Page 106 of Blood and Reign

When the light slowly dims, it reveals a small white room.Everythingis 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?Howcan 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.Shecan’t be real because she died six years ago and no matter how many times I begged, pleaded, and cried, shenevershowed 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 Iamcompletely 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 behindher.

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?”

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