Page 110 of Blood and Reign

“What you mean is…youwanted 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.

CHAPTER 24

Rielle sighs,frowning at Soren before taking my arm and helping me out of the room. I’m basically healed, so I don’t know whether this is for me or so she can get away from Soren quicker.

He follows us anyway, so I guess her little plan didn’t work.

I walk out into a long hall. The walls are cream and brown, with paintings of stunning scenery along them. The floor is a dark wooden mahogany and the accessories and decor splashed around the place make it feel warm and welcoming.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“My home.” Rielle laughs at my expression. “Not what you were expecting?”

“Are we still in Hell? The room we were in…” looked nothing like this. The walls literally sparkled, and it was white. Every square foot of it. Comparing the two is like night and day.

“The walls and floor are specifically designed to aid healing. There are special crystals embedded in them that speed up the process. The rest of the house is normal.”

I pass a large statue of a demon and angel, the wings of each slicing through the other, and start to question whether Rielle understands the definition ofnormal.

“But we’re still in Hell?” I ask just to be sure. This place looked nothing like the Hell we’ve been traveling through.

She nods again, laughing. I catch Soren as he smiles at her. He quickly covers it, glancing around as she answers me. “We’re close to the Infernal City. You’ve only seen a small part of it. There’s so much more to it than fiery pits and ashes.”

“That’s because I showed her all my shortcuts.” Soren smirks, giving her a side glance as if waiting on her reaction.

Rielle whips her head to him, a snarl on her face. “Shortcuts thatyoucreated.”

Soren shrugs, unfazed by her temper. “Why go the long way, when you can get to your destination in half the time?”

Rielle’s grip tightens on me, and she grits her teeth at him. “Because there are rules for a reason. Because if we don’t follow them, then the imbalance will—”

“Again, with your rules…” Soren groans. “Stop worrying so much and loosen up a little. You might enjoy yourself for once.”

Rielle swiftly turns back around and moves us down a wide staircase, ignoring Soren as he chuckles behind us.

But I’m too interested in what they said to drop it so quick. As soon as we’re downstairs, I turn to Soren.

“What shortcuts?”

Rielle sighs as Soren’s smirk grows. He looks at me as he answers. “If you know where to look and what to sense for, it’s like taking a straight walk through the park.”

Yeah, except it’s Hell…

I narrow my eyes on him remembering our first conversation in the cave. “I guess you weren’t lying when you said you were the best to get us through the realms, considering you literally created the path through them.”

Soren smirks. “My skills come in many forms. Just ask Rielle.”

Rielle murmurs something about insufferable men as she tries to ignore him, but all it does is make his smile grow.

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