Wildfire (Hidden Legacy, #3)

by Ilona Andrews

The bear stopped and looked at me. “Be polite,” the soldier told him. “Don’t worry. He just wants to say hi.” “I don’t mind.” I stepped closer to the bear.

and said CAN I PET THAT DAWG?!?!?!

“Can I pet him?”

OH EM GEE SHE SAID IT!!!!!!!!!

“Do you remember me?” she asked. Her voice was breaking. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face so pale, her lips seemed almost white. “You killed my mother.”

incorrect!! that was Cornelius and a bunch of rats!! her next line is going to be I need your help so maybe watch how you talk to me first if you need something from me!

“I don’t even know how she died.” Rynda clenched her hands into a single fist. “They only gave me back her bones. How did my mother die, Nevada?” I took a deep breath. “It wasn’t an easy or a quick death.” “I deserve to know.” There was steel in her voice. “Tell me.” “No.

boom! good for you, Nevada!

“If Rynda’s crying will make Rogan break up with me, then our relationship wouldn’t last anyway.”

also super smart and true.

He called his grandson a dud. Ugh. “Thank you,” Rynda said. “For what?” “For your disgust.

ha!

“I don’t want this to be an act of charity. I want to pay you.” “That’s fine.”

because I was going to insist you pay me for my services funnily enough.

And jealousy stabbed me right in the heart. He was mine.

she can feel that! cut it out!

I leaned back. “Becoming a House would grant us provisional immunity from any attacks by other Houses for three years. That’s long enough for us to establish a power base.” “Would Victoria follow that rule?” Catalina asked. “Rogan says she will. It’s in everyone’s best interest to protect emerging Houses, because otherwise inbreeding would become a real danger. Apparently, this is one of those rules Primes won’t break under any circumstances. It would buy us time to build up our power base and make alliances and do all the things Houses do.” “You can’t be serious,” Mom said. “I am.” “She isn’t going to obey any rules. That woman is a monster. You can’t be that naive, Nevada.”

Tremaine has literally nothing to lose. she will most definitely attack.

He was mine. My Connor.

why is this one so sappy?! who's gonna die?!

he wore black pants, a black T-shirt, and a black garment that could be called a sweatshirt in the same way a Porsche could be called a car. It had notched lapels like a suit, the stylish drape of a luxury trench coat, and likely cost more than our mortgage payment.

whyyyyyyyy?????

“Good evening, Mr. Duncan.”

oh yay!! I was hoping we would see him again!!

The sound of a woman coming down the hallway in high heels echoed through the room.

ha! anyone who's watched Pink Panther knows you can't make assumptions based on the shoe sounds

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that.” The Keeper’s eyes turned completely black. No white remained. Darkness shivered in the alcoves between the books and grew, slithering across the walls, swallowing the light, a living terrible darkness. An ancient primal thing. Every hair on the back of my neck rose.

he was a sweet little old man a minute ago! good thing he's on our side!

Her gaze stabbed at Rogan. “You should’ve returned my calls. You think you have her, but you’ll never keep her. She’ll dump you the moment the Scroll gets a request.”

that fuck does that mean???

“This is my inspire-confidence-in-clients look,” I told him. “I own two expensive suits. I wear one to the initial meeting and the other when I come to close the case and collect my payment. The rest of the time the suits hang in plastic in the back of my closet.”

yes so we've heard, thrice!

“Are you also a herbamagos like Brian?” I asked. His background check said he was.

you could have asked this in a different way. I know you're trying to catch people in a lie, but asking this question makes it seem like you didn't do your research before you came here. I'm sure it won't matter. it just bugs me.

“Are you concerned for your brother’s well-being?” “Yes.” Lie.

did the brother kidnap Brian?? jealous??

He told me he loved me, and he wasn’t lying. I would’ve trusted him even without my talent. Rogan was dangerous, at times unpredictable, and always stubborn. Given a chance, he would roll over people like a bulldozer to accomplish his goals. But I could never see him cheating. He was too direct for that. It wasn’t in his nature.

it's simple really, this is how it should be. and it better be true!! I will reach into this book and rip out his balls myself!

Have fun giving your samples.” What samples? The Volvo rose and slid back into its place. It had a custom plate ATCG105, which told me nothing.

seriously? so, no science background, I see...

This whole mess with Rynda’s husband disappearing smelled bad. When I thought about it, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach, like I was standing somewhere high and peering over the edge. It was just too coincidental that her husband got kidnapped after her mother died.

agreed!

You would have to be desperate to kidnap the Head of a House. Unless you were also a Prime. Or several Primes connected to a conspiracy behind the attempts to throw the country into a state of unrest so an empire could be created, a new Rome.

hmmm, points to the same conspiracy we've been dealing with the whole series. but I think a good twist would be that it's completely unrelated. I'll just keep that in my back pocket.

The people behind it were tired of democracy. They chafed under the accountability and legal constraints that democratic society brought. They were already in positions of power because of their magic and wealth, but it wasn’t enough. They didn’t want to govern with their every step scrutinized; no, they wanted to rule with absolute power, never to be criticized or brought to answer for their offenses under the law. They wanted an empire, led by a modern-age Caesar.

thank you for the synopsis.

It would be beyond naive to cling to the notion that Brian’s kidnapping was an isolated incident, but I had to keep that possibility open.

oh hey, me too!!

Vincent was about Rogan’s age, handsome, dark brown hair, a square jaw, dark eyes, and the perfect amount of scruff on a dimpled chin—generations of all the right genes in all the right places. If I lunged at him, the bat-ape would tear me apart. Vincent rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe I have to say this. You there, dashing male secretary! Drop the frying pan.” The pan clattered to the floor behind me. Vincent smiled. That languid, assured smile told me everything I needed to know: none of us would walk out of here alive.

nah, Rogan should be here any minute

It was like trying to hold a fire hose with the full blast of water jettisoning out of it. He was a Prime and his power was off the charts. It took all of my willpower to contain him. I couldn’t even move.

ah geez, yes we've heard it all before. it'll be another mage vs mage that thinks he stands a chance but Rogan will come out on top again. it's getting old.

“The pact is made,” Cornelius said, his voice distant and otherworldly.

boy am I glad I called that guy

I turned to see a massive black Jeep Wrangler closing in behind us.

Jeep Wranglers aren't massive.

He wasn’t joking. He would actually kill Rogan.

no he won't

This wasn’t me. I always had my phone and my gun. And underwear.

🤣🤣🤣

“That’s okay,” I hissed. “We’re finished talking. Just one question before I go: in your expert opinion as the Head of a House, when Rynda called you, was it a true emergency? Was it something that absolutely couldn’t be resolved without your presence, or was it another opportunity for her to make sure that you’re emotionally engaged to take care of her and her children if Brian doesn’t make it? And if it was a true emergency, why didn’t you ask me to come with you?”

honestly... I mean, all couples fight, but over this bullshit?!

I would’ve told you about it if you didn’t leave in a huff.”

excuse me sir, you are in no position to be rude and testerical.

“This is what bothers me.” I spun around and began to stalk back and forth. If I didn’t move, I would explode. “What kind of world is it where Vincent is necessary? Where he’s an asset. Where Dave can just kidnap people off the street and nobody will do anything about it? Don’t you see how terribly fucked up this is?” I stopped. “And I’m about to drag my sisters and cousins into it. I’m scared, Connor. I’m scared out of my mind.” “When you are in it, you have no idea it’s not normal,” he said quietly. “I didn’t realize until I joined the army that everyone didn’t live like this. This is what we’re fighting against. If the conspiracy succeeds, Vincent will get free rein.”

thank you for the perspective. sometimes it gets hard to see the forest for the trees. soooooooooooooo much happens in these books!

Lenora Jordan, Harris County District Attorney, wasn’t Rogan’s favorite person. He thought she was dangerous, which was why he preferred to deal with her directly.

I don't think this is a fair assessment at all. I think he actually respects her.

They think they can win this fight, but even if I rolled up to their doors with a thousand soldiers, they would still fight me.

this sentence makes no sense. I think it's the but... it's like a different writer/writing team wrote this one! it better get better!!

“He got impatient,” Rogan said. “As I said, Vincent isn’t much on waiting and planning. Rynda frustrated him, so he decided to apply his particular brand of pressure.” “But why not just show up at their house and hold the kids hostage from the start? Brian and Rynda would’ve given him anything he asked for. Neither of them is a combat Prime. Why go through kidnapping Brian? It doesn’t seem like Vincent’s style.” “That’s because it isn’t. Somebody has him on a tight leash for this particular operation.” A dangerous light crept into Rogan’s eyes. “He got loose last night.”

I love how disorganized this "new Rome" thing is

drawn side by side so they formed a triangle,

then that's not side by side.

Ogling Rogan under these circumstances would be slightly creepy.

disagree, ogle all you want. he's yours to ogle!

“I understand that you and Connor have a relationship,” Rynda said. “But I need him more than you right now. I hope you understand.”

biiiiiiiiiiiitch!!

Don’t come here with your bullet-meat soldiers and threaten us.

what the hell is a bullet-meat soldier?!

“He’s with Alexander Sturm. Sturm has a collection of medieval swords. He owns an Oakeshott XIIIa sword, a Grete War Sword. It’s a precursor of a Scottish claymore. The one Sturm has is supposed to be the true sword of William Wallace. Vincent sent me a picture of him with it two days ago.”

which is it?! Roman or Scottish?! and here we go again with yet another random name we've never heard before.

“Do you think they made these monsters up out of nothing, or is there an actual place, another world, they pulled them from?” “Nobody knows.”

how does no one know?!?!

The ear was Caucasian and had been severed in a single precise cut, the kind an experienced surgeon might make with a scalpel. The cut bothered me. Things weren’t adding up.

is it Brian?? did he arrange to get "kidnapped"? as a wise man once said "I can get you a toe." same concept here. this tactic is used so often I never trust it.

If they really meant to terrify Rynda, they would’ve sent her Brian’s real ear. That left only one possibility, and I really didn’t like it.

wanna clue us in?? because I think Brian is part of the conspiracy.

“I need to know if there are any hints that Brian Sherwood may have collaborated with his kidnappers.”

ok phew! I knew she was a smart one!

“I’m starving. I haven’t had anything to eat since I stole a bear claw from your kitchen this morning.” “You didn’t steal it. All my bear claws are yours.”

it's the cute throwaway interactions that are the best.

Something crunched. Rogan kept eating, his expression perfectly calm. The thick window glass beside us developed a hairline crack all the way across the top corner, just above Rogan.

what a world this is! propositions right there in front of her, Rogan getting all territorial over some other house showing interest in her... I'd say I hate the jealousy trope but it's impossible to avoid in this world of genetics and arranged marriages, isn't it?

“What am I wearing, Rogan?” I asked. His face looked pained. “A shiny rock.”

Hades!!!!! we're about to find out it's an 11.2 carat diamond worth $16.8 million!!!

I nodded, scooted closer to him so we were touching, and went back to my emails. His fingertips brushed my back. He did it without looking away from his laptop. Just checking that I was still there. This is what it would be like, I realized. We could come home to each other every night. It didn’t have to be all blood and gore and fancy dinners. It could also be this, and this felt so good.

well if they don't get their HEA, I'll riot

“It’s better to have protection and not need it,” Heart said, sounding reasonable. “What’s the harm in taking a couple of people with you?” “She doesn’t want to be seen with my people,” Rogan said. “She’s being watched. House Baylor must emerge as an independent House, not a vassal.” Heart looked at him. “I thought that was settled.” Rogan shook his head, barely. “No.” “My apologies. I misunderstood the situation,” Heart said.

uh oh. looks like Rogan's people have some assumptions that Nevada is... promised? to Rogan?? or this makes it seem like Rogan was going to propose or his people thought he was going to propose and he didn't for some reason???