Page 32 of The Powerless Witch

“One of who?” I asked, looking at the human girl lying beside me. Her eyes were closed, but her chest was rising still and I couldn’t see any life-threatening injuries.

“The Ancient One’s humans!” she reached down, touching the girl’s back and muttering something that the ringing in my ears prevented me from hearing. Magic filled the air as a ward formed around the girl—not one made by Meghan, but one of magic much more powerful and old. It seemed to activate at the witch’s touch, as if to protect the girl.

Meghan yanked her hand back, swallowing loudly before pulling me to my feet.

“Iwas tasked with protecting you should anything happen, so let’s go before we both die!” she snarled, shaking my shoulders. “Snap out of it, Samara! We need to…”

She trailed off a second time, her eyes widening again—this time with pure fear. Her magic flared instantly, blasting me away from her. I tried to stop my flight before the inertia killed me when I noticed the dark figure prowling through the rubble.

He reached Meghan in a heartbeat, catching her by the throat and squeezing until her face turned purple. I landed in a crouch, preparing to run to her aid, but then I noticed her mouth moving.

‘Go!’she said again and again, her eyes begging me to listen.

I had no intention to. Not before I got her and that human girl out of there. I still had my magic, and I still had our surroundings. The sun was peeking in at places, so with a little luck…

The vampire turned, and a pair of red eyes locked with mine.

I sucked in a surprised breath when I recognized that cold, handsome face, twisted in an expression I had never seen him make before. The smirk was gone and so was the arrogant bearing, letting out the monster I knew hid inside.

Roman’s eyes narrowed, and he moved as if he were about to attack, so I reached for my magic. I knew it wouldn’t work on him, not directly, but with so much rubble around us, I was sure he’d have trouble touching me if all of his bones were shattered.

I needed to get to the girl. To Meghan. I needed to…

Pain exploded everywhere in my body and I felt a familiar tug as if a hook had sunk into my back and was trying to pull me away. I fought it with all my might, but the pain from Regina’s insistent presence in my head drove me to my knees. The others must have reported what had happened. Her summons…

I looked up just as Roman let Meghan’s body drop next to the human girl’s. The building kept crumbling around him, but he didn’t even blink, his attention locked solely on me.

Roman moved toward me in a dizzying blur. I pushed myself up, ready to meet his attack, when the tug turned into a vicious yank that tore through my resistance and stole my powers. Shadows crept around me as the translocation spell activated, my body becoming incorporeal while he reached a bloody hand toward me. His fingers flew through my head right as the parking lot vanished.

I landed heavily on hard ground. The soft click-click-click of heels was the only sound for a moment before Regina entered my vision, looking down at me with disgust.

“You foolish girl,” she sighed quietly, but before she could do anything else, the pain swallowed me whole and I let it draw me under, embracing the familiar darkness that welcomed me home.

Chapter 14

Roman

This was a nightmare. A fucking nightmare.

I pressed harder on the gas until the engine choked. Easing my foot, I had to remind myself this wasn’t my car and the old vehicle wasn’t able to move the way mine did. I had commandeered it from the street the moment I could step outside the rubble that had once been a building.

Those witches really went all in. The whole area was in ruins, the nest destroyed almost completely. After securing Lily and the witch I’d caught, I went back to check for survivors. Oscar had managed to grab a few of his people and take them to the shelter at the bottom of the structure. The ones that were too slow or too stupid to avoid the blast were now piles of ash.

It took them some time to dig themselves through the concrete, but once there was a way out, I left them to figure out their own problems. I doubted helping them further would be to their benefit now that the Elders had ordered them to stay away from me.

Gritting my teeth until my fangs dug into my lips, I glanced at the passenger seat where Lily’s body lay slumped against the door. The steady rhythm of her heart wasthe only thing that stopped me from going into a rage and tracking those witches, but the smell of blood coming from her was making it hard to concentrate.

At least the wound on her forehead had clogged, and she didn’t have any other major injuries. No broken bones, as far as I could tell, but if she didn’t wake up soon, I’d have to consider the possibility of a concussion and get her a medical team.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when she groaned and sat up. Catching her head in her hands, she swayed for a few moments before she went perfectly still. She jumped with a yelp, freezing again when she saw me.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now,” I said as soothingly as possible. Her shoulders sagged, and she dropped her face into her hands, a silent sob rocking her body. “Are you hurt somewhere? Are you in pain?”

She hesitated, but then shook her head without looking at me. Her fingers threaded in her hair, stopping over her wound. She pressed her hand tightly to it, looking up at me with wide eyes.

“The blood…” she whispered, fear creeping into her voice.

“I can control myself, Lily,” I said, looking back to the road. I had been doing it for centuries, yet after all this time, I had allowed myself to grow so weak that I didn’t even sense the attack coming before it was too late.

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