Cynwrig spun around, his gaze sweeping my length and coming up relieved. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Take care of my attacker. I have to catch the other one.”

I didn’t wait for an answer and bolted after the stranger with as much speed as I could muster. But they were only meters away from that car, and I wasn’t going to get there in time. Wind played around my fingertips, as if inviting me to use it. It was certainly tempting. But the likelihood of injuring the woman in the process of tripping her abductor up was relatively high, especially given he was unlikely to fall in a manner that would protect her.

Sadly, the amount of wind I could gather wasn’t likely to affect the vehicle. But Beira had declared I could use the power of storms, not just the wind, and she of all people should know what was and wasn’t possible. Lightning would stop the car, even if it just fused all the electricals.

I had nothing to lose by trying. Nothing except my life, perhaps. But I was the daughter of a storm god; surely that should count for something.

I slid to a stop and thrust my left hand toward the sky, physically reaching for the forces that roiled above me. Nothing happened. I swore, closed my eyes, and this time mentally imagined what I wanted, what I intended.

Power punched down from the sky, hitting my fingertips before surging down into my flesh. It burned through every cell and fiber of my being, expanding me, changing me, making me a being that was ethereal and translucent, of flesh and yet not.

Lightning flashed, fierce and bright. Not across the sky, but rather inside me. Through my torso, down my right arm and into my fingertips, where it ripped past flesh and streaked across the wet night. It left with such force that I fell to my hands and knees, my breathing ragged, my muscles weak, and my body feeling as if it were on fire. But somehow, I found the strength to lift my head. My lightning streaked past the stranger and hit the roof of the car. There was a small explosion, and tiny sparks flew as the force of the hit caused fragments of metal to melt and burn. Then bright light ran across the defrosting wires embedded in the rear window, and it shattered, sending glass fragments spearing across the night. A heartbeat later, two tires exploded. As smoke began to flood out from the grill, a woman scrambled from the front of the car and bolted away.

The stranger followed her.

I pushed upright, but my legs wouldn’t support my weight, and I fell back down again. I screamed in frustration, but my throat was raw and little sound came out. And my vision was going in and out of focus.

Cynwrig appeared in my fading field of sight. “Stay still. I’ve called in—”

“You need to stop that shifter,” I croaked. “You need to retrieve the woman he’s carrying. She’s vital to our search.”