My powers were more in the attack range … blasting someone across the room, blowing supes up, slicing and dicing.
Nothing to sneeze at, but a little healing would be a nice bonus.
Moving closer to Jacob, I wanted to take his hands, but he had them pressed to the ground. Our bond was still shut off with a solid wall, and I was slowly losing my mind at the loss.
Don't leave me.
I spent a moment begging and smacking against the mental wall between us, needing to be where he was. If he was in pain, I wanted to share it with him. He didn’t have to do this alone.
This helplessness was my worst nightmare
"I have to check on our babies," Jessa said, jerking me from my misery. "Can you keep an eye on Braxton? I don't like him being vulnerable with no one watching his back."
"I'll guard them," Mischa said with force. “Just make sure the kids are okay.”
“Me too,” I added. “With my life.”
Jacob growled at my feet, a legit dragon rumble of sound that rocked the ground.
Ignoring him, I waved Jessa on: "Check your babies. And hopefully we’ll find someone to update us on what’s happening."
She nodded, before she pressed a kiss to Braxton’s brow. He rumbled as well, and I wondered if we were about to have dragon-men instead of supes again. I'd take anything at this point.
After Jessa left, we talked to the nearby townsfolk, but most of them had no idea what was happening.
“The stronger supes are at the barrier,” a witch told me, her dark face streaked with tears. “My mate is there, and I can’t pick up much through our bond.”
“We’ll make sure they’re safe,” I told her. “Best to go home and stay inside.”
She sucked in a deep breath, nodding. Her head hung low as she walked away, and my chest grew tight. I’d better keep my word, no matter what happened. Our people had to stay safe.
When Jessa sprinted back, Mischa went right to her. "Are they okay?" she asked, her hands trembling so hard she had to press them together.
"Perfectly okay," Jessa replied. "They're with both sets of grandparents."
The relief on Mischa’s face was enough to crack the hardest of hearts.
"Did you find out anything?” I asked her, hoping she’d had more luck than us.
Jessa was raging, her eyes almost shimmering in the mid-day light as she took on a wolfy vibe. “It’s as we expected. The president has his elite army and special forces outside our barrier, demanding full control of Stratford, all of our money, and sovereignty over supernaturals."
Grace shook her head. "Humans can't take us on, not even with an army of specially trained soldiers."
Jessa swallowed. "He used stolen power to incapacitate the barrier, which is slowly going to hurt all supernaturals. We’re all connected through our leaders…”
“And Louis,” Tee bit out, still recharging. “His energy is a strong element in the barrier.”
Our eyes turned to the five powerful supes, incapacitated on the ground.
“Once he breaks the barrier,” Louis bit out, surprising us, “he will be able to control the Compasses.”
My head jerked to Jacob, and I gasped at the black streaks racing across his skin, like his veins were filled with poison. "Is it killing them?"
This was why Jacob had cut me off. The pain must be…
I took off.
Fuck. This.
I was not letting that bastard kill my mate. I'd only just found him, and I wanted my damn lifetime of happiness. I was ready. I'd been waiting for twenty plus years to actually be happy.
No one was stopping that dream.
"Justice!"
They were screaming my name, but I didn't care. I drew on the jeweled energy simmering in my veins, and the air around me lit up in a ruby display of power, reminding me of Jacob’s nickname for me.
A silent scream died in my throat.
More of the residents were running in the streets now, and I would have blended in if it wasn't for the red glow around me. The jeweled crown was no doubt back on my head, the one that appeared when my magic was at full force—I was shedding the last of the human version of Justice. The last of that orphaned, beaten, raped, vulnerable human I'd been to become the princess I should have always been.
Supes whispered as I raced faster, everyone wanting to know who I was. Most of them would have seen “Justice” around, but they didn't know this side of me.
When the barrier came into sight, it looked normal, with no