Page 80 of Of Flames and Crows

“I’m so glad you’re safe!” Nikolai mumbled in their hair.

Klara sniffed and pulled back with a tremulous smile. “We were so worried about you!”

“The bridge.” Marlena’s eyes rounded in incomprehension. “We thought it was gone!”

“It is,” Nikolai said grimly. “Mae created a temporary overpass.”

Mae and the others joined them.

It took a couple of hours siphoning water from the river with their spells to put out the blaze that had ripped through the headquarters of the Council of the Moon. It wasn’t until midafternoon that they finally managed to congregate in a conference room that had been spared by the fires and confer on what had taken place that morning.

Lines furrowed Marlena’s brow as she studied Roman. “You’re the young man who inherited Katarina Vissarion’s Fire Magic?”

He dipped his chin.

Marlena’s face tightened as she looked over at Ludmila. “What do you intend to do with the Fire Magic users Mae rescued from the Dark Council?”

“Return them to their homes, what else?” Ludmila sighed at Marlena’s incredulous stare. “I know what you’re thinking, but I have no intention of…forcing Roman or anyone else under my will, like I tried to do with my daughter. That did not end well for anyone.”

Vlad’s face grew cool at that.

Nikolai reckoned Budimir would have shared the incubus’s feelings had he been present. The Bratva general had not been best pleased when they’d left him at the hotel. It was Mae who had convinced him that, in a battle of magic, he would only be a hindrance to them.

Cortes had insisted on accompanying them, however. Seeing as this might be his only chance at getting revenge, Mae had reluctantly allowed him to come along.

Marlena eyed the Colombian presently. “Mae told me about you. I’m amazed you’ve survived so long.” The witch drummed her fingers on the table, faint lines wrinkling her brow as her expression grew thoughtful. “She’s right. There’s a good chance your powers will surpass those of Raya if she does manage to fix your core. We’ll have to find you a familiar in tune with your Arcane Magic, of course.”

Cortes blinked. He turned to Mae. “You told her that?”

Mae shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

“There hasn’t been an Arcane Magic user on our side for centuries,” Ludmila said shrewdly. “We’ll use you well, boy.”

Cortes grimaced. “You know I have another day job, right?”

“Pish posh,” Ludmila said dismissively. “Mark my words, the criminal underworld will go under if Vedran claims Mae’s powers.”

Vlad shot Cortes a commiserating glance. “Looks like you’re stuck with the old hag whether you like it or not.”

Ludmila narrowed her eyes at her grandson.

“So, Hellfire Magic is what they were after all along?” Klara said, ashen faced. “That’s why they killed so many Fire Magic users?”

“Yeah,” Mae replied grimly. “Hiding Filomena in the nexus saved Roman from that fate.”

“But it also gifted Nikolai with Hellfire Magic,” Marlena said stiffly. “The very magic the Dark Council is after.” She cast a worried look at her nephew. “They won’t stop coming after you once they find out about this.”

Dread knotted Nikolai’s shoulders as he stared at the floor. He swallowed, a singular truth resonating through him then.

If Raya had foreseen the powers he would eventually manifest and master, there was no way he would have escaped Budapest. His father would have chained him and kept him at his side even if he’d had to cut off his legs to do so, and Nikolai would never have awakened Mae in time for her to escape the Dark Council’s clutches.

“I owe Nikolai for the fact that I did not fall into the Dark Council’s hands before I knew who I was.”

His head snapped up at Mae’s quiet words. Her gaze grew poignant as she watched him. It seemed she’d read his mind.

“I won’t let them get their hands on you.” She faltered. “And if they do. If, by some slim chance, they ever happen to capture you? Know that I will move Heaven and Earth to free you. And so will the rest of us who oppose your father.”

Nikolai’s heart swelled at the truth he saw reflected on her face and everyone else’s.

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