Page 73 of The Umbra King

Asher appeared through a swinging door and grinned as he leaned on the counter. “I knew you’d come home one day.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Was that a serial killer joke?”

“And a good one, too.” He winked. “Are you ordering cuts of meat for Lo?”

Rory shook her head. “I’m here to speak to your boss.” His brows rose. “You didn’t tell me you were leaving this soon,” she accused. His last day was in a couple of weeks, right before Max’s.

Asher’s shoulders fell. “What good would it have done?” His voice was somber, and she passed the counter to wrap her arms around his middle.

“You might not remember us, but we’ll remember you,” she promised him.

He squeezed her before releasing her and put his hands in his back pockets. “We get an entire day together,” he reminded her. “When friends request off work for someone’s last day, they are never denied.” He grimaced. “I forgot about Nina. She would take pleasure in denying yours. I’ll request off whatever day you have off that week.”

Rory gave him a cheeky grin. “I don’t work for Nina anymore.”

Asher choked out a laugh. “Shit, did you kill her?”

Rory shoved him lightly. “No, I didn’t kill her. Caius reassigned me.”

Asher scratched the light stubble on his jaw. “It’s Caius now?”

“I’m his personal assistant.”

Asher’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Are you the new Nina?”

This time she pushed him hard. “I will hang you from one of these hooks if you ever say that again.”

He held his hands up and pinched his lips together as his shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Grow up,” Rory grumbled. “I don’t know why he moved me.”

“The king will give you the day off. If anyone understands how hard losing people is, it’s him.”

25

Rory grabbedher alarm clock and snuck up the stairway to the sky room. It’d been two months since she found it, and she’d only been there a handful of times. Once she was more familiar with Caius’ routine and what time he arrived at his office on average, she could start sleeping here every night and slipping through the secret passage to get to work.

As much as she loved to sleep in with her new job, she would set her alarm for her regular shift tonight to avoid other staff when she snuck back to her room. If she passed anyone, she hoped they wouldn’t think twice about seeing her in her old uniform as she came and went from this room.

Losing those few hours was worth it—she needed the room right now. Her confusion over Caius, her sadness over losing Max and Asher, and her despair over never finding Cora’s soul was destroying her.

Her thoughts gave her pause. Did her brain believe Caius once and for all?

She would think about that later. After laying her dress on achair, she set her alarm clock on the nightstand and shucked off her dress to reveal her shift underneath.

The bed felt like clouds when she lay down, and a long sigh escaped her as she stared at the starry night sky. It wasn’t long before she drifted to sleep, but when someone sat on her, she squeaked like a dog toy.

The person jumped, and the lights on the walls immediately flared to life. When Rory’s stomach was back in place after plummeting to the ground, she saw Caius standing over her.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded. “How did you get in here?”

Rory’s chest was still heaving, and once she could focus, she rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you have heard of doors before.”

His hands fisted at his sides. “The door was locked. How did you get in here?”

She looked at her fingernails, studiously avoiding eye contact. “I picked the lock.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” he rumbled, making his displeasure known.

She remained quiet and crossed the room, grabbed her uniform, and slipped her arm through the sleeve.

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