Page 90 of The Umbra King

The oversized buzzard won’t let me in. I guess your royal boyfriend hasn’t changed his mind about letting you attend the ball. Tell him to fuck off for me. The bird, too. I’ll be back tomorrow, and if the brute doesn’t let me in, I will light his wings on fire.

-Bellina

Rory both laughed and huffed with frustration. “Tell me again why the mighty king is keeping me locked in this sunny cage?”

Lauren shook her head. “Because he thinks you are a fragile bird.”

“I’m not a bird.” She tucked the paper into the book Caius had left beside the bed. “I’m aSeraphim-damned serial killer, and I am two seconds away from murdering him next.”

Lauren threw her head back with a laugh. “A fragile bird you are not.” Her voice took a serious turn. “Let him fuss over you in his own way, at least while you’re still recovering. If he’s still hovering when you’re back to normal, I’ll help you kill him myself.”

Rory eyed Lauren suspiciously. TheAngelknew something about the king Rory didn’t, and if there was anything she hated more than being coddled, it was being left in the dark.

“The plus side of the ball being tonight is that there is no one in town, and your warden has given Sam and me the okay to take you out for dinner,” Lauren told her. “Get dressed. Sweats and a t-shirt will do since no one will see you.”

“He’ll allow me to walk through town but not down the stairs to the ball?” she asked incredulously.

“It isn’t the walking he’s worried about,” Lauren corrected. “It’s the people. Someone tried to kill you, and while I think it’s unfair to keep you from the celebration, his worries are valid.”

Rory grumbled as she changed out of her pajamas. She had comfortable sleep shorts and tank tops brought in from town, and since she didn’t leave her room all day, she never changed.

She slipped on the long, soft dress Bellina bought for the ball and left her hair down. She forewent the makeup because she hated taking it off at night.

“I said sweats and a t-shirt,” Lauren said, looking Rory up and down.

“Bellina bought this dress for tonight, and I’m going to wear it.” She refused to let it go to waste, and next Plenilune, she would get a more appropriate dress for the ball.

She sighed long and loud. “Lead the way, jailer.”

Lauren flipped her hair over her shoulder and opened the door. “You say that like I’m not actually your jailer.”

Sam grinned from the doorway. “She’s no more an inmate than you or I.”

His words piqued Rory’s interest because they were the farthestthing from the truth, and Sam didn’t lie. She studied theAngelcarefully, and he lifted a blonde brow. “Why are you staring at me?”

She chuckled. He was incapable of lying because he was blind to all social cues. “I was admiring your flowing locks. What products do you use?”

Lauren barked out a laugh and looked at Sam knowingly. “Don’t say a word,” he warned, but it only made her grin wider.

“Smell his hair,” she said to Rory.

Rory hesitated for a second before turning to Sam. “Let me smell your hair.” She reached for a handful, but he pawed her hand away.

“You are not smelling my hair,” he replied, and shot Lauren a warning glare.

“He uses strawberry mango scented conditioner for dry hair,” she said in a sing-song voice, and once Rory was over the shock of it all, she bent over laughing so hard her eyes watered, ignoring the pain.

Sam crossed his massive arms and glared at Rory, who had her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath, and Lauren, who was grinning like a cat. “We are going to be late,” he said as he led them into the hallway.

Lauren motioned for Rory to follow as they both tried to hold in their laughter.

“Dothey have potions at the pharmacy to heal my bruises and sore muscles?” Rory asked them as they walked through town.

“No,” Sam said a little too quickly, and Rory narrowed her eyes at him. He was lying, meaning hecouldlie, he was just terrible at it.

“You’re lying,” she accused, and turned to Lauren. “Tell me the truth, or I’ll be as difficult as mystically possible.”

Lauren’s lips pressed together as she side-eyed Sam, who shook his head. With a sigh, she said, “Yes.”

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