Page 83 of The Umbra King

“You will enter and exit through my office. There’s a hidden hallway,” he continued. “You are not to wander the halls alone.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” she said, cutting him off.

His brows rose. “Actually, I can.”

“You sound like Dume,” she muttered under her breath.

“Rory!” Bellina screamed frantically from the doorway, with Max and Asher on her heels.

Bellina tried to throw her arms around Rory’s shoulders, but a wall of shadows stopped her. She started swatting them away. “Rory’s sore,” Caius warned. “Don’t touch her.” When he said the last line, his eyes were on Asher.

“Aether,” was all Asher said as he looked Rory up and down. “Someone pushed you?”

She nodded weakly. “Bellina, can you speak to the kitchen about food for tomorrow night?”

Asher looked offended. “Are you kidding? Fuck my party, Rory.” He turned to Bellina. “Cancel everything.”

“That’s unnecessary,” Rory protested. “I can sit on a couch in the room we’re using. They’re fancy.”

Caius’ face darkened. “You need to rest.”

“Yeah,” Asher chimed in. “Can you even walk?”

Rory opened her mouth to defend herself but stopped. Could she? “That’s what I thought,” he said, sounding like the fifty-one-year-old he was.

“Shut up, Ash,” Bellina snappedplayfully.

Max stood quietly by the door. “Can’t say hi?” Rory teased.

Chuckling, he said, “I figured those two were talking enough for all of us.” He crossed the cramped room and lightly touched Rory’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay, kiddo.”

Bellina’s eyes ticked from Rory to Caius with an unspoken question, and Rory turned to the king. “Would you mind giving us some privacy?”

“Yes, I would,” he replied immediately. “Someone tried to kill you today. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we find out who.”

“I’ll give you three guesses,” Asher bit out. “We all know Nina was involved.”

Bellina smacked his arm. “You don’t know that.” She turned back to Caius. “But it’s probably true.”

“Nina was at her apartment all afternoon,” Sam said, making them all jump. His head looked around the corner of the doorway. “I checked.” He disappeared again.

Rory gulped. She knew people hated her, but enough to kill her? She’d hoped it ended with Ronny. “The list of people who hate me should start a club,” she joked. “They can get members’ jackets, so they’re easily identified.”

Max shook his head. “This is no laughing matter. They will try again.”

Rory straightened. It was unlike Max to scold anyone, and it made her nerves fray.

“Okay,” she conceded. “But can we still have Asher’s party?”

She glanced at Caius. “I won’t leave their sides.”

He looked at Asher. “You won’t leave mine either.” He slid off the bed and motioned toward the broken door. “Rory needs to rest. I’ll escort her to the party tomorrow, and you can see her then.”

The three bid Rory goodbye and left, and Sam, who Rory forgot was in the hall, stepped through the door, grabbed all of her things piled on the floor, and exited.

“Who packed my things?”

Caius bent over and scooped her up. “Lauren and Bellina.”

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