Page 53 of The Umbra King

“Her soul is grey,” Keith added. He jerked his thumb at Dume. “He said when the Scales of Justice sentenced her, she said, ‘Your soul is a beautiful shade of grey’ or something like that. It’s in the transcript.”

“It’s odd,” Dume added. “She has never commented on a person’s soul. Not that I’ve heard of.”

Sam was quiet as he absorbed the information. “How do I contact you three? I will check in to see how your investigation is going. Is there anything you need to help?”

Three sets of wide eyes looked back at him. “Who are you?”Dume asked with a mixture of awe and bewilderment. “Why are you helping us?”

Sam pulled out a cellphone and slid it to Dume. “Put in your information. I must leave.” The gargantuan man paused. “What do you know of Rory’s mother, theSibyl?”

Dume’s fist clenched around the phone, but instead of arguing, he programmed his, Keith’s, and Kordie’s numbers into the phone and handed it back. “Lenora? What do you mean ‘what do we know?’”

Sam pocketed the device. “Rory was her caregiver, was she not? Who cares for her now?”

Dume’s eyes slid to Kordie and back to Sam. “We do.”

The man nodded and stood. “I’ll be in touch.”

The three watched him walk away. Keith turned to Dume and muttered, “What the fuck just happened?”

18

VINCULA

The vendor leanedover the counter of his food cart to hand Caius his pizza and cautioned the king not to touch the bottom of the hot box.

Caius tipped his head in thanks and left, the people in the streets making a path as they greeted him politely. He enjoyed venturing into town periodically to see that his people were taken care of.

They were criminals, but they weren’t evil, though some teetered on the edge, almost past the point of redemption. A familiar voice had his steps faltering, and he turned, knowing whom he would find.

Aurora stood with a seamstress from the palace and another man who was looking at her with a mischievous grin. As she laughed, she slapped his shoulder, and he pulled her in to wrap an arm around her.

Caius’ grip on the pizza box tightened and dented the cardboard. He knew the moment she sensed him because her bodystiffened, and she glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes flared slightly and flicked to the pizza box in his hands.

The man with his arm around her pulled her attention away, making her laugh again. Caius both relished and resented the sound, and he hated the man pulling it out of her.

They were probably fucking, and he hated that knowledge even more.

By the time Caius arrived back at the palace and sought out Gracie to run an errand, his mood was sour, and it worsened when Nina approached him in the courtyard. Her shirt was tight and low cut to showcase her huge tits, and her skirt was short.

Her tongue ran along her bottom lip before she bit it, and he wanted nothing more than for her to disappear. “I was looking for you,” she purred. “Can we meet tonight?” Her voice lowered so only he could hear. “I want to taste you.”

Aurora with the man in town flashed through his mind, and something red hot burned his chest.Would she be jealous if she saw him with Nina?It was a theory he wanted to test, but he wouldn’t fuck Nina again. She no longer appealed to him.

“Would you like to have dinner with me instead?” he asked with a forced smile.

Her eyes lit up. “Yes!” Had she been any other woman, he would have felt guilty for getting her hopes up, but Nina only wanted what she thought would elevate her status. If Caius lost his place of power tomorrow, Nina wouldn’t give him a second glance.No loss there.

He nodded and motioned for her to follow. Spending time with Nina where they had to converse would be its own kind of torture, but he would do it until they crossed paths with Aurora.

If she was jealous, then despite her trying to seduce him on purpose, she wanted him, and if she wanted him, he would take her.

Nina’s arm wrapped around his, and she wore a smug smile on her face every time they passed the other staff. Normally when he consorted with her, he took the less used halls, but that would defeat the purpose tonight.

“Where are we eating?” Nina asked excitedly. “We could try the pasta restaurant. They have a chicken parmesan plate that is to die for.”

Caius’ arm tightened slightly. “If that’s where you’d like to go.”

They walked through the streets with Nina hanging on his arm like a leech, and the stares they received made his stomach turn.Why was he subjecting himself to this over a woman he didn’t even like?

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