Page 79 of Of Flames and Crows

Nikolai glanced at Julius where he was hanging on to the seat beside him. “Any news?”

“I can’t get in touch with Marlena or Klara,” the sorcerer said bitterly, his knuckles white on his cell phone.

Nikolai’s stomach plummeted. His gaze found the dark sky once more.

Please, let them be okay!

He hadn’t realized how much he’d come to care for his aunt, his cousin, and the entire family he’d made at the Council of the Moon until the reality of losing them had rocked his world in the aftermath of the earthquake.

“The communication towers are down,” Mae said. “Marlena and your family are strong, Nikolai. I’m sure they’re fine.”

Nikolai met her gaze in the rearview mirror, grateful for her quiet strength. His core still tingled where her magic had connected with his powers. It felt strange. Intimate, even.

He clenched his jaw, ashamed of where his thoughts had strayed.I can’t think about things like that right now!

Alastair’s feathers gently ruffled his cheek.

The island finally appeared when they shot onto a bridge and took an exit.

“Son of a—!” Julius swore.

Fear drenched Nikolai in a cold sweat. Mae’s fingers sank into his headrest as she leaned forward to peer through the windshield.

A third of the island was under water. The red blaze of a fire glowed in the center.

“The bridge is gone!” Julius barked.

Nikolai cursed and pressed on the brakes as they approached the riverside.

“Keep going!” Mae wound the rear window down and leaned out. Her pupils glowed crimson. “Ice Fortress!”

The river surged up on a powerful wave and froze over, forming a bridge to the island. Nikolai accelerated.

The SUV shot off the bank and landed on the makeshift overpass with a bone-jarring thud. He cursed as they skidded and started spinning violently on the ice.

“Shit!” Vlad yelled.

Heat bloomed in Nikolai’s belly as the river loomed on their right. Alastair squawked.

“Moon Storm!”

Moon Magic detonated next to the SUV. The backdraft shoved them back to the center of the bridge. They cleared it seconds later, the vehicles following them slowing to navigate the frozen water with more caution than they had.

Shadows swallowed them when they entered the tree line. They emerged from the woods and came in sight of the headquarters of the Council of the Moon.

Nikolai’s stomach plummeted.

The south wing was gone. Flames swallowed the central building and north wing. He scanned the figures in the garden, his heart throbbing painfully in his chest. Alastair cawed.

Nikolai’s mouth went dry when he spotted what the crow had seen.

Marlena and Klara stood in the front courtyard and were directing the council’s efforts to put out the fires.

Nikolai braked, jumped out of the vehicle, and rushed over to them.

Klara saw him first. “Nikolai!”

He swept the two women up in his arms and hugged them tightly, tears choking his throat. They clutched his back, their relief equally palpable as they trembled in his hold.

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