Page 9 of Of Flames and Crows

A muscle twitched in Derrick’s cheek. “And if you could, then so could Barquiel and the Sorcerer King.”

“Found her.” Raven’s eyes gleamed excitedly as she studied her computer screen. “You’re right. She’s from Minnesota. She was registered with the Minneapolis coven. Her abilities were healing and—” she faltered and frowned, “Fire Magic.”

“Fire Magic?” Mae stared. “Is that like Nadia’s Sun Magic?”

Nadia Hadid was the High Priestess of the Council of the Sun. She and Marlena had both been at the covenstead in Philadelphia and had helped heal the coven members who’d been injured in the attack by the Dark Council.

“Not quite.” Pensive lines wrinkled Bryony’s brow. “It’s pretty rare these days and likely watered down. The most powerful users of Fire Magic originated in Europe.”

“What would the Dark Council want with a Fire Magic user?” Abraham asked, puzzled.

Mae’s stomach tightened. “I get the feeling we’ll soon find out.”

They talked for a while longer. Mae made arrangements for Abraham to retrieve the skeleton key from where she’d hidden it and left the coven headquarters.

The lights were on in her apartment when she pulled up outside the old cinema in Ridgewood. She studied the bright rectangles with a faint frown, scanned the street, and spotted a familiar, midnight-blue Bentley convertible parked behind a van.

It stood out like a sore thumb.

Brimstone’s ears twitched as he leapt down from his spot on the Vespa.Tarang and Vlad are here.

“That damn incubus should call before he turns up,” Mae muttered.

Vlad had started coming over more frequently after Nikolai left for Prague. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have a key to her apartment. His demonic magic was more than a match for any lock. She wrinkled her nose.

If this were the Middle Ages, he’d be through my chastity belt in a flash.

Desire knotted her belly as she pictured the incubus doing just that. Mae’s face warmed. She waved away the torrid images marching across her inner vision and entered the building through the private entrance around the corner from the cinema. She climbed the stairs to her place and was greeted by the most divine smell when she opened her front door. Mae dropped her keys on the console table and followed it to the main living area, her mouth watering.

Vlad was setting the table in the kitchen, his back to her. Her pulse skittered as she eyed the way his tailored clothes stretched across his wide shoulders and long legs when he moved.

“I can feel you staring at my ass, Princess.”

The incubus turned and flashed her a smile that made her blood heat up and her libido sing.

Your lewd thoughts are practically overflowing, my witch, Brimstone said tartly.

Is it me or are her fantasies getting more depraved? Hellreaver hummed to the fox.

Tarang rose from where he’d been lying by the sink and came over to greet them. Mae cursed her flushed cheeks as the tiger brushed against her leg and gently headbutted Brimstone.

“I wasnotstaring at your ass.”

She scratched Tarang under his chin. The tiger’s eyes shrank to slits. His chest vibrated with a happy rumble.

Vlad’s smile widened. “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

Mae peeked at the part of his anatomy he had just accused her of ogling with lustful intent. Her fingers twitched.

Vlad’s gaze grew hot. “Wanna touch?”

“No!”

Mae marched over to the range and distracted herself by sniffing the sauce he’d made to go with their steak. Her stomach grumbled in approval.

Vlad passed her a glass of red wine that probably cost more than her rent. “I made chocolate soufflé for dessert.”

Mae’s lips parted hungrily. She wiped a sliver of drool from the corner of her mouth and swallowed a sigh. It irked her a little that the men in her life cooked like Michelin star chefs, whereas her attempts could best be described as mediocre, with a touch of shady.

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