Page 81 of The Umbra King

Caius heard yelling from the hallway, and his arms tensed around her.

“Let me in there, or I will shove those horns up your ass!” a woman’s voice threatened.

TheAatxestanding guard rumbled something in return and he walked past the doorway with Rory’s friend in tow.

“Wait,” Caius called out. TheAatxehalted. “She can come in.”

The woman whose name Caius couldn’t recall stepped into the room with one last glare over her shoulder at the retreating guard.When she turned back to Rory, her hands flew to her mouth as she crossed the room.

“What is your name?” Caius asked.

She sniffled, and tears filled her eyes. “Bellina. I’m a seamstress here.”

“You killed your wife’s abusive father,” Caius recalled, and she nodded.

Bellina rushed to the bathroom and came back with a damp towel. “What happened?”

As she began wiping the blood from Rory’s face, Caius internally slapped himself for not thinking of doing the same. “I found her at the bottom of the stairs.”

Bellina gasped. “Did someone push her?”

“We don’t know.” He clenched and unclenched his jaw repeatedly to keep from screaming at theSeraphimfor allowing this to happen.

“She wouldn’t fall,” Bellina insisted. “People have had it out for her since she arrived, thanks to you.” The seamstress looked ready to rip Caius’ head from his body, and he didn’t blame her.

He couldn’t change the past. Lauren reappeared in the doorway, and Caius beckoned her closer. “Pack up her belongings. It’s no longer safe for her to stay in the staff quarters.”

“I’ll help,” Bellina volunteered.

They both moved quietly around the room as they pulled her things from her drawers, packed her toiletries, and set them in a neat pile near the door.

“Leave us,” Caius instructed. When the room was vacant, he leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Caius walkedthrough the empty halls of his palace, looking for something. No, not something. Someone. A sense of urgency overcame him, and he moved faster, throwing open door after door.

He approached room 21030, pushed it open, and skidded to a halt when he saw Rory sitting on her bed.

Her mouth pulled into a wry smile. “What are you doing here?”

Memories came flooding back—she was hurt. They must be in the mate soulscape. Once two mated souls were both of age, they sometimes shared a soulscape, though they had no memory of it when they woke. Once the bond solidified, they only met in the soulscape when separated, and they remembered it in vivid detail. It was said to help connect their souls. He assumed they were meeting now because she needed him.

“You need to wake up, Rory,” he pleaded.

Her head tilted to the side as she regarded him. “I am awake.”

“You’re dreaming,” he insisted. “Please wake up.” His words were growing more frantic. He had to make her understand.

She moved away. “What has gotten into you?”

He kneeled in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. “Baby, you need to wake up.”

A crease formed between her brows. “What’s wrong? I’m fine here.”

Desperation clawed at his chest. “There was an accident, and you’re unconscious. You need to wake up.” He had to make her understand.

Her hand touched her hair and pulled away, covered in blood. She screamed and stood, knocking Caius over.

Feeling her head again, she looked at him. “I need to wake up.”

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