25. Jaiyana

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

JAIYANA

I tossed a chunk of concrete into the opposite wall and listened to it clunk. The abandoned tunnel I’d dropped into was pitch dark and dry for humid England. I’d not moved far from the manhole we’d jumped down, just around a corner, so if the police came down, they wouldn’t see me right away. I wasn’t sure if staying put was my best option or not, but just in case the guys found a way back out right away, I wanted to be close.

Because you want them to find you.

Despite all your bravado, despite everything you think you know. You want to spend the rest of eternity in a dragon sandwich.

I closed my eyes and let their promise that I wasn’t alone anymore sink into my bones.

You’re not alone, Jay. Maybe physically, but don’t be dramatic.

Unsupportive ass.

If I needed more proof that nothing I’d done with my dragons had unlocked even a piece of my magic, this was it. The barrier between London and Under London rejected me. To make things worse, my dragons were now in a different world. I opened my palm and called on Tyson’s fire but got nothing.

See, I’m not being dramatic. I don’t even have their magic.

My inner voice sighed.

I pressed my fingers into the corners of my eyes.

What do we know?

Fuck all.

Jay, don’t do that. We always know something.

We’re not magical right now?

True.

Under London’s barrier is keeping my dragon’s elemental powers away from me.

True.

Great sex is not unlocking my curse.

Probably true.

Probably?

It’s changing your vision, right?

But it’s not giving me more access to my mates’ powers.

Move past what you don’t have and focus on what you do.

I snapped my head up. Fuck me, my third eye.

I stood and crept toward the bend. A peek around it revealed the manhole opened. Light from the activities above occasionally spilled into the tunnel. A bit of yellow police tape dangled down.

All of London was after me. A few months ago, I clearly broke into a mundane and well-loved human museum, used magic to hurt Joe Schmos, and stole another piece of Gorm’s casket. My magic was on video, which was one of the big no-nos of the magical world. To make things worse, I literally came back and did it a second time, though with less stealing this time. Adding to my list of offenses, I incited a magical brawl between dragon shifters, Orcs, and demons.

I don’t think your fortune’s going to get you out of this one.

The Orcs were not my fault. They should have known better than to be out in plain sight.

It’s still getting pinned on you.

My accountant will love this one.

Unlike Dublin, London had high-security, magical holding cells made to contain gods. Even with my magic, I’d be hard-pressed to get out. Long story short, I needed to leave London, and this particular manhole wasn’t an option.

I needed to find another.

Story of your life?

I snickered before groaning.

Keeping a hand on the wall, I crept back to my spot around the corner. Third eyes were weird because they weren’t innately magical. Even humans had third eyes, though most didn’t know how to open them. Part of opening your third eye was believing in yourself and how much you were truly capable of.

You’re definitely not doing well on that front.

Because the other part is being magical, and currently, I’m not.

Once a person's third eye was opened, they could see magic. How much magic, again, depended on skills and training. Until recently, I could literally see everything.

You still have two dragons to bang before you can see everything. You’ve only done half.

True, true.

And you can’t see the curse on you or how to break it.

If I could scowl at myself, I would.

The point is the barrier to Under London should recognize me as magical with my third eye opened.

I pulled the pack off my back. The straps scraped against my road rash-covered side, and I bit back a hiss. I fished out my phone, honestly amazed it survived the brawl. Hooding the flash, I clicked on the flashlight app and explored.

It didn’t take me long to find another manhole. The woosh of air let me know it led into one of the undergrounds, most likely with working trains.

If I was wrong about my eye, my blind leap would land me on live tracks instead of Under London.

If I was right, I would at least be in the same general vicinity as my mates. Without my magic, we’d all be trapped down there, but we’d be together. My heart squeezed. My mates. Fuck me. Ten minutes apart and I already pined like a teenager.

Resettling the phone in my pack, I tightened the straps and opened my third eye. A kaleidoscope of colors churned under me—the border between London and Under London. Before I could think my way out of this, I squeezed my human eyes shut and jumped.

I am magical. I believe in myself. Fuck, I promise I do.

I hit the colors, and for a brief moment, I floated. Then, like popping a water balloon, I fell again. The world of colors streaked past. I tried to brace my legs for impact, but instead of hitting the ground, I landed on something soft and sticky and immediately fell onto my injured side. Pain flared. I rolled to get away from it. Only for the sticky to join me and connect into a cocoon of webbing.

Spiders. Fucking spiders. Under London was still infested with them.

Now I was trapped in one of their webs.

Jaiyana, all-powerful, enchantress, after a thousand years, finally dies to unnamed spider number five.

The horn line for Mambo Number 5 popped into my head. I let out a single bitter laugh before forcing myself to lie prone in my cocoon of spider-ass string. Waves of hot pain throbbed across my road rash. Whoever made this web knew I was on it and would be showing up shortly unless it was busy eating my mates. My heart squeezed, but my brain worked on overdrive.

A little bit of fire burns so well

A little bit of water keeps me swell

A little bit of wind to fan the flames

A little bit of earth to keep me sane

I prayed my mates were close enough for me to use their magic and focused on Tyson’s fire.