Page 10 of The Umbra King

TheMerrow’s body shook with cries. “He didn’t say. He approached me and said he would strip my name from the Crown’s archives and give me a new identity so I could skip my monthly binding elixirs. He set me up a new bank account filled with more moedas than I could spend in my lifetime. H-he gave me an elixir toreverse the effects of the suppressant.” The man sobbed again. “He said all I had to do was capture her soul for him. That’s all I know.”

She sat in the chair, perplexed. “That doesn’t make sense. My sister wouldn’t hurt a chipmunk.”

Instead of answering her, the man wept as he swayed back and forth. Mulling over the new information, she stood and bent down in front of him again. “I want to look into your eyes when I say this, so stop crying and listen.” He sucked in a few quick breaths and looked at her. “This is for watching as my sister died and then stealing her soul.”

With that, she slid her knife across his throat and watched as he bled out. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, staring at the man she had dreamt of killing a million times, but when she moved again, it was with purpose.

In her fantasies, when she found him, she drew his death out and relished in his screams, but she couldn’t do that in an expensive apartment building filled with people.Damnit.

Wandering through the apartment, she opened every door until she found what she was looking for. Her hand flew to her mouth as she held in a cry at the sight of floor to ceiling shelves filled with jars of different colored souls.How long had he been murdering innocents?

Pulling herself together, she made quick work as she opened each jar and set them free.

When she was done, she methodically sewed theMerrow’s hands to his shoulders as her mind ran wild. She had to find Bane, whoever he was, get her sister’s soul back, and send him to hell.

3

VINCULA

Caius chokedas he sat up, his nightmare having dragged him from sleep. He couldn’t get the image of blood-soaked hands out of his head. His nightmares were becoming more vivid, and each emotion stayed long after he woke.

“Seraphim,” he muttered as he threw back the duvet and stood. He raked a hand through his hair, crossed the room, and poured himself a bourbon from the wet bar. He eyed the wine bottles in the mini wine fridge, and his insides soured. The wordpoisonechoed in his mind, and without thinking, he pulled the fridge out of its cubby and placed it in the hallway.

This happened sometimes after his nightmares. Something that never bothered him before made him uncomfortable for no reason, and he was unable to be in its presence. Releasing a frustrated breath, he padded to the bathroom and splashed water on his face.

He knew they were only dreams, but the anxiety, and sometimes fear, he felt was real. This time it was an all-consuming rage hecouldn’t shake, and he wanted nothing more than to shatter everything in sight.

But the worst part of his nightmares was the feeling of suffocation; the same suffocation he experienced when in the presence of a black soul.

Flashbacks to his childhood made his hands tremble, and he gripped the sides of the sink until his knuckles turned white. As a child, he was sensitive to black souls, more so than someFey. NoRoyalother than the Scales of Justice could see or sense souls, but for some reason, he could. Especially the soul of his sibling, whose secret he kept, never wanting to out them to their parents.

Royalsweren’t supposed to have black souls, and he used to think he was crazy. He wasn’t, and not telling his mother was a weight he would carry for the rest of his long, miserable life.

Gazing at his reflection, he huffed out a laugh. If only people knew the evil Umbra King was shaken to his core by a few bad dreams.

4

ERDIKOA

The next nightRory and Kordie waited for the guys outside of Wonder, and Rory tried to put the night before behind her.

Kordie’s hair was long and dark and fell in a sheet down her back. “Why did you change your hair?” Rory asked her.

Kordie ran a hand through her locks. “I’m changing it back tomorrow, but I wanted something sleek tonight.” She paused and added, “It’s dark maroon. You would love it.”

Rory nodded. “I could go for a darker color, but I don’t know if I trust you not to turn my hair pink.”

Kordie’s lips pinched together. “I promise I won’t. We could add dimension with grey highlights through the bottom of your hair,” she said, inspecting Rory with eager eyes. “It would look amazing, and you could see it exactly as others do.”

Rory released a heavy sigh. “Fine.”

She would never admit it, but seeing herself as others did, even if it was only her hair, was something she desperately wanted. She andCora would lie awake and wonder what certain people looked like in color. Her heart stung at the memory.

Kordie’s eyes widened as she clapped excitedly. “We’re doing it this weekend before you have time to chicken out.”

“Fine,” Rory grumbled again.

Kordie looked ecstatic as the guys approached, and Rory pushed her lightly.

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