Lauren continued putting away Rory’s things. “That’s all I can say. Don’t ask me anything else.”
“Please, Lau—”
“No,” Lauren clipped. “I’ve told you too much as it is. You have been given a fresh start. Live your life and stop worrying about the past.”
Rory’s resolve thickened. Something important was being hidden from her, and she needed to find out what. Returning was an emotional shock, but it was time to pull herself together.
Lauren was right about one thing. Rory needed to enjoy the time she’d been gifted with her friends and family. The guilt about her mother’s incarceration was still there, but the knowledge that her visions no longer plagued her and that she was treated well, helped ease it a bit.
She pulled shoes from the other suitcase, thinking. Her intuition was telling her something, and if her dream last night and the prickling sensation she felt were any indication, there might be a way for her to lift the magic blocking her memories.
She just had to figure out how.
Later that night, Rory stared at the ceiling, willing herself to fall asleep. Her visit with Keith and Kordie lightened her mood, and tomorrow the group was going to Night Potions after everyone got off work.
Tossing and turning, she decided to swing by a pharmacy tomorrow to pick up a sleeping potion.Would she dream about Not-Bane again?
She didn’t know why it mattered. It wasn’t like she wanted to go back to prison, but the elusive recognition was driving her crazy.
Sleep never came.
6
VINCULA
Caius satup and scrubbed his face with both hands. There was no soulscape last night, and he was obsessing over why. She was safe, otherwise he would have had a vision, but any number of non-life-threatening things could be wrong.
After getting ready for the day, he slipped through the corridor from his and his mate’s bedroom to his office. He allowed himself to grieve in private but not in front of others. Being a king meant he could not let his problems affect his subjects, even if his life was falling apart.
He also needed to get out of thisSeraphim-damned realm to kill his brother before he discovered Rory.
The only way to kill aRoyalwas by decapitation or stabbing them in the heart. Caius was the only person strong enough to get close enough to his brother to do it. Gedeon would fry anyone else before they reached him, but Caius’ shadows could smother Gedeon’s light.
Asking Adila to lift his sentence was out of the question, butthere had to be information about the magic trapping the inmates in Vincula somewhere. He needed to find it.
When he entered his office, Sam was waiting. “What is your plan,Your Grace?”
TheAngelstood in front of Caius’ desk, looking pissed. It was a look he’d permanently adopted since Caius sent Rory to Erdikoa.
Sighing, he sat down at his desk. His chair squeaked lightly as he leaned back and drummed his fingers against the arm. “Research. I’m certain there are no useful books in my office, and I need to speak with Rory’s friend who works in the library. I believe her name is Kit.”
Paper crinkled as Sam pulled a small bag from his pocket. Reaching inside, he produced a donut and bit into it.
Caius eyed the pastry as a memory of Rory biting into the sugary food with a taunting smile invaded his thoughts. The corner of his mouth lifted at the image. “Why do you always have food in your pocket? You’re like a walking vending machine.”
Sam smiled for the first time in days. “I am a growing boy.” He sat on the bench, his large wings tucked tight against his back. “What are you researching?”
“I need information on Adila’s power or the magic sealing Vincula from Erdikoa.” He rocked his head from side to side, pondering his own statement. “Or that seals Erdikoa from Vincula.”
He wasn’t sure which it was. The realms were, topographically speaking, mirror images of one another. One of the history books his parents forced him to read as a child described them as being stacked on top of each other, sky to sky. It’s why you practically fell into whichever realm you were entering.
He needed his full power to break through the barrier, but without access to Erdikoa, it felt impossible.There had to be a way.
Sam stared at him like he was an idiot. “If you think there is a book accessible to inmates detailing how to break out of Vincula, you need to be reassigned.”
“Just bring me the librarian,” Caius replied crossly and rubbedthe slight stubble on his jaw. He needed to shave, but more important tasks consumed his time.Like finding a way to save his mate.“Did you see Rory’s mother this morning?”
Sam shook his head. “She either has not woken yet or is already in town meeting new people. My bet is on the latter.”
