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The attractive man, who begged her to go out and stalked her, looked nothing like the nightmare in front of her. Toni hovered in the corner where Drake shoved her and stared at the broad, green-skinned creature panting in the middle of the place.
“Thomas, you need to stop this.” She hoped her words would make him see reason.
“Not until I suck off the magic he left on you. Then I’m going to drain him.”
“Like hell,” Drake muttered, shifting Antonia closer to the wall.
Her back was already pressed against it. She glared at him but he never took his attention off of Thomas. A quick glance around revealed some of the patrons in the place had fled but others remained trapped inside. They stood waiting as tension flowed about the room. Two of the teenagers duck and hid behind the counter. Innocent people could get hurt.
Drake left Toni’s side and prowled next to Emma. The chains on his boots clinked, drawing her eyes down. His jeans molded to his legs and the crisp shirt he wore had the sleeves rolled up.
“You can’t win here, goblin. Leave while you can,” Emma announced.
The dark-haired woman didn’t look anything like a witch. She was beautiful and confident. Her slender body angled forward and she held her hands up in warning. A warning Thomas chose to ignore as he roared and charged them. Emma pointed at a table then Thomas and the round top flew in the air to slam into his shoulder.
Thomas didn’t slow or stagger. Emma didn’t have time to get out of the way as he lifted her high over his head and tossed her behind him. Toni gasped but Garrett rushed forward. He caught Emma in his arms and rolled with her as they crashed into another table and hit the floor on their backs. Drake’s arms moved quickly in the air and a shimmering wall of light formed, blocking Thomas from continuing.
Toni tucked her hands beneath her arms and looked around for a weapon. Every breath pinched her chest as it squeezed and terror took hold. Garrett helped Emma to her feet but both of them appeared shaken and Emma cradled her right arm to her chest. The only thing standing between Toni and the mountain of green was Drake. To make matters worse, Thomas poked at the wall with long claws and small rips caused it to flicker. His thick lips twisted into a cruel slant.
“Not enough juice, warlock.” Thomas plunged his fist through the magic wall and the light blinked out.
Garrett withdrew a knife and attacked. He clung to Thomas’ back and sliced upward with the blade, bringing him down to his knees. Drake ran to Toni and grabbed her hand. “We have to get out of here.”
Flashes of colored lights burst from Emma’s fingertips, swirls of smoke shooting around them. None of it stopped Thomas as he slammed his back against a wall, crushing Garrett. He yelled in pain as the sheetrock caved beneath their combined weight. When Thomas moved, Garrett lay sprawled on the floor, blood dotting his forehead.
Toni’s throat locked as she thought of people injured because of her. Drake hurried her along and they were almost to the door when Thomas tackled them. Drake’s hand was torn from hers and she slid across the floor and hit a bookshelf.
“Antonia!”
Books tumbled into her lap as Toni frantically climbed to her feet. Emma yelled something and lightning crackled around the cafe. Thomas ignored the dangerous bolts and snatched Toni up by the front of her shirt. She swung her fists as his chest but in this form he was much stronger than she expected.
Thomas licked her cheek and Toni almost hurled. “The magic he left on you tastes good. Strong.”
Toni slapped at his face but he didn’t budge as he drew her closer and banded his arms about her waist. Pressed up against his body, he added pressure on her ribs and she fought to draw breath.
“Antonia!”
Drake called out her name but spots floated in her vision. She refused to faint. Toni kicked with her legs but the puny blows meant nothing. As Thomas licked her once more, his heavy breath left her gagging.
“Don’t do this, Thomas,” she pleaded.
He hunched over her and stared past Toni’s head. “I could crush her in my arms, warlock. Break her neck with a snap. One moment she’s here and the next gone.”
“What do you want?”
Drake’s voice sounded confident but perhaps because she knew him, she heard the trace of fear beneath the question. Fear for her.
***
Drake had never been this afraid. The goblin held the life of the woman he loved in his hands. He could kill her and Drake would be forced to watch her innocent life snuffed out.
“You know what I want.”
His magic. The goblin wanted to drain Drake for his warlock magic.
“Don’t do it, Drake. You know he won’t stop there.”
He didn’t need Emma’s warning. With Drake’s magic the goblin could go on a feeding frenzy and destroy a lot of innocent people in his path. If only he could trust in his abilities. Defeating the goblin would have been nothing to Drake in the past but that was before Antonia. Before he’d fallen for a woman who gave her heart freely to a man she barely knew.
But if it came to a choice of Antonia’s life and giving away his magic, Drake would sacrifice his abilities without a second thought. He cared for her more than anything in the world. He had no world without her. Magic was nothing if he couldn’t bask in her smile, her warmth and generous nature.
“I guess you made your choice.” Thomas shifted his grip from Antonia’s waist to her neck.
Horror dawned. “Don’t!”
Staring at Drake, his eyes gleeful, Thomas jerked his hands with a sharp twist and Antonia’s struggling body went limp. It was over in less than seconds. No scream, no cry just a silence that echoed around the coffee shop.
“No!” Drake fell to one knee, his hand pressed to his chest as searing pain burned bright.
It wasn’t possible. Her dark hair hung about her face and Thomas dropped her to the floor as if she meant nothing. As if he hadn’t destroyed Drake’s entire world. Tears welled and he couldn’t swallow. His breath clogged in his lungs as he tried to draw air.
Antonia.
His soul called for hers but there was no answer.
Thomas cackled. “I prefer to drain you as you fight anyway. Your misery will make the magic taste all the sweeter.”
Drake couldn’t move. He couldn’t pull his gaze from Antonia’s limp form. She was gone.
Thomas approached Drake, his expression lit with pleasure when Drake finally looked up.
“Drake, you have to stop him.” Emma edged closer from the opposite direction. “For Toni.”
Drake tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling which blurred from his tears. He blinked and attempted to muster concern. Without Toni he had nothing. The oppressive grief bore down on him.
“Come on, Drake. She wouldn’t want this.”
He wished Emma would shut up. She didn’t know what Antonia wanted. Thomas came within inches of Drake and bent over. “If it helps you any, the magic you left on her was delicious.”
Drake reached out and grabbed Thomas’ ankle and called on his magic. It fizzled and popped beneath his skin. His hand sparked and Thomas shouted. Drake shifted his weight and shoved as he growled out a stunning spell. The goblin fell backward and Emma waved at someone outside.
Bracing his hands on the floor, Drake dropped his head, holding back his pain. Thomas morphed into his human form but wasn’t done. He groaned and rolled over to his front. When he lifted his head, Drake met a stare of pure evil.
“Ignis cinis,” Thomas whispered. His smile held a touch of satisfaction.
Small blazes burst from the floor, burning a path toward Antonia.
“Diversion!” Drake yelled palm out but the flames continued in their greedy crawl for the body of the woman curled on the floor. Heart racing, Drake pointed his other arm toward Antonia. He snapped his fingers then closed them in a fist and prayed. Drake prayed to all the powers above as flames licked their way toward Antonia. “Away.”
Magic bubbled to the surface. Her body jerked into the air and flew across the room. Drake raised his arms and caught her as Thomas jumped to his feet and ran for the door. He almost escaped. Would have gotten away, if not for the two dark-haired men stepping over the broken glass window.
The first man caught Thomas by the throat and lifted him clear off his feet then used his other arm and plowed a fist through his mid-section. White light burst from Thomas’ mouth as he screamed in agony. The second man reached over and ripped his head off and tossed it onto the sidewalk.
“Looks like you needed our help after all,” Ben said, throwing the goblin’s body next to his head.
Kent wiped his bloody hand on the leg of the black slacks he wore. The twins entered the coffee shop all the way and a thin man dressed in an immaculate grey suit, white shirt and red tie followed.
“This is not a way to relax, Drake. I knew this trip wasn’t a good idea.” The Fae doctor grimaced at the destruction around him.
Emma knelt beside Garrett and helped him to stand. A purple welt marked the right side of his face. Garrett rose to his feet and limped toward Drake, Emma right behind him.
They gathered around him, Garrett parted his lips twice before he could speak. “I’m sorry, Drake.”
Drake tucked Antonia’s face to his throat and swallowed. The scent of peaches filled his nostrils when he inhaled.
“What happened?” Dr. Curran asked, his eyes going to Antonia’s limp body.
Drake couldn’t say the words aloud. If he spoke they’d know. Hear the tears he couldn’t shed in his voice. Emma answered for him. “The goblin broke her neck.”
The Fae studied Antonia and frowned. “She’s covered in your magic.”
“She was my other half.” It took every bit of strength he had to choke out the confession.
Saying it increased the pain of discovering what Antonia meant to him and losing her in the same day. It was too much and his arms trembled beneath the weight of his emotions.
Ben and Kent fired off a round of curses.
“I should have been here,” Ben declared, digging his hands into his short black hair.
“May I?”
When Dr. Curran reached for her, Drake clutched Antonia to his chest. “Brody, she—”
“Trust me, Drake. Even though you didn’t listen to me about your magic my people really do know about healing.” Humor glittered from his eyes.
Drake didn’t find anything humorous about this but handed Antonia over and immediately felt empty. He almost snatched her back but Brody was careful as he curled his arms around Antonia. The idea of another man holding her was so repugnant to him that Drake reached to take her back.
Brody hunched his shoulder, blocking his efforts and bent his head low. His mouth was scant inches away from Antonia’s lips.
“What the—?”
Ben and Kent each grabbed one of Drake’s arms before he could kill his therapist. A trail of smoke flowed from the Fae’s mouth to Antonia’s.