Page 87 of A Fury Of Shadows

Mae rose and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “It isn’t.”

The incubus lowered his brows. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because Ran Soyun told me so.”

The trail led them thirty miles south of Kraków, into a mountain range that crossed over into Slovakia. Stars peppered the night sky as the SUVs raced up tortuous roads that soon turned into dirt tracks. Dark gullies where rivers gleamed appeared from time to time beyond vertiginous drops.

“We’re close,” Mae said.

Her fingers dug into her thighs as she focused on the thread of white magic she could sense. She could only imagine what Nikolai must be going through right now. The fact that he was looking for her and Ran Soyun knew about it was something she couldn’t wrap her head around.

Only one thing was clear. She had to get to him.

Brimstone’s growl made her scalp prickle. Hellreaver released an angry hum. Mae blinked. Something had just resonated with their cores.

A scowl furrowed her brow. “I can feelRevealup ahead!”

Serena floored the gas. They crested a peak minutes later.

Mae’s eyes widened. “Stop!”

The tires raised a shower of dirt and pebbles as Serena braked. The SUV skidded to a stop on the side of the track, everyone inside cursing. The other vehicles decelerated with sharp screeches behind them, Lou’s bumper stopping inches from Cortes’s door.

“You know, you really need to give me a bit more warning than that,” Serena said darkly.

Mae opened the door and jumped out, her heart in her throat. She walked past the edge of the trail and headed for a cliff a short distance away. A shadowy valley opened up beyond it.

Trees shrouded the flanks of the depression. The forest stopped on the edge of a lake as still as a mirror in the light of the rising moon.

An island stood in the middle of the expanse of water.

Straddling it was a castle.

* * *

“What did you just say?”

Vedran stared at Barquiel like he’d grown another horn.

The demon met his furious gaze, the anger that had ignited inside him in New York simmering in his veins still.

“The compass isn’t in New York. Even Bryony Cross looked shocked when she saw the empty safe. Mae Jin must have it with her.”

Vedran remained frozen for a moment. A vicious snarl left him as he wiped the contents off his desk with a sweep of his arm, his features contorted in an enraged mask.

An antique clock smashed onto the floor and rolled toward Oscar. The sorcerer swallowed. He flinched at the black magic throbbing across the chamber.

“Then, we must find her,” Vedran growled. “Find that damn witch and get that compass!”

“How?” Oscar mumbled.

“We don’t even know if she’s still in Budapest,” Barquiel said stiffly.

“Use Nikolai as bait.”

Surprise jolted the demon. “What?”

“You heard me the first time.” Vedran’s eyes burned with a darkness that seemed to absorb the light in the room. “If he won’t cooperate, make him. I don’t care what you do to him, as long as his core remains intact.”

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