The Umbra King (Vincula Realm Book 1)

A few days later, Sam walked into Caius’ office with a bag of potions and a grim look on his face.

“Welcome back,” Rory said in greeting, leery of his demeanor. He seemed off, and dread seeped into her bones. “Were you able to find the potions?”

“I was,” he replied vaguely as he set the bag on Caius’ desk.

“Then why do you look like someone clipped your wings?” Caius asked carefully.

Sam’s eyes sliced to Rory, and his already grim face darkened. “It’s your mother.”

Rory grabbed the arms of her chair. “What’s wrong with her? Is she okay?”

Caius was quiet, and his eyes were trained on her as Sam cleared his throat. “Her outbursts are worse. She calls for you constantly and is becoming a danger to herself.” He hesitated. “If your friends cannot get her under control soon, she’ll either land in jail or they’ll be forced to put her in a Crown sanctioned facility for Sibyls.”

Rory’s realm crumbled away, and a tear slipped down her cheek. “No. No, they can’t.” She looked around, lost. “This is my fault. She’s looking for me, and I—I did this to her.”

No one bothered telling her otherwise, because it was the truth. “There is still a chance she’ll settle down when she realizes you won’t be coming back,” Caius tried to reassure her.

Rory shook her head. “She’s stubborn, even when her mind is scrambled. She’ll never stop looking for me.” She pressed a fist to her mouth to collect herself. “What of my father?”

“He quit his job and found a night job to stay with her during the day, and your friends take turns staying with her at night,” Sam replied. “I will do what I can to keep her out of a facility, but there will come a time when it is out of my hands. I am sorry, Rory.”

With her head in her hands, she cried harder than she ever had before. Cora’s death was not her fault, but her mother’s outbursts were. Rory was lifted in the air as Caius cradled her in his arms and carried her to their room.

The next day, a knock on the door roused Rory from sleep, and when Caius opened it, Tallent stood on the other side. He looked surprised to see the king. “I came to see Rory and ask after Bellina,” he said cordially.

Caius clapped Tallent on the shoulder with a nod and let him in. “Will you stay with her while I check on Bellina? She was to take a few potions this morning, and we were to meet in half an hour.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Tallent replied before turning to Rory. “If that’s okay with you?”

She nodded weakly, and Caius walked over to kiss her goodbye. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Let Tallent know if you need anything, and don’t leave this room alone.”

Another nod was all she could manage. Her throat was raw from crying, and her eyes were swollen beyond recognition. When Caius was gone, Tallent nodded to the bathroom and excused himself, and when he was returned, he sat on the edge of the bed. The silence stretched between them before he reached over and patted her leg in silent support. What was there to say?

Eventually, his voice broke through the quiet. “We miss you, kid.” He gave her shin a light squeeze and withdrew his hand. “The girls have been asking about you, and since I had the day off, I volunteered to come check on you.”

She pushed herself to a sitting position and grabbed the glass of water from beside the bed to wet her throat. “Thank you,” she said after taking a drink. “Bellina is shaken up, but physically she’s fine. Except for the hole in her memory, I mean.”

Tallent’s throat bobbed. “Good.” His eyes traced her face. “Is there another reason you’ve been crying? You look like you went another round with the stairs.” His mouth tipped in a teasing smile, and she tinkered out a small laugh.

“I received bad news about my mother.” Her eyes burned, and she fought the tears down. “When Bellina feels up to it, we should get dinner and drinks.”

Tallent sighed again. “That would be nice, but unfortunately, you won’t be able to make it.”

Caius stood at the end of Bellina’s bed, waiting to see if the memory potions would kick in.

He’d arrived early since Tallent showed up to see Rory, and after the first potion didn’t work, Bellina tried the second.

“We will give this one a few more minutes before trying the third,” the doctor told them, and Bellina nodded.

She wavered a little and grabbed her head with her eyes closed. “I—I think it’s working.”

Caius’ arms dropped to his sides. “Take your time.”

She scrunched her face, and her head twitched. “I remember running into Tallent in the hallway.” She shook her head. “He said he needed to speak with me about Rory and asked if we could talk in my room.”

Caius’ ears rang. “What else?”

Bellina gasped, and her tearful eyes flew open. “It was Tallent.” Her mouth opened and closed as her body shook. “He—he held me down and forced a potion down my throat, and he—“ She choked on a sob. “He did this.”

Caius didn’t stay to hear the rest, and Bellina’s sobs chased him as he raced back to Rory.

“What?” Rory asked, confused.

Tallent stood and placed his hands on his hips, hanging his head. “You couldn’t leave Nina alone, could you?” She couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. “She only wanted happiness, you know, and you took that from her. You humiliated her.”

His scornful laugh grated her ears. Something about him had changed.

“She was crushed when she heard the lies you spouted about being the king’s mate.” Tallent’s face hardened with hate. “As if the king would be mated to someone like you.”

She flinched, and her pulse skyrocketed as she scrambled backward off the bed. “Why are you doing this? Nina was terrible to me from the start.” He moved, and she stepped back, cursing Caius for barricading the main entrance to their room. “You were supposed to be my friend. How can you take her side?” She gasped in horror. “Did you hurt Bellina?”

“It had to be me,” he said simply. “Nina is a work of art, and you know how much I love art.” His smile was deranged, and she set her feet, ready to fight. “I’ve always admired her beauty, and when she started working at the hobby store, I realized how wrong I’d been about her. And you.”

Rory shook her head frantically. “No, Tallent, she manipulated you. That’s what she does. You don’t want to do this.”

His head tilted to the side. “Yes, I do.”

He lunged for her, and she jumped out of the way to run for the bookshelf, cursing the stupid thing for having a button instead of a knob. Tallent grabbed her by the hair and ripped her backward, making a scream tear from her throat. She was cutting her hair as soon as possible.

She turned on her heel, shoving her palm into his elbow, hyper-extending it, and he howled with pain as he released her hair. Fighting was her only option, and she prayed Tallent had no training.

Not waiting for him to attack, she charged at him and drove her foot into his knee, causing him to double over. He righted himself, and the look on his face made her gasp. He was completely mad, and her heart broke for the friend she thought she had.

He swung wildly, but she ducked and delivered a brutal right jab that snapped his head back, followed by a left jab to the throat. Grabbing his good arm, she flipped him over her shoulder, straddled him, and began punching his temple, his eye, his cheek, his mouth, and anything she could connect with. He’d betrayed her, and he’d hurt Bellina.

The bookshelf door blew off its hinges, and shadows filled the room, but she didn’t stop. Strong hands pulled her from the ground, and she struggled against their hold. “It was him!“ she screamed, trying to get back to Tallent, to punish him for what he’d done.

The shadows receded, and Caius’ arms held her steady as she struggled. “Look at him, Rory,” Caius said against her. “Look at him.”

She stopped moving and glanced at the bloodied heap on the floor. The side of Tallent’s skull was partially caved in, and his eyes were glassed over. Her chest heaved as she stared. “He hurt Bellina,” she rasped. “He attacked me.” She was coming down from her hysteria, and the icy calm of The Butcher took over. Damning the guilty was familiar; it was home.

“Let me go,” she commanded, and Caius obliged, noticing the change in her. She crouched beside Tallent. “If I had my hooks, I would display you for the town to see.” Standing, she stood and turned to Caius. “Find Nina. She will pay for what she has done.”

Examining the knuckles on her right hand, she sighed. Potions would be needed to heal her broken bones.

Caius didn’t question her. “We’ll find her together once we clean up this mess. You have my word.”

She gave a single nod and left to shower. “Remove the barricade on our main door, or I will do it myself.”

Caius’ lips twitched. “Yes, Your Grace.”