Page 81 of Of Flames and Crows

“Yeah, it’ll piss me off to no end if I win by default, Moon Boy,” Vlad muttered.

Nikolai scowled.

Mae blew out a sigh. “You’re such an ass.”

Vlad flashed her a sinful smile.

“This ass is all yours, Princess,” he drawled, his demon energy washing across the room in a wave that made several people flush. “Like I said before, you’re more than welcome to touch it.”

“What a douchebag,” Roman said under his breath, evidently immune to the incubus’s charms.

Vlad squinted. “What was that, kid?”

“The Dark Council probably knows about the Hellfire Magic that ripped through the city by now,” Marlena muttered. “They’ll want to find its source.”

“We have to close the rift in the nexus before they do.” Nikolai sat back and raked his hair with a hand, frustration churning his insides. “But how?”

“I think I might have an idea.” Mae grimaced. “But—you’re not going to like it.”

They listened to her suggestion with mounting horror.

“Absolutely no way in Hell!” Vlad snapped.

“Are you insane?!” Ludmila barked.

“Bryony will have our guts for garters if we let you carry out such an asinine plan,” Violet said grimly.

Roman swallowed, his expression ashen.

Nikolai stared at Mae, fear clashing with wild hope inside him.

“We might not make it back alive,” he rasped.

Brimstone transformed. “If anyone can do this, my witch can.” His crimson gaze probed Nikolai and Roman. “And she will need you both to help her.”

CHAPTER34

“Are you sure about this?”Roman asked for the tenth time.

Mae dipped her chin. “Going into the nexus is our best option to close off the source of Hellfire Magic the Dark Council will be coming after.”

They were standing in the middle of the courtyard that formed the Council of the Moon’s main training ground. Bar some cracks that had torn through the galleries, it had mostly been spared by the earthquakes that had wreaked havoc on the city, thanks to the Moon Magic barrier that protected it.

Roman dug his nails into his palms as he examined Mae and Nikolai’s determined expressions, unease tightening his chest. “Let me come with you. I can help!”

“You’re helping already, Roman,” Nikolai said. “Only you have mastered this spell.You can’t be both insideandoutside it.”

Roman sagged a little, knowing the sorcerer spoke the truth.

“But I’ve never triedTransmigrateon people before,” he mumbled.

Mae grinned and slapped him heartily on the back. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

The kiss the Witch Queen had given him in the dungeon danced before his inner vision. Roman’s face warmed.

A low growl escaped Brimstone. The fox’s ears pricked as he looked to the north.

“Brim?” Mae said, puzzled.

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