Page 38 of A Fury Of Shadows

Black magic made the ground tremble when they reached the doors. Nikolai clenched his jaw. Vedran’s anger was thickening the air with a pressure that made it hard to breathe.

Alastair let out a nervous sound on his shoulder.

Nikolai touched the crow gently, his stomach roiling as he used his white magic to dampen the brutal effect of the Sorcerer King’s power on their bodies. “It’s okay.”

Alastair relaxed. He ruffled his feathers and bumped Nikolai’s hand gratefully with his head.

The sorcerer who had accompanied them swallowed audibly.

“You can leave,” Nikolai said curtly.

The man sagged, relief pasted across his pale face. He turned and scampered back in the direction they had come. He cast a fearful glance at them before disappearing around the corner.

Nikolai could practically hear his thoughts.Better you than me!

He steeled himself and opened the door. A wall of black magic pushed him back a foot and wrenched a gasp from his lips. Alastair braced his wings, feathers brushing Nikolai’s hair.

White magic throbbed through their cores. It brightened the air around their bodies and eased the suffocating force bearing down on them. A sour taste filled Nikolai’s mouth.

Dammit. If this is him annoyed, I don’t want to be around when he completely loses it.

His heart pounded heavily as he stepped inside the suite. The source of the oppressive power battering him and Alastair was coming from Oscar’s bedroom. He crossed the floor to the partly open door, each step a battle of will against the Sorcerer King’s corrupt magic.

The sight that met his eyes when he entered his brother’s room rooted his legs to the ground.

Shit.

Oscar floated above his bed inside a translucent sphere of black magic. Vedran stood beside the unconscious sorcerer, his brow furrowed in a scowl, oblivious to his surroundings. Oily bands of corruption writhed around his fingers where he pressed his hands to Oscar’s belly.

Oscar jerked and twitched, mouth slack and face deathly pale. Drabek mewled softly where she lay next to his pillow.

Nikolai could tell his brother and the familiar were in pain. He registered the wounds on their bodies before looking at the demon on the other side of the bed.

The Archduke of Hell had assumed Rose’s form. She stood watching Vedran and Oscar with her arms crossed and a heavy frown clouding her pretty face.

“What happened?” Nikolai said in a low voice.

Rose glanced at him. “Some unexpected visitors turned up.”

Nikolai’s hackles rose at her dismissive tone. He bit back a nasty retort. His gaze found Oscar.

“Who did this to him?”

Rose sneered. “Your ex-girlfriend.” Crimson flashed in her pupils. Her mocking smile faded. “We almost had her. If those bastards hadn’t interfered—”

She flinched at Vedran’s warning glare. The Sorcerer King switched his attention to Nikolai.

“I can’t undo this magic,” he grated out. “It’s all twisted around his core.” A muscle jumped in his jawline. “Help me.”

Nikolai’s mouth went dry. He’d never seen his father so agitated.

He must be desperate if he’s asking for my help.

He swallowed and approached the bed. The hairs lifted on the back of his neck.

He could feel the wrongness inside Oscar.

The anger that surged through him felt as familiar as his own breath.Mae Jin, what have you done?!

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