Rory carried a lantern with her as she made her way through the park toward the lake. As she suspected, it was deserted at this time of night, and she released a sigh of relief.
Her small room was suffocating, and she needed to be away from other people where she could breathe in the fresh air, even if it meant staying up past her bedtime. There was too great a chance she would run into Caius in the gardens.
She walked onto the closest pier, removed her socks and shoes, rolled up her pant legs, and sat at the end to dangle her feet over the edge. The water lapped against her ankles, and she wondered if it ever rained here.
She thought of her mother, her friends, and her sister. Her heart burned, and a chasm formed in her chest. She missed them terribly, and she would never see them again, unless by some chance, the Seraphim let her into the aether. She doubted it, even if the Scales of Justice said her soul wasn’t black.
The knowledge made her happier than she thought it would. Killing the Umbra King would be a ticket to hell, but since he killed innocents, she hoped they would make an exception for her. Hope was a dangerous thing. It made people destroy in the name of good intentions.
“Please save a place for me,” she whispered into the dark.
It was eerie how dark it was at night. In town there were streetlights, but out here, it was almost impossible to see her own hand in front of her face. The lights from the town gave the park a slight glow, but not enough. She mentally patted herself on the back for remembering to bring a lantern.
“Well, if it isn’t the little butcher bitch,” a voice snarled behind her.
Her heart stopped beating as she climbed to her feet and whipped around in time to see a burly man with a black beard stalking across the pier, making the wood groan beneath him. Ronny.
The water below was the only escape, but she wasn’t sure what sort of creatures inhabited it.
She’d seen no one swim in it before, and that couldn’t be a good sign. Her feet were at the edge, and she needed to decide. Fighting him off wasn’t an option. He was big. Really big.
He was fast too, because before she could decide, he had her around the throat, and her lungs no longer filled with air. “You think you can treat one of our own like you’re better than her?” he sneered and grabbed her hair with his other hand.
Nina. This was because Rory showed up Nina at the bar?
She clawed at his hand, and he shoved her into the water as he released her neck, keeping one hand in her hair. Her scalp burned, and before he pushed her under, he said, “You don’t deserve to kiss the dirt beneath her feet, you dirty whore.” Her head plunged under the water.
Floundering, she grappled for the edge of the pier, but he pushed her head down farther. He was going to drown her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She fought as hard as she could, refusing to let him win, but all she did was exhaust herself.
He released her, and she broke the surface, choking and trying to gulp down air. Ronny’s cries for help filled the quiet night, and when Rory wiped the water from her eyes, she screamed at what she saw.
Lo, the supposedly gentle cat, was dragging him to the bank, and once on land, she pounced and ripped out his throat. It was fast, and Rory blinked to assure herself it was real.
When the panther was satisfied the attacker was dead, she walked down the pier toward Rory.
Lo sat down a few feet from where Rory hung on for dear life and looked at her.
“Please don’t eat me,” Rory begged, and then kicked herself for talking to an animal.
Lo cocked her head to the side, and Rory glanced at the shore and let go of the pier to swim away from the murder machine. Maybe she could climb onto the bank and run before the panther realized what she was doing.
When she waded out of the water, Lo met her at the bank, and Rory froze. “You can’t still be hungry after eating that mountain of meat,” Rory said, pointing at Ronny.
The panther chuffed and approached her. This was it. She was going to survive the Scales of Justice, only to be mauled by an overgrown cat.
To her utter amazement, Lo put her head in Rory’s hand and nudged her. “You want me to pet you?”
The panther nudged her again, and Rory rubbed Lo’s soft fur in a daze. This was the weirdest night of her life, and that was saying a lot.
Relaxing a little, Rory scratched the cat’s head. “You saved my life.” Lo purred. “You really are a house cat. A scary one.”
She could have sworn the panther glowered at her. “Sorry,” she said with a laugh. “I promise I know how vicious you really are.” She looked pointedly at the dead body twenty feet away. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Rory shivered, the adrenaline finally wearing off and reminding her she was soaked to the bone. Her black leggings were still scrunched to her knees, and her white t-shirt was stuck to her skin.
“I’ll bring you a nice, juicy steak tomorrow night,” Rory promised. “But I have to get back to the palace before I die of hypothermia.” She paused. “Can we die of sickness down here?”
The cat looked back at her silently, and Rory shook her head. “I’m losing it.” She gave Lo a final scratch. “Thank you again.” She thought about hugging the cat but didn’t want her affection to be mistaken for a chokehold.
She turned to leave, but Lo trotted alongside her. “What are you doing?” Stop asking the damn cat questions like it’s going to answer you, she scolded herself.
Lo ignored her and continued to follow her through town. A few stragglers were on the streets leaving the taverns or out for night strolls, and Rory walked faster. She looked like a drowned sewer rat. One man gave her a strange look that turned to surprise when he spotted the giant panther beside her.
Rory smirked down at Lo. “You’re like an asshole repellent.” The cat shook her head.
When they arrived at the palace steps, Lo licked Rory’s leg and stalked away into the night.
Caius stumbled, almost hitting the ground in the middle of his office as a hellish scene engulfed him. His heart hammered in his chest as he struggled in the water.
Ice encompassed his body as he fought to breathe. A scream tore from his throat as he beat his fists against whatever held him down, but it was no use.
He was dying.
Until he wasn’t.
The scene evaporated, and he slumped to the rug beneath him. His hand was clutched around his throat as he coughed, trying to expel the phantom water from his lungs.
As he stared at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath, he cursed, not understanding what happened. It was by far the worst nightmare to date, and he knew he wouldn’t sleep tonight.
After gathering his bearings, he stood and left for the kitchens. If he wasn’t going to sleep, then he would need as much sugar as he could get to keep him awake until tomorrow.
Rory tried to sneak through the palace unnoticed, but luck was never on her side. When she descended the second set of stairs, she was met by the Umbra King himself.
His cold gaze raked over her wet hair down to her white shirt, and she was painfully aware her t-shirt was now transparent, but his eyes didn’t linger. “Why are you wet?” There was something strained in his voice, and it piqued her interest.
“I went swimming,” she replied coolly, hoping he couldn’t actually detect lies.
He met her stare, and his eyes looked wild. “They do have swimsuits available in town.” He was playing at indifference, but something was wrong, she could feel it.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
Not wanting to think too much about his demeanor, she stepped around him and continued down the stairs.
“Wait,” he called, and she turned at the gentleness in his tone. “Your Aatxe friend is taking care of your mother.”
Rory’s hand flew to her chest as she swallowed whatever sound tried to claw its way out. “You’re not lying?” Hope seeped into her words, showcasing her weakness.
His eyes seemed to glow in the torchlight. “No, Rory, I’m not lying.”
Her jaw hung open as she watched him leave, and she knew what he said was true.
Because he called her Rory.
