Page 18 of The Umbra King

Keith slapped the table as he laughed. “This is the best thing I’ve heard all day.”

“That’s not all,” she said, smiling at the ridiculousness of the situation. “He dropped the condom on my stomach when he took it off. There was cum everywhere.”

Kordie slapped her hand over her mouth, and Dume’s laughter boomed through the air. “When is the next date?”

A balled-up napkin bounced off his head. “I hate you three,” she grumbled and held up her glass. “Cheers to me beating the wolf next time.”

They all raised their glasses as Keith added, “And to your delusional dreams.”

Rory wokewith a start to a loud banging sound. She jumped out of bed and bolted to her mother’s room, finding it empty, and panic seized her as she raced to the living room.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she looked around. Writing covered the walls, and her mother stood on a chair, scribbling with a marker. Rory jerked when she realized her mother was writing the same phrases over and over.

Two were one, and one is yours.

Do not let him fool you.

His darkness is poison.

Only the golden child can save you.

“Mom,” Rory rasped. Her mother ignored her as she continued to write. “Mom, please stop.”

She touched her mother’s side, worried she would fall. “Mom, please.”

Her eyes burned as she fought the urge to cry. Finally, her mother stopped and turned. “I must make you understand, Aurora.”

Rory nodded her head. “I understand. Come down before you fall.”

Her mother finished the phrase she was working on and held Rory’s shoulder as she stepped down. “Only the golden child can save you. Trust him.”

“Okay, Mom, I will. I promise.”

Her mother seemed pleased and walked to her room in a daze. When her door clicked shut, Rory sank to the floor and let the tears flow freely.

After the day’s events,Rory worked on muscle memory alone. She couldn’t get the message from her mother out of her mind. Yes, it was true aSibyl’smind was scrambled, but it was scrambled with every possible future in the realms. What her mother said was a realprophecy, but the question was whether it wasactuallymeant for Rory.

Two were one, and one is yours. Do not let him fool you. His darkness is poison. Only the golden child can save you.

What in the hell did that mean? She would never know. Instead, she would agonize over it for the rest of her life.

A knock on the bar top pulled her from her spiraling thoughts, and Keith’s concerned face looked down at her.

“Everything okay?” he asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this down.”

For all of his antics, Keith’s soul was kind. It was a vibrant blue Rory loved to look at from time to time.

She dropped her rag on the bar top. “No.” Leaning forward, she whispered, “Do you know anything about prophecies?”

His head popped back. “Prophecies? Did your mother say something?”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Do you know anything about them or not?”

He sat down, watching her before finally saying, “I don’t know much, but I know if aSibylcan speak one clearly, it is to be heeded. What happened?”

She hung her head, not wanting the stress of worrying about her future to this capacity. “My mother spouted a prophecy when Dume was over. She was having a clear day, and everything was great, until it wasn’t. She grabbed me by the shoulders and demanded I listen to her.”

Keith whistled. “What did she say? Also, why wasn’t I invited?”

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