potion that helps. They were worried about keeping me alive, and I guess vain potions were the farthest from their minds.”

“I won’t have time today or tomorrow, but in a few days, I’ll ask the pharmacy. We may not have them in Vincula,” Bellina said as she put away the other dresses. “We’re setting up for Asher’s party in half an hour. I’ll come back to get you when we’re done.”

Rory waved as her friend left and made a mental note to speak to Caius about credits when she saw him next. Giving her free rein for whatever she wanted would put a bigger target on her back, and she’d rather not spend the next five-hundred years tumbling down stairs.

She should be more traumatized that someone tried to kill her, but fighting her fair share of men before murdering them desensitized her. All day she stared at the bookcase, waiting for Caius to walk through, but he’d yet to show, and when it opened after Bellina left, she hoped it was him.

But it wasn’t. Lauren and Sam sauntered through the door holding flowers and pizza.

Sam set the vase on her dresser and said, “You need to get better.”

Rory started to flip him off but remembered the last time she did and decided better of it. “I believe the phrase you are looking for is, ‘Get better soon.’”

“No, I said what I meant,” he replied as he stared at the chairs like they personally offended him.

She looked between him and his new enemy. “Did my furniture do something to you?”

Lauren patted him on the shoulder as she set the pizza on a small two-person breakfast table in the corner. “He’s pouting because he can’t sit anywhere with those gaudy wings.”

“Oh,” Rory said, examining his wings. “What do you sit on, then?”

His wings disappeared, and Rory rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.

“Benches or chairs with a low back,” he replied. “And before you ask, no, it doesn’t hurt to lie on my back, and yes, my bed is huge.”

Rory pressed her lips together to stop from laughing as she lifted the lid to the pizza box and leaned over to smell it. “Never have I been so happy to see food. I’m starving.”

Lauren kicked off her shoes and plopped down on the bed. “I bet. Eat up.”

“Where did your wings go?” Rory asked Sam and shoved a piece of pizza into her mouth.

He grabbed a book from a shelf and sat in one of the plush chairs. “I can shape shift.”

Rory stood staring at him, unsure if he was kidding, but his lack of wings would suggest he told the truth. “Like a shifter? Is this your normal form?” She motioned to his large body. “Or are the wings your normal form?”

His nose was already buried in his book. “I prefer my wings.” That didn’t answer her question.

“Because they make you look horrifying?” Rory joked. Half joked, anyway.

Lauren burst out laughing from the bed and sat up. “More like a giant bird.”

Sam set the book down with a grunt. “You two are not as funny as you think you are.”

The girls looked at each other and busted up laughing. “Thank you for bringing me food.” Rory moved to sit on the bed beside Lauren. “I feel like an inmate.”

“Technically, you are,” Lauren pointed out, and Rory bumped her shoulder, immediately regretting it.

“Ow,” she hissed, rubbing her shoulder.

Sam’s eyes were zeroed in on her shoulder. “Do you have any pain relief potion?”

Rory motioned to the bathroom. “I try not to take it more than necessary. I don’t want to run out too fast.”

“Here we go,” Lauren mumbled under her breath, and Rory looked at her inquisitively.

Before she could reply, Sam stood and stomped to her bathroom, only to return with the potion. “Open your mouth.”

He had the dropper filled and ready, and when he hovered it over Rory’s mouth, she pulled back and swatted his hand away. “I said I don’t need any.”

“Just take it,” Lauren muttered. “You activated mother hen mode.”

Sam reached down and poked Rory’s shoulder, hard. “Ow! Why’d you do that?” When he lost his wings, did he lose his mind?

“You’re in pain,” he replied and held up the dropper. “Open your mouth, or I will make you.”

Her jaw dropped at his brashness, and before she realized what she’d done, he dropped the potion on her tongue. It was bitter, and she gagged; she hated taking potions and had since she was a little girl. Cora never minded them, but Rory would hide.

Sam grinned and put the potion back in the bathroom. “Caius made it clear you had access to anything you need. There is no need to hoard your potion.”

She glared at the oversized dove. “It’s disgusting. I hate taking potions, even if I have a lifetime supply.”

Sam returned and took a seat. “Don’t be childish.”

As if reading her mind, Lauren handed her a pillow, and Rory launched it across the room.

“Stop throwing things at me,” Sam warned. “You do not want me to throw them back.”

Lauren leaned over and whispered, “He’s not bluffing.”

Rory tried not to laugh again, but failed. “Are you two excited about the ball tomorrow?”

Lauren leaned back on her hands and glanced at Sam. “Sure.”

Sam shifted in his chair and avoided looking at her. “Are you two not allowed at the ball or something? Why do you look like that?”

“This is how my face looks,” Lauren replied at the same time Sam said, “You aren’t allowed to go.”

“What?“ Rory looked between them. “You can’t tell me whether I can or can’t go to the ball.”

“We could,” Sam reminded her. “But we wouldn’t. Caius is another story.”

“I’m going,” she stated, leaving no room for argument. “I worked the last ball, and I won’t miss this one, too.”

Sam stayed silent, and Lauren rose from the bed. “We’ll let you eat. Tell the guard if you need anything else.” She grabbed Sam’s arm and pulled him up. He grumbled as he extracted his arm from her grip and called on his wings.

They left Rory staring after them, fuming at the nerve of Caius. Bellina opened the door, already dressed for Asher’s party, and motioned to Rory’s shift. “Why aren’t you dressed yet? I can’t do your hair and makeup if you’re not dressed.”

Rory grinned, her annoyance pushed aside, and she and Bellina fell into easy chatter as they got her ready.

Tonight, nothing would dampen her mood.

When Rory walked into the banquet room, Asher spotted her immediately and jogged over. The room was huge, and had he waited for her to come to him, they’d be there all night. His arms spread wide to wrap around her, but a shadow caught his arm.

Rory and Bellina jumped as the shadow dissolved, and annoyance soon replaced Rory’s shock. Swiveling her head from side to side, she looked for the king, but came up short.

“Where is he?” she asked mindlessly.

Asher cleared his throat, and when she turned back to him, he pointed at himself. “This is my party, and I demand all your attention.” His boyish grin made her laugh, and she carefully wrapped her arms around his middle.

“That’s more like it.” He smiled down at her and steered them to their other friends. Bellina got there first, chatting animatedly with Tallent.

Cat whistled. “Damn, you look bad.”

“Cat,” Kit hissed. “What is wrong with you?”

Cat and Kit started arguing, and Max gave Rory a single nod. “Glad to see you up and around.”

“Thanks, Max.” She removed herself from under Asher’s arm and patted the old man on the shoulder. “I don’t think I’ll be helping in the gardens any time soon.”

He chuckled and pulled on his suspenders he’d paired with a bow tie. “You can take over when I’m gone.”

The chatter in their group died down, and they all remembered why they were there. “Shit, Ash. We’re going to miss you,” Kit said solemnly.

Asher swallowed and nodded, and when he spoke, his voice cracked. “I’ve been waiting for this day for decades. I should be happy.”

“But you’re not,” Bellina pointed out. She ran a soothing hand down his arm. “You’ll be free, and you’ll get to see your family.”

“I’ve been here for a long time, Bell. I don’t know what I’m walking into.”

“I don’t know what it was like thirty years ago, or I’d tell you the differences,” Rory said. “But you can rest well, knowing the notorious Butcher is off the streets.”

His smile was tight, and when he looked at her, his eyes shone. “I hope word gets around how great you are.”

“It will,” a man’s voice said from behind them. “Sera and I will make sure of that.” Bruce stood a respectful distance away and tipped his head at Rory. “I only regret that I won’t remember meeting you.” He looked at Asher before turning to leave. “Take care out there.”

When he was out of earshot, Cat asked around a mouthful of food, “Why’d you invite the new guy?”

Asher scratched his jaw and looked in Bruce’s direction. “He seems like a good guy, and he’s come in to work on our plumbing at the shop.”

“Where did you live in Erdikoa?” Rory asked Asher.

“Right outside of The Capital with my parents,” he replied. “Hopefully, they’re still alive. I’ll go see them first. Once I find a job, I’ll get my own place.”

“What do you want to do?” Bellina asked.

“I haven’t given it much thought,” he admitted. “What’s the point when I won’t remember, anyway?”

The longer Rory was here, the more she understood the only true punishment to be found in Vincula was knowing you would lose a chunk of your memories. Some, like herself, would be here an entire lifetime and have no recollection.

It terrified her, and by the look on Asher’s face, it terrified him, too.

After a few hours of mingling, laughing, and drinking a little too much, Rory’s body felt the effects of being out too long. Everything ached, and she hoped Bellina found potions at the pharmacy to heal her smaller injuries.

“It’s time for you to leave, Miss Raven,” Caius’ voice said over her shoulder.

Those around her stopped talking and watched the king as he placed a hand on her lower back to guide her. She hadn’t seen him in days, and her irritation flared.

“I don’t want to leave yet,” she fibbed, determined not to let him control her more than necessary.

Shadows curled around her arm opposite Caius and assisted him in leading her away. “Wait,” she protested. “I need to tell Asher bye.”

Caius’ eyes hardened as they ticked to Asher before he nodded once. Rory hugged Asher’s neck, and he wound his arms loosely around her middle. “I’ll miss you enough for both of us,” she whispered in his ear, and he nodded into her shoulder.

“I may not remember you,” he whispered back. “But when I see your face or hear your name, my soul will know you’re good.”

She pulled back and swiped a tear from her cheek.

Caius’ hand found her back once more and directed her to the exit. “Did you fuck him?”

Rory’s eyes narrowed. “How is that any of your business?”

“Everything involving you is my business,” he replied smoothly. “Answer the question.”

“If I said yes, what would you do?” she asked, raising her brows.

He fisted the back of her dress and pulled her closer, his lips brushing against her ear as they walked. “I would fuck you until the only name you remembered was mine. Do not tease me, Miss Raven.”

She stopped. “I haven’t seen you in days and before that, you were an asshole. What gives you the right to say those things to me?”

He was silent as he watched her, and shadows swirled across the ground as his intensity grew. “Are you saying you don’t think about it? That it’s not what your body has craved since the moment we met?”

The words were confident, and the look on his face never wavered. She hated he was right, hated that his words made her wetter than she’d ever been. What was it about him? Why did she believe his declaration of not killing either of their sisters? Why was she asking herself so many questions again? She annoyed herself.

Like the names of colors, her soul just knew. Her body wanted him despite the way he treated her, and it made her grit her teeth.

“I cannot control my body’s reactions, but I can control my actions. You will never touch me again,” she seethed, angry with herself more than anything.

The bastard smirked. “Haven’t you learned? I know when you’re lying.”

She wanted to stomp her foot and demand he believe her. “Your words are honey, but your actions reek of shit because you are full of it. No woman wants a man who treats her like an insignificant ant, not even if he is a king.”

With all the dignity she could muster, she threw open the door to his office, pissed it was the only entrance she could use to the sky room. She left him standing in the hall, and to her disappointment, he let her.

Caius watched Rory leave with her head held high, and while her words were harsh, her determination to resist him made his cock harden against his zipper. His feisty little mate with a savagely dangerous streak was no longer someone he could resist.

When she was hurt, his entire existence narrowed to her and only her. Sam’s words ran through his mind on repeat, and for the first time, he considered approaching his sister for help about Gedeon.

When his brother framed him for Atarah’s murder, Adila refused to allow him to defend himself, but what if he could make her listen this time around?

The morning of Atarah’s murder, Caius was in Erdikoa, hungover from the night before. 

His brother went out with them, and when Caius woke up the next day, it was almost lunchtime. The woman he’d fucked in the bar’s bathroom was nowhere to be seen, despite him usually bringing his women back to his room for more. 

He had no recollection of the end of the night.

His head was killing him, and after drinking a pitcher of water and showering away his hangover, he donned his signature black button-up shirt, black pants, and silver rings.

He left his room in search of his brother to ask him what happened and saw Gedeon standing at the end of the long hallway dressed in the same outfit as Caius.

Caius remembered thinking it was odd because where he was all dark colors and silver accents like his palace, Gedeon was the golden child, dressed in light colors and gold. 

Caius followed him, and by the time he rounded the corner and entered the only door in the hallway, which led to the throne room, his heart plummeted. Atarah lay on the ground with a dagger in her heart, and her dead, glassy eyes looked back at him. 

Caius raced across the room and fell to his knees to feel for a pulse, knowing he would find none. One hand wrapped around the dagger and the other braced on her chest as he pulled the weapon out and inspected it.

His vision tunneled when he realized it was his dagger their father gifted him when he came of age, and as he climbed to his feet, a maid stepped into the room and screamed. When his eyes met hers, she turned and ran, and when the Lux Palace legion ran into the room and caught him red-handed, he knew he’d been set up.

And he knew Gedeon was to blame.

He couldn’t let his brother get away with killing Atarah and framing him.

Caius finding his Aeternum complicated things, but maybe it didn’t have to. If he could make Adila understand, he could have his cake and eat it too.

At least, he hoped. But revenge was a powerful motivator, more so than fear or greed, and if Adila wouldn’t hear him out, he would send Gedeon to hell himself.

Even if it meant going with him.