Page 62 of The Darkest Night

Lines furrowed Mae’s brow. “You know your philosophy.”

The smile the incubus gave Mae had Nikolai’s hackles rising.

“I’ll be happy to discuss philosophy and anything else you want to talk about over dinner, my queen.”

Mae bit her lip. “You’re really coming on strong, aren’t you?”

Vlad’s smile widened. “Would you like me to dial it down?”

“A little bit.”

He chuckled, the sound and the flare of incubus power that burst from him causing several witches to flush.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Mae studied Vlad warily, the faint color on her cheekbones telling Nikolai she wasn’t completely immune to his charms either. “What you did to me when you restrained my magic. Was it similar to the binding ritual Oscar Beneventi used on me?”

Vlad stilled.

He narrowed his eyes at Nikolai. “She’s already crossed paths with Oscar?”

Nikolai nodded grimly. “This morning. Oscar and the Dark Council ambushed us at the cemetery where Mae’s best friend was being buried.”

“Except Rose isn’t really gone.” Mae’s expression grew flinty. “A devil stole her body the night my soul awakened. He took her form and attacked us today.”

Vlad’s forehead wrinkled. “A devil?”

Mae dipped her chin jerkily. “Big guy, eight feet tall, with horns and black wings. His pupils were crimson, like yours and mine.”

“That means he’s a high-level demon.” Vlad tightened his hands to fists. “Possibly an Archduke of Hell.” He paused. “No, I didn’t bind your magic. I just overwhelmed you with my incubus energy. Lust and rage are two sides of the same coin.” His scowl faded to a small, saccharine smirk. “I just flipped yours.”

The sexual connotation of his words didn’t escape anyone in the room.

“That’s sick,” Violet said, her tone half contempt, half admiration.

Mae bit her lip, color flooding her cheeks.

Nikolai spoke, determined to cut the electric tension between them. “I think that devil is the reason my father can call forth fiends from Hell and force them to do his bidding.”

Vlad’s smile vanished. Mae sobered.

“What?” one of Bryony’s advisors said, eyes bulging.

Bryony glared. “We suspected as much from the demons we fought at the hospital. You’re saying this—devil has granted the Sorcerer King the power to raise those monsters at will?”

“All Sorcerer Kings boast that ability, to an extent,” Nikolai explained. “It’s how the first Sorcerer King gathered a demonic army and killed the child born of Azazel and the first witch.”

Mae’s hands clenched on her lap.

“I only became aware of his existence recently,” Nikolai confessed grudgingly. “From our fight today, it looks like Oscar knew about him already. Which makes me wonder how long that demon has been around.” He finally voiced the suspicion that had been brewing inside him since he first discovered his father’s alliance with the devil. “And whether the reason the first Sorcerer King grew so powerful and could control monsters from Hell was as much to do with his influence as it was with Azazel’s teachings.”

A fraught hush followed.

It was broken by a wave of powerful magic as Brimstone shook himself out into his nine-tailed-beast form. Tarang’s ears flicked back, the tiger leaping to his feet with a startled hiss. He froze when Brimstone lowered his enormous head and huffed gently in his face.

“I mean your master no harm, cat.”

Tarang shrank back on himself. He looked at Vlad. The incubus motioned him over. The tiger practically ran to Vlad’s side and let out an embarrassed rumble when his master petted his head.

“What’s wrong?” Mae asked Brimstone in a strained voice.

---