Page 383 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

There’s a shadowy figure in the middle of the cell, hunched over. I hear the squeal of a small animal before a moment of silence echoes around us, quickly followed by the sound of gnawing and chewing.

King moves into the middle of the cell beside the shadowed being, walking right through it as if it were made of smoke.

“I hated this place. Born from the very depths of it.”

My body turns to ice. “You’re from the Underworld?” Like me? I keep the last question to myself. There’s no way I’m anything like him.

King glances around the cell, his disgust growing the longer he stares. “I was meant to rot in this prison.”

He was a prisoner here? But he got out. If there’s a way for it to happen again, we need to stop it.

“You escaped… How?” I don’t expect him to reply, but he shocks the hell out of me when he turns to look at me, a sinister glint in his eyes as he answers.

“You.”

One word and my world is turned on its head.

“What?” I shake my head. How could I have helped him escape?

“You’re lying.” I slam into the wall as his power whips out and holds me in place.

“Look familiar?” A dark tendril coils around my neck, tightening. Dark tendrils that look similar to mine.

He must see recognition in my eyes as his smirk grows.

“We’re the same, you and me. Because this…” he waves a hand as the black tendrils curl around it. “…all came from you.”

He chuckles. It’s fucking creepy, echoing around me and sending an icy shiver down my spine. He pulls back, dropping me to the ground. I cough and splutter, trying to catch my breath and try to get my head around what he said.

No.There’s no way… This was just another one of his tricks. Another way to manipulate me to get what he wants.

King slowly steps forward, a cruel tilt to his lips. “You not only helped me escape, but you helped make me what I am today. You gave me the power to build my empire.”

He’s crazy. He has to be to make up something like this. Maybe the power has finally gone to his head.

I glance around the room, wondering if there’s a way out. I can’t use my powers in here, but if he’s in here with me, that must mean he’s close by.

I need to figure out a way out and quick. Once I have my powers, I can end this once and for all.

King is oblivious to my inner thoughts as he continues to walk around the cell.

“You were barely a prick in your mother’s womb when I clung to your power and escaped.”

Wait. “What?”

“A link was forged between us, and it kept me alive long enough to gain strength. Feeding from your pain and suffering while growing more powerful was… simply an added bonus.”

Ikept him alive all these years… by feeding him my pain? That’s so messed up. In more ways than one. I push it to the back of my mind, not ready to process it just yet.

“Why do you think I kept you close all these years?” he asks me like I’m an idiot. And maybe I am if any of what he’s saying is true.

The only reason I came up with was that he’s sadistic and fucking psychotic. If he fed on my pain and suffering, I must have been a fucking buffet with how many ways he killed me.

“After a while, I found a little flaw in our arrangement. It would seem everything has its balance. You gave me strength and power, but you also became my one weakness.”

I flinch at his words, my stomach twisting into a mass of knots. If what he’s saying is true, it really does come down to me.

“I thought your mates would be able to break the link once bonded, but it never happened. Fortunately, it had an interesting… side-effect.” King lifts his hand as black scales trail up his arm, his finger changes to long back claws.

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