Page 100 of Rites of Passage

“Why, are you jealous?” Raven teased.

Bryony scowled. “No! Do you know how long it took me to train him? I don’t want to go through that again for a long time.”

“I hear you,” Derrick muttered.

Abraham narrowed his eyes at Bryony. “I’m just a dog to you, aren’t I?”

“Good aides are hard to come by these days.” Barbara glanced at April and pushed a croissant onto the witch’s plate. “You should eat. Your coven needs you.”

Mae’s chest twinged at the Philadelphia High Priestess’s glum mien.

They hadn’t been able to save the local sorcerers and witches who had been kidnapped by the Dark Council. It was Mae who’d had to tell April that they had been sacrificed to transform theBook of Lightinto a compass.

Her stomach knotted.A compass that can find theBook of Shadows.

Irritated voices rose in the passage outside the breakfast room.

“Why are you back?” Nikolai snapped. “Did they kick you out of the coven hospital?”

“I’m all healed up, Choir Boy,” Vlad responded in a patronizing voice.

“Here come your future husbands,” Violet drawled.

“Shut up,” Mae muttered.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the two men entering the room.

Vlad greeted her with a smile that was probably visible from the next city. “Good morning, Princess,”

“Hey,” Nikolai murmured sulkily.

Mae chewed her lip. It was getting harder to ignore the hot incubus and the brooding sorcerer.

Maybe you should have a chamomile tea, like the Immortal,Brimstone suggested.

Yes,Hellreaver contributed.It might help with your sudden case of lust.

Mae’s brows met.I swear, I willcutyou!

She drank her coffee, the breakfast conversation washing over her while she mulled over what else they had learned last night.

The Immortal scientist’s name was Dietrich Farago. Madeleine had called a friend after Mae had given the Immortals a description and had received confirmation of his identity within the hour.

Farago was apparently a well-known, rogue scientist who rose to infamy in the 18th century for performing cruel experiments on animals and children. He was spotted a couple of times in different countries around the world before finally fading into obscurity in the early 19th century.

I wonder where Barquiel and the Sorcerer King came across him?

It was Karin who had solved the other puzzle. The question why Charlotte Brix had been preyed upon by the Dark Council. Charlotte specialized in transmutation magic. Mae could only speculate that Barquiel had utilized the witch’s abilities to access the full power of Vedran’s magic.

Ephra had brought them news of Isabelle West that morning. The witch was on the mend and wished to pay her respects to Mae at the earliest opportunity.

As for why the Dark Council was after theBook of Shadows, Mae and Brimstone had surmised Vedran wanted to mitigate any future threat to his reign by recovering the soul of the original Sorcerer King.

It’s a good thing we left the real key in New York.

Noah buzzed Simon Roth in. Charlotte’s aide hesitated when he reached the threshold of the breakfast room.

Mae pushed her chair back. “What time’s the flight?”

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