Page 82 of The Umbra King

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Rory gaspedas her eyes flew open and her pillow moved up and down beneath her.Wait, that wasn’t right.

She tried to sit up and groaned. Did a bear shifter step on her?

Everything came rushing back. The stairs. The shove. The pain. The voice asking her to hold on.

“Rory?” a deep voice said, vibrating her back.

She tilted her head enough to see golden eyes watching her. Caius’ face was screwed up with worry, and when she whispered his name, it fell with relief.

“Where am I?” she croaked, looking around the best she could.

“Your room,” he replied coarsely. “Do you remember what happened?”

She tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. “I need water.”

“Guard!” Caius barked, making Rory groan and grab her head. “Sorry,” he said, placing a kiss on the top of her hair, almost making her choke, despite having no spit to choke on.

A member of the legion stepped through her doorway, which no longer had a door. “Yes, Your Grace?”

“Bring water and fetch the doctor,” he ordered, before loweringhis voice. “Rory, I know you’re hurting, but I need you to tell me what happened.”

She closed her eyes, immediately reliving the fall. Her eyes flew open and sweat beaded her brow. “Someone pushed me down the stairs.”

Caius’ entire body went taut. “Who?”

The guard returned with two glasses, a pitcher of water, and the doctor. He poured Rory a glass, and she drank it in one gulp.

“I’m glad to see you awake, Miss Raven,” the doctor said. “I need to examine you, if that’s okay?”

She nodded, pushed herself up, and immediately wished she were dead. Everything hurt. How was she supposed to beat the shit out of whoever did this to her if she couldn’t move?

After being poked and prodded, the doctor deemed her healthy, told her to take the potions Caius gave her, and left. “How many credits do we get at the pharmacy?” Rory asked. She hoped a lot.

When he didn’t answer, she turned herself around on the bed to look at him. He only stared. “You will have whatever you want. Credit limits no longer apply to you.”

Her mouth fell open. “Did you push me, and this is some type of penance?”

She was only half-joking.

“Did you see who did this to you?” he asked in lieu of a response.

She shook her head as much as she could. “I was in a hurry to arrange the food for Asher’s party and the ball.” She stopped. “Can you give approval for Bellina to finish the arrangements for Asher’s party tomorrow? I’m not sure I can walk down the hall, let alone take the stairs.”

Caius continued to stare at her incredulously. “You think so little of me that I would deny you anything right now? You almost died, Rory. I watched you slip away in my arms. You could order Sam to make arrangements if you wanted, and I wouldn’t care.”

Her stomach flip-flopped at his words. “You made me clean your office.”

“I will destroy it again so you can watch me clean it, but first, I need to know if you saw who pushed you.” His hand lifted as if to touch her before he thought better of it.

“I didn’t see who it was,” she admitted. “I was in too much pain to look up.”

His nostrils flared slightly. “I’m moving you into Atarah’s room.”

She gaped at him again. “Why?”

He huffed out a humorless laugh. “Someone tried to kill you. Again.” It wasn’t an answer, but it was all he gave.

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