11. Zaiah

11

ZAIAH

I grunt. The extreme kick I get from using Addy's power to boost my own is mind-bending. I channel my power of prophetic visions into her thoughts, amplified by her ability. She screams. It is ricocheting through her mind, causing her immeasurable pain, but I can sense that she doesn't want me to stop. She wants more. Whatever she can see is making her pant through the agony. I can't see anything. This is all about her. Her wish. Her thoughts. Her pain.

Adelaide's energy mingles with mine, amplifying my abilities to heights I've never experienced before. It's exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

Gritting my teeth, I push harder, delving deeper into the stream of prophetic energy. My form begins to shimmer and blur at the edges, the strain of channelling so much power threatens to destabilise my physical manifestation in this realm.

"Zaiah," Adelaide gasps between screams, her body arching. "Don't stop."

I'm sweating as I pour more power into our connection.

The air around us crackles with energy. Objects in the room begin to levitate, caught in the vortex of our combined magick.

As I push harder, I catch glimpses of what Adelaide is seeing. They're fragmented, chaotic - flashes of battles yet to be fought, faces twisted in agony or triumph, landscapes both familiar and alien. But try as I might, I can't piece them together into a coherent narrative. These visions are for Adelaide to comprehend, and I'm just along for the ride. I have never been able to do this before. I have never even heard of this being possible. We have our visions, but forcing a vision on someone else or being part of it is new and exciting as fuck. Groundbreaking, even. This is all her. It has absolutely nothing to do with me.

The strain is becoming unbearable. My physical form is flickering now, threatening to dissipate entirely. If I push much harder, I risk being pulled back to the djinn realm, leaving Adelaide stranded in this storm of visions until I can return to her.

Just as I'm about to reach my limit, Adelaide's eyes snap open. They're glowing with an inner light pulsing with power. When she speaks, it's not her voice. It's deeper, more arrogant. "The future. Or... possible futures. I see... I see what I could become. What we all could become."

A chill runs down my spine at her words. As a djinn, I'm well-versed in the dangers of foreknowledge. The future is a fickle thing, ever-changing based on the choices we make. But the weight in Adelaide's voice suggests she's seen something truly momentous.

"Tell us," Ignatius murmurs, his eyes fixed on her as she hangs in mid-air, electricity sparking off her skin.

"A war between realms. The mortal world, the Dark Fae Kingdom, the vampire courts, the djinn realm... all of them, locked in a battle that could tear reality apart."

The room falls silent as we process her words. The implications are staggering.

"And us?" Zephyr asks, his voice tense. "Where do we fit into this war?"

"The choices we make, the alliances we forge determine the fate of every realm."

I feel a pressure settle on my shoulders, heavier than any I've borne before. As a djinn, I've always strived to maintain a certain detachment from the affairs of other realms. But now, it seems, I'm inextricably bound to this conflict.

"A key. A bridge between worlds."

"A key to what?" I murmur.

"A bridge to what?" Corvus asks at the same time.

"Powerful. Dangerous. Everyone wants to control it. To control me."

I exchange glances with the others. The gravity of our situation is becoming clearer with each passing moment. I'm not sure if she's the one who needs protecting. What if she's the threat?

The raw power I felt coursing through her during her vision, the way it amplified my own abilities beyond anything I'd thought possible. If that power were to be unleashed, uncontrolled...

Adelaide's eyes roll back in her head, and she goes limp, the tendrils of darkness still suspending her in the air. I release my grip on her head, stumbling back as the connection breaks. The room spins around me, the aftermath of channelling so much power leaving me dizzy and disoriented. All the floating objects crash to the floor, and I remember Orby under the pillow. That thing knows something, and I need to find out what the fuck it is before it's too late.

"Fuck," Corvus mutters, moving closer to Adelaide. "Is she alright?"

Zephyr waves a hand, and the shadows gently lower Adelaide to the bed. He places a hand on her forehead, his brow furrowed in concentration. "She's alive, but unconscious. Whatever she saw took a lot out of her. But she's strong. Fuck. It's going to be harder to break her than I first thought."

"You don't fucking say," Corvus growls, going to her.

Ignatius paces at the foot of the bed, flames flickering at his fingertips. "A war between realms? And we're supposed to be at the centre? This is nuts."

"Nuts or not, we need to take it seriously," Zephyr says, his voice grave. "If what Adelaide saw is true, we're in for one hell of a fight."

"It's not just about the fight," I say, my voice hoarse. "It's about Adelaide. You felt that power, didn't you, Zephyr? It meshed with your magick that was holding her."

He nods slowly but says nothing.

Corvus frowns at Addy. "A key. A bridge. Whatever she is, it's clear that others will want to?—"

"Control her?" I snap, my agitation born out of fear for her. "That whatever the fuck it is inside her, already is."

"The crazy, ancient vampire woman," Zephyr murmurs.

"Corvus, you must know something about this. Or your dad might," I say.

"Maybe. But trying to get answers out of my dad about anything is like trying to pull the teeth out of an angry Dragon. Virtually impossible."

I nod grimly, understanding Corvus's frustration. "We need more information. And fast."

Zephyr runs a hand through his hair, his usual composure slipping for a moment. "We're flying blind here. We don't know what Adelaide is capable of or what others might do to get their hands on her."

"Then we protect her," Ignatius says firmly, his eyes blazing. "Whatever it takes."

"Well, that goes without saying," Corvus murmurs.

I look at Adelaide's unconscious form, my mind racing. "We need to wake her up. Find out exactly what she saw in those visions."

"No," Zephyr says sharply. "She needs rest. Whatever just happened drained her completely. Waking her now could be dangerous."

I bite back a retort, knowing he's right. But the urgency of our situation gnaws at me. Every moment we spend in the dark is a moment these enemies could be using against us.

"So, what do we do?" Ignatius asks, voicing the question we're all thinking.

"We find out what the fuck that portal opens up to," I state, knowing it all boils down to that. I felt it in my bones when we arrived at the stone circle. Whatever lies on the other side is our pain, our destruction…

"A key. A bridge," I mutter. "Adelaide is the key that opens up the bridge to whatever lies on the other side. Her blood. Her sacrifice. Somehow, it is connected to her."

"No," she croaks, turning our attention to her as she struggles to sit up. "Not me. Her."