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

An icy cold shiver rushes through me as we travel through the portal, Luka and Jax on either side of me, with Kai and Rion in front of us. Axel is the last to come through the portal, closing it behind him.

We arrive in the middle of a large forest with thick green trees everywhere. I catch a glimpse of the rocky mountains from the small opening in the trees. It’s a bit away but not too far to make it on foot.

“Where are we?” I ask.

Kai turns to me. “Vermont. This is as close as the portal can take us. Something to do with the energy from the old entrance messing with the portal.”

Rion glances around. “The cave isn’t too far.” He tilts his head toward the Rocky Mountains I spotted a moment ago. “We can walk from here.”

Jax turns to me wearing an innocent smile that slowly grows into a wicked smirk. “Let me know if you get tired and I’ll give you a ride. Or you can give me one.”

Luka sighs, shaking his head. “How are we even related?”

“Guess you just got lucky, brother.” Luka shakes his head as Jax slaps him on the shoulder, looking proud of himself.

I bite my lip, hiding my smile. Their normal bickering easing the knot in my stomach as we head into the unknown.

Kai turns to us, a worried look on his face. “Even with the guide, we’re basically going in blind. So, there’ll be a few ground rules that you all will follow.”

“Yes, Alpha,” I tell him, biting my lip. I guess some of Jax’s playful humor rubbed off on me. The other guys turn to me, but I stay focused on Kai as he narrows his eyes on me. The spark of heat in his eyes telling me I would definitely be exploring more of Kai’s dominant side.

Maybe I could push him enough to break those tight restraints he likes to think he has full control of. Or maybe just break them completely.

“Behave.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Jax replies to Kai, saluting him before sending me a wink.

Kai narrows his eyes on Jax before releasing a harsh breath.

“Rule one. No heroics that will get you killed.” His gaze stays on Jax, raising a brow before looking at Axel. Axel rolls his eyes, mirroring his raised brow as Kai continues. “Even with the upgrade to our abilities, we don’t know if being in the Underworld will stop us healing or getting stuck down there.”

The gravity of where we’re heading hits me, making me lose my smile. This was my idea, after all. If anything happened to them…

The knot in my stomach twists just thinking about it.

“We stick together. No matter what. There are a lot of unknowns in the Underworld. Many of which none of us have seen or ever heard of. If we get separated, it might stay that way for a very long time.” Kai pauses, looking at each one of us before looking right at me, the worry slashed across his face. Jax and Luka take each of my hands, squeezing them tight.

The air around us turns thick with apprehension the more Kai talks. Dread fills me as I think about anything happening to them, and from the slight glances from each of them, I can tell they feel the same.

Luka swallows hard, clearing his throat. “No straying from each other and no heroics. Got it. Anything else?”

Kai nods, looking back at me. “We know you’re powerful, but even powerful beings can die.”

The air swiftly changes around us at the mention of death.

Jax clenches his jaw. “The only one that will be dying is King.”

Kai nods at Jax, but there’s a glint of worry in his eyes. “If something happens to one of us…”

“Kai…” The mere mention of one of them being hurt tears me apart.

“If things get out of our control, I want you to get out of there,” Kai demands, narrowing his eyes on me.

I mirror his demanding body language. “No. I’m not leaving without any of you.”

“Kiarra—”

“You can’t ask me to leave any of you there.”

“Kiar—”

“Would you leave me there?”

Kai’s mouth snaps shut.

“Well?” I raised a brow.

Kai clenches his jaw. “No.”

“Then how can you ask me to do the same? I will destroy everything in the Underworld before I leave any of you there.”

The guys chuckle as Kai’s eyes soften, his shoulders and jaw relaxing. “Fine. We stick together. No matter what.”

I let go of Jax and Luka’s hands and step toward him and into his embrace. “And we leave together. With King finally gone for good and out of our lives.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jax rubs his hands together.

“Where is this guide, anyway?” Jax asks.

Rion shares a look with Kai, but it’s Kai who replies. “Draven said he’d meet us at the entrance.”

Axel starts for the mountains. “Let’s get moving then.”

We start walking forward, moving deeper into the forest until there’s nothing but tall beautiful green trees all around us but the apprehension is still thick, smothering the air between us.

Nobody talks, mirroring the quiet forest, the only sound coming from the birds above and the slight warm breeze as it moves through the trees.

I take a deep breath of fresh air, the scent of pine and damp moss assaulting my senses instantly and soothing my restless thoughts.

After a couple of minutes, a small nudge of strange energy enters my mind, making me slow my pace.

“You, okay?” Luka asks, noticing I’ve slowed down. I glance around, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Giving Luka a small smile, I carry on. “Thought I saw something.”

Luka frowns, glancing around before moving closer to me.

I smile to myself as we continue on. Even after seeing everything I can do and how much my powers have grown, they still want to protect me.

I push the strange energy to the back of my thoughts as we move further through the forest; the ground becoming rockier as we move closer to the huge mountains.

Looking above, I watch as the sunlight chases shadows along the canopy of trees above us.

I forgot how nice being out in a forest like this is. The last time being when I was a child.

Luka bumps my shoulder. “We’ll go on camping trips when this is all over.”

I smile. “Sounds perfect.”

“I think I see the entrance,” Jax says from further up ahead.

Coming through a thick shroud of trees, the strange energy needles my mind once more, but this time it feels… closer. I pause, stopping in my tracks, and focus on the energy.

“What’s wrong?” Luka asks, making the others stop and turn to me.

Reaching out with my senses, I follow the new energy in my mind. It’s colorless, but stronger the closer I get to it. It’s not like any of the supes I’ve come across before, feeling dark and old but not malicious. Instead, the energy feels… curious.

Tilting my head, I focus on the energy and try to find its location.

“Kiarra?” One of my men calls, but the voice feels distant as I zone in on the new energy and pinpoint its location.

Finding it not too far behind us, I narrow my eyes and slowly turn in its direction. “If you’re going to follow us, the least you can do is introduce yourself,” I tell our stalker.

I fully face the direction of the energy just as a tall man with black hair walks out from between the shadows. A smirk on his pale face.

He’s older than the guys but not by much, maybe a few years. But his energy feels old and powerful. I don’t fear him, something deep inside me telling me I have nothing to worry about, but I keep my guard up, anyway.

He tilts his head as he looks straight at me just as the guys position themselves around me. Jax loses his playful attitude, his eyes glowing as his wolf comes to the surface. “Who. The fuck. Are you?”

Axel slides up beside Jax, his dragon ready for a fight. All the guys move until they’re in front of or around me, each tense and ready to attack. I shake my head, keeping my sigh to myself. I could probably take out an entire army and they’d still treat me like I’m made of glass.

“How were you able to follow us without any of us sensing you?” Kai asks, narrowing his eyes on our intruder.

“It seems not all of you have that problem.” The guy looks straight at me, a smug smile on his lips.

Why he would feel smug right now when he’s surrounded by five powerful alphas, all ready to go crazy on his ass, confuses the hell out of me. Either he’s really powerful or a complete idiot.

“Kiarra.” The guy dips his head. Low growls sound out as Axel and Jax take a step toward him.

“How do you know my name?” I ask, but he ignores my question, his smirk growing as he continues.

“It seems the rumors are true.” The guy continues to stare at me, or through me. A look that tells me he knows a lot more than he’s letting on.

“Rumors?” I ask again, with no reply.

“I can’t wait to see what else you can do,” he tells me, looking awfully happy.

“You won’t be going anywhere near her to find out,” Axel tells him.

“I’m afraid that’s going to make things between us a little difficult then.” The guy steps forward just as flames travel up Axel’s arm, instantly burning away his jacket as his eyes pulse gold. “More like difficult, for you.”

The new guy laughs, taking a step closer. “I’m Soren, your guide to the Underworld.”

The guys don’t ease up one bit, still tense and ready to attack. Axel’s flames grow, his eyes like flaming orbs.

“Why would you be following us instead of just coming out and introducing yourself?” Rion asks.

Soren turns to Rion, looking him over before answering. “I wanted to see what type of people I’d be risking my life for.”

Risking his life? Was it really that bad in the Underworld, even for those that live there?

“Draven said you grew up in the Underworld,” I say, drawing his attention back to me.

“The Underworld isn’t a place any would call… home. I’d avoid going back if I could. But thanks to your little friend, that isn’t an option.” Soren sighs as if put out.

It’s not like the world is at risk with the threat of demons destroying it. Demons from a place he was born.

“King is not my friend. He’s a sadistic psycho.” He ignores my statement and continues to stare at me. Another knowing smirk on his face.

His stare is apparently a bit too long for Axel’s liking, as he raises his flamed hand at Soren. The flames pour out of Axel and head straight for him

Soren’s smile grows, a sparkle of delight in his eyes. Just before the flames touch him, he disappears and reappears behind me.

“A tad bit over dramatic, don’t you think?” Soren reaches out and grabs my arm before the guys get a chance to turn around.

Complete darkness surrounds me before light quickly filters back in. Soren drops my arm and quickly takes a step away.

I glance around to find us inside a cave, the guys nowhere to be found.

“Where did you take me?” I demand as my powers bubble beneath my skin.

“Calm down. We’re just inside the cave, near the entrance to the Underworld.” Soren leans against one of the walls, his smirk still on his face.

I take a step away from him and closer to the entrance.

“And you couldn’t have waited for the guys?” They were going to be mad as hell. A few minutes into this, and I’ve already unintentionally broken one of Kai’s rules. I cringe, thinking about it.

Soren shrugs, unaffected by the guys and what they’ll do to him when they find him. “I wanted a minute with you without the possessive alphas hovering over you.”

“Anything you tell me will be shared with them, so your little plan is pointless.”

Soren narrows his eyes before nodding his head. “Fine. Tell your mates. I agreed to do this because Draven asked, but I want something from you in return.”

I narrow my eyes on the demon. “I’m not in the business of making deals with demons.”

Soren smirks. “I’m not a demon. But good to know. Make sure you don’t forget that when you’re in the Underworld. Demons never play by the rules.”

“Noted. But what are you then, if not a demon?”

Soren winks at me. “That’s a story for another time. Now on to our little deal.”

If he thinks I’m going to make any type of deal with him, he’s definitely lost his mind.

“We can always get another guide.”

Soren smiles, knowing it’s a complete lie. “On such short notice?” He raises a brow. “And one willing to risk the mess that’s more than likely going on down there. Not likely.”

He moves closer to me, making me take a step back. “Also, I can assure you, you won’t find anyone like me. Nor will you get as far down there without me. I know the Underworld like the back of my hand and can get you through places many don’t even know exist. I’m sure you’ve been made aware of just how dangerous it is but add the imbalance on top of that and you’ve got realms full of chaos and mayhem ready to implode. Another guide won’t be able to get you to your goal, not without one or more of you becoming a permanent resident of the Underworld or worse… a permanent fixture with no chance of an afterlife.”

Damn it. He was right. And from that damn smug look that was now plastered across his face, he knew it, too.

Even if we could find another guide on such short notice, I had a feeling what he was telling me was the truth. There would be no one like him. There is something about his energy. Something almost familiar that says I can trust him. But actually doing that is another thing. I learned my lesson long ago not to trust so blindly.

“Why me?” I ask him.

“Because you’re the only one that can do it.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “And you’ll get us all safely through the Underworld to find King.”

“You have my word.” He dips his head.

I release a harsh breath, looking out of the cave and back to him. “Then what do you want?”

Soren’s smile grows like the Cheshire cat. “When the time comes, I’ll call on you for a… favor.”

“I’m not dying for you. Neither are any of my mates,” I tell him.

Soren’s eyes soften. “I would never ask you to, nor put you in danger like that.”

Soren looks around me, his eyes narrowing on something outside the cave. A smile appearing on his face. “You’ll need to make up your mind. One of your mates has found us and looks awfully pissed.”

I look behind me but can’t see anything. I reach out with my senses and find Kai rushing forward, his light pulsing red and growing the closer he gets.

“He’s definitely pissed.”

Soren looks at me. “Rightfully so. I took his mate without asking.”

“You knew they were going to be pissed, and you still did it?”

“Of course. Now, do we have a deal or not?” His smirk grows, a glint of humor in his eyes as I narrow mine on him.

“Fine. I’ll help you with your favor, but if you do anything to betray me or my mates, you will pay.”

Soren bows, still smiling. “You have my word.” He grabs my hand once more. Heat travels up my arm as Soren’s eyes flash red. “Deal.” He lets my arm go just as quick.

“What was tha–”

A dark shape flashes by me just as the cave shakes, something slamming into the wall a few feet in front of me.

I look over and find Kai with Soren by the throat against the cave wall. “If you ever touch my mate again, I will rip you apart before turning you to ash.” Kai slams him into the wall, leaving a large indent behind before yanking him out and throwing him to the other side of the cave.

Before Soren hits the wall, he disappears and reappears further down the cave, laughing. “I see your lineage is as strong as ever. Orthis will be glad to see the line has not weakened.”

The rest of the guys appear around me, Jax pulling me into his arms. “Did he hurt you?”

Soren brushes the dust off himself just as Kai steps forward. Soren puts his hand out. “I can do this all day. And all it’s doing is wasting time that we don’t have. So, let’s save the possessiveness for another time, shall we? I’ll stay away from your little mate.”

Axel flashes forward and punches him, knocking him backward . Soren goes flying before disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the cave, not a scratch or hair out of place.

“How did you do that?” I ask.

Soren winks at me, giving me a smirk. It grows hearing Jax and Luka growl in his direction.

“Run,” Jax tells him, stepping forward, his eyes glowing bright in the dark cave.

“We don’t need a guide. We can figure this out ourselves.” Luka growls out, stepping closer to me and taking my hand.

Soren shrugs, folding his arms as he learns against the wall. “I’m your best and only option.” He gives me a look reminding me of our conversation.

“He’s right,” I tell them, reluctantly.

Five sets of glowing eyes, pissed as hell, all veer to me. “You’re agreeing with him now?”

“We have no other option on such short notice. It’s either him or no one. And Draven wouldn’t have sent him if he wasn’t good. We need him to find King. And soon.”

“Seconds was all it took for him to take you away from us, Kiarra,” Luka tells us.

“Apologies, I only wanted a little chat with the new anomaly that has become the talk of the supernatural world. Her power fascinates me.”

“He also added another facet to helping us,” I tell them as Soren’s expression remains unchanged.

The guys tense up, the air around us goes still as they aim their glares at Soren.

“And you still think we should trust him?” Jax scoffs.

Axel cracks his knuckles, a savage smile on his face as he steps closer to Soren. “Which part of him do you want me to break first?”

“What did he want?” Luka asks, tightening his grip on me.

“That I owe him a favor,” I tell them all before glancing over at Soren’s calm expression.

“No fucking way.” Axel narrows his eyes on Soren.

“She already made the deal. And if you don’t already know, it’s not something that can be broken anytime soon,” Soren announces happily.

Dick.

The guys swing their glares at me, making me wince. “What was I supposed to do? We need his help.”

“Not enough to put you at risk,” Kai tells me, his eyes glowing red as he narrows his eyes at Soren.

“Why the hell would you agree to this?” Jax asks, the look on his face telling me he feels more betrayed than anything.

“He didn’t exactly give me time to think it over.” I aim my glare at Soren.

Axel steps closer to Soren, a crazy smile on his face. “It won’t be an issue when I break the little deals he’s made.”

Soren gives Axel an arrogant look. “Magical deals can’t be broken that easily.”

Axel’s smile turns savage. “They can, if I break you with them.”

Soren smirks at his threat, not one bit bothered by it.

“What does the deal involve?” Rion asks, ignoring Axel.

I wince before looking to Rion. “That I owe him a favor he can call on when the time comes.”

“Fucking hell.” Axel growls as flames light his eyes. He steps closer to Soren as if he’s about to go through with his threat. Soren doesn’t even flinch.

“That could be anything,” Luka says.

“It can’t involve putting any of us at risk or in danger,” I tell them, trying to ease their worries.

“We need his help to find King,” I push, trying to move this along.

“Again. Not at the risk of your–” Kai starts, but Soren cuts him off.

“I’ve already promised not to put your little mate at risk, nor would I try to.” Soren glances over his shoulder at the cave. “Now, if we could move this along? Even though time works differently in the Underworld, it doesn’t on this plane. And time isn’t exactly on your side.”

“Why you–”

“Yes, yes. I’m a lot of things right now but the main one is your guide. My main aim is to get you all safely in and out of the Underworld. The favor I call on will harm none of you. You have my word.” Soren looks at each of the guys before stopping on Rion.

Rion walks closer to Soren, staring him down before tilting his head. “I sense no malice toward her or any of us.”

Jax rushes forward, slamming his fist into Soren’s face before casually walking back to us. “Fine. But he stays far away from you.” Jax takes one hand and Luka takes the other.

Soren does his disappearing and reappearing act but narrows his eyes on Jax.

Soren takes a hesitant step back as Kai walks over to him. “If you double-cross us. I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and make you pay,” Kai tells him.

“Understood,” Soren tells him. “Now that the threats are out of the way, let’s get a move on.”

Kai raises a brow. “Lead the way.”

We follow him, heading further into the dark cave. A couple of minutes pass as the light slowly fades from behind us. Axel lights up a hand as soon as it becomes too dark to see. He sends me a wink, making me smile.

The air soon changes, becoming stagnant. A strange energy settles over me, making me want to find it.

“Anyone else feel like they should be making a run for it?” Jax frowns, looking alert for an invisible threat.

Small carvings of weird symbols start to show up on the walls of the cave. More and more appear before they become clusters, all different with strange shapes and swirls surrounding them.

“My skin is fucking crawling.” Axel scowls at the walls around him.

“It’s the wards that’s built into the cave walls. It stops anyone from getting too close. I’m sure a powerful alpha like yourself can ignore a little ward and push through. Don’t be afraid to hold your mate’s hand, should you be afraid.”

“Dick.” Jax growls, making Soren chuckle. He squeezes my hand tighter as we move forward. “I don’t need an excuse to hold your hand.”

“Never.” I smile at Jax, making him smirk. My smile slowly falls the closer we get to the weird energy. I didn’t feel what the others did. Instead of running away, I wanted to run toward it. It feels… familiar.

“How long will it take us to get there?” I ask, worrying about the time we’ve already lost and wondering about Jazmyn and the others.

“We should start seeing the rivers soon. But it will take some time to move through them.”

“Isn’t there a quicker way?” I doubted the demons would take a break while we hunted their new master down.

“The portals were the only other way. But don’t worry, we’ll make the time up once we start moving through the realms.”

“How?” I ask him.

“Time works differently in the Underworld. In some realms, a few days or weeks could be a few minutes in your world,” Soren tells us, not looking back.

Maybe we could make up for the time we lost so far.

Luka squeezes my hand. I look up at him, finding a small smile on his face. A look that tells me he knows exactly where my mind went. “We’ve got this.”

I nod, feeling like we’re walking into a whole other type of chaos. One we’re definitely not prepared for.

We walk a few minutes before I hear a whirl. A second later I find Rion in front of me, a sharp metal arrow in his hand, two inches from my face.

Soren glances back at the guys’ shocked and pissed expressions. “Oh, and watch out for booby traps trying to deter us from going any further.”

Kai holds Jax back as he tries to attack Soren, his wolf at the surface, ready to attack.

Luka tightens his hold on me, his body vibrating with rage. “You couldn’t have told us that before the arrow nearly took Kiarra out?” His voice grows deeper with each word, turning to a near growl as dark orange flames light the orbs of his eyes.

Soren gives Luka an innocent look. “Apologies, I assumed you all knew it would be dangerous trying to enter the Underworld.”

Axel clenches his fists, moving closer to my side. “We’re not fucking stupid. But you are supposed to be our guide. A little heads up isn’t too much to fucking ask for.”

Kai narrows his eyes on Soren. “Tell us what we’re heading into now before we move any further.”

Soren narrows his eyes. An aggravated look on his face. I guess he wasn’t used to being told what to do. But one look around at the cave full of pissed off alphas and Soren sighs, giving into Kai’s request. “As we move further in, there will be more traps set up. I can’t tell you exactly what each will be as I’ve never used this entrance before–”

“Then why the fuck are you our guide?”

Soren narrows his eyes on Jax. “But I have used many others like it. The setup is the same. Barriers, traps and spells all to deter any who enter.”

“But you have no idea what types of traps or spells?” Kai clenches his fist.

“Afraid not. But once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. It more than likely won’t be anything I haven’t seen before.”

“Your confidence is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside,” Jax says with a deadpan expression and a tone that’s void of emotion, earning a smile from Soren.

“Maybe try keeping your ears and eyes open and that little arrow won’t get near your little mate again.” Soren gives Jax a smug look before turning and moving further into the cave.

Jax narrows his eyes on Soren’s back, mumbling profanities and death threats his way.

“I’m fine, guys. Let’s just get on with this.” I give Rion a look, thanking him. His fist tightens on the arrow before he sends it flying through the cave wall behind him. The force of the throw sending it straight through the wall, only leaving the end visible.

Kai moves over, checking me over once before nodding to himself. “Stay close.”

We barely make it a few feet before the next booby trap hits, multiple small star-shaped razor blades shooting from each side of the cave wall.

Rion whips out his swords and knocks the first batch down. Kai takes the next, while Axel blows back the last of them.

Jax and Luka are on each side of me, ready to take the brunt of anything that may get past the others. I open my mouth to tell them they don’t need to be so overprotective when Luka narrows his eyes on me. “Don’t even say it. Healing doesn’t mean you can’t feel it. And there’s no way in hell any of us are letting anything happen to you.”

Another few arrows fly out of the walls, distracting us. Kai and Axel destroying most of them, with Rion stopping any from getting near us.

“There must be pressure points in the base of the cave or some type of sensor spell,” Luka says, glancing around.

“So much for having a fucking guide. Where the hell is he?” Soren appears in front of us as if hearing Axel.

“Glad to see my absence is missed.” Soren’s cool and collected attitude soon drops, leaving him wearing a frown.

“What is it?” Kai asks him.

Soren frowns. “Something is… off.”

“What do you mean? You said the traps are normal,” I ask.

“They are, but the spells are different. The energy is also different.” Soren shakes his head.

“How so?” Rion asks him.

Soren ignores Rion, glancing around the cave, narrowing his eyes on something further into it. “I didn’t think it would move this quickly.” Soren frowns, mumbling to himself as if forgetting we’re here.

“Anyone else think the old demon has lost a few too many screws?” Jax raises his brows at the lot of us.

“Speak fucking English.” Axel growls.

Soren gives me an exhausted look. “How on earth do you put up with them?”

“We give her plenty of orgasms.” Jax winks at me before looking back at Soren and narrowing his eyes. “Don’t get any ideas.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Soren runs a hand down his face.

“What are we dealing with?” Kai asks him, getting us back on track.

“The balance, it’s unstable,” Soren tells us.

“The what?”

“The…” Soren shakes his head. “Did they teach you nothing?”

“Obviously not. So why don’t you break it down for us?” Axel crosses his arms waiting for Soren’s reply.

“The balance of good and evil. There always needs to be a balance between the two. One scale tipped to one side too much will throw off everything.”

“What does this mean for our plane and the Underworld?”

Soren gives Kai a serious look full of worry. “Nothing good.”

“How far until we reach the first realm?” Rion asks him.

Soren frowns, looking into the cave once more. “Not far. If we move quickly.”

“Then let’s get moving. The quicker we get there, the quicker we can find King and end this before it gets out of hand,” Kai tells us as he begins forward. But something in the look Soren shares with Rion tells me it already has.

A few minutes pass before the next trap attacks. This time it’s dozens of small metal balls that explode on impact.

Before one even heads my way, Jax and Luka block most of them, using their bodies as a fucking shield to stop them from reaching me.

Soren raises a brow, a small tilt to his lips. “Here I was under the impression that your mate was quite capable of looking after herself?” Soren glances at me, raising a brow. “But maybe I misheard.”

He quickly turns, leaving us glaring at his back. But he wasn’t wrong, either. I am capable of looking after myself.

“Dick,” Jax mumbles, glaring at Soren’s retreating back before looking to me. “You, okay?”

Luka nods. “Ignore him. We’re a family. One that protects each other.”

“A family that’s going to let me also help protect you, too?” I look at them both. “I’ve already proved that I can look after myself. I can look after you all too if you stop being so overprotective and let me.”

“Being overprotective will never fucking change. It’s not in me to let anything hurt you, whether you can protect yourself or not. Besides, it’s whoever stops them first.” Jax winks at me, making Luka chuckle.

So, this is all just a game to them? Why didn’t he say so? I give them both a look that makes them lose their smug smirks quickly.

“Fine,” I tell them, making it look like I’m agreeing with them and knowing damn well it’s not anywhere near the truth.

Jax narrows his eyes at me. “I don’t like that look in your eyes.”

“What look?” I ask with my most innocent smile.

“The one that tells me you’re up to something.” Jax shares a worried look with Luka.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I step out of the little shield they’ve provided me with their bodies and reach down inside me, pulling my power up to focus on the small black balls in the cave wall.

Each time, I feel the change come over me, I know my eyes are black now with the illusion of stars speckled throughout them. But I’ve worked hard to contain my dark tendrils, so now they only appear when I call them.

The guys can’t see my face, so they don’t know what I’m up to as I focus on the black balls now heading straight for us.

Soren was right, these weapons aren’t any normal type of weapons. The energy inside them acts like an entity of its own.

Just like with the demons, my power finds the energy inside them, burning them from the inside before turning them into dust.

I leave my abilities sitting at the surface and reach out further for any more traps, sensing dozens more all along the cave walls.

I focus on them all, letting my powers build until each of them shatter, shaking the walls they’re hiding in.

The guys all turn to look at me with a mixture of shock and desire splashed across their faces while Soren is just plain shocked.

“What?” I shrug, giving them another innocent look before winking at Jax and Luka. “It’s whoever stops them first… Remember?” I smile to myself, stepping past them and on to the next game.

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