Page 56 of The Darkest Night

His stomach dropped.He could sense his and Alastair’s magic being sucked away by Mae.

Violet was right!

“You’re the one who caused all that destruction?!” Mae roared, her pupils a pure vermilion. “You’re the reason Rose and all those people died?!”

Nikolai grabbed her wrist and met her wrathful glare, Alastair fluttering weakly around his head. He was hardly surprised by her reaction. Still, he hadn’t thought she would try to kill him in such a spectacular fashion.

“I had to!” he choked out. “It was the only way!”

Mae’s hold tightened on his neck. Black spots swarmed Nikolai’s vision.

Bryony and Violet shouted at Mae to stop, magic flaring around them as they tried to resist the Witch Queen’s formidable power. Abraham and Miles were the only other magic users still conscious, the other coven members having passed out. Brimstone and Hellreaver rocked up to Mae’s side, torn between supporting her and calming her deadly rage.

The doors opened at the far end of the chamber.

Nikolai turned his head a fraction.

A blond man with reddish-brown eyes walked in, a white Bengal tiger by his side. He wore an expensive tailor-made suit, black-diamond ear studs, and dark nail polish.

Mae’s gaze locked on him. She flinched when she saw that he could move in the face of her magic.

The stranger walked calmly over to her and pressed a finger to her forehead. His pupils and those of the tiger flashed crimson.

“Sleep.”

Mae blinked. Her eyelids fluttered closed, her grip loosening on Nikolai as her magic faded. He dropped to the ground and coughed fitfully, air wheezing through his swollen windpipe.

The blond man caught Mae in his arms as she fainted.

Chapter 28

“You know that guy?!”Violet Nolan whispered to Bryony Cross.

The New York coven High Priestess glowered at Vlad. “Yes, for my sins.”

Vlad Vissarion smiled, undeterred. “Oh, come now. Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

His familiar Tarang yawned where he lay curled around his feet, exposing shiny, sharp fangs. The tiger propped his head on his giant paws, his eyes shrinking to half slits as he snoozed, unconcerned by the other familiars eyeing him warily from around the chamber.

Bryony’s advisors and guards studied his beast with equal caution.

“An old friend would have sent a message,” Bryony grated out. “Especially considering the current circumstances.”

Vlad stretched his arms casually atop the back seat of the Chesterfield sofa, careful not to disturb the precious cargo on his lap.

“You guys made quite a mess of that situation.” He made a show of examining his manicured nails. “I doubt the Sorcerer King will forgive your transgressions.” He paused, a thin smile playing on his lips. “Then again, it was hardly all your fault.”

His gaze found Nikolai Stanisic. He’d caught glimpses of Vedran Borojevic’s second son in the past, during dealings his family had had with the Dark Council. Stanisic was by far a more pleasant prospect for the Sorcerer King’s throne than Oscar Beneventi, his older brother and now likely sole heir to Vedran’s legacy.

Vlad suppressed a grimace.

And what a king he’ll make. That guy is nuts.

Considering his own savage reputation in the criminal underworld, that was saying something.

“We’re not planning to ask for his forgiveness,” Bryony said coolly. “Now that the Witch Queen has awakened, the rest of the magic world will support her claim to his throne.”

Vlad stared, not sure if she was being serious. He snorted when he realized she was.

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