Page 104 of The Umbra King

“I’ve given you no reason to trust me,” he replied. “But I will.”

As they walked through the town, he resisted the urge to grab her hand. He held it on their way to the apartments, but it was more so to drag her. “What did you do in your free time?” he asked her. “Before coming to Vincula.”

Without hesitation, she said, “Hang out with my mom and friends.” A bit of sadness tinged her voice. How much she missed them was hard to see. He’d always petitioned for inmates to be allowed visitors, but Gedeon denied his request every time.

They weren’t allowed letters or phone calls because no one in Erdikoa save for theRoyalsandAngelscould know anything about the prison realm. Visitors, however, would forget the moment they left. Loved ones were good for the soul, and even the morally grey deserved that.

“What else?” he pressed.

She eyed him. “Most of my time was spent looking for my sister’s killer and theMerrowwho stole her soul. I found theMerrow, but he said her soul was with Bane.”

He remembered her calling him Bane. “I think I know who killed your sister.”

She halted in the middle of the sidewalk. “What?”

“I don’t know why, but there is only one explanation why you saw me murder Cora,” he explained. She said nothing as she waited for him to continue. “My brother, Gedeon.”

Her brows drew together, and her mouth moved, but nothing came out.

“I don’t know why he did it, but it had to be him,” Caius went on. “There’s no other explanation.”

“How? My sister and I look alike, but you can still tell the difference,” she challenged. “I may not have been able to see colors, but I wasn’t blind.”

“We’re identical twins,” he said, causing her to shake her head as if to expel the information. “The LuxRoyalsonly ever have three children, but identical twins were once the same embryo that split in half. You couldn’t tell the difference between us if you tried.”

“That’s how he framed you,” she realized. He saw the moment her brain put everything together because her features turned from that of shock to one of steel resolve. “When we marry, will my sentence end?”

He didn’t know what he expected her to say, but that wasn’t it. “No. I can extend a contract, but I can’t dissolve them.”

“I need you to do something for me,” she said with a voice of iron. Everything about her transformed into the woman who appeared on his throne room floor months ago.

“Anything,” he replied, wondering if he would regret it.

“When your contract is up, find my sister’s soul, and kill him.” The fire in her eyes burned brightly. “And before he takes his last breath, let him know I will dance on his grave.”

Caius stared at this woman hell-bent on retribution, not caring about salvation so long as she avenged her sister. In that moment, he understood the true meaning of being mates. Her motivations mirrored his own, and he knew, without a doubt, if the roles were reversed, she would hang Gedeon from her hook and watch him bleed for them both.

He pushed a stray hair out of her face. “With pleasure.”

Rory slipped her hand into his, and together, they walked toward the palace.

“The gym,” she said out of nowhere.

He huffed out a laugh. “What? Are you telling me I’m out of shape, Miss Raven?”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “I liked going to the gym.”

It didn’t surprise him. She wasn’t shapely, but her body was lean and toned. “There is a gym in town. Have you been?”

Her hand tightened around his. “I haven’t tried. The dining hall is not something I wish to relive.”

He hated everyone in the entire realm for treating her this way, and when her throne was built and she sat upon it, he would relish in their fear and awe.

“You can use mine,” he offered.

Her lips parted slightly. “You have your own gym?”

He gave her a cheeky grin. “I am king.”

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