2. Jaiyana

CHAPTER TWO

JAIYANA

S omething sharp pinched my forearm, waking me from the black nothingness of unconsciousness. I shot to a seated position, and a person jumped back, bumping a cot at their back. Walls of a large, heavy canvas tent surrounded me. Little bits of sun streamed through the seams, highlighting tiny particles of dust floating in the air.

It was oddly peaceful…and definitely not my car or a hospital.

The person stepped forward again and I raised my hands into a guard position. The person, a woman, backed away from me again. White robes shrouded her from head to toe. A thick layer of make-up brought out her cheekbones and wide gray eyes. Two bumps sprouted at the top of her head, pulling up her headdress and exposing wild silver hair. The woman let out a curse, her voice lower than I expected, and closed her eyes. Her robes rose and fell with each calming breath she took. The bumps stopped growing, and her head dressing lowered.

She's not a threat. Chill.

Right.

I left the woman, who I'd clearly surprised as much as myself, to her breathing and analyzed my new situation. My last memory was of my car rolling down the highway as my body shattered.

My limbs tingled like they'd been asleep for too long. Despite the sensation, I managed to run my hands across what should have been my mangled body. Rough cargo pants covered my completely uninjured limbs. The skin of my bare arms felt smooth under my fingers. I picked at the unfamiliar white tank top and sports bra before rubbing my neck and head. Other than the French braid holding my hair tight to my neck, nothing felt out of place.

The Ley Line!

I reached up, putting my hands around my throat.

The woman took a step forward, and her pupils dilated. I swore muscles bulged under her layers of white, though it was hard to tell.

"Are you hurt?" she asked before gritting her teeth. The bumps on her head appeared again; she reached up with one hand and pressed on one. "Crap. Stop. Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. You can't answer me." She bonked her head. "She's not hurt. She's fine. Stop."

I nodded slowly, wondering if I looked as crazy as this woman when I talked to myself before processing what she said.

‘Why can't I answer you?' I tried to ask, but only the most adorable squeak I didn't know I could emit came out. I prodded my neck again, though the Ley Line's ribbon was long gone, and flexed my ankles wrapped in heavy hiking boots.

I felt my bones shatter, yet I wasn't in pain. There was no sign of my injuries. Turning back to the woman, I opened my mouth to ask, but only the same fucking squeak came out.

The woman took another step back and averted her eyes. "You're the last one to wake up. The drugs should be out of your system any minute. You need to get going." She picked up a tablet she must have dropped, keeping her other hand behind her back. "Your paperwork checks out, and everything's been signed off. You're all set."

My paperwork? What the fuck was going on? I'd just been crushed inside a tin can going ninety miles per hour. I wasn't going anywhere.

She pointed at my pants, either ignoring or not understanding my confusion.

I scowled at the heavy hiking gear. Someone dressed me in this while I lay unconscious. A tremor ran down my arms, and I squeezed my hands together, not wanting to think about other things that could have been done while I was dead to the world.

The woman let out a growl. "You're fine. She's fine. Please, stop looking so upset. This is normal."

I blinked and looked around the room. It was still just the two of us here. Suddenly, the woman lunged forward and cupped my cheek. Her scent filled my nose…fresh laundry and lemons, with a hit of something masculine. My stomach fluttered with excitement I didn't understand.

For a heartbeat too long, she stayed in my personal space. Her nostrils flared, and her eyes morphed into slits; scales peeked out from under her layers of foundation at the corner of her eyes. She was a shifter.

As fast as she darted in, she darted out, putting an extra bed between us. "This isn't happening. I'm better than this. I have to be." She scowled at me. "I'm not even supposed to be here. Scalehive has people for this."

"Squeak?" I demanded, not understanding any of her babbling.

"Just join the others, please," she said. "I can't be the dragon you need."

I blinked repeatedly before pointing at her, the tingling finally leaving me back in control of my arms. ‘I just need someone to explain what the fuck is going on; you've got to know!' I tried to say. But only a series of desperate-sounding squeaks spilled out of me.

The woman shifted uncomfortably and glanced toward the door.

I sighed and focused on my hands. Unless I was dream-walking or possessed someone else's body, an unknown person or entity pulled me from my car, healed me, and stuck me here with no voice. Right as I got the call to fix a Ley Line.

This couldn't be good. I needed to answer that call. It was one of the unspoken rules of magic: if the Ley Line needed help, the person it called did whatever it needed. Otherwise, power would clog and mess up the very foundation of Earth.

A ball of inappropriate enthusiasm swirled in my gut.

Someone was keeping me from my job. A rival. Something tangible that could give me purpose again.

See, you just needed an adventure!

Shut up.

A thousand years was a long time to be alive, an endless eternity of deciding what to eat for dinner while watching civilization make the same mistakes.

"You should already know this, but food and basic medical supplies are on the left side of your body." The woman refused to look at me.

I wiggled my fingers, calling on magic to confirm her words without moving. Nothing happened, and the excitement in my gut chilled.

"There's a map in your back pocket," she continued. "Though no one uses them anymore. The pockets on your right are filled with basics. The rope is small but reinforced with dragon tendons. It will hold your weight."

Her words bounced off me as I searched for my magic, reaching for power which usually slid into me as easily as breathing. Nothing. A void of emptiness opened in my gut. I sucked in a lung full of air and tried again. Zilch. My hands trembled, and I balled them to hide my fear.

Opening my third eye should have been as simple as wiggling a finger. But my attempt resulted in nothing… no familiar sensation of warmth and no power overlaying my vision.

A piece of me was just gone. I was a shell.

My breaths turned into short, panicked gasps.

Cool metal cupped my cheek, fighting the panic filling my veins. The woman's swirling gray eyes, filled with concern, took over my vision as she forced me to look at her. I jerked away, and the woman pulled back her silver cybernetic hand. I eyed the metal suspiciously, searching for a weapon or something to harm me before realizing it was just her hand.

The care on the woman's face melted into a hard line. She put her hand behind her back. "This is what you are here for. Stop creating drama and move."

I gritted my teeth and controlled my breathing before I could panic again. My manners and ability to comprehend the world vanished into the void of my missing magic.

Fuck. Where am I? Who am I without my magic?

"You'll miss the start if you don't go right now." The woman gritted her teeth. "Human." She wrapped her metal hand around my bicep and hauled me off the cot like I weighed nothing.

My feet hit the ground, and I squeaked in surprise, eyeing the woman who may or may not have been part of my abduction before remembering she was a shifter. Not any shifter, a dragon shifter. The strongest shifters in existence until they vanished from the world.

I glanced at her arm again, even more confused. The supernatural world didn't rely on technology. They used it, but magic fixed anything. Missing limbs included.

She leaned into me, forcing my gaze away from her hand. Her eyes dropped to my lips before she snarled. "You. Need. To. Move."

I didn't budge. She knew what the fuck was going on. I jabbed my chest with my thumb and threw my hands up.

She leaned back and threw her arms up in the air. "I am not your dragon!" She gripped her cybernetic hand with her human one, almost trying to hide it, and let out a series of frustrated growls. "Everything you need to know was in your welcome packet, which you signed. Your phone and baggage will be sent to your mate's room, assuming you find one."

I blinked. I had no idea what she was talking about. Not a clue. And I would remember. My mind was like a god-damn steel trap, unfortunately.

Every dull minute of my twenty-first-century existence tried to depress me at once, and I scrunched my nose. My heart rate slowed. Something tugged at my memory. The frustrated woman blurred as if I looked at her through a piece of curved glass. I'd forgotten something. Something important…

The woman cleared her throat, and my heartbeat returned to normal—the moment vanishing as I tried to piece together what information I could about my current situation.

This person didn't view me as an abductee. In her eyes, I'd signed up for this, possibly through something called Scalehive… even packing bags for an extended stay.

Wait, my mate's room?

I tried to ask her another question, but all that came out was the little fucking squeak. Conflict filled the woman's gaze again, but she shook it off. She wrapped her hand around my arm and pulled me through the tent flaps before pushing me into the outside world.

Saltwater, eucalyptus, and humidity engulfed me. I wasn't in dry Northern California anymore. A jungle of tropical trees with dark leaves and reddish bark closed in around the edges of an unnaturally symmetrical clearing. Although the sound of an excited crowd came from my right, my attention honed in on a group of about twenty young women loitering in front of me. Dressed exactly like me, they talked animatedly and pointed with wide eyes. Beyond them and across a crisp white line painted on the packed ground, a wide path led further into the dense tropical forest.

The white-swathed woman didn't step out of the tent, and when I looked back, she jabbed a finger at the pack of rugged Stepford wives before shutting the door. I bit my lips to keep from letting out a string of obscenity, which I'm sure would only come out as squeaks.

You were so wrapped up in yourself you pushed away a potential ally.

I shook my fists.

My magic is gone.

Yeah, I'm freaking too.

One thing at a time, where am I?

I took a deep breath, calming my panic. No magic. Right. I could do this, just like lifting weights at the gym.

With no choice, I stepped into the herd of women in matching camo.

My back itched like someone watched me, and I turned in a slow circle. A massive medieval dragon filled my view. His blood-red scales shone like they'd been buffed and faded into a dark purple underbelly. The dark spikes along his back gradually shrank in size while the smallest ones connected with his head of curved horns and molten gold reptilian eyes, which stared right at me.

Despite myself, a shiver of fear ran up my back.

My always helpful memory shuffled through the past, pulling up facts. Dragons went extinct seven hundred years ago, leaving only their cousins, dragon shifters, who'd vanished from the world during the Industrial Revolution. When dragons roamed the world, they were the most feared creatures on Earth. More intelligent than humans, faster, stronger, and able to access the magic of the Ley Lines. If it weren't for their prickly personalities, they would have ruled the world.

The red dragon growled, smoke curling out of his nose, and I continued my spin to look behind him. Stadium seating seethed with colors. Humans and dragon shifters in their two-legged form laughed and chatted. Scales, tails, and wings glistened in the bright sun, reminding me of a carnival.

Great, a goddam dragon shifter party: exactly where I wanted to be when I couldn't access my magic.

You used to love dragon parties!

Don't remind me.

The darkness that fueled my very existence closed in around me. Without magic, I was just another lost human drifting in a sea of pointlessness. I closed my eyes, remembering my shields collapsing in the car accident, so underpowered that they hadn't done a goddamn thing.

When did I stop taking care of myself?

No, Jaiyana, I pumped myself up. You're just going through a rough patch. You're still going to the gym and eating healthy, right?

I swallowed . Even good habits aren't good if they don't make you happy.

My little internal voice didn't argue with that.

I glanced back at the red dragon, who watched me like a science experiment. He flexed his dark red claws, and I hastily turned away.

Why the fuck was I here? I spoke draconic. I'd been Slain the Great's goddamn godmother. Granted, that was like eight hundred years ago. I let out a frustrated breath and forced myself not to pull on my hair.

"All right, ladies," A masculine voice boomed from seemingly everywhere.

The gaggle of excited women quieted, though several still bounced. My worry about the danger of this situation vastly decreased.

"Congratulations on completing our rigorous application process!" the voice continued.

Several of the girls cheered. A short, curly-haired redhead hugged herself and cried like this was her dream come true.

"No mortal can match a dragon's love, and today you begin your journey," the voice boomed.

I rolled my eyes. I'd gotten caught up in some bizarre dragon mating thing. This was going to be fun. Not. Despite my sarcasm, my heart fluttered with a hit of excitement. The festival atmosphere infected my mood, and the thrill of something unknown made my blood dance.

Seeing the bright blue sky gave me hope. I desperately called on my magic. The empty void thudded in my gut once more. I forced myself to breathe. Panicking now would only make things worse.

One thing at a time.

"Remember, you want to find a compatible mate," the booming voice said excitedly. "Use the tools we've given you to show us who you are. You have an hour's head start, starting in ten, nine, eight.…"

The women around me shouted with his countdown.

Right, well, this was a new one. But I was here now, and though still confused, the vibe of this event wasn't remotely frightening. I flexed my back. Maybe not the ideal circumstances, but I did love a good mortal challenge.

"…five…"

I closed my eyes, the bone-chilling boredom of the last hundred years fighting the pure excitement bouncing around me.

"…four…"

The dragon at my back growled, and the cheering from the stands got louder. I trembled with both fear and excitement. With my magic, I was practically invincible; without it, everything would be much more challenging.

"…three…"

I grinned.

Maybe an adventure will fill the gaping hole where your heart used to be.

Really, we're doing this right now?

We could go back to panicking?

"…two…"

A phantom tingling around my neck reminded me of the Ley Line, which I hadn't fixed and was no longer reaching out to me. The cosmic balance of magic had probably already replaced my replaceable ass. A nagging sensation pulled at my gut; things weren't right. The Ley Lines reached out for someone equal to the power of their problem. And before my current magic-less situation, I'd been one of the most powerful mages on the planet.

"…one!" The voice screamed along with the herd of women.

I didn't budge from my spot, but most women sprinted forward, barreling down the wide dirt path which cut into the blur of eucalyptus trees. A trio slowly walked in their dust.

"I'm just not an athlete and don't need the strongest dragon," the one in the middle said. "I'm just fine with being the first one caught. Not all these dragons need a challenge. The less exercise, the better. I just want to find my perfect lover."

The other two echoed her statements.

My eyebrows shot to the sky. This was like Tinder but with more movement and less messaging. I squished my excitement. I wasn't here to participate. In addition, these ladies could talk while I couldn't…right?

"Squeak," I said.

Instead of the word squeak an actual mouse sound emitted from my throat.

I let out a frustrated breath. Right, Gray Eyes said ‘it' needed time to wear off, except time was a luxury I didn't have. Maybe I could show these dragons what I couldn't say.

I faced the crowd, sticking my hands into the sky and calling power into them. It didn't come, but maybe they would recognize me if I tried to cast something dramatic. I widened my stance, tracing a large circle with my arms and mouthing powerful words I couldn't speak. No magic shot between my hands to create a sparkling shield, but I think I still looked like I was holding one. Maybe?

Hands and claws pointed at me and laughed. I closed my eyes, still holding my squat with my arms flailing about. My international sign for ‘powerful enchantress' made me look like I was trying to take a shit. Why hadn't I chosen a different spell?

The humor spread like wildfire, and heat flooded my face. The red dragon snorted and flicked his head toward the path.

Right, well, I'd rather go on a weird mating hunt than get laughed at here.

I eyed the main path. If there was a rule saying I had to go that way, I wasn't aware of it and could deal with the consequences later.

To my right, the peak of a mountain called to me. I pulled the map out of my back pocket, confirming it was the tallest landmark. If I could get to the top, maybe I could better understand where I was. This location might be suppressing my magic. Anything was possible at this point. The only wrong action I could take was staying still and waiting.