Page 78 of The Umbra King

Rumors spread about Nina’s housing reassignment, and Rory tapped her glass. “I don’t know if it was because of me, or because she kept showing up wherever he was, begging for his dick.”

Asher snorted beer through his nose and all over the table. “Seraphim, Rory. Warn a guy before you talk about the king’s goods.”

The table erupted with laughter again. “What are you going to do?” Kit asked.

Rory banged her head against the table. “What can I do? Deal with his moodiness, I guess.” She lifted her head. “He told me the first time we met that by the time I was done here, I would wish Adila had sent me to hell instead. This place feels like hell sometimes.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Cat scolded. “Orcus rules hell, and the king rules a prison. One of those things is not like the other.”

“Did you know Orcus is aSeraph, too?” Kit asked everyone, taking them by surprise.

Everyone turned to her. “That’s not in the history books,” Tallent replied. “How could you possibly know that?”

Kit threw back the rest of her drink. “Yes, it is. They don’t teach much about him in grade school other than the basics, but there are ancient texts from the first days. My parents are historians. It’s why I became obsessed with reading.”

Seraphimwere beings who ruled the aether and created realms as they pleased. They were terrifying creatures with two large wings likeAngels, small wings covering their faces like a mask, and wings covering their legs. TheSeraphimresponsible for Erdikoa and Vincula created everything here and disappeared. What was the point?

There were only a handful of original paintings ofSeraphimin existence from the early days, all in The Capital, but prints were available in Erdikoa.

Orcus was the ruler of hell, and Rory assumed since he ruled a realm, he was a type ofRoyal.

Kit nodded. “Seraphimlive in the aether like mystics live here, only they’re all powerful and have no single ruler. DifferentSeraphimcreate different realms. The closest analogy I can think of is that they are the parents, and we are their children.”

“What does this have to do with Orcus?” Asher butted in.

Cat popped him in the back of the head. “Let her finish.”

“Orcus and another group ofSeraphimcreated their own realms, including hell,” Kit continued.

“Wait,” Asher interrupted again. “If the otherSeraphimcreated hell, why are souls from our realms sent there, too?”

“Will you stop interrupting?” Bellina chided. “You are so annoying sometimes.” Asher feigned outrage, but another look from Bellina had him straightening.

“When the other group ofSeraphimcreated their first realm and its inhabitants, some souls were born black,” Kit explained. “They didn’t want them in the aether, so they created hell. Orcus was an arrogant jackass who wanted to rule over others, and he volunteered to be the keeper of hell.

“From there, when otherSeraphimcreated new realms, it was agreed upon that hell would be a catch-all for the wicked.” Kit stopped to take a breath. The story was long, and Rory was having difficulty following. “Something happened, but I’m not sure what. It was never explicitly mentioned in the texts, but Orcus’ sister Lympha and four otherSeraphimnamed Aestas, Autumnus, Heims, and Ver locked him in hell. Lympha died in the fight.”

Cat glanced at Rory. “Told you the king wasn’t as bad as Orcus.”

“Well, theydidboth kill their sisters,” Bellina pointed out. “Maybe they aren’t so different after all.”

“Caius didn’t kill his sister,” Rory said defensively before she could think better of it.

Everyone stared at her wide-eyed. “How would you know that?” Tallent asked. “And you call him Caius?”

Rory fidgeted in her seat as she wiped a bead of sweat from the side of her glass. “He said he didn’t.”

“And you believed him.” Asher deadpanned.

“Why would he lie?” Rory met his judgmental stare. “What could he gain from lying?” They all fell into a contemplative silence.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Max said as he approached the table. “Never thought I’d see the day you all were quiet.”

“The king didn’t kill his sister,” Cat chirped as though they were discussing what drapes to buy for her apartment.

Max slid into a seat next to Rory. “I figured as much.”

Of course he did.Max somehow knew everything, and Rory wondered if he was actually aSibylbefore coming to Vincula. It would make sense his mind wasn’t a mess since a mystic’s abilities were taken from them once here.

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