Page 93 of Of Flames and Crows

“Shh!” Mae and Noah whispered frantically.

Mae froze when Ye-Seul’s door opened. Her grandmother came out of her room and squinted at them before glancing at Yoo-Mi’s room.

“Some people are getting all the action these days,” she said morosely as she headed for the stairs. “I’ll get breakfast started. And maybe make some calls to a dating agency. I bet Ilya knows some places.”

I think your grandmother meant that, Brimstone told Mae solemnly as they all stared after her disappearing figure.I don’t think it’s good for her to be indulging in that kind of activity at her age. She could break a hip, or worse.

Mae shuddered.

The master suite opened. Yoo-Mi came out, Mr. Fusanaga behind her. Her eyes bulged when she saw Mae and Ryu. She turned, shoved Mr. Fusanaga back inside, and slammed the door closed in their faces.

“I hope you’re using protection, young lady!” Ryu warned in the silence that followed. “Old lady!Shoot!Lady!”

“Oh God,” Noah groaned.

Mae sagged. “It’s too early for this.”

She went back to her room, determined not to come out until she was at least fifty.

A week had passed since she’d returned from Europe. It had been even longer than that since the battle that had seen the headquarters of the Council of the Moon reduced to smithereens.

Dealing with the aftermath of their most recent clash with the Dark Council, including the Hellfire-Magic-induced earthquake that had damaged Prague, had taken its toll on Marlena while she’d dealt with the city officials and worried coven members who’d come knocking at her front door every day. Luckily, Ludmila had stuck around to help.

It was thanks to the Vissarion matriarch and Budimir’s interventions that the Council of the Moon had not ended up incurring heavy fines or being kicked out of the city for good.

Mae had spent several days fixing Cortes’s core while they’d rested at the Stanisic mansion. It had taken Nikolai helping her with his white magic for her to completely restore the Colombian’s powers.

Instead of being grateful, the mobster had dragged them to every pet shop in Prague and several other cities on the continent in a bid to find himself a new familiar, a venture which had proven unsuccessful.

“I think you’ll find a familiar closer to home,” Mae had told him when they’d finally prepared to leave Paris to return to the States.

“You think so?” Cortes had said glumly.

“Yeah.” Mae had patted him gently on the back. “I bet your familiar is going to be amazing.”

The Colombian had given her a rare smile at that.

As for the Dark Council, Mae hadn’t sensed their presence or Vedran’s portal since that day. They were certain Oscar had told his father about Nikolai’s ability to wield Hellfire Magic by now. The fact that there had yet to be any signs of movement by the Sorcerer King worried Mae.

What’s he planning now?

She came out of her room midmorning, having showered and dressed. A faint commotion drew her to the window on the landing. Her eyes rounded.

A queue of SUVs with tinted glass was parked outside her mother’s house.

“What the—?!”

I sense Tarang, Brimstone said.And Alastair.

Mae stormed down the stairs, the fox leaping the steps beside her. A brouhaha rose from the direction of the kitchen and the living room. She checked out the kitchen first.

“Oh hey, Mae,” Milo mumbled around a cinnamon roll, hand lifting in a friendly wave.

Ilya dipped his head. “Good morning.”

Mae drooled a little. Several boxes ofVetriano’s breakfast pastries lay on the table.Vetriano’s was the best Italian bakery in New York. For some reason, Vlad seemed to be at the top of their VIP list.

Ye-Seul served Ilya tea and eyed Mae with a faint frown. “I hope you and Ryu will be understanding toward your mother.”

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