Page 43 of Of Flames and Crows

Nikolai retracted his Hellfire Magic. “Yes. That’s how he managed to hide Filomena in the nexus.”

Budimir scanned their uneasy faces. “This…ley line business. It sounds like the ability to use them is rare.”

“It is,” Mae said grimly. “Nikolai is—wasthe only magic user we knew of who could access the immense magic within the Earth. The Dark Council will do anything to get their hands on that kind of power.”

Budimir looked old all of a sudden. “Does that mean they will try to use Roman in a similar fashion?”

“Only if they know about it.” Nikolai was frowning. “It isn’t evident from what we just heard whether Oscar realized what Roman had done.”

Mae lowered her brows. “I agree.” She turned to Vlad. “Brimstone believes Fire Magic and Hellfire Magic have common elements.” She hesitated. “Do you know much about Fire Magic?”

Vlad shook his head, his expression turning bitter. “I’m afraid not. Yuliy refused to talk about it for the most part. All he ever said was that the power my mother was born with was a curse, not a gift.” His pupils flashed crimson at the same time a red haze bloomed around him. He stared at his left hand and slowly flexed his fingers. “Yuliy always wondered whether my incubus blood is the reason I didn’t inherit her magic.”

“He is right,” Brimstone said. “Your incubus energy and magic are incompatible with Fire Magic. It would make harboring it in your core extremely difficult.”

“Your mother’s powers were only a curse because the Vissarions made it so,” Budimir told Vlad curtly. “It seemed she knew this too.”

Vlad flinched. “What do you mean?”

Budimir watched him for a beat before removing a small journal from inside his suit jacket. It was old, with yellowed, curled pages. He placed it on the table.

“Katarina Vissarion left a journal with her cousin Eleanora, my wife. In it are instructions on how to use Fire Magic and the spells Katarina herself had come up with. It was clear she intended for this knowledge to be passed on to the next most powerful Fire Magic user to be born from the Vissarion bloodline.” He frowned. “She must have known that wouldn’t be you, or she would have left this with Yuliy for safekeeping.”

Mae’s pulse raced as she stared at the diary.

Vlad hesitated before walking over to the table and reaching for it. His fingers trembled as he opened the pages.

“Your mother would not have done this if she believed her magic was a curse,” Budimir said. “Eleanora gave Katarina’s journal to Roman before her death. It seems my grandson has been practicing his Fire Magic in secret all along.” He paused. “And he learned it from the best.”

Filomena clicked her tongue in agreement.

Vlad swallowed convulsively, his eyes dark with emotion. Tarang huffed and came over to brush his body against the incubus’s legs.

Nikolai was studying Filomena with a faint frown. “There’s one thing I still don’t understand. Why did Roman hide Filomena in the nexus?”

“That should be obvious to all of you,”Brimstone said in the puzzled silence.

Mae stared at the fox. Understanding dawned.

Her mouth rounded on a surprised “Oh!”

“Separating a familiar from his magic user weakens the latter’s magic,” Cortes said in a clipped tone. “Killingtheir familiar will weaken their core enough for it to crack.”

Violet drew a sharp breath. Miles paled, his hand automatically finding Millie.

Mae’s stomach twisted. “Is that how your aunt damaged your core?”

Cortes bobbed his head. “Roman is a smart kid. By physically distancing himself from his familiar, not only did he stop her from becoming a pawn his kidnappers could blackmail him with, but he also weakened his own magic.”

Mae’s heart slammed against her ribs. “Which means whatever Oscar and Vedran want to achieve through him is going to be that much harder to do!”

Brimstone made an approving sound.

“He bought himself time.” Admiration brightened Vlad’s gaze. “That’s one genius move.”

“How did the Dark Council find your grandson?” Cortes asked Budimir.

Budimir furrowed his brow. “His best friend told someone about his magic. But I suspect they were already looking for him.”

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