Page 86 of Rites of Passage

Vlad’s breath rushed out of him. He crossed the floor and took Mae in his arms, his legs weak and his heart knocking violently against his ribs.

“You’re gonna make me age before my time, Princess.”

Mae tensed at his trembling voice. She stepped out of his hold, Charlotte’s soul orb flickering in her hands. Guilt darted across her face when she noticed Nikolai’s angry glare and the others’ worried expressions.

“Look, in my defense, I didn’t know that was going to happen,” she protested.

“Did it work?” Violet grumbled.

“Kinda. I got a general sense of where they are, but not their exact location.”

“Damn.” Raven’s brow furrowed. “I guess we’re back to square one.”

A fierce smile split Mae’s mouth. “Not quite.”

Vlad could see the excitement in her eyes. It stirred his incubus blood.

She turned to him and Nikolai. “I need to see your weapons.”

Vlad blinked and opened his mouth.

Mae’s eyes shrank to slits at his grin. “No, Vlad, I don’t meanthat.”

CHAPTER36

“Why is this taking so long?”Oscar snapped.

Dietrich Farago’s gaze stayed locked on the complex array of machines before him. “Good science takes time, Oscar.”

The harsh light from the digital screens bleached the color from the Immortal’s handsome face and made his lab coat glow in the shadows. Oscar had never been able to figure out how the guy kept it so pristine, considering his hobbies. He narrowed his eyes. He knew Farago didn’t mean it intentionally, but everything he said came out patronizing.

Once he’s outlived his usefulness, I will kill him myself.

A faint smile stretched Farago’s mouth, like he’d read Oscar’s mind. Oscar didn’t know how many deaths the scientist had survived throughout his existence to date. As one of the Immortal races, he possessed the ability to reanimate over and over again, until the end of his seventeenth and final life.

Whatever. Even if I have to rip his heart out seventeen times, he’ll die by my hand.

Chains clinked feebly in the gloom, the sounds echoing against bare rock walls and a distant ceiling. The witches and sorcerers they’d kidnapped to serve as hosts for the ghouls moaned incoherently where they lay strapped to gurneys, magic cores weakened and senses overridden by the drugs Farago had injected them with to keep their minds and bodies locked in a chemical haze.

Oscar didn’t spare them a glance as he headed for the altar holding theBook of Light. The Dark Council magic users guarding the grimoire moved silently out of his path, their wary gazes on the lynx by his side. Drabek had a nasty attitude toward everyone bar Oscar and the Sorcerer King, and had disfigured many a witch and sorcerer who’d vexed her.

Lines creased Oscar’s brow when he stopped before the tome. The grimoire had ornate, metal covers and a thick binding. He’d already taken a look inside and had barely managed to hide his disdain at the spells it contained. They were child’s play, nowhere near as powerful as the ones his father had taught him.

Oscar’s face tightened.

He had done his best to mask his doubts about their current plans from the Sorcerer King and Barquiel. As far as he was concerned, they should have stuck to their original scheme of seizing Mae Jin and binding her to him with aMarriage of Magic. His father had unfortunately disregarded his pleas on that subject and chosen to take Barquiel’s advice instead.

The Witch Queen’s face rose before Oscar. Lust stirred his blood. He wanted nothing more than to degrade her and make her a slave to his will.

More so now that I know how much my brother likes her.His mouth twisted in a savage smirk.Those fools have no idea what we have planned for her. By the time our men are done with her, she’ll be begging me to kill her.

It didn’t matter to him what happened to Mae’s body or her mind. As long as the Dark Council kept her breathing and had control over her magic and the power of Azazel that flowed through her veins, she was disposable meat that would fetch a high price amongst those who would get a thrill out of violating the offspring of a demon.

The air pulsed with an aura of corruption. Distant footsteps rose from the direction of the stone staircase spiraling down from the entrance to the catacombs. They grew closer, their cadence familiar as they echoed through the tunnel leading to the vault. Barquiel emerged from a shadowy opening a moment later, his guise that of Rose Blake.

Oscar’s gaze skimmed the beautiful face and cool, gray eyes belonging to Mae Jin’s best friend.

He had to hand it to the demon. Possessing Rose Blake when she was on the brink of death had been a genius move and one that no doubt caused the Witch Queen endless sleepless nights. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he knew how much of a monster Barquiel was, he would have suggested the demon lend him her body to have some fun with. Rose Blake was definitely more to his taste than Mae Jin.

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