Page 14 of Midnight Witch

Mae patted his arm and smiled. “It won’t hurt. Besides, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

Cortes squinted. “You know I’m not interested in becoming one of your consorts, right?”

Mae’s smile faded into a grimace. “Like I need another one of those headaches in my life.” She caught Nikolai and Vlad’s pointed stares, cleared her throat guiltily, and turned to the parrot bobbing excitedly on the Columbian’s shoulder. “I like the bow tie, Popo.”

“Hello, queen of my heart and future mistress!” Cortes’s familiar gushed effusively. He flapped his wings. “I must say, you look like a dazzling rose among all these weeds tonight. Let me give you a hug, you buxom temptress!”

Mae winced as Cortes caught the parrot mid-flight.

Nikolai sneered. “Buxom temptress?”

“I swear, his vocabulary gets worse every time we meet him,” Vlad told Cortes.

Popo became the object of narrow-eyed stares from the closest weeds around them while he struggled in his sorcerer’s grip.

Cortes’s lips thinned as his familiar’s feathers smacked his face repeatedly. “What did I say to you before we left the hotel?”

Popo stiffened at his deadly tone. He went still, feathers drooping. “You said I was to behave.”

“And how did I tell you to behave?”

The parrot’s voice grew sullen. “You told me to keep my beak shut.”

Hellreaver sniggered.

Mae frowned at the weapon. “Don’t laugh. You’re just as bad as him.” She studied Cortes curiously while he returned a chastised Popo to his shoulder. “I wanted to ask. Won’t becoming High Priest affect your standing in the cartel?”

Cortes’s face grew inscrutable. “My boss and I have…come to an agreement. He’s granted me a one-year sabbatical to settle my status in the magic community. I’ll continue to assist him on the side when the need arises.”

Vlad arched an eyebrow. “That’s mighty nice of him.”

Mae’s belly tightened as she digested the Colombian’s words. She turned to Vlad. “Does this mean you would have to give up your seat in theBlack Devilsif you became my consort?”

Vlad shrugged dismissively at her brittle words. “I’ll deal with that problem if it arises.”

A commotion drew their attention before Mae could probe him further. A large delegation had just entered the Élysée Room. The witches and sorcerers belonging to it bumped the other guests rudely aside as they made a bee line for the atrium. From the scowls their rough behavior earned, the other covens recognized them.

A rotund man with bronze skin, a greasy expression, and enough gold adorning his figure to bankroll a new business strode briskly at their head, an imposing harpy eagle on his shoulder.

Nikolai straightened. Vlad narrowed his eyes.

Alastair and Popo stilled, their wary gazes locking on the eagle. Even Brimstone and Tarang grew alert.

“That’s Sergio Mendes, the High Priest of the Rio de Janeiro coven.” Bryony directed a warning look at Nikolai and Vlad. “Be nice. We need him on our side.”

Vlad’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because he’s rich,” the witch replied tartly.

“Funny.” Cortes’s tone had grown cold. “No one told me the Rio de Janeiro High Priest was this strong.”

Bryony looked discomfited. “I didn’t think you’d care. Besides, it’s not like you and I talk all the time.”

“That’ll change once I become High Priest,” Cortes said confidently.

Mae glanced at the Columbian. “You can see his magic core?”

“No. But I can sense his power.”

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