43. Jaiyana

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

JAIYANA

D ressed in spandex shorts and a tank top, I jogged around the outside of the temple a little later than I'd intended the following day…. a little slower than I wanted to run…. with my sweat smelling like Cava: the evil, evil liquid now punishing me for my overindulgence the night before.

If I had my magic, I could heal my hangover. But I didn't, so I got to experience every sluggish thought and pounding in my possibly mortal skull.

I wrinkled my nose. Last night should have ended with a sexy dog pile on me, but once we started playing, the competition heated up, including Sister Abby. Somehow Tyson pulled a victory out of his ass in the final turn, and his very rowdy celebration dance had another priestess knocking on my door and insisting the princes leave so my neighbors could get some sleep.

Never in my life had an evening been so thoroughly derailed. Not only had the guys not once mentioned finding my fourth mate, but I'd completely forgotten to ask Sister Abby to help me escape. Unless I didn't need to escape. The masculine scent on Sister Abby piqued my curiosity.

We need to ask about it.

That's going to be so weird – and such a bad idea.

Eh, it's logic, Jay. You're responding to the scent on her like the others. She might have a brother. Or a lover you can steal away and ruin another friendship.

I didn't take my brain's bait.

Or it could be her.

Can a female dragon shifter mate mark another?

I've no idea, but what's breaking the curse? The physical acts? In which case, how would a woman penetrate me? Or is it the emotions behind it?

My steps slowed. It hadn't occurred to me to analyze my emotions. How would I even quantify something so abstract?

It must be our physical acts.

Except my magic is still locked away.

Well, sex is sex, but emotions are complex. You should be hoping it's just the physical acts or a lot of hearts will break at the end of this adventure.

I tripped on the flat ground and had to catch myself on the wall. On my right, the path around the temple dropped down a cliff side, looking out into the bright blue cloudless sky.

Including my heart.

Lost in my conversation with myself, I rounded a corner and ran straight into another body, bowling it over and rolling us both across the rigid stone walkway. I came to a stop when I hit the wood guard rail. The steep sides of the mountain spread out under me. My heart raced, and my vision spun. The sensation of falling, which Tyson made me intimately familiar with, soured my stomach.

You don't have magic. If you fall, that's it.

Shut up. I know.

Were you this scared of heights in Tyson's arms?

Do not imply I trust him.

I managed to roll away from the rail and sit, clasping my rolling stomach.

Across from me, a familiar face gathered bandages, ointments, and pill bottles which must have exploded out of his bag.

"What are you doing here?" Doctor Raba asked, narrowing his eyes.

I narrowed mine right back, wondering the same but unable to ask. After my racing heart calmed, I pointed at my mouth and made a slicing motion with my hands.

Although I couldn't see his lips through his bushy salt and pepper beard, his eyes smiled before he schooled his face. "Ah, so you still can't talk. What a shame."

‘Hack,' I spit, but all that came out was a squeak.

I stared at him as if I could see into his soul, and my breath caught in my throat. I could see into his soul. My third eye wasn't quite working, but I could crack it open. With a thought, my magic sight showed me a blurry world of color.

Doctor Raba's eyes widened before hazing over and doing the same.

Shit, he was a mage. I knew that. Stupid, slow, hungover brain. Why didn't I wait until he turned his back or something?

Too late now, I studied him. Like me, his third eye blazed on his forehead. He was definitely human. Nothing glowed around his heart as it would with a shifter. Not even a hint of shifter blood of any kind ran through his magical veins. He burned with more power than I expected, his connection to the Ley Lines appeared surprisingly strong. Like the Ley Lines, all I saw was a textured blur.

Fuck, so not a hack….so in on my kidnapping?

I rubbed my lips together, letting the magic vanish.

He'd already closed his third eye and turned to gather his medical supplies. I helped him with a few bits which had rolled toward me.

He knew I was magical now. But did the curse suppressing my magic also hide it? I used my mate's elemental powers. Did that mean I had a dragon's glow around my heart, as if I were a shifter? Fuck, I needed a mirror.

You're a mess right now. You really don't.

Not helpful.

"What are you staring at?" He asked, not looking up from his medical bag as he repacked it.

I rubbed my lips together before shrugging and standing to continue my run. Only I didn't. The moment I rounded another bend, I pulled up and plastered myself to the side of the building, looking behind me. I didn't see the Doctor, but if I crashed into him, he must have been going the way I came from.

Being as stealthy as possible, I slunk back the way I came and caught up to him just as he disappeared through a side opening. Slowing and stepping lightly, I eased through the arched entry and peeked around, but only an empty hallway met my gaze.

Jay, this is dumb. He's obviously here for a reason; ask someone. You have friends now. You don't have to do everything alone.

I straightened to do just that when a fist connected with my face, and something sharp jabbed into my arm. Burning fire raced from the prick and down my limbs, immobilizing me. I landed on my side and rolled, my chest and cheek squished against the cold floor.

"Hum." Doctor Raba said. "Your days are numbered, imposter."

I tried to scream, but only a line of drool dripped out of my slack mouth. Fear made it hard to breathe.

"We want you back and Ryker wants your hold on his son gone." He grunted. "Lucky me, finding you floating amongst the clouds."

He mumbled something under his breath, and the air around me grew cold. My vision faded to a blurry black and white. I'd spent a lot of time in invisibility spells. Even just eavesdropping on a conversation was fun from time to time, but being in someone else's spell, powerless and not of my own choice, chilled my blood. Or would have if I could feel. Pannic darkened my vision, and I fount to stay in control.

Doctor Raba mumbled again, and my body rose into the air, my head and arms lulling like a broken doll. I floated behind him as an unseen shadow. Fear made my heart race. I tried to scream, to move, to do anything, but whatever he'd drugged me with was super effective.

Really, super effective? That's the best you can come up with?

I'm trapped in my own corpse and trying not to panic. Shut up!

If I could have hyperventilated, I would have, but I couldn't, so I listened to the sound of his even footsteps and the occasional drag of my toes when his spell dipped. With my head dropping, I could make out part of the floor and white pictureless walls. He didn't seem to be in a hurry, though he put his arm out, pressing me to the side as a gaggle of children rushed past us.

At least you can't feel your hangover anymore.

I'll give that one to you.

"No running in the halls!" Sister Abby called out.

Abby! I tried to scream her name, but nothing happened. My snuggle buddy and partner in crime from last night stopped in front of the doctor, giving me a glorious view of her hidden calf muscle and nothing else.

"Good morning, Doctor," Sister Abby said. The sound of feet sliding and shuffling filled the hall.

"Your eyes, sister. Are you feeling well?" Doctor Raba asked.

"Yes," Sister Abby snapped too quickly. "I just thought I smelled something."

I screamed from my cage. ‘You smell me!! Help!' But not even a squeak came out.

Never thought you'd miss those.

Shit.

"Something your dragon wants, clearly," Doctor Raba stated. "I've never seen a sister struggle with control before. I suggest meditating and coming to terms with your beast."

More of the sister's robes came into view as I assumed she leaned forward.

"Do you need me to summon the high priestess?" Doctor Raba asked.

Sister Abby stepped back, her robes completely disappearing from view. "No. I'll be on my way."

Her footsteps rang as she hurried down the hall. Doctor Raba waited until they disappeared before letting out a hiss of tense air and rushing forward with me still in tow.

We passed a little line of kids sitting against the wall before Doctor Raba rushed through a door and shoved me under what looked like a metal medical table. I landed face up, looking at bits of chewing gum and stains in various shades of gray. Doctor Raba walked across the room to a little kitchen area. He set his bag down and prepared a medical tray.

If I could have held my breath, I would have. Would he kill me now? Drug me with something else?

He spun around and stalked toward the table. A wave of panic made it hard to think and doubled when my body didn't respond. Instead of reaching for me, he threw a white cloth over the metal surface and unlocked the door. "Dillon, you're up first today."

I focused on the teen missing his left arm who sauntered into the room, anything to not think about myself. A grin made his lopsided underbite sand out. He hopped up on the table, his ankles dangling only a few inches from the floor.

"And how was your week?" Doctor Raba asked, his voice calming.

"My month was okay." The teen responded. "My jaw started hurting again."

"Sorry, son," Doctor Raba said. His feet came into my view, as I assumed he poked and prodded his patient. "I can't up your pain meds. Did you think about what we talked about last time?"

The teen kicked his feet. "Yeah. I don't have a lot of options of what to do next. Do I?"

Only the sound of rustling clothing filled the room. "You've still got time. Just remember, I have, not just your best interests at heart, but all dragon shifters."

"Yeah," the teen said. "Jason said you keep him busy."

"I do. He has a good life." Doctor Raba answered. "Now, I've got a few more stretches for your jaw." The doctor suggested he explore his magic to see if power gave him any relief before wishing him a good day and sending him off.

Another teen replaced the first, followed by a tween, and then a girl who couldn't be in the double digits yet. I listened. My picture of an evil doctor in league with some powerful force to kidnap me, dying on the vine. Doctor Raba didn't have an overly tender bedside manner, but he listened and offered advice as he checked on each kid. And only checked on each kid as far as I could tell.

"Doctor Raba!" I recognized Aria's excited voice as she bounced into the room, her prosthetic leg bent with each step.

"My little Aria," Doctor Raba said. "Already outgrowing your leg and arm, I see."

Aria climbed onto the table. "I tried on Megan's in the hall. She needs a new one, too."

"Of course you did." Doctor Raba sighed, and I swore I heard him ruffle her hair. "I'll get you measured up. How was your week?"

" Month ," Aria stressed. "And it was A-MAZ-Zing!" Her legs kicked a million miles an hour from where they dangled above me. "Can I tell you a secret?"

I willed Aria to keep her mouth shut.

"There's another human mage here," Aria said.

Anger flushed through my system. That was our secret. Except she was a teenage girl and she trusted the doctor more than me. It wasn't Aria's fault, but if he hadn't figured out I was a mage, he had all the confirmation he needed.

Shit.

Shit.

Aria's legs stilled. "Do you think she can fix us?"

My heart missed a beat. Sister Abby telling me nothing was wrong with me echoed in my head. I fought my useless body, desperate to tell Aria the same. She wasn't broken, and if this doctor made her feel like anything other than perfect, he deserved everything I would give him as soon as I had control of my body.

"There's nothing to fix," Doctor Raba said.

My brain exploded. What the fuck? Was this guy evil or not?

"Then why do you take our scales and our blood?" Aria asked.

I thrashed against the drugs keeping me incapacitated, though not even a muscle flinched. The doctor took their scales and blood. Giving even a dud of a mage tools like that was unbelievable. With someone's essence, I could control their very thoughts, identify every blood relation, and bend any one of them to my will! There were books of spells on blood magic, most of them rooted in evil.

Someone could change your memories.

I froze…well my thoughts did.

My memories.

"Because you're different." Doctor Raba continued. "You and all your friends are special. I want to know why and guide you to a better future." He stepped back. "Now, does this human mage have a name?"

"Jay," Aria said. "She's really nice, but when she did fire magic, she put her finger over her lips." Aria crossed her ankles. "It was supposed to be our secret. Don't tell anyone?"

"It's okay," Doctor Raba stepped forward. I saw his toe indent my hip, but I didn't feel it. "You can trust me. You can always trust me. Now go back to class. I'll see you soon."

Aria jumped off the table, and the doctor walked her to the door, telling the waiting kids he needed a break. I watched his feet shuffle around before he knelt where he'd left my invisible body. He leaned over me with eye drops and moistened my eyes before closing my lids.

"I don't know why you came here," he said too calmly. "But I won't let you complete your objective."

What is my objective? I wanted to scream at him, but I couldn't.

Fear. Fear I had no way to express crawled into my brain and crashed against itself. With my body incapacitated, I couldn't blink. He was making sure my eyes didn't dry out.

Oh god, he's going to harvest my eyes.

Stop jumping to conclusions.

But then I won't be able to see or talk.

Darkness. Nothing. I panicked with no result. Which only made me panic more. The box trapping my mind closed on me. Until this moment, I wasn't sure if I'd ever experienced true isolation. Even while trapped in that diamond, I'd at least been able to look out at the world.

But this was nothing.

You're not nothing, just think happy thoughts! Like in Peter Pan.

No song played in my head. If Peter Pan even had music, in my panic, I couldn't recall it. I was nothing. I felt nothing. More footsteps came into the room, and I focused. If I could hear, I still existed. The table squeaked above me, and Doctor Raba's too-smooth voice eased another kid's pain, promising them a better future.

Unlike Peter Pan, no degree of positivity would return control of my body or fly my ass out of here.

Trapped in my mind, I'd truly found purgatory.