Page 120 of The Umbra King

The room was pitch black, and when the flame lit the small space, Rory cried out and ran across the room before Caius could grab her.

Bellina was on the floor with her hands and feet bound. A gag covered her mouth, and she was beaten black and blue.

Caius stepped into the hall and called for an enforcer to fetch the doctor and Samyaza. Bellina was out cold, and Rory worked furiously at the rope digging into her friend’s wrists.

She was crying, and Caius knew images of her sister were assaulting her. He bent down and stilled her hands. “I’m faster. Take the torch and light the lamp.”

He called on the shadows to make quick work of the ropes, and within less than a minute, Bellina was free. Rory pulled her into her lap, and Caius fetched water and a rag from the bathroom.

Sam barged through the doorway like a hellhound, and when he stepped into the small room, his wings vanished. “What happened?”

Rory stopped whispering to Bellina and looked up. “Where’s the doctor? She needs potions.”

“He’s on his way,” Sam assured her and turned to Caius. “What happened?”

Caius set the water next to Rory and handed her the rag, instructing her to clean some of the blood from Bellina’s face. “Wedon’t know. She was to meet us for drinks, but when she didn’t show, Rory thought something was wrong.”

Sam looked around the room in commander mode. “What is that?” he asked, pointing to the bedside table.

Caius twisted to see a small paper. Standing, he grabbed it and read the note.Aether, this was bad.

“What does it say?” Rory asked from the floor.

He tried to think of a reason not to read it, anything that would keep her from hearing these words, but he knew her. She wouldn’t stop until she read it herself because she wasn’t a porcelain doll to be handled with care. She was the beast who stomped on dolls for fun.

“Do not marry the king, or everyone you love will die, including your family in Erdikoa. This is your last warning.”

Rory’s face was stricken before it filled with rage. “Nina did this.”

“She couldn’t have,” Sam replied. “Lauren has been watching her all day.”

“Then she made someone else do it!” Rory yelled. She turned to Caius. “We have to do something.”

He knew she was right. “We’ll bring her in for questioning tomorrow.”

The doctor rushed in with a bag of potions and got to work on Bellina. He said she had a minor concussion, but was otherwise fine, and Rory refused to leave her side.

Caius grabbed the extra potions from the doctor to give Bellina when she woke up and approached the commander. “Sam, carry her to our room.”

Caius grabbed Rory’s shoulder and stopped her from trailing theAngel. “We’ll catch whoever is behind this. Someone in the palace had to have seen something.”

Rory’s features hardened. “I learned a long time ago not to wait on someone else to exact justice. I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Then I will help you,” he promised.

37

Bellina’s memorywas foggy when she woke, even after taking the potions provided by the doctor. She looked fine once they kicked in, but Rory could tell she was shaken.

Rorywas shaken. Seeing her friend lying unconscious was like watching Cora through the window all over again.

“I’m going to sleep in my room,” Bellina said, standing. “I want to be in my own bed.”

“It’s not safe. You should stay here,” Rory insisted. Caius had Bellina brought to the sky room and gave the two women space for the night. He was thoughtful, and every time she was around him, another layer was revealed.

Bellina tried for casualness but failed miserably. “I want to be in my room.”

“Wait,” Rory tried again. “At least let me get you a lock for the inside.”

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