A light cracked overhead, and I glanced over my shoulder to see sparks flying while people stumbled away.
The king didn’t budge, his eyes locked on me until I found refuge in the bathroom. My pulse thudded as my blood coursed with power.
I ran down the row of evergreen stalls, finding the one at the very end vacant. I rushed inside and slid the door into place as the stall around me shook from my magic.
“What the hell?” an older voice a few stalls down exclaimed.
My ears pounded in tune with my heart rate. Being stuck in a small stall wasnothelping.
I had to find a way to calm down.
Trying not to overthink, I closed my eyes and laid my forehead against the metal door. The coolness felt good against my hot skin.
Focusing on the chill, I conjured the image of the woods in my mind. I brushed both hands along the door, picturing myself in the forest to calm the shrieks and the rattling.
Someway, somehow, my blood quieted a notch into a fizz.
With myself somewhat more under control, I pushed off the door, trying not to think about what I might have pressed myface into, and flushed the toilet. I opened the door and went to the line of sinks.
After washing my hands, I splashed water on my face. I had to cool down more, but I didn’t want to mess up my makeup.
I dried my hands and patted my face with a paper towel then looked in the mirror. My skin was flushed but settling back into my natural color.
“What the hell was that?” an older lady asked as she strolled to the sinks. She glanced back at the stalls. “That was the strangest thing. I would’ve thought it was an earthquake, but only the last few stalls were shaking.”
Shit. Having a vampire in here would have come in handy, but I wouldn’t know one if they were standing beside me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shrugged, trying to keep my blood from fritzing again.
“Are you serious?” She rolled her eyes. “The stalls shook so hard that—”
I couldn’t stay here. “It seems like everything is fine now.” I cut her off and left via a second exit. I removed my phone and texted Slade.
Me: At the bathroom near the front. Not sure where you are or where to go. I met King Jovian and he’s near. SOS.
I kept my phone in my hand and tried to blend in with the crowd. Luckily, the line to the concession stand was long, but I could still see King Jovian, Lucy, and the queen standing where I’d left them. A stadium worker swept up the glass from the lights I had ruined.
King Jovian’s attention cut to me, and my blood kicked up again.
Yeah, I couldn’t stay here.
When a couple of human guys I recognized from stats walked by, I followed them. The seating section numbers kept increasing as we reached what had to be midfield.
“Sky,” a familiar voice called, and the weight lifted from my shoulders immediately.
My gaze landed on Slade, and tears burned my eyes. I was so damn happy to see him.
His forehead creased as he jogged over to me. “Hey. I thought you were near the front.”
“I … I was, but things went bad withthem,and I had to get away.” I bit my lip.
When he placed his hand on the center of my back and fell into step beside me, I didn’t pull away. I needed comfort … someone who had my back. Lucy couldn’t be that person right now with the king and queen being her family and all.
“What do you mean, bad?” He arched a brow. “Like what we’ve been working on bad?”
I nodded. “Something happened.” I removed my phone and sent him a short text summing it up as best I could. When I hit send, he paused to read the text then frowned.
“This is why I should’ve picked you up.” He hung his head and turned to me. “I’m sorry, Sky.”