Blood and Reign (Blood and Ruin Series Book 3)
Blood and Reign: Chapter 23

But love… love is endless. Becoming an infinite place where hope is born, and life begins once more…

A luminescent light wraps around me, encasing me in its warmth. It fills me up making me feel safe. Whole. Loved.

I drift off for a second, or what feels like it. When I wake, the light above glows bright, so bright it glares down on me, taking me a minute to fully open my eyes.

When the light slowly dims, it reveals a small white room. Everything is white. From the bed I’m lying on to the floors, the walls, and the door. My eyes catch on the walls as they glimmer and shine, like there’s some weird type of glitter on them.

Where am I?

The last thing I remember was… the core. And then there were flames and— My eyes widen as everything comes flooding back to me.

The core. Luka. The Underworld.

My chest grows tight, as the small room closes in around me. My mates. The bond… the—I pause, placing my hand to my chest where I feel our six strands pulse as if they’re trying to tell me something.

But how? How can I still feel our bond when I’m… dead.

“Kiarra?”

I jump at the sound, not realizing anyone else was in here with me. I sit up and turn to the voice, my heart stuttering to a stop when I see the woman who called me.

This can’t be real. She can’t be real because she died six years ago and no matter how many times I begged, pleaded, and cried, she never showed up.

Her dark brown hair is slightly shorter and less soft than I remember, her skin a shade lighter but her green eyes are the exact color and shape as mine.

“M-Mom?” My voice is raw, my throat tight as I stare at a ghost from my past.

My mom smiles but it’s not the smile I remember. It’s awkward, unsure and the light and warmth that’s normally in her eyes is now only a glimmer.

“You need to rest. Even though your mates were able to save you, you’re still not fully healed.”

“My mates saved me. I’m alive?” I glance down at my body. My skin is barely covered in a white slip of a gown, the material as soft as silk but I am completely healed. There are no cuts, bruises, or wounds from the aftermath of trying to fix the core.

And I feel good. Rested.

“The bond between the six of you is no ordinary bond.”

I glance up at my… but she can’t be, can she? She just said I was alive, and I know for a fact that my mom is dead. I saw her die years ago. And if by some sliver of a chance she was still alive, she would’ve come after me. She would never have let King take me…

I shake my head, stopping my thoughts from running wild. “Who are you? I mean, you look like…”

She smiles that strange smile again as a look of pity crosses her face. “No, Kiarra. I’m not Reyna.”

I nod trying to swallow past the hard lump in my throat. I knew it, but if I was honest with myself, there was still that sliver of hope that my mom was actually here with me somehow.

“Who are you? And where am I? Where are my mates?” She said I wasn’t dead, but this room isn’t like anything I’ve seen in the Underworld.

I glance around the weird white room again getting a better look at it now that I’m fully awake and sitting up. Apart from the bed, there’s only a small chair. There’s no window and the only way out is the door behind her.

My eyes move back to my mother’s doppelgänger. Could demons create illusions, or was she something else?

“I’m her sister. Her twin, Rielle.” Her expression is stiff as she watches my every move, but I’m frozen after hearing her words.

If she’s my mother’s sister, doesn’t that make her…

“You’re my… aunt?”

Rielle smiles, a real one this time. “Yes, Kiarra.”

Elation bubbles up inside me at the thought of having more family. But as soon as the thought crosses my mind, reality swiftly kicks in, reminding me that this woman is still a stranger. And blood means nothing.

This could also all be some fabricated lie, another game, or messed up trick. It wouldn’t be the first time I was fooled so easily.

I narrow my eyes on her. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

Rielle’s smile drops slightly. “You have my word.”

Which means nothing to me. She’s a stranger. One that may look like my mother, but I live in a world where illusions and magic are real. It’s very possible that this is another illusion or spell.

Mom never mentioned her either, and I don’t remember Rielle ever visiting us. My frown grows the longer I think about it.

If she is my aunt, why does she care now after all this time?

“Mom never mentioned you.”

She forces her smile back in place. “Reyna had no memories of her life before you. It was part of the… deal she made.”

Oh, right, I forgot about that. It makes sense that I never heard about her from mom. But what about Rielle? She still remembered.

“Is that why you never came to see her?” Wouldn’t she want to check up on her sister, her twin?

Mom was vulnerable, she was pregnant and alone with no abilities. Couldn’t she at least check in on her every now and then?

But maybe I’m giving her too much credit, basing my feelings off my family with the guys instead of the reality of having one.

“I wanted to but I couldn’t leave the Underworld.” I give her a look making sure she knows it sounds like a shitty excuse. Family should always come first.

Rielle sighs. “There’s a lot you don’t know and a lot you don’t understand.”

And apparently a lot she’s not telling me. I stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Then tell me. I’m never going to understand unless you at least try to explain.”

Rielle nods as an exhausted look settles over her. “The Underworld is imbalanced.”

That’s… nothing new. “Soren told us.”

Her eye twitches at the mention of Soren but she continues on as if it never happened. “But it all started when Reyna left.”

I frown thinking over Rielle’s words. I thought the imbalance started when King released the demons from the Underworld recently.

But it sounds like the imbalance began when I was created.

She gives me a look as if trying to tell me something. But I’ve already started to piece it together.

I’m the imbalance. I have to be. The timeline adds up. As soon as Mom left the Underworld, that’s when she said the imbalance started and even when she died, it never got better. That was because I was still alive in King’s Tower.

“So, I’m what caused the imbalance?” The thought that my existence alone caused something this big makes my stomach churn.

Rielle gives me a small smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “No. Not you. The imbalance began when a powerful being escaped the Underworld.”

A powerful… She gives me a look and with that one look I know exactly who she’s talking about.

“King.”

Rielle nods, a frown on her face as she starts pacing back and forth. “After King escaped, the Underworld went into a type of lockdown. No Guardians were allowed to leave for fear of being compromised and upsetting the balance further.”

“But Mom left…”

She shakes her head. “Reyna was human when she left the Underworld. She would not have upset the balance.”

“Then why—”

“King. He was once a Guardian.”

Everything around me comes to a screeching stop. The blood pumping in my ears like a drum as I stare at Rielle in shock. “What? How? I mean…”

She releases a harsh breath. “Guardians are created from the essence of Gods and powerful warriors, fully born with the knowledge of what we need to do. Among our strengths is the ability to absorb energy from those corrupted and filter it through the Underworld to protect and maintain the balance. But instead of filtering it back into the Underworld, King kept it for himself. He twisted it into something dark and vile. He fed on souls, both good and bad, tainting everything with his touch. All while growing more powerful, tilting the scales further.”

I hear what Rielle is telling me, but it doesn’t process as quickly as I want it to, my mind still stuck on the part that King was once a Guardian… like my mother.

How can someone so vile, so evil be created from the same entity?

Rielle continues while I freak out internally. “When we found out about the corruption, the balance was already starting to become unstable, but he was still in the Underworld at this point, so it didn’t affect the outside. We immediately placed him in the Prison realm and had hoped to absorb and filter his energy to fix this mess but as you know that never happened. He was somehow able to escape his prison and found you, or your power.”

Which basically verifies King’s story from that point onward. My brain feels about ready to explode as it tries to come to terms with this new information.

King was once… good? Or was he?

I shake my head not letting myself go there. It didn’t matter what he was or did before. He made his choices in the end and now he must pay for them.

I glance up at Rielle as she watches me, gauging my reaction. “What about the other demons that have escaped into my world? Won’t they also add to the imbalance?” We already killed a load when they attacked Manhattan.

Rielle shakes her head. “Most demons born here are not as powerful as Guardians and although they have some sway on the balance, they won’t affect it as much as King and what he’s taken. He’s the only one that must be brought back to the Underworld and absorbed.”

One less thing to worry about, I suppose. But maybe I’m just grasping at straws hoping we’ll get a break.

A puff of dark smoke appears beside the bed. It quickly gathers into a large mass before the shadow beast walks through as if he decided to take himself for a walk.

Instead of freaking out, Rielle reaches out and pats its head with a smile on her lips.

“I was wondering where you went to.”

My eyes move from Rielle to the shadow beast, the familiarity in Rielle’s eyes telling me this isn’t the first time they’ve met. “You know this… shadow beast?”

Rielle’s lips widen a warm smile as she continues to pet him. “This is Zillah. He was your mother’s companion. He’s been missing for a while.”

Zillah lets her pet him, lapping it up like an actual pet instead of glaring at her the way he does with me.

I narrow my eyes on the traitor.

“He stayed with me for a while but six years ago, he disappeared completely. I thought he followed Reyna to the afterlife, but it would seem he stuck around for another reason.” She gives me a look.

She can’t be implying that he stuck around for me. There’s no way.

“You think he stayed for me?” I give her an incredulous look.

The light in Rielle’s eyes glimmers with humor. “I can already see the connection formed. You won’t get rid of him now.”

“That’s because he’s stubborn and just does what he wants.” The shadow beast narrows his eyes on me, making Rielle laugh.

“Shadow companions are rare. Not many Guardians get one. It’s a great honor. They will protect you for life.”

“Then why didn’t he…” Why didn’t he protect Mom?

I don’t have to finish my question. As soon as I start, Rielle gives me a small knowing smile. “The connection was severed once Reyna lost her powers. She wouldn’t have been able to contain him or his energy. Not as a human, but you could. Zillah must have sensed your power, even as a child.”

“I’m not a Guardian.” I glance back at Zillah just as he rolls his eyes. I look at Rielle wondering if she caught the fucker but she’s too busy watching me.

“No, but you have the blood of one.”

Rielle’s eyes grow soft, reminding me so much of my mother. “He’s fiercely independent, incredibly intelligent, and loyal to a fault. Once your connection grows stronger, he’ll be someone you can rely on for a very long time.”

I glance back at Zillah just as he gives me one of his superior looks. The kind that says, I’m lucky to have him.

And maybe I am, in more ways than one. It’s nice to know he was around my mom growing up. In a way, it makes me feel closer to her.

“I guess he can stick around.”

He narrows his eyes on me as if to say, ‘like you have a choice.’

I laugh at him when a sharp yank from somewhere deep inside me makes me gasp.

Rielle turns to me with worried eyes. “What is it?”

I rub the spot but narrow my eyes on Zillah as he fucking smirks at me. “Zillah just yanked on our connection. It was hard too.”

Rielle frowns at Zillah before looking back at me. “He must need to tell you something. Focus on the connection between you two and he’ll show you what he needs to.”

‘That’s something we can do?’

Rielle nods while Zillah just looks at me like I’m an idiot.

I reach down inside me and find the link that connects me and Zillah. It’s not hard to find after the fucker yanked on it a moment ago. Once I have it, I pull it closer, letting the connection form around me. As soon as I do, I start seeing flashes of Manhattan. But not of the Manhattan we left.

There’s a huge battle going on with thousands of demons of all shapes and sizes. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. Nothing even close to the first battle in Manhattan or in the Underworld. The supes are holding on, but barely, and the carnage and destruction are something I would only see in my nightmares, covering every surface and plane.

The connection quickly cuts off as Zillah pulls back.

Rielle frowns at me. “What is it? You look pale.”

I glance at her, not really seeing her, my mind still on the destruction in Manhattan, before glancing at Zillah.

“Is that real? Is that happening right now?”

Zillah nods, confirming my fears.

Every time I think it can’t get any worse, something like this happens.

I look at Rielle and swallow hard. “It’s King. He’s got an army of demons and is destroying Manhattan and everything there. We need to leave as soon as possible. We need to help them.”

Zillah disappears as quickly as he came.

“Where are my mates?”

“Your mates are close by, they’re all… anxious to see you but they know you need your rest.”

From the look in her eyes, I can tell she’s trying to be nice when she says anxious. Stubborn, controlling, or overprotective, sounds more fitting and I doubted any of them agreed to leave my side without some convincing.

I move to get out of bed to go find them. She frowns watching me. She’s about to say something when the door opens revealing Soren.

Rielle ignores him, still looking at me, but I catch the twitch in her eye and how her body turns stiff as he enters the room.

Soren gives me a smile as I move over to him. “I’m glad you’re okay. Your mates have been insufferable since Rielle told them they couldn’t enter the healing room.”

I glance over at Rielle. She’s still in the same spot and as stiff as ever.

“How did you get them to agree to that?” They normally never let me out of their sight, especially after everything that has happened. But maybe this is progress?

Rielle’s lip twitches. “I told them you would heal quicker if no one was in the room.” And that worked? The twinkle in her eyes tells me there’s more to it.

Soren laughs. “You told them if they were in the room, the healing wouldn’t work… at all.”

I bite my lip from laughing at Rielle’s white lie. I’m still a little shocked they actually went along with her. But maybe her looking like my mom had something to do with it.

Rielle raises a brow at Soren. “She needed her rest. And having possessive, overprotective men hovering over her would do no one any good.”

“What you mean is… you wanted Kiarra all to yourself.” Soren nods his head with a mocking smile on his face.

She growls at him before rolling her eyes and murmuring something about idiotic men.

I catch Soren’s soft smile as he stares at her like she’s the only one in the room. He seems to realize that he’s not a moment later. Shaking his head, he glances between us.

“But that little white lie can’t hold them anymore. They’re demanding to see her right now. I’ve got five minutes to bring you to them and if I don’t, they’ve promised to rip through every room in this house and everyone in it until they find her.”

Soren looks right at Rielle, a wicked smirk on his face. “And you don’t want to know what they said they’ll do if she’s hurt.”

I smile to myself. That sounds more like them.

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