Page 20 of Blood and Reign

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 nextgame.

CHAPTER 4

Without the worryof random weapons attacking us, we move quicker through the cave. A rush of water hits my ears just before we come to a thin stream. It runs right down the left side of the rocky cavern.

As we move further in, the pathway opens up into a larger cavern with high ceilings and multiple passageways. The stream now a large river that takes up half of the wide room.

Soren frowns. “This is new.”

“Which way?” Axel asks him, glancing around at the multiple routes. Soren shrugs. “Beats me.”

Axel’s eye twitches as he grinds his jaw, glaring at Soren. Soren smirks, the glint in his eyes reminding me so much of Jax and his mischief, before he heads off into one of the passageways.

“Then why—” Axel starts his eyes brimming with anger, but Kai cuts him off, dragging him toward one of the openings.

“Let’s just check them out.” Kai glances over at me, worry threading his brow, but before I can ask him what’s wrong, Rion speaks up.

“We’ll stay here. There’s no point in everyone going off in different directions. Find the right path and come back.”

Kai relaxes, nodding to him. “Good. We’ll be quick.” He turns to Axel, Jax and Luka, telling them to divide up, check out the other passageways and not to go too far. They’re gone before I so much as open my mouth.

Just as the rest of the guys completely disappear from view, Soren appears through the nearest exit to our left. “Well, that was a dead end.”

He glances around. “I’m guessing your mates have the other passageways covered?”

Rion nods before glancing at me. I give him a smile before checking out the large cavern we’re in.

Moving close to the river, I get a better look at the dark, murky water. Small waves move along it like a dark storm, heading out into several cracks and dips along the wall.

Something bubbles up and ripples on the surface, drawing me closer. I’m so focused on finding whatever caught my eye that I don’t notice Soren slip up beside me, making me jump.

“Once the water is dark, it’s safe. It’s when it starts turning bright and shimmers, should you worry.”

“Why?” My eyes turn back to the dark water.

“It’s the River Oblivion. A place where souls go to forget before they move on.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Soren gets a faraway look in his eyes, one filled with sadness. “Not all souls are good, and many don’t want to move on, let alone forget about the lives they lived, the people they grew up with… Many would rather try claw their way out than move on.”

Soren looks down at me, a small smile that turns into something twisted as it grows. He takes a step back. “Try not to accidentally fall in. The souls will be quicker to drown you with them than help you escape.”

Another small ripple catches the corner of my eye, as if answering him. An icy shiver runs down my back as I glance back at the spot now unnaturally still, as if there’s something beneath, watching me.

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