The Umbra King (Vincula Realm Book 1)

Rory was shaking with rage as she picked up the books strewn about the office. Caius needed to pull out whatever stick was up his ass.

The large stack of books she held tipped over, and she screamed, kicking at the heap on the floor.

“What did those books do to deserve your anger?” Samyaza asked as he waltzed into the room. He stopped and looked down when a lamp crunched beneath his foot. “What did he do?”

“Ironic you knew it was the king,” she muttered as she bent over to pick up the books. “He was fine, nice even. I left for lunch and when I came back, the office was destroyed. He snatched his lunch and told me to clean up.”

Sam cursed under his breath and gathered the shards of the broken lamp. Rory should tell him he didn’t have to help, but she didn’t want to spend all night picking up the wreckage.

“Caius is dealing with some life altering news,” Sam said as he picked up shards of glass. “Please, give him grace.”

Life altering news? Interesting, but not good enough. “Are you shitting me?”

Sam’s brows furrowed. “Shitting you? That is disgusting. No, I am not shitting you.”

“Why should I be the one to cater to him?” she asked as she shoved books onto the shelves harder than necessary. “We all go through tough situations; it’s the nature of life. Doesn’t mean we get to be twats to everyone.”

He didn’t bat an eye at her name calling.

“You do not understand,” he replied, gathering books. “I am asking you to be patient with him.”

Rory snorted. “You can take my patience and shove it up his ass.” Right next to the stick.

“You are impossible,” he said as he turned to Caius’ broken desk.

“And you are bigger than a mountain troll, but you don’t see me pointing it out,” she returned.

He glared at her and surveyed the desk before picking it up, spilling the contents everywhere. The wood splintered in two, and Sam caught both pieces. Rory was amazed at his strength and agility. He was not of these realms.

“Why didn’t you take everything out first?” she griped, pointing at the files and pens on the ground. “You’re going to break something.”

He gave her a flat stare and held up one half of the large desk. “If you are not strong enough to move the desk, you do not get a say in how it is done.”

She hurled a book across the room and nailed him on the butt. He turned slowly, and she wondered if he would rip her head off. Literally. “Did you throw a book at me?”

She crossed her arms. “Yes.”

He shook his head and continued toward the door.

“It’s not fair to ask me to be understanding of someone treating me like dirt, and I’ll throw this entire room’s worth of books at you if you suggest otherwise again,” she called after him.

He gave her a crooked smile that momentarily stunned her. “Finish picking up the books, and I will take care of Caius.”

Sam burst into Caius’ room like a bull chasing red. “What did you do?” he boomed.

Caius already knew what he was referring to. “What I had to do.”

“You had to destroy your office and force Rory to clean it up?”

Caius checked Sam’s ears to see if they were emitting steam.

Sam hadn’t been this upset in a very long time, and Caius closed the book he was reading. “We need to keep our distance, and if she wants to throttle me, it will be easier.”

“Why?” Sam asked indignantly. “Why are you fighting this so hard?”

“Because,” Caius shouted as he stood, letting all of his frustrations out on his friend. “If I lose myself in her, I won’t be able to kill Gedeon.” He closed his eyes to steady his breathing. “I cannot allow Atarah’s death to go unpunished. His soul is the blackest of them all, and he rules an entire realm.”

Sam’s wings flared slightly. “You can still have your retribution, with Rory at your side. Speak with Adila when your contract is up and handle the situation like a king.”

“And chance Gedeon interfering?” Caius laughed bitterly. “If he catches wind, he will do everything in his power to stop me, and you know that as well as I do.”

“What good does it do to push her away?” Sam’s voice was filled with disappointment.

“Because if I had her, truly had her, I wouldn’t let anything separate me from her, including death,“ he replied. “My agenda is the most important thing in the realms to me, and I refuse to let her change that. I’d like to think Adila would spare me for ridding the realms of Gedeon. But I also never imagined she would lock me away for a crime I didn’t commit.”

Sam shook his head, and the look on his face punched Caius in the gut. “You are a fool.” He stopped on his way out the door. “Do not treat her like she is beneath you. She is your equal, and while you may not want her, she deserves to be treated as such.”

Caius stared miserably at the door. He wanted Rory, but he didn’t want to want her. Sam was right. Treating her the way he did was not the answer, but being around her wasn’t an option, either.

“And then that fuckwad told me to clean it up!” Rory exclaimed, as her hands motioned wildly. “Can you believe that?”

She sat at a table with Bellina, Asher, Cat, Tallent, and Kit. They listened to her entire rant about King Twat, as she now referred to him, but they’d yet to respond. Her name calling was childish, but she didn’t care.

Until they exploded with laughter. “It’s not funny!” Rory protested.

“Yes, it is,” Cat replied as she giggled into her drink. “He either wants to sleep with you, or he really despises you.”

“Next time, put his books back with the spines facing the inside of the bookcase,” Kit suggested. “He’ll never read again.”

Bellina was quiet as she watched Rory. “What?” Rory asked her.

“Why would he give you a job, be nice to you, and then be a jerk?” she wondered. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Nothing about the king’s actions makes sense,” Asher said, before chugging the rest of his beer. “He killed his sister, but we know he’s not the nightmare they say he is. He humiliated Rory in front of everyone and then bought her a new wardrobe. The man is an enigma.”

Tallent was quiet during the exchange until he finally set down his drink with an indiscernible look and asked, “He moved Nina out of the palace for you, didn’t he?”

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 a Seraph, 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.”

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

There were only a handful of original paintings of Seraphim in 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 of Royal.

Kit nodded. “Seraphim live in the aether like mystics live here, only they’re all powerful and have no single ruler. Different Seraphim create 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 of Seraphim created their own realms, including hell,“ Kit continued.

“Wait,” Asher interrupted again. “If the other Seraphim created 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 of Seraphim created 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 other Seraphim created 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 other Seraphim named 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, they did both 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 a Sibyl before coming to Vincula. It would make sense his mind wasn’t a mess since a mystic’s abilities were taken from them once here.

She snuck a glance at his mark. Nope, definitely a Munin.

He didn’t elaborate on his statement, and no one asked. Something Rory noticed was that Max’s word was taken as truth. The old man didn’t say much, but when he did, they listened.

“I’m going to miss you,” she said, nudging Max’s shoulder with hers. “You too, Asher.”

The table fell silent again until Cat said, “Way to be a buzzkill, butcher girl.”

They all chuckled, but it held none of the amusement from before. “We need to send you guys off with a bang,” Cat said. “We can throw a party at my apartment!”

“I bet we could host it at the palace,” Rory supplied. “I can ask Caius. As much as he hates me, he has a soft spot for everyone else.”

Kit tipped her glass. “I vote for the palace.”

“Me too,” Bellina said. “Especially since you’ll miss the Plenilune ball,” she said to Asher. “It’s the day you leave.”

Asher threw back the rest of his drink. No one had gone for a refill yet, and Rory waved down a server. While they waited, Asher said, “I won’t remember it anyway.”

“You guys really know how to ruin the mood,” Cat muttered, making everyone laugh again.