“What? How?” He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the car. What was he up to now?
Reaching the car, he took both my hands in his. “Now is the time to let our connection become one, Sophie. Remember when we first met and our magic combined? Do you remember how that felt?”
I remembered that it felt both amazing and strange. But what did that have to do with anything? Was he playing games? Could he be hiding more? Was he the man I had fallen for?
Did I just admit that to myself? Holy shit.
“Sophie? Are you listening?” Ethan asked, squeezing my hands.
I shook my head. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“Our magic needs to combine.”
“We can’t combine magic. There’s no such thing,” I said, distracted. “It only happens if you’re–” I stopped, yanking my hands away. Why hadn’t I realized it? Why didn’t it click when our magic combined before?
“Sophie, now’s not the time to overthink. We can talk about everything later,” Ethan said softly. He reached for my hands again. “I know you’re confused.”
“Confused?! That barely covers it. Ethan, it’s a complete myth. Those are stories told to children because Witch’s need their own damn fairy tales.”
Ethan gripped my chin, staring at me. “We can discuss this now, but if we do, Drake might be dead by the time we get to him.”
Realizing he was right, I nodded, placing my hands into his. I relaxed, thinking about our magic combining. His was warm and welcoming, weaving in and out of mine, like the sun and the moon meeting for the first time. I sighed, closing my eyes. Then I felt like I was spinning. When I opened my eyes, we hovered several feet in the air, our magic swirling together. Then it exploded in a burst of light.
Chapter Seventeen
I was glad Ethan knew what he was doing because I had no idea how we got to our destination. We were in a dark area just outside of town. In the distance, I saw a barn lit up by the moon. Taco sat on my shoulder, digging his claws in. I had no idea how he managed to hitch a ride.
Ethan grabbed my hand as we looked around, trying to find evidence of life. There was a small light shining in the barn, but there was no sound at all. Where was everyone?
Deciding to creep up to the barn, I tugged on Ethan’s hand, leading him in the direction. He frowned, showing me he didn’t like my idea at all, but I ignored him. As we got closer to the barn, we heard footsteps and rustling. I peered through the window next to the doors, hoping I could catch sight of what was happening inside.
Standing in the middle of the barn was Drake, his arms outstretched, twenty people surrounding him. How the hell did they keep so quiet? They were like zombies, standing in a circle, swaying.
“Tonight, we perform the second ritual. We have more to offer Bael than we originally planned. He will be pleased with the offering. Lying before me are two women I will fuck in the blood of the Mages.”
Ethan straightened, wanting to go inside. I gripped his hand. If Drake was able to take down two Mages, dealing with us would be easy. Going in without a plan was a huge mistake. He had to know that. When I glanced at him, I saw helplessness in his eyes.
Maybe we could combine our magic to take Drake down, or at least stop him from completing the ritual. Looking at Ethan, I hoped he could read my thoughts. I sent out my magic, letting it sweep around him. Slowly, he nodded, understanding.
Just as we turned to step through the barn doors, someone placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder, making us jump. We turned to find Carlos behind him, shaking his head.
“Don’t. He is much too powerful, especially with those other demons in there,” he whispered.
“Where the fuck did you come from?” I hissed, staring at him suspiciously.
“Before you accuse me of gods know what, you already know I can track demons. I didn’t know you would be here,” he angrily whispered.
“Stop, both of you,” Ethan interrupted.
I wasn’t going to let them sacrifice Ethan’s friends and two innocent women. Shaking my head, I released Ethan’s hand and walked through the doors of the barn before either one of them could stop me.
“Drake!” I shouted.
Everyone turned to look at me. They parted to reveal Drake. Lying at his feet were four beings, all staring at me with different expressions on their faces. The Mages showed no fear, their faces expressionless. The women had tear-stained cheeks as they sobbed. I felt bad for them. They had no idea what was going on.
“Let them go. You can deal with me,” I told him, my hands out at my sides, magic ready.
Drake threw his head back, laughing. “My dear, Sophie. You don’t think you can actually stop me, do you? You need to be safe at home where those babies can remain protected. I have plans for them.” He took a couple steps closer, eyes dark and intense. This was not the Drake I knew. The demon was definitely in the driver’s seat.
Ethan and Carlos came up behind me. Both of them probably swore at me in their heads for jumping in without a plan, but they were ready to back me up. I had no idea what I was going to do. Drake was powerful. Hell, he took down two Mages without any difficulty.
“Let them go,” I said again, allowing my magic to come on stronger, the necklace lighting up to aid me.
The entire barn lit up. I looked around in surprise, realizing it came from the necklace. Then I heard them.
“Leave this place. Do not attempt to stop the demon,” the Ancestors hissed. It sounded like all of them were talking.
Drake stared at me, a huge smile on his face. It was
