Page 177 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

It’s time for King to pay for everything he’s done. It’s time he learns what happens when the thing you’ve tried to break becomes the enemy you never expected.

I’m lost in my thoughts and building rage when a shout and low moan makes me jump.

The shouts grow louder.

Guards. They’re in the room next to me.

A low moan grumbles just as something slams into the wall.

Malik.

A punch. A crash.

My stomach drops, and I wince at the sound, knowing exactly what type of pain comes from each one. I pull at my straps, another useless attempt to free myself to help, but neither moves an inch.

“Stop hurting him,” I shout, hoping they’ll hear me. But they just chuckle and continue.

“Stop!” I shout louder, my voice cracking. But they continue to ignore me.

They’re using him like a toy for their own amusement to pass the time. Something inside my chest tightens and burns.

I pull at the metal straps, and the sharp slice burns against my wrists, scraping it raw.

Malik roars out in pain, followed by the guards’ laughter. A loud slam and thump sounds out just as muffled groans follow it.

I squeeze my eyes shut and imagine all the things I would do if I could help him.

A sliver of strange energy sparks from inside me. A type of energy I’ve never felt before.

It makes me pause, trying to figure out where it’s coming from. A low hum answers as if awaiting my call.

I focus on it, trying to figure out what it is. It moves up more, expanding over me. It almost feels… cold… dark… but also powerful.

Malik cries out again. The pain in his voice breaks something inside me and makes the energy build.

I reach down further, digging deep within me for every shred of that energy. I grip onto it and pull.

I pull and pull until something inside me tears and rips. A gasp is torn from my lips just as something inside me cracks open.

The guards’ continuous laugh making my blood boil. I grit my teeth and yank the energy up further, feeling it surge up and grow.

I can feel it now, like it’s always been there, just waiting for me to take it.

Power.

Pure, absolute power. It pulses inside me, begging to be set free. An endless well, so deep and vast, I can’t see where it begins or ends.

I yank harder, dragging it up with everything I have. I pull it from the very depths of my soul and demand it to rise and break free.

The energy inside me expands outward across my body, turning into an endless wave that pulses back and forth.

I pull on the straps as the energy builds and builds. It becomes painful, needing its release. I let the pain fuel my anger, my wrath.

The power continues to grow higher and higher, consuming me whole.

Dark black shadows begin to seep from every pore on my body, no longer able to contain the power inside.

Slithering and gliding across my skin, it moves out around me, growing longer and wider.

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