Page 42 of Of Flames and Crows

“So, this is your infamous beast,” he muttered, his expression unfathomable.

Vlad stepped defensively in front of the tiger.

Mae traded a puzzled glance with Nikolai.

Budimir stilled when Brimstone and Hellreaver transformed.

Cortes similarly stiffened.

It was the Colombian’s first time seeing Brimstone’s nine-tailed form.

“Mind the lights,” Mae warned as the fox’s enormous head brushed the ceiling.

“I know,” Brimstone grunted. He curled up on the floor, his tails thumping against furniture. “Human homes could do with being bigger. The caves in Hell were far more comfortable.”

Mae rolled her eyes.

Cortes was frowning at Filomena. “That one doesn’t appear to have a master.”

“She does.” Mae looked at Budimir. “She’s Roman’s familiar.”

CHAPTER18

The old man blinked. “What?”

Filomena dropped down from Brimstone and approached the mobster, her tongue darting out to taste the air. She hesitated before climbing his leg and settling on his lap. A happy sound left her.

Budimir froze, his expression that of a man holding a bomb.

Cortes stared. “Wait. Are you scared of lizards?”

Everyone goggled at Budimir.

“I am not scared of them,” the mobster said gruffly.

Mae grimaced. “Yeah, you are. She won’t bite. Besides, you’ve probably been around her plenty of times before and never known it.”

Budimir frowned. He raised a hand and touched Filomena hesitantly. The chameleon changed color, her casque quivering.

Budimir snatched his hand away. “What’s happening?”

“Relax,” Brimstone said. “She likes you.”

Cortes looked like he was trying not to smile.

“There’s something I don’t get.” Vlad lowered his brows. “How come she wasn’t captured along with Roman?”

Mae looked at Nikolai. “It’s better if you explain this part.”

Dread clouded Vlad’s face as the sorcerer told him and his guests what had happened during his training and the eerie power he now harbored.

“Hellfire Magic?” the incubus repeated numbly.

Mae’s pulse quickened when she felt Nikolai draw on his new magic. The threads of energy resonating from his core called to her insidiously as they pulsed in tandem with her own demonic power.

Budimir and Cortes’s eyed widened as Alastair’s wings caught fire and a sphere of dark, crimson flames burst into life above Nikolai’s hand.

“Wait.” Vlad blinked when the truth struck him. “So, Roman can access ley lines too?!”

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