I grabbed both sides of my skull and curled onto my side as blood ran from my nose and ears. My brain felt as though it was being crushed from inside. The street spun beneath me, and I could not tell whether I was screaming or only hearing the awful noise still tearing through my mind.
The sound wave had not stopped inside my head. Even after Ravager and Gaspar were thrown away from the blast, the noise kept ringing through me. It felt hot, unbearable, like somebody had poured lava directly into my skull and left it there.
I could not think.
I could barely breathe.
I needed to get away from the center of the blast, but my body would not listen. My arms shook whenever I tried to push myself up. My legs felt numb. The ruined street shifted beneath me, tilting in ways that made no sense.
Then a blue flash cut through my blurred vision.
Sydney.
She appeared beside me.
