Page 15 of Midnight Witch

It wasn’t just Mendes and his familiar’s cores that told Mae they were strong. She could see a faint aura fluttering around the sorcerer and the eagle. Recognition flared.

“Enrique, does that guy have—?” she started awkwardly.

“Yes. He’s an Arcane Magic user. And it seems he’s showing off his powers to try and intimidate us.” Cortes’s expression turned flinty. “That asshole might as well be walking down the street with his fly open.”

“How about you dial down the murder vibe?” Mae pursed her lips. “Seriously, you have scary eyes right now.”

Cortes grunted.

Mendes and his entourage crowded around them seconds later. Mae frowned. It was clear the move was intended to keep the other covens at bay.

Mendes greeted Bryony, ignored everyone else, and fixed Mae with an intense stare that make Nikolai and Vlad’s fingers curl into fists.

Uh-oh, Brimstone murmured.Your future spouses look like they’re on the war path.

Mendes took her hand with sweaty fingers and planted a kiss on her knuckles. “We finally meet, my queen.”

CHAPTER8

“Ugh,”Mae croaked.

Mendes slowly released her hand, confused. “Pardon?”

Mae noted Bryony’s leaden stare.

“It’s, er, nice to make your acquaintance,” she told Mendes with a glassy smile.

Asotto voceconversation distracted her as the man started fawning over her.

“How about I pin him down and you hit him?” Vlad murmured coldly to Nikolai.

“We should give Abraham our jackets to hold,” the sorcerer contributed in a savage tone. “They charge more for dry cleaning blood out of these suits.”

“I am NOT holding your jackets!” Abraham hissed.

“I’ll hold them,” Cortes volunteered icily.

Mae spotted the death stare Bryony cast at the four men out of the corner of her eye.

Crimson flared in Brimstone’s pupils as he glared at Mendes.Should I bite his arm off?!

A sorcerer in Mendes’s entourage overheard the whispered exchange between Vlad and Nikolai. He bristled and unleashed the sword hidden within the bracelet on his arm, his ferret baring its teeth where it coiled around his neck.

“How insolent!”

A threatening growl rumbled from Tarang.

Mendes’s eagle cracked her wings open and landed in front of the tiger with a shrill cry. Tarang blinked, surprised. He recovered and bared his fangs at her.

Golden magic detonated around the bird. Mae’s skin prickled. Even Mendes looked startled at his familiar’s reaction. Vlad took a step toward the harpy bobbing her head threateningly at Tarang.

Mae touched his arm. “It’s okay.”

A surprised sound escaped the eagle in the next instant.

Brimstone had stepped out from behind Tarang.

The crimson aura around the fox deepened, the feral growl vibrating from his chest making the familiars in the vicinity who were not his friends whimper and hide behind their sorcerers and witches. His magic warmed Mae’s blood and sent Hellreaver trembling against her chest.

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