Page 20 of Rites of Passage

Coven politics is exhausting. I don’t know how Bryony does it.

Though she’d attempted to absorb the information the High Priestess and Abraham had relayed to her about the people she would be meeting in Philadelphia, her mind hadn’t been fully engaged with the topic. The fact that a certain Sorcerer King and an Archduke of Hell could be plotting to capture her again had proven to be mighty distracting. She could already tell her first covenstead was going to be a major pain in her butt.

Brimstone jumped off the Vespa.Do you want me to eat them?

Mae climbed off the scooter. “You can’t go around eating every witch and sorcerer who annoys me.”

Hellreaver spoke up, his tone hopeful.We can try.

Mae’s mouth became a thin line.I am bonded to a pair of bloodthirsty lunatics.

Hey, we heard that,Brimstone protested.

She unlocked the side entrance around the corner from the old cinema in Ridgewood and headed up the flight of stairs at the end of the dimly lit corridor beyond it. Her apartment was on the second floor of the building, right above the main theater. An early 20th century brownstone, it boasted exposed brick walls, parquet flooring, and a crooked layout she’d fallen in love with the very first time she’d seen the place.

Mae opened her front door and was greeted by the sound of running water coming from the main bathroom. She paused in the hallway, her keys poised above the tray on the console table. Nikolai had already dropped his set there.

It still felt strange having the sorcerer in her personal space. Though Vlad had grumbled plenty about the fact that his main competition for Mae’s affection was now living under the same roof as her, he’d grudgingly acknowledged the safety net Nikolai presented. With his white magic now unleashed, the sorcerer made a powerful foe against the Dark Council and an ideal live-in protector for Mae. Not that she needed protecting.

To her surprise, Yoo-Mi hadn’t objected to Nikolai renting the spare room in her apartment. If anything, she’d seemed relieved. Remorse clenched Mae’s belly. Though she didn’t show it, her mother was still shaken by what had happened to Ryu and Ye-Seul.

Mae’s gaze shifted to the men’s boots arranged with military precision on the shoe rack against the wall. One good thing about having the sorcerer around was that he was a neat freak and the apartment was now universally spotless.

That guy would make a great housekeeper.

The bathroom door opened just as she passed it.

Nikolai appeared amidst a cloud of vetiver-scented steam. He was bare chested and had his head down, his hands busy rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

Mae tried not to stare at his six-pack and the water droplets clinging enticingly to his tanned skin and sharply defined muscles. Her treacherous gaze followed the seductive trail of dark hair arrowing down his taut belly to the top of his low-hanging sweatpants and the deep V of his obliques. Heat flooded her face. She swallowed. Hard.

Wow, Brimstone said dully.You’re practically drooling.

Shut up.

Nikolai looked up and froze when he noticed their presence. His pupils dilated. “Oh. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” He stared. “What happened to your face?”

“A widow happened to it. And my meeting with Bryony was shorter than usual.”

Mae dragged her gaze from his body and headed into the living area, her skin prickling. Her attraction to her tenant was getting out of control. She blamed it on the fact that she hadn’t had sex in months. It didn’t help that her trusty vibrator, Bob, had met an untimely demise a few weeks back and she still hadn’t bought a replacement for him. Her cheeks grew even hotter.

It felt wrong somehow with Nikolai in the apartment.

Hellreaver’s words from earlier that afternoon danced through her mind, bringing with them a flurry of torrid images involving the sorcerer and an incubus with devastating sexual charms.

Mae chewed her lip.Damn that demonic weapon and his asinine suggestions.

Hellreaver snorted in his sleep.

Alastair squawked a hello to them from his perch on the windowsill overlooking the main road, his intelligent eyes gleaming. He took flight and landed in front of Brimstone. The two familiars butted heads gently in a ritual greeting.

Nikolai overtook Mae on his way to the refrigerator, his footsteps silent on the floorboards. “I was going to make spaghetti. You hungry?”

Mae’s stomach rumbled in response.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he muttered.

The other bonus of having Nikolai live with her was that he was a great cook. As good as Vlad. Compared to them, her skills in the kitchen could best be described as dubious, with a high probability of food poisoning.

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