The earth roars her fury, as though blasphemy has become a treasonous crime and she’s punishing us all. The ground splits inside the hotel room where I’ve taken us, and I try to transport us out, but panic hits when I can’t.
Nothing is happening. The ground is still violently shaking, but I can’t transport!
I lift Kya in my arms, moving us quickly to a doorway for the bathroom. It’s a useless instinct, because we’re immortal. Still, I trust my instincts, doing as they demand.
She curls into me, still screaming in agony. Some unknown, invisible force hit us. I could feel it coming, and then it barreled through us without ever showing itself.
Now the entire hotel is vibrating, more cracks are forming, and Kya is hurting more than I am. The pain was intense but brief for me, but I felt stripped... Almost as though I suffered a loss that I couldn’t peg. Now I can’t transport.
The ground stops shaking as suddenly as it started, and car sirens all wail their disapproval as water shoots free from different parts of the ground.
I can see chaos going on through the window that has shattered on our first-floor room. I chose this hotel because it doesn’t belong in any region to any immortal. It’s a neutral territory, safe for all strays. I knew we’d be safe here and far away from the others to avoid any interruptions, but now... Fuck. How am I going to get us back?
My lips press to Kya’s head as she stops crying in pain, and she takes shaky, calming breath
“Wh-What happened?” she asks, sounding disoriented and still pained.
Cradling her in my arms, I shake my head. “No fucking clue. But I can’t transport us out.”
I keep trying, but I keep getting denied. It’s like the power is just suddenly gone.
“I... I can’t dematerialize,” she says, wincing as she shifts in my arms.
It’s then I get sick as the scent of blood hits me. Her forehead is bleeding, and a small piece of glass is stuck there. No. No way can glass touch her body and leave it scratched.
“What?” she asks, studying my face with worry.
“You’re bleeding. From... fucking glass.” I slowly lower her to her feet, and she whimpers when I tug the glass free and toss it aside.
More blood pools at the wound, and my eyes widen. Quickly, I grab a cloth from the bathroom, stepping on the glass there with no problem.
“Chaz,” Kya whispers, sounding horrified.
I look over to see another spot on her leg that is bleeding from another piece of glass. What the actual fuck?
My phone starts ringing as soon as I press the rag against her forehead, putting pressure there.
“Answer it,” she says, taking over the rag as she winces again.
Cursing, I rush to my phone, lifting it as I look outside. People are screaming and the sirens are still wailing. Alarms are going crazy, and cars are flipped on their sides.
“What’s going on?” I ask Gage when I see it’s him calling. “Please tell me that earthquake didn’t reach you.”
“Definite earthquake. Seems to be worldwide, according to the news. Several blackouts are all over the place right now. But... We have a prob
lem. Can you use your magic?”
A sick feeling unfurls in my gut. Stripping the bed, I make sure there’s nothing on it that can hurt Kya, because she doesn’t seem so immortal right now.
Closing my eyes, I feel the dragon stirring heavily in me with a stronger presence than ever before. But everything else seems to have disappeared.
“My dragonite powers are still active,” I tell him quietly. “But nothing else is.”
Kya’s eyes are wide when I look over at her. She throws her hand up, but nothing happens. She closes her eyes and seems to be straining, but nothing happens.
When she opens her eyes, horror is there.
“None of us can use our magic, and Kimber is getting stitches from Frankie right now, who fortunately knows how to tend mortal wounds. Somehow, we’re fucking mortal.”