Page 67 of Midnight Witch

Nikolai froze. He jerked his head around and met Mae’s calm gaze. “You can do that?!”

“We won’t know until we try.”

If Mae was aware of his hesitation, she didn’t show it. She addressed the others. “You guys had better move back.” She grimaced. “And put your shields up just to be safe.”

Brightly colored barriers brightened the twilight. A scarlet veneer engulfed Vlad and Tarang as they stepped away to a safe distance.

Brimstone and Hellreaver transformed.

Their magic washed across Nikolai and Alastair in a crimson wave as they merged their powers with Mae.

“Are you ready?” Mae said in a steely voice.

Nikolai drew on his core. Heat warmed his belly. Power flooded his veins and thrummed across his bond with Alastair. A pale haze of white magic and Moon Magic fluttered to life around them.

“I’m ready.”

Mae’s hands grew hot against his back. He gasped when her magic blasted into his core scant seconds later. Red roared and clashed with white, a maelstrom that made his blood boil and his entire body go rigid. He clenched his teeth and grunted.

This was different from the instances in Prague when Mae had used him to end the storm of Hellfire that had threatened to destroy the city and to close the crack in the nexus.

“Breathe!” Mae urged. “Stop fighting me!”

Cold air wheezed through Nikolai’s windpipe as he gulped. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. Alastair’s feathers rustled next to his ear, the crow amplifying their magic so they could accept the power of the Witch Queen.

The storm inside him slowly stabilized. Nikolai blinked. Something had just flickered across his inner vision. It took a couple of heartbeats to figure out what it was.

I—I can see my core!

A blazing orb filled his mind’s eye. Half of it was made of incandescent white light. The other half glowed with the power of the sun itself, so strong it seared his senses.

This is Mae’s magic?!

The perspective changed with a speed that made him draw a sharp breath.

He felt his consciousness dive through Mae’sContainand into the harpy eagle. For a moment, all he could see was darkness. The gloom started to lighten up ahead. A familiar corruption touched his magic as the shadows faded.

His heart stuttered.

There, deep within the body of the familiar, was a dull core covered in half-faded black runes. His throat tightened when he detected the stench of the Sorcerer King’s power, along with that of his brother.

Mae’s touch burned into his flesh.

“Here we go!” she warned between clenched teeth.

Nikolai heard a distant boom above the sound of his thundering heart. He knew from the intense pulsation in his core that she’d just released the cap on her magic.

The infinite repertoire she had inherited by virtue of her birth exploded before his eyes. He swallowed. Hundreds upon hundreds of runes drifted across his vision, some barely perceptible, as if they were floating inside a deep, dark sea.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up!” Mae shouted.

Sweat beaded Nikolai’s forehead. He gritted his teeth.I need to focus!

He tapped into the spell surrounding Sable’s core and watched Mae’s limitless magic roll before his mind’s eye.

Something flashed in the gloom. Nikolai’s breath caught. Alastair crooned softly.

There!

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