Page 39 of A Fury Of Shadows

Vedran took his hands off the unconscious sorcerer and retracted his shield. Oscar floated gently down onto the sheets.

Nikolai sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. He hesitated before touching Oscar’s stomach.

“Can you sense it?” Vedran said sharply.

Blood thumped in Nikolai’s ears. “Yes.”

The Witch Queen’s magic lashed at his hands, strong and hot.Was she always this powerful?

He recalled the broken woman he’d left in that church, four weeks ago. Nikolai’s chest tightened at the unwelcome feeling suddenly clogging his throat. It wasn’t his first time experiencing the conflicting emotion tugging at his heart.

He’d kept it a secret from Oscar and Vedran so far, too ashamed to admit that the devious spell Mae Jin had created to enrapture him and chain him at her side still had a hold on him.

But sometimes, in the darkest hours of the night, when his rage and his frustration at having been lied to and manipulated by the Witch Queen kept him awake, a small, insidious voice told him there was another reason why he had not revealed this weakness to his father and brother.

Irritation had him grinding his teeth.There is no other reason. It’s just the effect of that witch’s evil spell.

He focused on his brother. It took a moment to make out the crimson orb pulsing deep inside Oscar’s body. His pulse quickened.

Vedran is right. Her magic is embedded in his core.

Alastair pressed against his neck as Nikolai called on their powers. A pale haze detonated around them.

Rose drew a sharp breath.

The room trembled when his and Alastair’s white magic clashed with that of the Witch Queen.

Surprise jolted him in the next instant. “Wait.” Dread filled Nikolai’s veins with ice at what he could perceive within the chaos that was Oscar’s core. “I—I think she put some spells inside him. They are suppressing his powers!”

Vedran’s wrath stirred the oppressive air in the room on a wave that made Nikolai’s eardrums throb. “Can you undo them?!”

Nikolai’s stomach hardened with determination. “I’ll try my best.”

Vedran took a step forward. “I’ll lend you my strength.”

“Don’t.” Rose fixed the Sorcerer King with a glare. “Hellfire Magic is something, but his white magic is incompatible with yours.” A muscle twitched in her cheek. “Youknowwhat happens when a pure black magic core tries to work with a white magic one.”

Nikolai frowned at the strained look the demon exchanged with his father.What are they talking about?

“Alright,” Vedran agreed reluctantly. He clasped Nikolai’s shoulder tightly before falling back. “Do your best to save your brother, my son.”

Nikolai’s throat constricted. He nodded.

We should try to use our Moon Magic.

Alastair squawked in agreement.

The sphere clinging to Oscar’s core shuddered and shook when they poured the magic he’d inherited from his mother into it. For a moment, he thought it would shatter.

The Witch Queen’s power hummed mockingly in his skull as it wrapped ever tighter around his brother’s core. A tortured scream escaped Oscar. His spine bowed off the bed. Drabek fainted.

“What’s happening?!” Vedran barked.

Nikolai’s eyes shrank to slits. “Give me a minute!”

He reached for his and Alastair’s Hellfire Magic. Dark red flames bloomed around them. He threw everything they had at the Witch Queen’s magic.

Several things happened in rapid succession.

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