Page 89 of Witch Queen

Oh, Na Ri murmured.His core.

Mae stared dazedly at the source of Oscar’s power before exchanging a shocked look with Brimstone.

The fox nodded. “It seems he no longer carries the Sorcerer King’s corruption inside his body, just like Drabek.”

Vlad furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean?” Cortes asked uneasily.

Abraham arrived before Mae could reply. “Where have you been?!”

“Hmm, in Hell?” Mae grimaced and scratched her cheek. “You were there when we left.”

The aide scowled.

Her stomach knotted queasily. “My family?”

“They’re safe. Noah took them to a haven in Brooklyn. Nadia and Sergio are guarding it with their covens.”

Relief had Mae blowing out a heavy breath.

Cortes’s gaze swung between Bryony and Rambrog. “He your new ride?”

The giant lumbered to a stop next to them. The High Priestess sniffed while Rambrog carefully put her down.

“He insisted on carrying me. Apparently, some fox told him to be my bodyguard.” She squinted at Brimstone. “Wait. Are you bigger?”

“He definitely is,” Abraham said leadenly, head tilting to take in the demon fox’s new form.

Mae chewed her lip. It was only now she was realizing her familiar had kept the size he’d manifested in Hell, this despite the fact that they’d returned to Earth.

“It’s because my witch is stronger now,”Brimstone huffed. He cocked his head toward the open park.“That one’s second awakening had something to do with it too.”

Hellreaver reappeared on cue, serrated blades coated with blood.

“Man, that was fun!” he enthused.

Abraham and Bryony’s eyes bulged. Even Rambrog looked uneasy at the sight of the sentient weapon.

“He can talk now?” the New York coven High Priestess said warily.

“You’ll get used to it.” Mae’s gaze locked on the man watching them silently from a distance. “Why are you here, Oscar?” She scanned his wounds with a neutral expression. “And why does it look like you’ve been fighting on our side?”

Oscar’s face tightened with resolve as he met her stare. “The spell Nikolai cast on me back at that castle broke the hold my father had on me.”

Mae swallowed.So, we were right!

She felt happy for Nikolai then. Even though he’d never said anything out loud, she knew he’d been thinking about Oscar ever since they’d seen whatSubjugatehad done to Drabek.

Vlad took a threatening step forward.

“So what?! Are you saying we should forgive you for all the horrible crimes you’ve committed over the years? That we should feelsympathyfor you?!” The incubus’s pupils burned with a crimson radiance that sought to scorch the man he glared at. “Don’t make me laugh!”

Cortes similarly glowered at Oscar. The Dark Council had assisted Raya in killing his first familiar and removing him from his destined role as the next High Priest of the Medellin coven.

Oscar sighed. “No. That’s not what I’m saying at all. I will never be able to make amends for all the evil acts I’ve perpetrated and the people whose lives I’ve taken. I will never—” His voice broke, his shoulders slumping. He took a shuddering breath before meeting their gazes unflinchingly. “I will never receive my brother’s forgiveness for what I did to him and our kin. But I do regret everything I have ever done to you and yours. That’s why I left my father’s side at the earliest opportunity. So I could bring you this.”

He removed something from his pocket, walked over, and placed it in Mae’s hands. Her breath caught at the sight of theBook of Light.

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