Poison's Kiss (Deadly Beauties 2)

"Damn it, Gage! Get her out of here!" Drackus scolds.

I swat him away when he starts to pull me out, and I shake my head.

"It's Thad. I'm not leaving," I strain out, my tears coming down in slow, heated trails.

Drackus tightens his lips, but he doesn't object. When my knees give out, Gage scoops me up and holds me to his chest. Drackus allows it, assuming it's because I'm overwhelmed right now and not because I'm with the dark user.

"Gage, keep a tight hold on her. This could be dangerous for a mortal to endure. If she struggles under any pressure, get her out," Dray instructs, and Gage nods knowingly.

Kane glances at me, his eyes teeming with pain and... envy? Surely he's not actually jealous. Are night stalkers that damn possessive?

Drackus waves his hand, and I can feel his dark magic brewing. This magic could swallow him up and destroy his sanity. I see it already sinking its claws in when his eyes start to glass over.

Dray steps up, his black fog releasing into the room as it circles over Thad in a constant whirl. Drackus's power mingles, the two combining, and then the room shifts before my eyes.

Hidden items come to life to create the pieces of a puzzle. Everything in the room that was cleaned up has been revealed.

I can't feel the power touching me, not anymore. I look up to see Gage concentrating, his eyes closed. He's shielding me.

"That's got it," Dray says. "Drackus, tell me you're still fine," he continues, worry staining his tone.

Drackus doesn't release his power, making Dray take a step back. The darkness he had to tap into in order to do this was apparently more than it took to face Castine.

Everyone begins gasping for air, except for Gage and me. Kane and Zee fall to the ground, and I uncoil from Gage's grasp to fall to my ex-night stalker's side, shielding him with my own energy, while Gage goes to help Zee.

"Drackus," I whisper, trying to slowly bring him back to reality without startling him.

Surprisingly, that's all it takes. His eyes meet mine, and instantly he calms, dropping the suffocating veil of darkness surrounding us.

I'm almost astonished at how easy that was. Kane breathes in heavily, still resting on his hands and knees beside Zee who is choking on air. Dray seems to be less affected, but I can tell it still got to him somewhat.

"Alyssa, I'm so sorry," Drackus says as he walks over to me, pulling me up from Kane's side and wrapping his arms around me.

"It's fine. You didn't hurt anyone... too much. What did that show us?" I ask, drawing back from the awkward embrace.

He clears his throat, pushing his emotions back into hiding as he points to the stains of an aura left behind on Thad's bed... My bed.

"Stains of witchcraft, but this was a setup. Someone wanted us to think this was your night stalker."

"What?" Kane asks as he stands up.

"I thought so," Gage murmurs, coming to stand behind me, but refraining from drawing me in his arms.

"What the hell?" Zee gripes, prompting someone to explain a little better.

Then Gage continues with the explanation. "They left behind your scent. Allegra, a lycan from Thad's crew, said she caught whiff of you specifically. Obviously she can't smell the night stalker in you, but since Heath's brutal murder, you've been on the watch list. You were here, and whoever did this wanted to kill Alyssa. They also wanted to set you up again."

Kane looks at me, his eyes showing a spiraling conundrum of emotions.

"They're trying to make me kill him," Drackus growls, and Dray steps to be between him and Kane before he gets any crazy ideas.

"They've got an issue with Alyssa as well. Whoever did this chose Heath - a mortal who couldn't stop harassing her - therefore linking her and Kane to that murder. Then they chose Thad, who was supposed to be her. They've made more than one common enemy it seems."

"What else is there in here that can help us?" I ask, trying to distract Drackus's attention from Kane.

"There should be quite a bit. A ritual such as this served some sort of purpose," Dray answers.

"A ritual like Isolis was performing?" I ask, turning to Gage.