Page 64 of The Umbra King

“Wait,” she called after him. He paused and looked at her over his shoulder. “I broke into your office.”

He turned fully with a wry smile. “Is that so?”

“And your desk,” she added. “Why do you have a file on my sister?” Her voice broke as she fought tears.

“I wanted to know why you accused me of her murder,” he answered simply. “I sent an enforcer for a copy of the emergency report. It said you saw it happen.” His eyes softened, and she resented his pity.

“I saw you murder her,” she protested, but her voice lost its edge. Had she been wrong, or was her gratitude taking over logic?

“I am sure you did, Miss Raven. You should sleep.” With that, he left her.

22

“She’s myAeternum,”Caius said as he slammed open Samyaza’s door. “Did you know?”

TheAngel’sshirt disappeared from his torso and reappeared in his hand. “I suspected.”

Caius fought the urge to rip off Sam’s wings. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

AnAeternumwas aRoyal’seternal mate.

“I didn’t know for sure,” Sam said as his pants were magically replaced by pajama bottoms. “Had I told you my suspicions, and they were wrong, you would have been devastated.”

It was true. When Adila locked Caius in Vincula, he feared he would never meet hisAeternum. Once born, it was guaranteed theRoyalwould meet their mate by the time theAeternumwas twenty-five. He didn’t know if the rule still applied to him since he was banished from Erdikoa, and no one knew what happened if anaeternumdied before meeting theroyal. It’s never happened before.

“I refused to disappoint you after all you have been through,” Sam replied.

“You could have found out. All you had to do was ask if she couldsee color!” Caius boomed, unable to control his rage. “It was that simple, Sam, and you just, what? Decided I didn’t deserve her?”

Sam was across the room in a flash and shoved Caius against the wall. “Never question my loyalty to you again. Grey-scale sight is not exclusive toAeternums, and I knew you would touch her, eventually.”

Aeternumswere born with grey-scale sight, and when they met their destinedRoyal, they saw them in color. Once they touched, theAeternum’sgrey-scale sight lifted, confirming the bond.

Caius slumped against the wall. “My nightmares were getting worse,” he said, his voice strained. “I should have known.”

Only they weren’t nightmares.When a mate was in danger, the other received a vision. It was to help them protect one another. Caius’ life had never been in danger, sparing Rory the horror of one.

As Caius knew all too well, visions were as close to being there as one could get without being present.The mate sees the event as it happens through their mate’s eyes, though often times it was blurry.

Sam laid his massive hand on Caius’ shoulder. “You had no way of knowing, but now that you do, what are you going to do about it?”

Caius could use his friend’s support, but he already knew what Sam would say. “I’m not telling her.”

Sam’s hand dropped. “It is not like you to be stupid.”

Caius glared at his friend. “She hates me, and until that no longer holds true, there is no point in telling her.” Another thought occurred to him. “Why didn’t you tell me the executed inmate attacked Rory?”

“His death was reported to me,” Sam replied. “His throat was ripped out of his body and lying on his chest. I did not want you doing something stupid, and he was already dead. It did not matter.”

“Her safety matters,” Caius growled. “Do not keep things from me again.”

Sam’s voice was hard when he said, “Control your temper, and I won’t.”

Rory trailedMax through the gardens as he worked, touching every colorful flower she could. Seeing the colors of souls was nothing compared to seeing the colors of the realms.

“Max, what’d you do to land yourself here?”

The old man continued pruning the bush he was working on. “Broke a bastard’s legs with my shovel.” His tone was unsettlingly casual.

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