Suddenly feeling anxious, I nodded slowly, not liking the direction the conversation was going. It had to be bad news, but he didn’t act like it was a big deal. He was smiling, so that was good, right?
“They wanted me to return because the job here was completed. When I refused, they said I didn’t have any choice. So I resigned.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
Climbing out of bed, he started to put his clothes back on. “It’s not a big deal. I’ve been thinking about doing it for a while now.”
“But you have been with the Mages for a long time. Why would you leave? I’ve never heard of a Mage being on his own.” I thought for a second, trying to remember if that was completely true. I came up empty. They were all part of that group. To be honest, I had no idea what they did when they weren’t helping Witches. If the last time we called upon them was three hundred years ago, what did they do in the interim?
I climbed out of bed, dragging the sheet with me. I clutched it to my chest, walking up to him. “Why would you do that, Ethan? It’s what you do. How can you just leave?”
He shrugged. “They weren’t going to let me stay here, despite you being pregnant with my child. They wanted me to abandon her. I refuse to do that. If that means I give up my position within the Mages, so be it. I will remain here. I have plenty of money.”
“Money from where?”
He grinned. “I can’t say. Most of my work is confidential.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You aren’t a spy, are you?”
Shrugging, he threw on his t-shirt. “How about I make us something to eat? I bet you’re hungry.” He walked out of the room.
Shaking my head, I followed him into the kitchen, dragging the sheet with me. Taco sat on the counter, claw frozen in mid-air as he stared at us. He was about to reach for something, but I couldn’t see what because a glass was in the way. When I walked around the counter, I saw my chocolate sitting open. He had chocolate all over his face. Growling, I reached for him, but he scrambled across the counter, leaping off to take flight.
I glared at him when he landed on the kitchen table. “That was from Mikey. Whenever he does work in Germany, he always brings back chocolate. And you had to go and eat it!”
“I’m sure the rest is still good,” Ethan said, grimacing at the slobber on it. “Do dragons have germs?”
“Asshole!” I growled at the dragon. He threw up a clawed middle finger.
Ethan chuckled. “He’s lucky he’s cute.”
Taco blew fire in his direction as he walked along the kitchen table, attacking the fruit in the bowl.
“Hey! If you aren’t going to eat it, don’t waste it with your damn temper tantrum,” I told him.
Again, Taco flipped me off. He reached for an apple, tore a chunk out with his claw and started munching. When I looked into the bowl, I noticed all the apples had little holes in them. Sighing, I shook my head, taking a seat at the table.
“So, what do you want to eat, Sophie? Tacos?” Ethan asked, ignoring the glare from the dragon.
“Sounds good,” I replied, laughing as Taco took off to his room. “I don’t know if we have the stuff here, though.”
Ethan laughed. “I was just going to order Chinese.” He came over to rub my shoulders. I moaned, letting my head fall back as he dug his fingers into my muscles.
Shouting from outside had both of us turning toward the front door in alarm. Ethan stepped in front of me, prepared to fight. Feeling vulnerable in just a sheet, I stood, calling to my magic so I wore clothes again.
The front door burst open, Drake standing on the front steps. He looked intimidating, his dark gaze focused on me as I peeked around Ethan. He’d used magic to bust open the door, his hand outstretched as wind blew through the house, sending a shiver through me. Lying at his feet were the two Magicteers.
“Did you kill them?” I demanded.
“No,” he replied, stepping into the house.
“Why are you here?” Ethan growled, hand poised, magic ready.
“I wanted to see the mother of my child. When I realized what the demon had told you at the mansion, I had to come see for myself.” He tilted his head. “I can hear two heartbeats.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “You could have called, Drake. Is this how we’re going to do visitation from now on?” I tried to walk around Ethan, irritated when he blocked me with his arm. He didn’t trust Drake. Truthfully, I didn’t, either.
Drake shook his head. “I plan on you being with me.”
“You have the demon inside of you,” I said.
His eyes darkened. “I can handle the demon.”
I would have been lying if I said there wasn’t a tiny bit of hope that bloomed in my chest when he said those words. But when Ethan reached back, my hand automatically went to his. Drake caught the movement.
“You’ve given up on me already,” he said softly.
“What do you expect? You pushed me away and have yet to take care of things with Heather. You’re letting this demon take over.”
“I don’t think he has a choice, Sophie,” Ethan said softly.
Pushing past him, I shook my head. “I refuse to believe that. I know you can beat this demon, Drake.”
“What’s the point when I have nothing left? You were all I had.” Drake looked away, turning as if he were about to leave.
“Don’t do that feeling sorry for yourself bullshit on me. You have a lot to live for. You fight this demon! You hear me?” I demanded, grabbing his arm.
Ethan reached for me, as if
