Page 46 of Blood and Reign

Kai shakes his head, a small tilt to his lips as he watches us. “We need a plan, and fast.”

I glance over at the wall that was non-existent minutes ago. There has to be a way to control it from the inside. “Let’s take another look around the room. Maybe there’s some sort of escape or backdoor.”

With not much room in the first place, we turn, and each takes a spot to search. It takes us less than a few minutes before we all come up empty.

“Keep looking. There has to be something here.” Kai frowns as he tries to punch the wall. The hard thump causes no damage in the slightest, sending us immediately back to the drawing board.

I’m about to move to another spot when I notice a change in the gold pattern on the wall. It no longer meets up, and the space between the chair and the wall is now closer.

“Is it just me, or is the room getting smaller?”

Kai comes over to me, placing a hand on each side of my face. “Just breathe. We’ll get out here. I promise.”

I’d chuckle if I wasn’t still fixated on the spot in the wall like I’m trying to win a staring contest.

There. The gold pattern shimmers as it draws closer together, becoming more asymmetrical.

I look up at Kai as he frowns down at me, his eyes soft with a glint of worry. I catch the others peeking over, all checking in on me. It warms something inside my chest, spreading out to each limb and lighting the heavy weight that I once carried alone.

Knowing I’m not alone anymore isn’t the same as truly feeling it.

They all think I’m having a panic attack and even though this is a fucked-up situation, having each of them around me eases something inside me, lessening the panic.

Kai’s grip tightens on me the longer I stare up at his green eyes. He’s about to pull me into him when I take his hand, giving him a soft smile.

“No, I mean, I think the actual room is getting smaller.” I point to the chair. “That wasn’t that close to the wall, and the gold pattern on the walls is now uneven on that side.”

“She’s right.” Luka moves over to the wall to get a closer look. “It’s moved inwards.”

“When Lucian said the room would disappear, he didn’t actually mean…” Jax chuckles, but the sliver of panic in his eyes is evident.

Axel rubs a hand over his face, narrowing his eyes on the wall. “Fuck. Okay, let’s think.”

“Lucian said strong emotion would charge these.” Rion lifts his bracelet and looks at it. “If we’re able to charge them, we should be able to get access to our powers and get out of here before the room… disappears.”

“Yeah, with us in it,” Jax grumbles.

Luka gives him a sharp look. Jax glances at me, an apology on his face.

I shake my head, telling him it’s fine. We’re all in a messed-up situation right now. We’re bound to feel a little hopeless. Once we were together, I was good.

Kai looks at the others. “What if we fight one another?”

Rion’s eyes grow distant as he thinks it over. “But will that manifest a true emotion?”

Axel shakes his head. “That dick, Lucian, said nothing short of killing him would do it and as much as some of you annoy the hell out of me most days, I don’t want to fucking kill any of you.”

“Like you could.” Jax scoffs, but there is a soft look in his eyes that wasn’t there a moment ago.

Axel shoves him hard, earning a glare from him. Jax shrugs. “What have we got to lose by messing around? Let’s just give it a go and see if we can charge the bracelets.”

They all agree with Kai, grouping Rion with Luka and Jax with Axel.

“Who will I team up with?” They all turn to look at me like I’ve lost my damn mind.

“No one is touching you,” Kai growls as Jax rolls his eyes at him.

“No one would fucking try.”

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