Page 187 of King Alejandro

I frowned. That was a pretty deep way to think for a kid, but this was Dante. He simply sighed and turned on his side, watching us.

“See? You talk so weird,” Azura replied, brushing his comment off.

“Want to talk about it?” I asked him quietly.

“No. I just… I hope everything goes okay…” He frowned, his eyes full of worry, so I gave him a small smile.

“Don’t worry, they’ll handle it,” I reassured him.

“They’ll be fine. Let’s just pray Leo gets hurt,” Azura added.

“That’s not something you should say about an ally, Azura,” I reprimanded her lightly. She glared at me as Raven passed a toy to Sienna.

“I don’t like him, so I’m going to poke some pins into his body and soak him in spices and vinegar. That will teach him for messing with me.”

I was glad she didn’t know real black magic because I was certain the rows of voodoo dolls would be endless, with Liam being her main victim. He somehow always said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

“Thank you, Aunty. I really like it,” Kataleya said happily, looking down at her teddy, which now wore a tartan green and black shirt. The torn fabric was a neat square on the front, and Raven had stitched ‘Kiké’ in green on the front patch.

“I’m glad you at least know how to sew,” I said to Raven. “That teddy looks great now,” I added to Kataleya.

“Thank you, Granddaddy,” she said gently. She smiled at me, and I smiled back, standing up.

I think I’ll go for a quick round of the mansion. Despite the heavy security, I still needed to be on alert. I was the only one allowed to go see Kiara. The key code had been changed just in case she somehow had someone release her. We needed to be extremely careful. After doing a quick round, I’d go take a look at her, too. I needed to make sure everything was in order around here. Anything could happen, and we needed to stay on guard.

Scarlett

“The spells areall in place,” Liam said through the earpiece. “No one can go in or out.”

“Got it,” I said, looking over at Rayhan, who was frowning deeply.

Liam was leading one of the three teams; they had broken through the Crimson King’s defences. The three teams had attacked from all sides, closing in on the enemy’s location. We had made sure he was there first, and he had been. We had succeeded in coming without being detected, thanks to the witches.

The other two teams, who had taken the first attack, were headed by Marcel and Alejandro. Leo and Maria were on Marcel’s team. As for Rayhan and me, we had a smaller team and were heading a backup squad that was going to join the fight upon the signal. Our job was a little different, but it was vital.

“Are you okay?” I asked Rayhan. He seemed tense and restless. He gave a curt nod.

The sound of menacing howls filled the air and through the earpiece as both sides clashed. Each of the main three teams had five witches on them. Mine had two, and I prayed it gave us the advantage we needed.

“Ready, Scarlett? Rayhan?” Alejandro’s low voice asked.

I took a deep breath. This was it. We needed to kill the host before we could kill the Djinn, and that’s where I came in. We needed to rip the heart of the host out, resulting in weakening the Djinn. For the Djinn to take a new host, he needed time, and when he was in his true form, right after I killed the Crimson King, that was when Maria would do her part.

Alejandro and I were the ones who would attack the Crimson King. Whoever succeeded in killing himwas fine as long as it got done. I just hoped it was me as I healed faster, and we all knew whoever got close would suffer greatly. Rayhan and our squad would watch my back as I went for the Crimson King, making sure I wasn’t attacked.

“Ready,” Rayhan said, his canines coming out and his eyes blazing green.

Maria… I glanced at Rayhan, wishing he knew the truth. He deserved to know. He looked at me, and, for a second, I thought I saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes.

“Ready,” I replied determinedly. My eyes flashed, and I shifted as one with the rest of my team.

We broke through the trees. The huge stone wall that came ever closer suddenly exploded, sending stone and debris flying in all directions, paving the way for us to join the battle. I jumped over the rubble and through the flames, landing lightly.

Havoc surrounded us in every direction. The smell of blood and ash hung in the air. Wolves of all colours fought against the army of similar-coloured wolves, all in shades of auburn and reddish-brown. Each one had orangey-red eyes, and I realised that they were all puppets of the man that stood in the centre. He had his arms raised, a look of pure fury on his melting, burned face. It was obvious that the host was dying. I had a feeling it wouldn’t last long.

The Escarra boy must not be near,Magdalene’s warning rang in my head.

The Djinn’s deal with the Escarra line meant he could take the Escarras’ bodies without delay, unlike if it was anyone else. I was glad the boy was all the way in Puerto Rico, not only for his safety but for all our sakes. We just needed to make sure he didn’t have the time to change to a new host.