Page 386 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

King’s reply is a cruel laugh. “Do you think if I could take that power, I’d needyou? You’re the only one who can even touch it.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because you’re the same and like calls to like.”

I glance back at the sphere. It pulses as if confirming King’s answer. “Once I take the power, what will happen to the Underworld?”

King's twisted smile grows. “It will throw off the balance, plunging the world into destruction and chaos.”

My stomach drops. When I do this, I’m not only releasing a powerful monster, but I’m also helping destroy the world too.

I close my eyes as anguish settles over me, coating me in it until it weighs heavily on me.

“Enough stalling. Let’s begin.”

I clench my jaw as the blood in my veins begins to heat. I focus on King and his arrogant smirk as I reach out and feel for the energy of the core once more.

It hits me like a ton of bricks.

King is right, at least with this. The energy feels familiar yet… different.More.

I begin to pull, the energy flowing into me like the rush of a river while I stare down King, promising myself that somehow, Iwillfix this.

* * *

KAI

“I’ll take you to them.”The door appears once more. Ivor nods to Soren before they both head out. I follow them close behind, keeping my eyes peeled for anything and everything.

What started as a hunt for King has ended up as a twisted game of horrors.

As we make our way along a long hall with gray walls and a granite black floor, I catch Soren and Ivor trading worried looks. Rion gives me a nod, telling me he’s noticed it too.

We follow the hall, taking a sharp left and right that eventually leads to a downward spiraling staircase.

After a few steps, the staircase opens up becoming as wide as the entrance growing more rocky and uneven the further we move down it.

“Where are we heading?” Jax asks, eying the dark steps.

Ivor sighs as if it’s an inconvenience to share even the slightest piece of information. He moves forward, not looking back. “To the core of the Underworld. We need to move through the Prison realm to get there. Orthis has got most of it under control but keep your eyes open.”

Jax scowls at his back, mumbling something about dickheads and liars while Axel looks like he’s ready to tear this place apart, his agitated state growing the longer our mate and brother are missing. I didn’t blame him; I wanted to rip this place apart just as much.

Soren gives me a look. “If you get a chance, Orthis will want to meet you. He’s your family after all.”

“The only family I’m interested in right now is my mate and brothers.” Blood means nothing when it comes totruefamily. Most of us learned that firsthand and Orthis is just another stranger.

The staircase opens out into another wide hall, but one that looks like they carved it in a mountain. The black rock that starts halfway down the stairs lines the floors and walls.

Soren turns to us, a serious look on his face, before turning back to Ivor. “Keep your guard about you. This is where most of the demons in your world came from.”

We make it less than a couple of steps before the growls and screams of the prison assault us.

Axel freezes. “What the—”

I mirror Rion’s frown before looking at Ivor. “Isn’t this a prison for the worst of the worse? Meaning demons. So why do we hear screams?”

Soren passes us, waving us to follow. “Demons aren’t the only evil in this world. There are many different creatures and beasts, including humans, that are more vicious and viler than some of the demons in the Underworld.”

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