Page 119 of Arcane Entanglement

A beam groaned as it was heaved from underneath, some fifteen feet ahead.

Evander nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw the large hands pushing it up.

“Viggo!”

He was at the Brute’s side in a heartbeat and used magic to move the debris trapping him.

Viggo looked up at him from what remained of one of the chimneys. His face was covered in dust and soot and his hair was a mess, but he was otherwise miraculously unscathed.

The smile the Brute gave Evander was the most beautiful thing the mage had ever seen in his entire life.

“Well, now I know where to hide if a building explodes around me,” Viggo said wryly.

“Viggo,” Evander mumbled. His legs collapsed under him.

Viggo caught him as he fell to his knees.

“You idiot,” Evander said thickly, tears streaming down his face.

Viggo gently embraced him.

“I know,” he whispered in Evander’s hair, his voice trembling.

“You ginormous buffoon.” Evander’s tone hardened.

Viggo sighed. “Alright, I deserved that one too.”

Evander pushed him away and punched him in the chest. “You utter knucklehead! Why, I ought to?—!”

The rest of his protest was swallowed by Viggo’s lips.

Evander stiffened before shuddering and melting into the Brute’s embrace, emotion choking his breath.

It was some time before they came up for air.

Evander cradled Viggo’s face and stared into his eyes, his anger and grief all but forgotten.

“How did you know that would work?”

Viggo grimaced. “I didn’t. I remembered what Millbrook’s notes said about the device he’d made for Renwick becoming unstable if it was used under the wrong circumstances. I just hoped the gem and the disruptor rods in my possession would overload that bastard’s machine.” He glanced around, his expression sobering. “Looks like they performed better than I expected.”

Evander frowned as he followed Viggo’s gaze. “Renwick?”

“He’s not a Brute, so I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”

They discovered the dark mage’s body moments before Rufus arrived with a team of Met officers.

Renwick had been close to his diabolical machine when it’d exploded. The detonation had ripped through most of his left side and blown away half his skull. He stared at them from his remaining eye, pupil blown and unseeing.

A glint in the rubble next to the dead mage caught Viggo’s eye.

He crouched and picked up a fragment of the crystal vial.

“Damn.” The Brute’s jaw tightened. “I was hoping we could use this to track down Renwick’s master.”

Evander squatted beside him, his troubled gaze on Renwick’s slack face as he recalled all they had learned that day.

“That vial is a fake.”