Page 86 of The Darkest Night

Violet and Miles exchanged a strained look.

Nikolai met Vlad’s thunderous gaze. “They’ve made their move.”

The incubus nodded and started making calls.

Mae finished giving her mother instructions, disconnected, and phoned Bryony. “The Dark Council has my sister and my grandmother. My mom is on her way to you. Protect her with your life.” She paused, a muscle twitching in her cheek. “Thanks, Bryony. I’ll have Violet contact you with details once we know more.”

A suffocating hush descended when Mae ended the call.

Magic exploded where she stood in the middle of the kitchen, her hands fisted at her sides and her wrathful gaze unseeing. Her hair fluttered wildly around her face, the storm focused in a two-foot radius that spared them and the rest of the apartment.

I can’t believe she’s able to control her rage right now.

Nikolai’s chest twisted as he recalled the fateful night Oscar had killed his mother, amidst the laughter and jeers of the Dark Council. The blinding fury that had overcome him still came like flashes of a bad dream. He hadn’t been aware of his scream of agony or the way he’d clumsily attacked Oscar. He never felt the cut Oscar inflicted on his back with his sword or the hot blood dripping on the ground. All he could see was the light fading from his mother’s eyes while her body grew limp in his arms.

The shrill ring of Mae’s cell made him jump. She looked at the display. Her jaw set in a hard line.

Nikolai knew instinctively who was calling. He thought the phone would crumble in Mae’s hand she gripped it so tight. She took a ragged breath and settled her magic before answering.

“What do you want?” Mae’s tendons stood out in her neck as she listened. “I’ll wait for your call.” The screen cracked when she jabbed the end button. She met their gazes, her own deadly. “They want me to surrender or they’ll kill Ryu and Ye-Seul.”

Vlad’s mouth thinned. “What’s our deadline?”

“Midnight. They’ll call me with the location later.”

Relief filled Nikolai at the fighting light in her eyes. Mae wasn’t just going to roll over and obey the Dark Council.

“They probably won’t give you much notice,” Vlad said flatly. “I’ve asked my men to track down anyOniksmember they can find and bring them to us.”

Nikolai shook his head. “It’ll be too late by then,” he said, frustration lending an edge to his voice. “I’m certain Oscar will have asked them to lie low. The Dark Council is unlikely to leave any loose ends lying around that might lead to them.”

“What do we do?” Violet asked grimly.

Mae narrowed her eyes at Vlad. “Can Dickson and Calvarro help?”

Nikolai looked between them, his puzzlement reflected on Violet and Miles’s faces. “What’s the cop and the FBI agent got to do with this?”

“They’re not who they say they are,” Mae replied bluntly.

Surprise shot through Nikolai. Vlad was silent for a moment, his face pensive.

“I’m not sure,” he finally said. “All I know is they were determined to get their hands on Antonovich. And that they are not…human.”

* * *

Heat flushedthrough Mae’s body, panic and anger a maelstrom threatening to swallow her whole. She knew the devil who’d taken Rose and the Dark Council wouldn’t hurt Ryu and Ye-Seul. Not badly, anyway. Not if they wanted her to cooperate.

Still, the thought of the two of them in the hands of those bastards was enough to make her see red.

She turned to Brimstone, her face tight. “You said they are not our enemy. Do you know what they are?”

The fox shook himself out into his nine-tailed form. Mae blinked. He’d made himself smaller, so he wouldn’t wreck the apartment. He still had to crouch so as not to damage the ceiling.

“The woman smells of Hell and the man carries traces of angel blood.”

Nikolai flinched. “What?”

“You mean, Calvarro is a demon?” Vlad frowned. “I didn’t get that from her at all.”

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