Page 9 of Blood and Reign

I turn in his arms. “When was the last time you took a break?”

Kai sighs, glancing over at the others as they lay into one another. He looks down at me, his hands rubbing up and down my back.

“You haven’t, have you?” I ask him, already knowing the answer.

“I can manage on a lot less sleep. I need to make sure they don’t end up killing each other before we leave.” He smiles down at me before narrowing his eyes around him.

“You need to rest too, Kai. You’ll run yourself to the ground at this rate.”

“Worried about me, Kiarra?”

“Always.”

Kai shakes his head, the smile still on his face as he leans in and places a kiss on my head.

“I’m fine.” Worry seeps into his face as he looks out the window, darkening the circles under his eyes.

“What is it?”

Kai looks down at me, his grip tightening on me. “King. He’s been… busy while we were looking for you.”

Something in my stomach drops at the worry and anger in his voice. “With the demons?”

“More than just them. He’s somehow contacted those outside the supe territory and got the humans on his side. They no longer believe what we say to them. They now think that we’re the threat they should watch out for. That Manhattan and its alphas are dangerous and should not be trusted.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Kai nods his head, agreeing. “They’re ready to attack us should it come to it. If the demons take a step onto any other land, we’ll get the blame for it and dealt with accordingly.”

Great. So now we have the humans and their weapons to worry about.

“What are we going to do?”

Kai sighs. “What we always do. Focus on one thing at a time and take it from there.”

“We need to get teams together. Bring the fight to them!” A young demon draws my attention, his voice cutting over the loud shouting in the room.

“We can barely hold them where they are. Going into Staten Island now would be suicide.” One of Kai’s men speaks up, looking at the demon like he’s an idiot.

The young demon fists his hands, his body vibrating from anger. “That’s our home!”

Draven sighs, shaking his head. “I understand your concerns. But we have to be smarter than King. And this is exactly what he wants. He wants us to fight with one another. To divide us.”

The leaders grow quiet, finally listening to someone else for a change.

Draven looks to one of his men. “Has there been any update?”

The demon steps forward. “Sir, we’ve sent out multiple groups to check for survivors. They’ve confirmed that King is nowhere to be found on this plane. The witches have also done multiple location spells and say the same. The barrier is holding for now, but there are some spots that are weakening.”

Draven looks up. “We’re running out of time.”

He’s right. The longer we put this off, the worse it’s going to get.

“This meeting is over. Keep us updated with the patrols.” The room slowly clears as Draven makes his way over to us.

Just before the door shuts, Jazmyn walks in. Draven’s demeanor changes immediately as he watches Jazmyn’s every move. “Jazmyn? Is everything okay?”

She completely ignores him and heads straight over to me. “I heard you’re going soon?”

---