Page 141 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

He’s picking places that are secluded, with no civilization around. But apart from where she’s been, no other secluded places exist near us. At least not on any map we’ve seen.

“What about The Cardinal Three?” Axel asks. “He might’ve taken her back there?”

I shake my head. “I have my contacts out, watching for anything unusual. It’s been on full lockdown since he took Kiarra. No visitors are allowed in or out. There're swarms of shifters guarding the borders making sure no one leaves or enters.”

Rion frowns, giving me a look. One that tells me he’s worried. I know what he’s thinking, King leaving the Cardinal, but having an army guarding it, means he’s had something in the works before all this.

“He could be using portals?” Axel pushes.

It’s also something I thought of but crossed out as soon as one of my contacts came back with an update.

“Whatever invisible shield he had blocking the use of powers showing up is gone. My contacts have been monitoring it and can sense even the smallest of spikes of abilities across the entire cities. No portals have been used in the Cardinal Three since King took her.”

“How or where does someone like King get that kind of power in the first place? To be able to shield entire cities and block others sensing powers and then take it down like it’s nothing, with no one being the wiser?” Axel asks.

None of my contacts knew what King was or where his power came from, but I had a feeling we’d soon find out.

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that if he’s brought down that shield, his focus has shifted. He’s got other plans. Plans that involve Kiarra on a larger scale. We need to find them both before it’s too late.”

“We need to be smart about this. We’re getting nowhere with the way we’re going,” Rion tells me.

“What are you suggesting?”

King somehow knew we survived. Whether it was a hidden mole or betrayal, I don’t know… yet. But he also seems to be one step ahead of us, even with the help of the bond. Any time we think we’re close, she’s yanked out from under us.

As if a lightbulb turns on, the answer comes to me, making me feel like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. It was right in front of us the whole time.

“Concealment spells.” Just like the one he was using to shield the Cardinal. He might have diverted the spell to conceal her location instead.

But he never took into account how powerful the bond would be, or our determination to get Kiarra back.

“Know anyone who can unblock them?” Axel asks us.

“I might. I’ll need to contact a few people, call in a favor or two,” Rion tells me.

I didn’t care if we had to call in every favor, every contact we had, if it meant getting her home to us.

“Do it. We’ll clean up this mess and follow you back.” Rion nods, silently slipping out before disappearing among the rubble.

I turn to Axel. “Where are Jax and Luka?”

A loud boom shakes the building. The floor beneath us cracks further, tearing open. We move out to the hall just as the entire room crumbles, leaving a large, open gap.

Axel shares a look, knowing damn well who caused it.

“Jax?” I ask.

Axel nods his head, agreeing. “The fucker thinks he’s immortal now.”

If we thought Jax was a handful before, he was ten times worse now, causing chaos whenever he felt like it. The boost in his abilities only added to his anger and pain, fueling and feeding it to wreak havoc across the city. No matter who or what was in the way.

“He isn’t wrong.” Axel shrugs. “It’s not like we can die.”

We make our way through the destroyed halls filled with shattered glass and equipment covered in concrete. What was once a five-story office building is now nothing but crumbling rubble.

I pay the destruction no mind, my focus on locating one of my idiot brothers.

“No, but it doesn’t mean we can push our limits, either. He doesn’t need to test just how far they go.”

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