ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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  1. I was hoping for this spoiler post! When discussion Nevada’s shooting / targeting after the bridge incident Rogan makes the comment ‘Dual.’ I know you never specifically answer since you even have Nevada say ‘I’ll have to remember to ask him later.’ Can I ask?

    • Maybe it’s meant as ‘Nevada is a truthteller prime but she also has a second magic talent in the stress-shooting thing’? The dual referring to her having two magic abilities?

      • I am guessing that maybe the dual even refers to the level of her ability, that she is a dual Prime (truthseeking and the stress-shooting)…?

      • I agree. I just read the part where Penelope, Grandma Frida, Rogan, Nevada, and two of Rogan’s team were watching the video of the shootout. Not only is Nevada a Prime truth seeker, but also a crack shot when threatened. One of Rogan’s people mentioned what a difficult shot that was to make. According to Grandma Frida, Grandpa Leon was a crappy shot with a sniper rifle, but if he’s threatened he hit his target. So…….Nevada’s a possible dual Prime. No wonder Rogan’s smug. 😀

        • I don’t think she is a prime with this talent. Leon is probably closer to what a prime of this talent would have. She just has a secondary talent which is still rare. Like Howling was an Average hydromancer but a prime with Ice.

    • This is a guess: Remember how in “Burn for Me” when Rogan has Nevada chained up on his basement and Nevada says, “Acubens Exemplar requires a telepath. You’re a telekinetic.” And then, Rogan made the circle glow brighter with his telepathy? He’s dually gifted . . . Just like Nevada.

      • Nevada already knows that Prime often have very often if not always some secondary ability, so I think “dual” means something more.
        Maybe, as already said, it means that she ranks Prime in both abilities.

        • Maybe, but I haven’t seen any mention of Frida or Grandpa Leon with the word ‘Prime’ attached. I do think Rogan was referring to the shooting ability, though. Unless the dual referred to the 2 types of shooting, sniper v. being shot at.

        • But, if she has some sniper magic, is it prime level? Is there an active field Navada hasn’t tapped yet? And is the sniper magic linked to her vision at the end of the book where she was everyone in color?

          • I think the vision in color thing is related to truthseeking – it sees the truth of everyone’s magic. Nevada’s is white. Her sister is pale yellow and white (and Nevada says it’s like hers – both affect the mind, and given that Augustine also has white, I think that’s a thing), her other sister is red, Rogan is blue, Augustine is gray and white, and Cornelius is gold. I think it might actually be sort of like Julie’s talent in the Kate books.

        • I was wondering about this too. I’m actually hoping she’s not a dual prime. It would make her feel overpowered to me. And I also feel like there’s this tendency to make every single cool ability in the second book be prime (or at least significant) level. Stories can be much more interesting when a character cannot always rely on an ability–like how Kate is bad at healing. She has just enough ability to survive critical wounds, but there’s a real question whether she’ll make it, and that adds tension. If Nevada cannot count on always being able to hit–if she literally misfires sometimes–there’s more tension in each fight.

          Also, a part of me wants a prime sharpshooter to be able to do more. Nevada’s mom can “go to her happy place” whenever she wants and hit something. Shouldn’t that make her more likely to be a prime than Nevada is? If not, what makes someone prime level? If Nevada’s a prime, can she just hold up two guns and hit two separate people in the face without aiming?

          Penelope’s past raises another question as well. If she’s a prime or potential prime, how did she leave the military without getting recognized as one? If Penelope is a sharpshooter prime, their family would already be on Houses’ radar as powerful. There would have been job offers for her and marriage offers for her kids.

          • My recollection was that it was specified that Primes sometimes had secondary abilities, but they were always less strong than their primary ones in Burn for Me. I don’t think the term “dual” was used, though.

    • I only have the audiobook for now, was the spelling “Dual” or “Duel”? Both would make sense.

        • Thankyou Ilona for this space to discuss WH without inadvertently spoiling it for the few members of the BDH who haven’t yet devoured it.
          I too was intrigued by the ” dual” comment and took it to mean Nevada has a strong secondary power. Since this incident occured before the conversation where Connor explained their magic powers aren’t genetically compatible/ complementary in the sense of likely to produce prime offspring and, how, once she had house status, this would become increasingly important I don’t know why he looked like the cat that got the cream, or in this case the catnip. One thing is clear: Nevada and her sisters and cousins are all strong magic powers . She and Catalina are primes, Bern may be at least significant since Bug defers to his hacking ability. It is less clear what Arabella’s and Leon’s magic strength is but hopefully this will emerge in WF. In all, magic runs strongly in their family so, unlike Harpo’s, they are not a family whose magic is in decline. Only seven and a half weeks till we get all the answers in WF !

          • I think we’ll see Leon’s magic develop quickly into Prime, for a couple of reasons. Whatever triggered his magic, once it kicked in, the level of precision was kind of scary when he was doing the battle play by play, to the point where he moved the camera to something that happened but he couldn’t see. Then not long after, he knew Nevada was in trouble and arrived exactly where she was. Then there’s the fact that Nevada did not want Rogan to know. I’m thinking precog plus the battle strategy thing?

            • I originally missed the angles and trajectory bit from Bug. I thought he was going to be something even scarier. Like a banshee that can call down death on someone. At least that is what I thought his ability was going to be when he showed up worried about Nevada. We will see what this turns into. I can already see the next series in this universe and I look forward to seeing the other characters grow up.

  2. I’ve already read White Hot two times (since the official release). I love Rogan’s floating quarter “trick”, heck, I love everything about the book, but that was one of the things that stood out especially. Now I’m wondering about what exactly Arabella’s magic is and what is going to happen with Leon (and his magic) and how Cornelius is going to fit into the agency. But the thing I want to know most is whether there are going to be more books? I am aware that it is marketed as a trilogy and I guess with Wildfire the first story ARC about the Caesar conspiracy is going to be finished, but please, end my misery and tell me now whether there are going to be more books in the series???

    • I’m dying to know what Arabella is! What did it say? “Huge and monsterous”

      • I loved when Arabella smirked at Augestine’s illusion of a demon. She was like, yeah, you haven’t seen anything. Her transformation must be so terrifying.

        I really hope Leon is told promptly. I’m worried about the consequences if he isn’t. It could build resentment. Or, he could get in a situation where he’s unable to save himself/someone else because he doesn’t know. It makes sense now how much he craved to have a gun. Some part of him must recognize how in tune with guns he is. I get why Neveda is scared, of course. He’s still a minor and she must want him to have other choices than becoming a sniper, used for war, etc.

        • I would love to read a book about Catalina and another about Arabela, their own story. It wolud be amazing!!
          Would you consider it if i say pretty please??

          • They’re 15 and 17 years old. They’d have to age a bit.

            Unless mini-Authorlord would like to write a YA novel about them. Her short one that Ilona posted previously shows she has talent. I think that was Kid 2(?).

            • wow.. mini Authorlord writes too?? The Andrews family is definitely a House.
              Where can I find the story?? Can anyone please help?

          • I’d love to read novels about Catalina, Arabella, or even Leon, Bern (obviously, they have to grow up so a novel in the “future” would be great) or Nevada’s parents. Tbh, the more I think about it, the more I’d like those novellas (because we may get to see IF a certain child would be prime or not… Since we won’t have the initial planned HEA but a more open one T-T). Strangely enough.. I don’t think I’d want a fourth book about Rogan and Nevada : good things have an end (I don’t like when things get overly extend, I’m scare of that, because most of the time, I get bored…) and waiting for a fourth book would be torturing xD

      • I’m thinking definitely a shapeshifter of some sort. When Arabella and Catalina went to the bad-guy compound, Rogan first made a hole in the wall that was 25 feet tall (if I remember correctly) and Nevada told him to make it bigger. So Arabella’s other form has got to be enormous!! (Also, she seemed amused by Augustine’s demon form in a scoffing “Haha–isn’t that cute?” sort of way.

        I’m wondering why the girls have such a hodgepodge of gifts: Nevada is a truthseeker/breaker (like her grandmother); Catalina is some sort of extreme siren; and it looks like Arabella is some sort of shifter. Those gifts don’t seem at all related. Makes me wonder what was done to their father. Remember when Penelope tells Nevada that Tremaine couldn’t carry a baby to term so she…”did things.” I think that’s how it was put. What did she do, and does that have anything to do with the wide range of talents her granddaughters have.

        Also, is Arabella also a prime?

      • I bet she’s a dragon, at least something that needs a whole wall blasted out as an exit and be able to sprint 5 miles to a getaway helicopter.

        • That is what I was thinking too! Big, scary and yet cool. All the other monsters from the other universe are horrifying and I think she needs to stand apart from them.

          • Dragon would be so cool ! But.. If she was a Dragon, I feel like it’s too easy to “name” the creature for characters not to say it. I feel like she’s a beast or demonic thing that cannot be described in one word ^^’

    • Given that Rogan had to blow out an entire wall of the mess hall to accommodate Arabella’s exit strategy, I think her magic is something more than illusion.

    • I’m with you on this – I keep thinking about the rest of the Baylor clan after reading. I want to know more about Arabella. For example, why would someone want to put her in a cage? I also hope that Leon finds out about his magic from Nevada but I have a feeling it will be much more dramatic.

      • I think Catalina would be the one caged by someone evil in order to have her speak on command and hypnotize an audience in restricted quarters. She’s like a siren that way. I agree with what the others have said regarding Arabella’s illusion powers and Leon’s shooting abilities. I’m wondering if maybe another trilogy will spin off with the cousins/sisters but usually the Authorlords write series featuring a single pov. Perhaps the spinoff will feature one of the girls and the other kids’ storylines will run parallel?

        • It’s not illusion, she is red and angry in aura, where Augustine is a different color. She is a shifter.
          Is she a Prime, only the author lords know, and they can change their mind at any time.

        • I was wondering if Catalina was a prime too. When Arabella is arguing with Nevada that she should go on the raid saying she is a prime too and Catalina says, “yes, yes we are all special.” Whole lotta primes going on. I love it.

          • When Nevada was talking to Connor about forming a house, I got the impression that the girls were also Primes in their respective talents.

          • I don’t know if Catalina is a Prime but Nevada mentioned something about not having a name for this power (as if it was more than rare). But, does it really matter at this point ? The girl just has to talk and one second later, people are at her feet xD

            What’s the probability of having three Prime children+ a Genius hacker + a potential something amazing + a high skill sharpshooter + a high skill mechanic with a tank in one House O_O ? This famaly is just amazing, wonderful *-*

            • Hum, I failed. Catalina is the Prime and Arabella is the one with the unknown rank xD (the same scene)

          • I think that’s the other way around. Arabella has not been identified as a Prime.

        • I was thinking her magic is similar to a fairy queen. They may end up calling it Venus or some such.

    • I believe it depends on sales numbers, which look good to me, but I’m not a publisher.

    • She did say previously that they were going to do a soft ending, which would allow the possibility of more books down the line.

    • Wild Fire is the next book, and it will be out in August (I think) This Augest, so the wait will be short! Yeah.

    • I’m wondering the same thing. Is it possible to have more books featuring Nevada and Rogan ala Kate Daniels series? I know we are getting far more than what we originally hoped for with the Inkeeper Chronicles (I always assumed that that would be just a trilogy and I’m loving the world expansion). Could we get more from Hidden Legacy or will Wild Fire truly be the end of that series?

  3. Yay!! My questions are about Baylor House. ? Can Bern and Leon join, since they are cousins and not immediate family to Nevada? What happens when two heads of houses marry? Is it more a business partnership between houses or does one have revoke their position in their house?
    I really love the idea of House Baylor, if you can’t tell.

    • Ooh I had that question in the back of my head as well. It would make sense for the prime of a small house to join the more powerful one. Sort of like in the old royalty lines, you trade up in standing, what happens if the houses are equal though?

      • It’s going to be so amazing to see how this all plays out in the next book. Rogan is going to get so jealous seeing men try to get with Neveda. It’ll be epic. Poor Rogan. He’ll have to try to keep himself from killing someone. hehe. I could see Neveda getting impatient with the games that all of the houses play. She’ll also excel at it though. I think she’s really growing comfortable with her powers and herself. The way she was able to persaude Augustine (for the shell making) during this book was great.

        • What was so interesting (in a “what?!” moment) was Rogan saying to Nevada that Primes marry not for love but for more magic. Then he asks her if she liked his house, buys up all the land around the Baylor compound (warehouse….whatever we want to call it), almost strangles Cornelius to death thinking that Nevada replaced him (which we know she didn’t), gets into Augustine’s face about Nevada’s magic, and just general overprotectiveness that he does so well. I love the fact that Rogan not only respect’s Nevada’s mom and grandmother, but is a little leery of Penelope.

          So….watch out Houston Primes…..the dragon is on the loose! Get close to Nevada at your own risk. 🙂

          • I love the way Rogan is determined to protect Nevada and her family. He knows how the house and government politics works and that other houses and government agencies, as soon as they realise Nevada is a truth seeker prime, will exert financial , emotional pressure on her if they can.

      • I just realized (fourth or fifth read of the scene) that Bern’s surname is listed as Baylor during the interrogation of the surviving merc during the assault, so hopefully?

        • They should be able to. Kelly Waller (Rogan’s cousin) is (or at least was) a part of House Rogan. The only reason they wouldn’t be is if they were to make their own House.

          • That’s true, but the Rogan house was formed before that generation. When the House dormed, it might have to be immediate, nuclear family. However, I wonder if after houses are formed, they can adopt members.

        • Did Nevada’s dad take her mom’s name? Je was sorta in hiding cant remember if it said. I hadn’t thought of it. If so the whole family would be Baylors and be included in the house.

          • That’s right. It couldn’t hv been Tremaine because they were hiding from the grandmother from Hell. But Grandma was referred to as Mrs. Afram so Baylor can’t be from maternal side. There would have definitely had to have been a legal name change to form the Baylor PI firm. We’re Bern and Leon adopted and if so, why are they referred to as cousins? Hmmmm, genealogy 101 anyone?

            • Bern and Leon’s Mom is Aunt Gisela – mentioned in Burn for Me as conceiving him because she was too wasted to remember a condom. I think Penelope’s parents were Grandma Frida and Grandpa Leon, so I would bet that Aunt Gisela is Penelope’s sister, since Leon is named after is Grandpa. Also and Aunt Pen is mentioned.

            • My guess is that Nevada’s dad took his dad’s name, Baylor, and that Tremaine is his mother’s maiden name. And she kept it because she is prime of the house Tremaine.
              The relation between Penelope and Gisela is mentioned in White Hot. They are sisters.

              • Given the evil mother, Baylor is probably an alias. Or some type of hidden name change.

                • I think it’s just as likely they took ‘Baylor’ from the hospital system in Dallas or the universities. Baylor is a well known name in Dallas.

        • My thought in mercenary scene was that whomever hired Scorpion thought that Bern was Nevada’s brother. If you think about from House point of view Nevada would be Prime level and Bern, as second child, would be same or less because that is how houses think. I suspect that Scorpion was hired by the evil grandmother or House Tremaine because Nevada’s mother and grandmother were listed after her. They are not Primes. Also given that Bern is a cyber magician I would think that he keeps all the electronic footprints neutral and the family’s computers tightly secure.

          I think that Nevada’s mother and her grandmother frida afram and probably her grandfather leon afram all knew that Baylor was James’s alias name.

          • No, I don’t think Evil Grandma would put out a kill order on Nevada. Without Nevada, her house dies: no heir. Also, killing her family removes potential leverage to emotionally manipulate Nevada into doing what EG wants.

            More likely Scorpion was hired by Ceasar’s supplicants.

      • If there is a House Baylor with the sisters and the cousins all having combat useful magic, then when Nevada marries Connor, she would have to discuss with the entire family do they want to remain House Baylor without her or do they want to join and come under House Rogan. When the female head of Brittainy married the King of France, all of Brittainy went with her and now come under France. But when Prince Phillip of Spain married the Queen of England (Bloody Mary), England did not come under Spain, but she did provide a lot of troops and armanent to Spain.

    • I actually suspect Rogan would be more likely to join House Baylor than the reverse. That would *really* upset the Houston status quo, but I’d bet everyone involved would be happier that way (except for evil paternal grandma and those people attempting to marry Rogan/Nevada For Greater Power).

      • I could sort of see that, too, actually. Rogan’s mom is a Prime and she’s still alive. And doesn’t he have two siblings? I don’t recall their rank. Are they Primes, too? But yeah, I could imagine a situation in which Rogan joins House Baylor and together they build a kick-ass security & investigation firm.

      • I could see that. Rogan giving the finger to the House games and letting House Baylor gain a him. For Nevada and her family.

      • There may be legalities involved, regarding Primes and Houses. Rogan’s mother is also a Prime, but are there other Primes to keep House Rogan legal?

        • Ooh, I agree. I really like the idea of Connor joining House Baylor but I just don’t know if feasible. But I like!

      • That would be awesome, but wouldn’t that in theory put all of his personel in danger. He would no longer be their boss and Rogan seems to be loyal to a fault. I want them together but I don’t see him walking out on his people…. Unless House Baylor and House Rogan somehow merge as one.

      • Interesting idea. It’s consistent with him giving his House the finger when he went into the Army.

        I don’t know how it works, though – I mean, if two House scions marry, does one of them HAVE to give up their House? Can they merge Houses? The politics is a little fuzzy for me.

    • I had the thought, too, especially since Grandma Frida’s last name was mentioned in this book and I don’t remember hearing it before. I would have expected Leon and Bern to have that last name since their mom presumably never married, but perhaps Nevada’s parents formally adopted the boys, so their last name is now Baylor. That just occurred to me; previously I was wondering if they’d have a hyphenated house (House Baylor-whatever-grandma’s-last-name-is).

      • Frida Afram, iirc. Of course, she may not have taken Grandpa Leon’s name, being the independent sort she is.

      • I just assumed that grandma freida kept her last name and grandpa Leon was the Baylor. Not every woman takes a new name when she marries

    • Or is it based on ‘power’ of the house, not age? Yeah Rogan is a BAMF but at count he’s the only prime outside of his mom in his House. VS Nevada, Arabella, Catalina, ( Bern? ), ( Leon? ) so does that stack the deck and make the potential House Baylor a stronger house?

      • Not enough money (yet). As a new House, Baylor would have to accumulate power and bucks in the Houston Magic scene.

    • I wondered about that. If her sister would have to become the head if/when she marries Rogan. I believe the cousins would be part of the house, especially if they have magic.

    • I don’t see why nevada couldn’t be head of house Baylor and married to rogan. Why couldnt she? They are not mutually exclusive.

  4. Oh my goodness! Catalina and Arabella are killing me! So we have a couple of Baylor primes, won’t the evil Grandma be able to use either to keep House Termainr going?

    And Arabella, what in the hell is up with that one? Why did she need such a massive hole for extraction?

    I just need to tell you, I adore how your secondary characters are real characters, not just set pieces. Most of the time my daughter and I end up more invested in the secondary than the primary players!

    • So while reading I had the crazy idea Arabella had warp spasm. Lol. I may have just reread the KD series. Or she’s like the Flash. Probably way off lol.

      • The warp spasm described in the KD series isn’t unique to that series. It is based off of something in Celtic mythology.

        So it wouldn’t really be a duplication of something they did in another series so much as a common reference to a real world mythological power.

        • Oh I know. They could easily put it in there as older magic form. It just was on my mind.

    • I’m pretty sure she transforms into a beast of some sort because 1) she’s told that her evil grandmother would put her in a cage; 2) she needed a huge hole to escape out of; and 3) when Augustine transforms into a demon using his illusion powers, Arabella laughs, and Nevada throws her a warning glance and thinks, “Don’t you do it” which makes it seem like her power is similar to Augustine’s illusion except in Arabella’s case, I don’t think it’s an illusion.

      • And they mention how after the siege at the end something huge and monstrous was seen carrying a girl. I’m so curious what exactly she turns into. Is it just one form, or can she take several?

        • In Burn for Me, before meeting Peach, Nevada talked to a woman that was changed physically because of experiment to reveal her magic. She was living in the water or something. Nevada POV said that magic can give power or turn them into monsters and everyone has the potential, it’s just a matter of probability. Maybe that’s what Arabella has, except she can go back to her human form.

      • It could be an illusion though. She mentioned that with Augustine’s illusion she could feel the heat from the flames which suggests that really good illusions can have physical aspects to them as well.

        • No, because in BFM it was stated that Aribella was super strong in human form.

        • also, the escape from the ranch calls for quick 5 mile sprint to the helicopter. most normal people do not talk about that length of run as if it was a jog to the end of the block

    • First I totally missed all that about Arabella perhaps being able to transform. On second read I got the hint she might be able to give Augustine a run for his money in illusion, but needing the big hole in the wall does lead credence to her being able to physically transform. That would be cool.

      I also wonder if Bern could be considered a Prime? He holds the school record for solving that puzzle. So then that would be 3 Primes in House Baylor, and perhaps 4 if you count Leon, but since it sounds like his talent doesn’t have a classification, then it might be hard to determine his level.

      • Bern was listed as a Magiesterim something or other, but I don’t know if seeing patterns can be recognized as a true magic talent.

      • and SWAT would shoot Arabella on sight, so she has to get out of there asap. So huge, scary, monstrous.

      • I think Arabella’s power is different from Augustine’s one (if we suppose that the colors Nevada saw at the end are nature of powers)

        Bern made a record with the Nebula homework and when Bug spoke about breaking through the DeamonEye (? Not sure of this name) security lock (?) (when they spoke about stealing the USB drive), it seemed that he needed Bern to do the cracking part. But we don’t have enough information I guess to know if he could be considered a Prime or not ?
        And there’s also the rank of Catalina and Nevada’s mother (I find it really hard to believe that two no Primes could produce 2 prime children)

    • I can see Nevada facing the Assembly and right as they are about to vote on House Baylor being formed, her evil grandmother stepping forward to claim them as part of her House to stop House Baylor from forming. Otherwise grandma’s house is gone when she dies as she has no heir.

      • That would be one for the Assembly records especially Rogan being there. He would make sure House Baylor is established. Now….for the evil grandmother….could Penelope just shoot her or Grandma Frida run her over with Romeo? Or Cornelius have his rats eat her up?

        • No, Penelope can’t just shoot evil grandma. In White Hot, Rogan is pretty clear that Tremaine always travels with an entourage, including an aegis, to prevent exactly that. Which is too bad. It would simplify things.

          However – and this is an interesting thing – in the early blurbs, it’s hinted that Tremaine may not have completely evil motives. So… here’s a twist. What if evil grandma is dying from some unknown malady, and instead of having to establish a new house, she hands Tremaine over to Nevada? Especially good if she does some awesome sacrificial “I realize I was horrible, now I have to make up for it by sacrificing myself to save my surviving family” deal – thus leaving Nevada in control of all the Tremaine assets and the House. Especially excellent if that happens part way into the book leaving Nevada to figure out how to run the House and deal with the fallout from that while also dealing with Rynda’s missing hubby and whatever is up with the new Caesar.

          • Mrs. Tremaine would not have tried to buy Nevada’s house if her motives were pure. Plus a House needs 2 Primes, they both have to be alive to be a house.

            • Clearly not, since Tremaine currently has only one prime – EG – and is still a House.

              The two prime rule appears to only apply when establishing a House, not maintaining one. And, frankly, I don’t see why buying her mortgage would be problematic in terms of “pure” motives – Rogan did. EG could have tried to buy it for exactly the same reasons Rogan bought it.

            • Really? I thought that it was stated that family can become House if there are at least two Primes in three generations. I am not sure if there was a “must be alive at the present time” rule.
              Am I wrong?

            • I don’t think they have to have 2 Primes alive at the same time. Just 2 in 3 generations.

            • I think that you need two primes in 3 generations to maintain a House status. But you also need two alive Primes to create the House (then, you could be the only Prime in your House after that)

      • It sounds like the Assembly doesn’t get to vote, since Augustine said tests had to be given. If the tests are passed, the House is born, imo. Tremayne could say something, probably, but she wouldn’t get away with lying and Penelope likes her “happy place”.

  5. Nevada’s sisters!!

    If what Catalina does is so rare that no one knows what it is, how do they know that she is a prime? (did not see the prime-thing coming btw – wonder what evil grandma (EG™) did to their father!)

    And what the hell is Arabella?! When Nevada is dueling with Olivia and she sort of sees everyone as colors (Catalina’s being similar to hers so I guess it’s because their magic is alike, Nevada being a truthteller and Catalina changing the ‘truths’ of the people she affects?) and Bella’s is different from the others. Wonder why EG™ would put her in a cage. Your ideas?

    • I think she is a shapeshifter. She shifts into something big and wild – thus the putting into a cage threat…

      • Yes, shapeshifter. Also, she kept having to ask the wall hole to be bigger at the compound for escape. large animal for sure. Dragon?

    • I don’t think Catalina is the Prime, I think Arabella is. Whatever Arabella’s magic is, I agree with Norbert, it must be a true transmutation as opposed to an illusion.

    • I agree with the shapeshifter theory.

      I guess that they think Catalina is a prime because of the scale and intensity of her ability, as we see in action.

      I wonder if Arabella also is a Prime. She seems to need quite a big hole to run away. Or maybe her talent is so strange that they can’t even rank her.

      • I too think it’s about the strength of Catalina’s gift. Long after she had escaped, the soldiers were still searching and crying for her. That shows her ability is possibly permanent (with enough time).

    • My guess is that being a Prime is based upon the ‘magical reserves’ that the mage has.

      This might also explain the difference in both output and resistance to the shockers that Nevada uses – when powered by the increased magical reserves of a higher class (AVG, Significant, Prime) user they do more damage and when used against less powerful classes of mages they do less damaged.

      This might explain how someone like Olivia Charles was tested as a Prime psyionic when she was really a Prime manipulator. She tested as having Prime level power/magical reserves and she was able to use enough psyionic ability to convince people that was her primary ability when it was really just her secondary ability (powered by vast magical reserves).

      • This is an interesting theory and would explain alot, but what about David Howling or other Dark Horses? How would they hide their power level?

        Maybe Olivia was able to pull it off because manipulation and psionics were two branches of the same classification?

        • it was said that David the level testing for the fuegerkinetic power several times suggesting the test does not test your magic level in general but is related to your type of magic. so if he was tested for the ice mage skill set, he could hide his power level

    • Catalina is a prime because she is able to affect a large number of people. She even affected Augustine and Rogan to some degree.

      I need re read the battle scene to see arabela.

      • Maybe Arabella justs needs a big hole so there is a lot of choice for her and Catalina’s exit? Arabella doesn’t have to be super huge when running off with Catalina.

  6. Will the next book give more explanation about the powers of Bern, Catalina, Arabella, and Leon? Can you give us a hint as to the extent of Catalina’s powers? Arabella’s?

  7. Will Nevada have a talk soon with Leon about his ability?? I stayed up late finishing the book. hope I didn’t miss reading it.
    Also, will we see more of Michael Latimer? He seemed an interesting character.

      • He cared too much about some random girl he didn’t know being abused to be a person that doesn’t care how many people he kills for power.

        • Im not sure whatever Caesar they have know they’re going to be Caesar. I was thinking Micheal Latimer too, just because it doesn’t make sense to me why he was introduced in the series otherwise. I think he will get a much bigger role in WF.

      • I’m thinking Caesar is probably someone we’ve already “met”. Maybe the super nice older guy from the Assembly who offered condolences to Cornelius?!

        • My thought also. He comes from an old family, he is respected, and even if he is sincere in his condolences it does not mean he had nothing to do with Nari’s murder.

          Also the ice mage says that their Caesar is a man of honor. And to quote what Cornelius tells Nevada.

          “Linus Duncan,” Cornelius said. “Very old, very powerful House. He used to be the Speaker of the Upper Chamber. The most powerful man in Houston. Until they drove him out.”

          “Why?”

          “Because he was honest and he tried to change the Assembly for the better,” Cornelius said.

          • I thought the same thing! I’m think Linus Duncan has decided that, since working within the system to change the Assembly hasn’t worked, he will change it from without, by any means necessary.

          • Actually, the ice mage said “…our Caesar is beyond reproach. A person of true honor.”

            Nowhere does it say that Caesar is a man. I like Linus Duncan for it, but it could easily be Leonora Jordan, who people see as a beacon of justice. We don’t know enough about her to know if she would be willing to “break a few eggs” for the greater good. If a little chaos now were needed to usher in a new era of order and justice?

            • Wow that one did not occur to me. I am leaning towards the Latimer character and wondering how the number and card will come into play

              • I was leaning towards Michael Latimer too (and for no justified reason). Just because the Scorpion Force (was it their name ? the attackers during the night) was South Africa Special Force and the bell kept ringing when I was looking at the words “American African” (Latimer is an American African…). And also because… I have a bad feeling about this guy : he was odd to me, with his kindness and worries, then, Augustine deemed him powerful and dangereous and he was surprized that Latimer cared about such things, and the fact that he was supposed to be in France…. France ._. Jules César VS Vercingétorix ? Siege of Alesia ???

                But Linus Duncan seems to fit too (he has a motive at least ?).
                And Lenora, I so hope it’s not her…. It will be tough for Nevada but a so good plot twist

            • I thought the exact same thing. We’ve seen Lenora described as a slave to justice and difficult to corrupt. She’s been in all the books tangentially and Howling says their Caeser is “A person of true honor.” I am reasonably confident that it’s her

            • I tagged Lenora for this, too. Could be wrong, but in the first, she allowed the part of the artifact to be captured (and it’s never discussed how that even happened), and in White Hot she sends the SWAT team in early. It’s enough to make me at least consider her.

            • Lenora was my pick reading the book. TBH, I didn’t even consider any of the others mentioned here, but they could be a possibility.

              • But Lenora did order the evacuation of downtown Houston in BFM. I think Pierce’s plan involved mass murder.

                • But did she order the evacuation knowing most would go into the tunnels where they would either fry or suffocate?

            • Not only that but the guy talking (the Ice Mage) has a really warped perspective on things. So…is the person truly honorable or just honorable in the revolutionary sense. I’m not sure we have met their Caeser yet.

            • I assumed that the hand with the gold ring on the index finger from the Magic frat society in BFM (Animateur Mage trying to kill Rogan with crap and nicking part of the magic amulett outside of Leonora’s office) was Caesar’s hand, and Nevada confirmed it was male.

          • That scene totally came to mind as David talked about Ceasar, but Lenora is a huge possibility (I hope not-I like how she was Nevada’s ideal when she was younger).

        • My guess is that “Caesar” is Lenora…

          BTW, since we’re in Spoilers: any one know why Dali was Kate’s bridesmaid instead of Andrea?

            • Tradition. This has been answered before.

              The bridesmaid isn’t meant to be married yet.

              • Marriage status has nothing to do with it. When the bride’s attendant is married, she is called the “matron of honor” instead of the “maid of honor.”

        • My guess for Ceasar is the DA, Nevada’s hero whose name I am currently blanking on.

      • I wondered if the older guy in the beginning that gave his condolences to Cornelius in the elevator on the way to the Assembly is Caesar? It just seemed to be a detailed description and scene to me if he was just a tertiary character.

          • I assumed Caesar was evil grandma. I don’t think they ever state it’s a male. And with her mental powers I assumed she could instill that adoration factor.

            • I too thought it might be Leonora, but now thinking about the adoration factor, it sounds more like a a power Evil Grandma might have.

              • Which would kind of go with Catalina’s gift of inspiring love. I thought it might be the the ex-head of the assembly guy, but if we have only the one last book we then have 2 major plot lines to resolve: Grandmother Tremaine and who is Caesar and how to put a stop to him/her. Would one book be enough for two such major stories? Of course it would, I trust the Authorlords to deal with both in a satisfactory way, but I have to say that I am leaning towards Tremaine/Caesar being one and the same.

                Mind you, we know what happened to the original Caesar, will the new Caesar’s allies turn on him/her as well?

                • Granny as Caesar seems a good guess, remember Augustine’s speech about how she was respected by all the houses and even his Mother would have her to lunch Plus that gives us one villain in two parts, otherwise it would be hard to finish story line. The dangerous man who offered Nevada help at the party is also suspect. Why spend so much time talking about him if he was not to be a player. Being sincere in his desire to help could hint at his sincerity to overthrow current house status for the greater good. Throughout history many atrocities have been committed for the greater good. 🙁

            • I don’t think so. It is someone from Houston. Evil grandmother is from out of state. She is only there to try to find Nevada.

      • I don’t think he’s Caesar, but I definitely think we’ll see more of him, and he’ll rally around Nevada because she fights for truth and justice. In that scene between them, I loved that Nevada thanked him (for his concern) on behalf of all women. <3

      • Am I the only one thinking Caesar is probably the EG. Why not she’s old, evil and a big powerful bitch. They could be following her if her power is similar to Nevada/Catalina combined. I could see the daughters fighting for the justice of their father like a true paladin.

        • EG is old and has no heir (until now). Why would she be trying to upset the established order? What could she gain?

      • Same!!! Especially since they all thought he’d be out of the country. But then later, I kept giving Cornelius the squint eye. Because mysterious bags and the NAME. He wouldn’t be the first person in this world to throw a family member under a bus for power *ponders*

        • If Cornelius had that many followers and that much power, his wife would not have been murdered, and he would have gone straight for the kill of the perpetrator, not involved Nevada at all. He is one of the good guys who I could see in a spin off.

        • The bags were food for rats and his true surname explains his control over rats, no ?
          Plus, there’s the bond thing (and it seems quite powerful and rare). I think he truely loves his wife, he was not eating, not sleeping, so into his revenge… If he’s a bad guy, he’s one hell of an actor (and think about Mathilda Oo’)

        • not my baby Cornelius.
          He is my Preciousssss..!! N he is so sweet with his animals.. No way, no how…
          If this happens…AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

          Sorry. I am very protective of him.

          • Also he is not a big person in the House Political drama. His family is kinda estranged. He doesn’t have much of a social standing and his grief was genuine.. Hello, Nevada Baylor is a truth seeker. He can’t lie to her.
            Cesar is above reproach. yes. But nobody gives a damn about Cornelius Harrison in this book.

    • I was wondering if Lenora Jordan was Caesar…. Nevada’s been wrong about people before.

      • That was my thought too, it was mentioned that Caesar was someone everyone would trust in an emergency. Lenora Jordan fits the bill and she is a fanatic for justice, which could go overboard.

        • While I was reading I was thinking of Lenora too because it would be a good emotional punch and the gender is carefully not said. But now thinking about it, it seems a little too obvious and sad. She is the good guy in a clear manner I lean more towards Linus Duncan as a disenfranchised “good guy”. I think it is interested that all of these bad people so revere Casear. Makes me think there is something more to him to inspire it. I can’t see David or Olivia honestly and selfishly working for the greater good.

      • I go back and forth about Lenora being Caesar. It would break Nevada’s heart, which happens a lot lately.

    • I’m with Kim R wondering about Leon and his ability. I’m waiting for Wildfire to hear Nevada’s conversation with Leon. Now that she let the cat out of the bag about her sisters, Leon can’t be far behind.

  8. I’m wondering about Leon and his emerging power. Given how delicate Bug was about showing Nevada what was happening, I’m wondering if he’s going to wind up being a Swarmer. Considering his reaction to finding out that they still owe over a million dollars, it could be his big gesture to get the family out of debt. Sign up to the military and volunteer in return for a lump sum payment to the family.

    • But those swarmers don’t have a long life expectancy 🙁 I don’t think the Baylors would be OK with that

    • Why would he consent (or even wish) to become a swarmer, when he already has his own magic ability?

      • Interesting point. I had assumed that swarmers already had a talent in that direction which was enhanced by the addition of the swarm (or whatever it is). Now that you’ve pointed it out, I’m wondering if this has ever been spelled out i either book. I may have to go back and read them again 😀

        • If I remember correctly Bug got his ability by being bound to a swarm, something they had pulled out of the arcane realm…

          • It isn’t mentioned if Bug had a previous power, only that the swarm he is bound to makes him able to split his attention.

          • But what if Bug’s inherent magical ability is what has allowed him to survive past the 2 years most swarmers live? I could see Leon choosing to follow this path and not telling the family until afterwards. Especially if Leon’s magic aligns with that of the swarms enough to not be overwhelmed/overpowered by the swarm.

            • I don’t understand why you guys think that Leon would become a swarmer…
              Their mortgage is in Rogan’s hand so there is not really a high pressure on it (and one million is actually nothing when you’re a Prime or if you become a House or if you’re force to get into the Evil Grandma’s house). I didn’t get what Leon’s power is but Nevada hasn’t put a name into it yet (she just knew what it was and that he would be coveted by a lot of people). But Bug’s is like a friend and this matter is quite important (giving the nature of the power) so maybe, he was just acting like a friend and telling her his discovery with proofs (telling Leon that he has X power when it turnswithout being 100% sure is cruel since he was waited so long for it to manifest itself)

      • It also seems that it’d be a little irresponsible to waste such a talent to the possibility of it getting over powered by a swarm. His talent alone would be very useful in combat situations and, as it has never been recorded, the military would probably try to woo him like they did Rogan when he was younger.

        • I’m confused about Leon’s magic. If he sees who will get shot next in a split second, there’s no time to warn anyone, it seems to me. And constantly telling people to shift left or right in battle doesn’t seem practical.

      • They mentioned in the first book that most people who choose to be swarmers have an illness and/or need money for their families, so they volunteer. No idea which yet for Bug.

    • If he has the ability to do what Bug does without being bound to a swarm, Rogan will snap him up in a heartbeat. Bug’s comment to Nevada about not keeping Leon from doing what he wants to do or it will drive him crazy and then the battle with Leon’s commentary makes me ponder Leon’s magic. Rogan pointed it out after the battle what Leon did, and asked how did Leon know where the bad guys were to shoot. Hmmm…..let the pondering begin. 🙂

      • I thought Bug pointed it out, and Rogan said he might be interested in Leon in about 3 years. Nevada was very much against Rogan’s suggestion.

      • I wondered if Leon is a sharpshooter prime or something, and his only option is to become an assassin.

        • I’m wondering if it’s some sort of precog/battle strategy combination at a high enough level that with practice he can anticipate an enemy attack and counter it. Agree Rogan will bring him into the business

        • Yeah, so he could work with the person he seems to admire so much xD He might not be rich, he might not be able to destroy cities, he might not be able to sing as well as Rogan, but he might be a badass fighter or strategist (I don’t know). It would be like fulfilling a wish for him, being able to be near his star *laughing*

  9. Wondering about Cornelius, what is the significance of his family’s magic predating the Osiris serum? Is he secretly a prime? In the first book, he says to Nevada that he can’t summon a stampede, but then he summons a whole dang swarm of rats.

    • The Piper of Hamelin. It’s an old fable of a piper who comes into town overrun by rats and says he can get rid of all their rats for a fee. And he does, he pipes a magical tune and the rats follow him to the river and drown. But then the townsfolk won’t pay him. So he pipes out all of their children to follow him away. So Cornelius is saying that his family is descended from the Piper of Hamelin and already had this power even before the Osiris serum came out, they just kept it a family secret.

      • Head cannon. So its old magic like the item of power from the 1st book. Hate that there is only 3 books. The fact magic is being reveled as older than the serum is so interesting

      • Gotcha! Now that you say it I remember that small detail. I listened to the audio book version since I don’t have time to read at home with my toddler, but I have desk job so I can listen all I want. It does make it a little more difficult to remember those details, and it’s not as easy to flip back, but I take what I can get lol

    • I think it may have to do with “bonding”. He fed the rats for the entirety of his stay at the warehouse so they listened to him. He’s emotionally attached to all of his animals.

  10. Am assuming Arabella transforms into some kick ass terrifying ‘demon’ alternate shape. When Augustine gave an illusion of a demon, Arabella laughed. To me that sounded like, ‘oh that’s a cute impersonation – wanna see the real thing’, but Nevada cut her off. Also interested in finding out more of Catalina’s ‘love’ powers. Extremely interesting and can definitely see the advantages and VERY dangerous disadvantages attached. That would account for why she’d need Arabella to get her out of Dodge. Nevada’s dual ability makes sense and would be quite handy given the potential dangers she would be facing in the next book. So much more to analyse – going back for a re-read.

  11. I have a theory on Arabella. When Nevada killed the “demon” then they asked Augustine if he knew who he was and he changed into it, Arabella laughed in a “ha ha isn’t he cute thinking he’s a bad@$$” way I read that as she’s actually scarier than him with her magic. Then when they found the entranced guards roaming the forest talking about a giant thing stealing the girl that further confirmed it. Now I just want to know what she actually does/transforms in to.

      • I feel like there was a scene where Nevada made mention of questioning Augustine’s Prime status. But now I can’t find it in the book. But if having a physical manifestation (like the feel of fire) isn’t a Prime ability, it’s Significant, then Arabella would be a Prime. Or there’s a new classification above Prime. Or I’m nuts and that scene never took place haha

        • What I understood is that after a certain level they are classified as prime and that there is no top limit of what a prime can be. Look at Rogan, he is a prime but the amount of power he has freaks out other primes.

  12. I would think that Leon would make a good sniper + minor precog (how else did he get a bad feeling that Rogan and Nevada would be attacked in Houston?)– he spots the all the potential targets and plots an appropriate kill pattern. It makes sense that he’s obsessed with guns — they’d be a natural extension of seeing what he could do. ALSO I’m so so glad that Nevada’s mom had a talk with all of them to have them figure out where their lines were, before we find out what Leon can actually do. It won’t be pretty.

    I’m actually of the thought that Arabella is some kind of wendigo or something – not of the mind magics family at all – cages were mentioned too often for that to not be true.

    I really really want the next book already. How will Nevada deal with the ex? Is the ex in on it? Will we see Latimer? (and how will Latimer react to Rynda?) Are there going to be follow up stories of the sisters? Can Catalina ever find love, given she’s basically the Mother Confessor and the only people immune to her power love her completely already?

    ALSO I’m really hoping that if Rogan and Nevada have little bitty primes, the telekinetics go to House Rogan and the will-based ones go to House Baylor, and the two Houses are basically tied together.

    Anyone else for Evil Grandma as Caesar? After all, Catalina’s love-me powers have to come from somewhere, right? Right?

      • Pretty massive age gap, don’t you think? Though I guess it could work in a sequel series with a massive time jump.

        Still – I love how IA can make me love with characters that I’d hate from any other author. Too good-looking, ruthless, profit-hungry, polite-on-the-surface, tried to blatantly exploit the heroine – and yet I really like Augustine.

        • Related note:

          Anyone happen to know how old the characters are?
          Nevada — 25
          Rogan — ?
          Augustine — ?
          Arabella — 15
          Catalina — 17
          Bern — ? (21?)
          Leon — 16
          Penelope — ?
          Cornelius — ?
          Matilda — 4
          Grandma Afram — 73
          Leonora — ?
          Grandma Tremaine — ? (70s)
          …am I forgetting anyone?

          • – Rogan’s senior year of college was at age 19, spent 6 years in the military, and been out of the military “4 years and 8 months” as of Burn for Me, = about age 30
            – Augustine was in same college class, but may well be 2-3 years older.
            – Grandma Frida was 72 in White Hot (Nevada’s POV), although Rogan did call her 73 with an aging tank (but not to Grandma’s face!), if she had a birthday I missed it
            – Lenora is in her “late thirties” or “about forty” from Nevada’s point of view (of course a mere man would probably recognize that there is a world of difference in those two estimates)

          • Rogan is 30 (Rynda Charles is 29 in the snippet of Wildfire, and we know from White Hot she is a year younger than him)
            Augustine is around his age – but if Rogan cooked the pancakes for his initiation in the frat, does this mean Augustine is younger than him?
            Bern is 19 I think
            Leon 15, if I remember right from Burn from me
            Penelope should be 45 – she had Nevada at 20
            Cornelius I am a bit unsure. Adam Pierce was 24 in Burn for me, if I remember right, and since Cornelius was his boyhood companion, I thought they should be around the same age, but in White Hot he’s described as in his late 20’s.

      • But what does Augustine REALLY look like? Horribly scarred, or just 8 out of 10?

      • I wonder how he looks like beneath the glamor. Not crazy about their age difference though.

        • In the real world there are relationships with bigger age gaps that are happy and last a lifetime no matter whether a male or female is the older (just look at the current French President for an example). Personally, I think it matters more whether the individuals have a chance to work at building a partnership than how different their ages are. My question would be is Catalina mature enough and know herself well enough to be an equal partner with anyone, regardless of age difference…

      • How about Cornelius thinking Catalina is shy, hardly said a word to him in the week he and Matilda stayed as house guest, even though it seems Catalina enjoyed taking care of Matilda (or other clients’ kids for that matter). Uncharacteristic of Catalina? Scared she might unconsciously her your power? 🙂 Hehehe. Joke. Don’t take this seriously.

        Actually, imagine a teenager having Catalina’s power and then having a big crush on someone, yikes talk about great responsibility. 🙂

        • I figure she gets a book of her own all about how she doesn’t know if love is true when she can make anyone love her with her magic. Remember these are in the romance section.

      • I am so glad I am not the only one low key shipping Agustine and Arabella… despite the massive age gap ahah

        • Ditto ! Augustine comes accross as a cold manipulator, but over-confident and somewhat clueless about emotions (In White Hot for ex, he’s oblivious to the fact he’s entering a house he tried to seize; he doesn’t get anyone in there could hold a grudge…) I’d looooooove to see someone like Arabella (In some years) be the brick wall that gets his attention ~

        • My husband and I are 12 years apart in age and married 34 years hoping to have 34 more years! The younger person just had to be old enough to know there own mi nd (which I think is abomiss to late 20s). You love who you love!

    • Lenora Jordan has to be the Caesar. Unimpeachable character, someone the public will trust to hold things together when it all hits the fan…

      Plus Nevada’s hero-worship thing.

      Classic set-up there.

        • I like this theory, too, especially as I feel it has to be someone we have already encountered!

        • I’d argue against Lenora for three sets of reasons:

          1) Practical: If she was Caesar, then the plan to disrupt and discredit current law enforcement by revealing their incompetence in the matter of the dead senator, she could easily have made original plan work despite the protagonists’ best efforts simply by leaking the video early.

          And back in the first book, after the fight where the gen got stolen straight out of her office and Rogan was injured, I don’t think she’d have encouraged Nevada to drag Rogan to the hospital as strongly or subtly as she did.
          2) Professional: Unlike the other Caesar suspects I’ve seen suggested, Lenora is a person who believes (and is correct to believe) that she can enact meaningful change in the system. She’s in a position of power and influence already, she doesn’t need to overturn the apple cart. I also think her sense of justice would abhor the kind of collateral damage Caesar’s crowd delights in.
          3) Personal: I like the character and don’t want it to be her.

          • I completely agree with your reasons and believe that Lenora can’t be Caesar. Not to mention: Lenora knew about that final mission to kill Olivia Charles in the end of WHITE HOT in that secret HQ. Caesar would have warned them to get out of that place. There’s no way that it can be her. Nevada’s spent enough time to have caught insincerity in wanting to catch Pierce, for example.

            • Yeah, but I think, in a masterminds point of view, Olivia Charles and the camp was already compromised. Rogan and the gang already figured them out and their identity, so I think it is easier to cut her losses and go along Rogan’s plan so they woudn’t suspect her and at the same time, she doesn’t have to do anything to “dispose” them. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.
              And I always wondered, don’t you think they infiltrated the enemies’ camp a little too easily? I was actually expecting a little more bloodshed than that. So, maybe Ceasar already abandoned them and offer them for “slaughter”.

              • Your hitting two birds with one stone makes sense =O
                But didn’t they infiltrate the ennemy camp so easily because of Catalina ? (the point of her being there…).

            • Also, in the first book, Lenora had the artifact piece and it was “taken” – that’s never really addressed. In the second, she sends the SWAT team in early. That’s something to consider.

              • Rogan knew beforehand that the artifact would be stolen (just before they were attacked) and that it was safer with him so I didn’t really question that point. I just assumed that Lenora’s vault is not that secured, at least, not as secured as Rogan’s one
                But the SWAT team was weird

          • I agree. It seems to me that both the Pierce situation and the events of this book were originally designed to make her office, and her, look incompetent. If she were Caesar, she’d be stupid to use plans that could hurt her reputation, she would need it at the endgame. Her reputation is a threat to their plans and that is why they were designed as they were.

          • I agree too. I have someone in mind, and this is so far left field that it may not happen. What about Olivia’s son-in-law being Caesar? I read the Wildfire excerpt after White Hot, and he’s missing. Olivia’s daughter goes to Nevada for help after everyone turns her down. Just speculation on my part.

      • Lenora was also on my list of possibilities. I feel like it should be someone we’ve met already. Linus Duncan was also a possibility since he made a brief appearance for no obvious reason. I wondered if this Caesar could have an ability like Cataline’s that made people adore him. (Makes me think of the Graceling books).

        • “I wondered if this Caesar could have an ability like Cataline’s that made people adore him”. I like that thought. Mainly because after Catalina’s power was revealed, I was like “Hum. Then just put Catalina in front of Caesar when they discover his true identity and in 3 seconds, the great evil is beneath her feet, loving her”. So.. If Caesar has a power ability related to Catalina, he might be able to do something against it

      • Thank you! I’ve been waiting for someone to say that. To me the whole hero thing really sets her up for a big fall from grace in Nevada’s eyes. She also seem like someone who would want to take down the magic status quo and someone who would inspire adoration in others like she does in Nevada. She would be trusted to take over if something happened to the city. It is also convenient that Nevada and Rogan get attacked every time they visit her.

        • I hadn’t thought of the attack thing, good point! Also, there seem to be an awful lot of leaks from the DA’s office that could come from Lenora trying to manipulate the situation without blowing her cover.

      • I’ve been wondering about Lenora ever since Adam was able to retrieve the 3rd section of the eye from Lenora’s office. If she’s as powerful as we are led to believe why did she let that happen?

      • I think Caesar would have to have a power like Catalina to inspire his People So thoroughly. Therefore hè/she might be another experiment from house Tremaine (or another truthseeker family), since Catalina’s magic has the same Color as Nevada’s. And Nevada’s magic comes from house Tremaine

      • Is it possible that the “every Rome has its Caesar” comment was literal? There was a Caesar Costas in the first book who hexed the Emmons’. Someone also hexed Olivia Charles. I got the impression that it took great skill to hex someone and that not many people could do it.

    • Oooh good call! They mention how everyone seemed to love and revere Caesar but just followed orders from Olivia. That’s a good point.

    • Ooh, good point about Catalina’s power coming from somewhere and the tie-in to Grandma. Wow, layers upon layers. This series is turning into an onion. Subtle.

    • Is your Mother Confessor reference a Sword of Truth reference or something different? Because Terry Goodkind’s Mother Confessors aren’t loved, they’re feared. And their powers more closely align with Nevada’s Truthseeker powers.

      • Side note: The same thing occurred to me as I was reading!! In that scene when Nevada feels so alone because she is feared by everyone around her — really brought back the role of Mother Confessors in The Sword of Truth series to me. (Especially given the “sword of truth” + “seeker of the truth” combo, and how the Seeker is the guardian of the Confessor…right? May not be remembering this correctly — read the books AWHILE ago!) In any case, such a coincidence! (Or was it…?!?)

      • But the reason Terry Goodkind’s Confessors were feared was because they could make you love them so unconditionally and so completely that you would say or do anything to please them. Which is much like Catalina’s power to compel love.

        Not saying that there aren’t parallels between the Mother Confessor and Nevada (there are!), but I can also see why someone drew the connection with Catalina’s power to compel love.

  13. Loved this book! Especially love the interactions between all the characters and how everyone is built on, and how much effort Nevada put into her own skill building between books. I felt like the powers for the cousins/sisters were a little out of the left field – I guess I hadn’t expected them all to be such big magic players since the only one really discussed in Burn for Me other than Nevada was Bern. Looking forward to seeing what they do in House Baylor, or if they’ll somehow take over House Tremaine.

    Side note – is anyone else highly suspicious of Rynda Charles? I wonder if Nevada is finally meeting her match in someone who can trick her previously unparalleled lie detector skills.

    • Yeah I felt like the powers were out of left field too. I need to go back and reread bc I don’t remember them talking about any of the kids powers, just the adults like her mom.

      • I agree with this feeling. We’re assuming Catalina is the other Prime? (I don’t remember if Nevada actually SAYS she is.) I’m having a hard time reconciling Nevada’s “distaste” for Primes with knowing her sister is one. And where would the transformative magic from Arabella come from? I’m thinking it has to be more illusion, like with Augustine, since her parents’ lines are mind magic types.

        • Catalina announced that she is a Prime to Nevada, who replied back that she was as well. This was when she was talking Nevada into letting her go on the raid.

          • I’m coming, Nevada. You can’t stop me.”
            “Yes, I can. You’re a minor.”
            Catalina raised her chin. “I’m a Prime.”
            “So am I.”
            “Yes, Yes, we’re all special,” Arabella said. 🙂 🙂 🙂

            Arabella will be so BFF with Julie Lennart.

        • Nevada just said there was “more than one” living Prime in her immediate family. I don’t recall that she ever specified how many more than one. 🙂 All the Baylor family abilities seem to be really strong, so I wouldn’t be surprised to discover (hopefully in Wildfire) that there are multiple Prime and/or Significant level Baylors. Which would be kind of a kick in the butt to the Houses, since for all their selective breeding they don’t seem to be able to produce more than 1 or 2 Primes in a generation.

          I think Nevada’s distaste for Primes has more to do with the lifestyle, expectations, worldview, sense of entitlement, etc. of the majority of Primes, and with House politics, than with the level of power. After all, she idolizes Lenora Jordan and I’m pretty sure she is a Prime.

        • We don’t know for sure about Grandma Frida or what was done to create James Baylor.

      • Same. Was a little off for me. Hope we get more development of the younglings powers in the next book!

      • I think there was really not much space in the first book to expound on the magical abilities of Nevada’s sisters and cousins, with all the world building and introduction going on. The second book was really the perfect place to develop the secondary characters. Besides, the series is named the “Hidden Legacy” right? Which is, almost certainly now, referring to the Prime heritage of the Baylor sisters from their paternal grandma. You can’t reveal those hidden legacies in the first book. 🙂

        • I just assumed “Hidden Legacy” had to do with the fact that they know nothing about their fathers family. The business was their father’s legacy, but the hidden legacy was strong magic. We now know who their other grandmother is, and that she is a prime truthteller and head of a house. But there is still the exact circumstances of his birth. There was some pretty hardcore foreshadowing that it will be significant, and may explain Arebella’s left field power.

      • In the first book when they are at dinner, talking about Arabella pulling on that other kids jersey. Nevada mentions at least no one got hurt. I took that to mean Arabella, who doesn’t sound very big can hurt someone pretty severely. Then later on she mentions that Arabella is really strong. So I just assumed she had magic. And since the rest of the family does I concluded that Catalina probably did too. As far as her problem with primes, I just assumed that’s like most idealists, dreaming of fairness. After all, let’s face it, if Elon Musk was poor and this was 50 years ago, and acted half as crazy as he does sometimes, well people would want to commit him. He’s just lucky this is the age of the geek. Like my mom says, there is no fair.

        • Actually, as I was told by a wise person, ” there are only two kinds of fair in this world – state and county”. Then she proceeded to tell me to wrap my head around it and move on….she was a good friend.

    • Here’s the thing- nevadas mom said the grandmother did stuff to try and get a magical child, but her son, nevadas dad, had no magic. I think they genetically tinkered with him, and while he never presented with magic, his genetic line all presented as Primes. Rogan even mentions how there is all kind of testing to see who would be a match for your child. She probably took it further and had illegal genetic testing done. Just a thought I had since it seems it would be unheard of for every child to have such strong magic.

      • It is mentioned that certain gene lines don’t mesh well. So if you have too many different skills overlapping they may end up suppressing each other. Once the genes independently sort in the kids, then you end up with weird new powers.

        • So this begs the question: what the heck is going on in Gandma Frida’s line? Because Leon also has this crazy what-the-fuckery (in Bug’s description) going on. So the random talents are coming from Grandma Frida’s genes too. Is it something from her time in the military? Was there genetic manipulation from both sides of the family?

          • I think the military tradition plays into Grandma Frida’s line. One uncle shot well under stress. Mom is a sniper. Grandma taps into weaponized machines. So I’ll bet whatever Leon has ties into that somehow.

            • My take is that Leon takes after Grandpa Leon (and Nevada’s 2nd power) and just ups the power level. So if they were Normal, he’d be at least Significant.

              • In the FAQ for Hidden Legacy it is stated that Bernard & Leon’s magic take after Grandma Frida (this may have changed since the writing of the faq though) I’m more worried about Leon’s moral flexibility that Rogan mentions – it reminds me of the assassin character in Grosse Pointe Blank.

                “9. How come Magic in the Baylor family appears in so many forms?
                You’ll just have to read and find out. I can tell you that Penelope shares magic with her father. Grandma Frida’s husband was a sharpshooter. Penelope’s sister also has the sniper magic, but a different variation of it. Grandma Frida’s talent skipped a generation and returned in Bernard and Leon. Their computer magic is a variant of Grandma Frida’s bond with all things mechanical.”

                • Would anyone please spell out what is Leon’s moral flexibility in from their viewpoints?

                  Also, does Leon’s running commentary about the people who were about to die in battle have any relationship to what the people themselves were actually like?

                  • To me, his moral flexibility lies in the fact that he can narrate their death in a humorous way while not seemingly affected by it. Just think, this is a 16 y/o making fun of people dying in pretty bloody ways.

                    • Okay. Agreed the lack of empathy, and bent toward expedient solutions Leon shows before Penelope gives the what makes a man speech is disturbing. Stunted empathy? The word flexible just bugs me.

        • That, right there, is why Rogan suggests that if Nevada forms House Baylor, they should break off their relationship. How advanced are birth technologies in this world? I can imagine Nevada carrying a clone of Rogan, and then one of her, so their houses would have another generation of guaranteed primes. I can’t imagine that she would agree to break off relations with someone she loves. As long as she could have children who were going to have the required amount of magic, there would be no need to do something that traumatic.

          • I haven’t seen anything in the books so far to suggest that they have highly advanced medical technology such human cloning.

            • Evil Grandma used some sort of technology to have James — and it’s implied he was a genetic construct of some sort, which is a LOT more advanced than simple cloning.

          • I don’t think Nevada would care about the rank of her child’s magic. And Rogan didn’t lie to her when she asked him her question about loving a child without the Prime rank. The only worries I have are more about the child’s feelings (like Kelly or Harper). And if Nevada makes a House Baylor, there would be enough Primes in it to keep the House status (I think)

          • Did you pay attention to the rubber band theory thing with Nevada and Leon? They are still “close” enough in time to the Osiris serum that many events are still parallel to current technology. Though the United Tribes in Dakotas is a huge change in the timeline, but that was minor detail in book 1.

            So I assume technology is our standard. That would include all medicine. Though a gifted person could be quite useful in an ER.

          • This presupposes they want their House or Houses to continue as Houses after their generation.

      • I thought that too about the paternal grandmother doing genetic tinkering since she had to have done AI with a surrogate since she could not carry a child to term. How ‘unfortunate’ for her that he escaped her custody and successfully escaped her monitoring. But you have to remember that Nevada’s maternal line has magic too. Look at her mother Penolope and grandmother Frida and grandfather Leon. Then look at her mother’s sisters children Bern and Leon who may or may not have been adopted by Baylors after whatever happened to Aunt happened. She might be in jail or she might be elsewhere but Nevada and her sisters love their male cousins like siblings no matter their legal status. Yes, I am curious to see what Catalina and Arabella’s ‘talents’ are but I am sure they are also primes in at least one aspect of their talents. I suspect that Leon is like grandfather Leon was and Rogan’s people would be good trainers for him. Since no one mentions whether he or his brother’s bio fathers were mages, it is difficult to know whether he is a prime or not.

      • It could also be that she had no idea what to look for. Consider Leon’s ability – until this book, and in a specific situation, no one thought he had magic at all. It could be that Nevada’s dad’s magic was like that – something subtle that didn’t trip the triggers for the things evil grandma was trying to find.

        It makes me think of that Xanth novel – A Spell for Chameleon? – in which the main character’s magical ability is that magic can’t harm him. For ages everyone thinks he doesn’t have magic. Like that.

    • Yes. Read Wildfire’s excerpt at the end of White Hot. It gives some information about the next book.

    • I feel that the family’s magic is all out of wack because of the things that EG did to Nevada’s dad.

    • And, thankfully, we only have to wait less than 2 months to find out!!! ;D

  15. Honestly, and this is a long shot, but when Nevada and Cornelius where going to the Assembly and the old prime, Linus Duncan, gets on the elevator and was upset over House Forsberg doing nothing, I had the thought that he could be the mastermind behind it all, the Caesar. Why introduce him otherwise unless he will play a more important role in the next book.

    • Ohhh, I had forgotten that mentioned character. I loves the scenes with everyone wearing Capes!!

    • Linus Duncan would make an excellent puppet-master. No one would suspect him.

      I thought the same. Caesar inspired love and loyalty, and Linus does both. My dark horse pick was Evil Granny.

      We’ll have to wait and see.

      • I don’t think so, because Nevada got the honesty vibe from him when he expressed his condolences to Cornelius…

        • He can be sincere in his condolences and and still have had something to do with it. As long as he doesn’t directly say he had nothing to do with it, it wouldn’t matter.

          As for the Lenora theory, it seems like a long shot to my mind. Otherwise, why would the video have waited for release until they walk into the office, it could’ve been released as soon as she got it and she could’ve claimed her system had been hacked. I would’ve made her look incompetent, but the whole setup was designed to make her look that way. To my mind, Lenora’s as much a target of this conspiracy as Nevada and Rogan, but they don’t need to kill her, but to discredit her. Her reputation is the threat.

          Really looking forward to Wildfire and finding out which theories are correct, if any.

          • So if he believes something whether it is true or not would Nevada sense that as true?

            I am thinking of something from Patricia Briggs where Anna and Charles are discussing Arthur and his delusion that he is the once and future king. I know that is using physiology to determine lies from truth.

            There could be parallels though Nevada has been able to pick up partial truths at least a few times.

            Also the time spent with him was short. He could have felt compassion even when ultimately responsible. Especially if the greater good that he envisions requires the sacrifice. He kind of sounds psychopathic when I put it that way.

            • Well and we know that if someone believes something to be true that Nevada registers it as true.

              I’m thinking of in the prologue how the evil child killer said “I didn’t do anything wrong” and Nevada thought true he really believes that…..

              So that seems to imply that if someone believes something to be true it registers as true.

              • No. The serial killer believes he has done nothing wrong, and that registers as true until she starts asking questions, at which time his answers show as lies.

        • The pedophile also told her the truth when he said he didn’t hurt little kids. HE believed that.

  17. I love White Hot – there are so many great ideas in there! I really liked Rogan buying up the whole neighborhood and turning it into a military camp. I loved the action in general.

    But my favorite scene that hat me laughing out loud was the ferret / badger “Mission Impossible”. I want more of this in the next book!

    Minor gripe: I think Nevada was leveling up a bit fast in this book – on the other hand, she kind of has to if the story arc is to be finished in book three…

    • I know what you mean!! My favorite is when both primes were scoffing the idea that these animals could do anything, but 10 minutes in they are both in their phones making sure it couldn’t happen to them.

      • I about choked on a cup of tea during that scene. My Husband patted my back but said “Don’t you spoil me! I have two other books to finish before I can read this one.”

        Yes, my Hubby reads romance, but ONLY Ilona’s romance books.

        • Yes! While I didn’t sell him on the Romance of the book series, his love for the KD series had him at least giving it a shot. Granted when I told him we had to wait over a year for the 2 and 3, he told me never to do it to him again, where he had to wait so long to continue a story. LOL

        • I Love the scene with Dr. Arias,“You dragged him out. Somehow, you managed to pull him thirty yards across the floor and up two flights of stairs. His back and ass are one long bruise with a helping of concrete road rash, so his dreams of being a nude model are shattered for a while.”

        • This scene – and Augustine being so derisive about being in a Disney movie – was beautiful. I laughed hard at how discomfitted both Augustine and Rogan were, and Nevada is all .. yup. told you so.

        • I got mine hooked on Ilona Andrews first and then Meghan Ciana Doidge while he waited for Ilona Andrews books 🙂

      • Did anyone else die laughing when Rogan picked up his phone and told his security head to put pressure sensors in the dryer vents? ROFL

        I would dearly love to see this whole ferret scene in a movie.

  18. Did anyone else have a problem with the graphic sex scene? I wonder if that’ a mandate from the publishers, that it’s required for their romance line. Otherwise, it just seems out of the blue, and very jarring for the flow of the book. Oh, not that there’s sex, just that it was so very graphic. I don’t have a problem with that, per se, I just wasn’t expecting it for this book. Same for the end of the last Innkeeper book. It didn’t seem in line with the feel of the rest of the book. Or maybe I’m out of line here.

      • And, they were both picking up on feelings from each other, not just during the sex scenes, but also on the cistern and afterwards. Interesting, no?

    • I don’t have a problem with that, I actually enjoyed reading it. I have been waiting for this moment forever so I think it fit well, I’d probably feel disappointed if it had been toned down, it needed to be wild.

    • I thought it was fun.

      Anyone else laugh out loud when Nevada thought “OMG, I may need both hands.”?

      • I wondered afterwards if autorlords sit down and discuss how large certain pieces of anatomy are supposed to be 🙂 Now I am curious about Rogan…

      • I was laughing like a mad girl and suddenly, there was that emergency situation that came out of nowhere and I wanted to shout xD

    • Compared with some other authors it is not THAT graphic; it is only more explicit than in other Ilona Andrews books. I, for one, loved it and I felt the making-out and sex scenes fit well into the flow of the narrative…

      • I though Nevada was having erotic thoughts about Rogan very frequently throughout the book, which is fine, and the final coming together matched that.

    • I felt like their sexual tension was so built up in the first book that it had to be a more graphic sex scene. But yes, overall more explicit than other books – although the Kate and Curran scenes aren’t always super PG either.

    • Nope. I feel their sex scenes are important to the plot. I feel the KD and Curran scene in book 4 was pretty hot, and just like with this one, the readers have been waiting for it to get to that point organically. If their books start turning into LKH, then that’s too much sex.

      • I agree, the buildup required their first sexual “session” to be hot. With what they’ve been through together, and where they are now in their relationship, to have it be any less would have been “off.” Rogan’s ego is off the charts. He’d already insinuated to Nevada she couldn’t handle him. That they finally got together, and it seemed to me, they were on equal ground there, I thought it was exactly what it should be.

        I liked almost as much as the sex scene, that Rogan kissed her in front of her family. That was a big statement for both of them.

      • I can’t see the author’s going LKH. They have far too much imagination to go that road. I agree the sex scenes are part of the story line and not out of place at all.

        • Oh I agree. I wasn’t trying to imply they might go that route. They are so talented and creative. I was just trying to post an example of gratuitous sex, and say that IA books never have it.

      • I don’t see that happening. Lkh turned into plot hunt between sex scenes…. Ilona has more hehe how many twists can I take and ih well its time for them to get together. Far less erotica and mire action adventure

      • Published by Avon, supposed to be a romance. I thought the sex scenes were done tastefully. I don’t hv hormones anymore, so I just skip over that part anyway. LOL.

      • I used to love LKH, but the sex just got out of hand. The books got to sex scenes with a little story to tie them together.

        • Can’t remember what the last LKH book was that had an actual story line to it, seems like aeons ago (sometime before Anita “caught” the ardeur)

          • Crap. I meant to agree about “if they go LKH”, not imply this sex scene was badly written.

        • same here. and then the descriptions of how beautiful everyone was just got ridiculous and so repetitive. and then any pretense at a plot went out the window. I still try to read her stuff, but I get it from the library, and spend most of my time rolling my eyes. it makes me sad.

    • I believe, Ilona mentioned somewhere that Hidden Legacy would be more graphic than other novels of them. I liked it as I liked everything about this book. I’m sooo looking forward to Wildfire. 🙂

    • NO I did not have a problem with sex scene as I thought was natural continuation of story and not out of place. I actually expected it so I was glad to see my expectations met. I have a sib that reads C. Feehan and C. Harber and sends books on to the rest of us sibs. Personally I find those to be graphic sex scenes and soft porn which my sib finds hilarious because I have to flip thru pages to find and pick up story line which I did not have to do here. I have another sib who reads regency romances only and she prefers that I put a post it bookmark at beginning and end of sex scenes so she can just skip those pages when she gets book shipment after me. *grin*
      Personally I enjoy the wit and twists and imagination and word play and character progressions etc in Ilona Andrews works. I also enjoy Gordon’s male POVs as those flesh out the story and sometimes answer things I am wondering about. So, I am patiently waiting on Wildfire (yes I pre-ordered on amazon) to see where Nevada and Rogan’s story goes.

      • Actually, one of the things I liked best about the sex scenes is the emotional feedback-loop they Nevada and Rogan experience, even though I am quite sure I read something along those lines, i.e. the feedback-loop, in another book, just can’t remember where…

        • The “feedback-loop” makes me wonder about Nevada ancient empathy…. It reminded me of Charley and Reyes’ sex scenes from Darynda Jones’s series.

          • Was Nevada supposed to feel the feedback too of the tactile power ? I was a little bit confused about that point (she seems to be really attuned to Rogan and his projections, in an abnormally way. But I just thought that it was because of their feelings towards each other… Now, I’m not so sure)

        • Lindsay Sands’ Argeneau Inmortals series refers to the feedback loop in true mates.

    • I thought they were fun and well done…

      Wonder what will Iron and Magic, (Hugh’s book) will contain if the AL’s already told us “it is a very violent book with a lot of explicit sexual content, because that’s how Hugh rolls.”

  19. Loved the book and re-reading it again. Thank you, thank you, thank you…
    While I love everything that is revealed in the book, I’m curious how the Baylor sisters and Bern have kept their magic hidden. Nevada’s motivation to keep it hidden is she doesn’t want to work as an interrogator for anyone. But teenagers having such cool magic in a world where magic is currency and keeping it hidden is impressive. Especially since they didn’t know about evil grandma.

    • Yes! Especially with how heavily involved with social media they seem to be – Nevada warns them every time not to post things. I can’t imagine how they kept it under wraps.

      • Maybe they didn’t, not completely? Maybe that’s how EG knee so fast which company to try and buy when the business with the mortgage comes up. Remember how they get news at the end about who made the buy attempt? And they hadn’t expected it to be EG.

        • Evidently Rogan’s company had a no-buy note on that mortgage, otherwise Evil Grandma would probably be evicting them immediately.

      • I remember in the first book Nevada recalled that her parents warned her about her magic and the repercussions if people found out about it. When I read about the sisters also having magic, my thought was that they too had been strongly warned about keeping their magic under wraps. As for Bern, I don’t think he’s a prime, he’s just a very good hacker.

      • The line where one of the sisters ends up in a cage sounds like it has been repeated a few times in that household. Catalina on the other hand will get ripped apart if she is to use her magic because she can’t disengage. Bern is not really hiding with his school record being what it is, he probably just never bothered to test his magic level

    • Keep in mind that for Catalina, she has problems “disengaging” the magic and if she uses it too long, the objects of that magic want to literally tear her apart. That’s a pretty big incentive to keep it under wraps.

      Similarly, if Arabella turns into a giant whatever, there’s a real threat of capture and caging – also a good incentive to keep it under wraps.

      Bern doesn’t so much keep it under wraps as… distract people from it by using his insular/introvert geek persona.

      • How do they know about Catalina’s problem with disengaging and the consequences?

        How could practice that safely without anyone knowing?

        Also is there a passive field with her gift? Something that happens without thinking about it?

        • An incidence must have occured in the past, something serious enough that the two little sisters’s powers are so “guarded” by Nevada (it feels like they are not allowed to use their powers for their own protection)
          Nevada praticed her magic on her family (and they go to the length of being knocked into unconsciousness). So maybe, Catalina does the same (We know that Nevada and Arabella are immune to it because they are sisters. But… Are Leon and Bern immune to it ?)

  20. I’m wondering about the binding between spouses. It is mentioned a couple of times.

    • I think this only happens to animal mages. Bc they can’t bond like regular people (I had to go back and reread that part) in book 1 when he discussed his family and their disinterest of him and his life, it makes more sense now.

      • As Rogan explained it, it seems a thing for animal mages. But on the other side, Rogan admits that Nevada was “attuned” to his projections, when she experiences his nightmares.
        And Nevada manages to reach him during the Ascension at the end of Burn for me, a thing that not even Rogan’s mother, a Prime telepath, could do, according to evil cousin Kelly.

      • In the Wildfire teaser chapter, Rynda says of her husband, “We are bound, he and I.” So if the phrase has an additional meaning, it is not just the animal mages.

        • It would kinda makes sense for Rynda to be able to have a binding with her husband because she’s an empath. The animal mages’ binding is kind of like empathy.

    • I wondered about that too. It seems like something between primes. Somehow Nevada has become attuned to Rogan.

      • I noticed that Nevada experienced Rogans feelings in the sex scene.. so I guess they did bond- maybe a sideline of the telepathic abilities both have.

        • Rogan picked up on Nevada’s thoughts about him being a dragon, and Nevada had a dream about the cave in either in South America or Mexico (can’t remember which one). So…..they are bonding or have bonded.

          • Though in Burn for Me, he said that he can’t read thoughts though he usually doesn’t need to.

            Then in White Hot Nevada warns Cornelius that he can and then Rogan reads dragons from Nevada.

            • Oh yeah, and when she thinks of dragons and peasants he clicks his teeth. I lost it.

  21. If the trilogy won’t end as such, will there be books from Arabella, Catalina, Bern and Leon’s POVs? I’d love to have each of them getting a book or series.

  22. So many good point you all make! I am now slightly embarrassed I took ‘dual’ as in to HAVE a dual ?. Oops.

    I loved all the talent reveals so much. I also wondered if Evil Grandmother’s messing with her son’s mind when he was young led eventually to his brain cancer which may motivate / empower Nevada to destroy her Grandmother. Otherwise I can’t see how Nevada will face Tremaine and her talents though Nevada always comes up with surprising solutions.

    The book has entirely been worth the wait and we are lucky that the next is coming so soon ?

    • I didn’t think he had brain cancer — i thought it was nerves along the spine. Still I could see her fiddling with him — possibly even whatever it was to get him to be born — having caused the issue and fuel Nevada

    • I’m pretty sure the prospect of killing of Frida and Penelope, enslavement of Catalina and putting Arabella in a cage have Nevada very motivated already. Although her dad’s cancer will help, as will Rogan.

      If House Baylor is formed (a pretty sure bet, imo) Nevada will have some breathing room.

    • Ooh!!!! Good catch! And horrible, if true. How does magic affect these people physiologically anyway? I wonder if Primes (and significants) have shorter lives /develop health issues.

    • Ooooh yes.. I bet Evil Grandma DID have something to do with James’ cancer and eventual death.. with the genetic tinkering or whatever

    • The cancer Nevada’s dad had affects the peripheral nerves, not the brain. I’m not saying that it couldn’t be a rather nasty sequela of the genetic tinkering, but just being medically picky/pedantic… Interestingly, MPNST in the Real World may have a genetic component, since it is seen more commonly in Neurofibromatosis Type 1, which is caused by a gene mutation on chromosome 17.

  23. I have a theory about James, Nevada’s father. It was mentioned that the grandmother Tremaine “did things” so he was able to be born and specifically with an ability yet it didn’t work the way she wanted. I’m guessing he actually did have an ability that affected family member’s, or people he was in close proximity with, who were young in developing stronger and more unique magical abilities. Nevada became a Prime truthseeker, Catalina has a Prime ability not yet labeled (maybe Siren?), Arabella is hinted at having some sort of illusion or summoning ability not yet classified (probably prime or significant if she was being cocky to Augustine yet they, Nevada and Catalina, didn’t refer to her being a prime when they were talking about forming a House), and finally Leon has another talent that hasn’t been recorded before yet is most likely going to be very strong. Even Bern has an ability that is very strong yet we don’t know the rank of. We don’t have a lot of information about Bern and Leon’s genealogy other than Grandma Frida, the grandfather and their children, yet Penelope’s lack of magical ability (it seems like she is an Average or Notable) would lead to us believing that the strength or the characters powers don’t originate from her or the maternal side of the family. I would have said it was just something that was different in James’ genetics from the experimental circumstances of his birth if not for Leon’s unseen ability. But eh that’s probably just me reading to far into things and running with it 🙂 Absolutely loved the book, everything unfolded and was revealed at the right time to coincide with the fantastic plot. I can’t wait until Wildfire comes out!

    • James is not related by blood to Bern or Leon. That would be icky. However, we know NOTHING about their fathers. And Penelope’s sniper ability is extra special, from Grandpa Leon.

    • Cool theory! My guess is that the “experiments” Victoria did means that James doesn’t have a real father. She probably spliced the DNA of several different Prime males with different magical talents (I read too much sci-fi!). Because of that, he became latent (remember Rogan’s assumption that a child of different magical lineages wouldn’t be powerful) and had no magic. But for some reason, all his kids have magic (and Catalina and Arabella have weird, unknown types of magic).

      • I thought this myself and think it maybe the case. I’m curious to see who steps up as a prime with Nevada.
        I question Bern and Leon too. Bern appears to be a hacker but Freda “talks” to machines. I believe he talks to compters/electronics. I’m wondering if, with practice manipulation. They’re so many wild cards.

    • Here’s something else to add: Leon is supposedly some kind of precog, Leon’s mother was know to sleep around, Baranovsky is said to have a bastard that no one has seen…

    • I like the idea of calling Catalina’s type of magic sirens or some variation thereof.

  24. Has anyone figured out what day the 2nd book ended on? Rough calculations has it as Christmas Eve…. but it also could have been that there was a shift in calendar.

    I know Rogan said he already bought her a present and I’m hoping it is something shiney that goes on a finger, but then he already has the USB drive for her to make House Rogan… which I guess he could have had his people put together or did it while she was supposed to break the news with her family….

  25. Is it only me, or does Catalina have a major crush on Cornelius?

    She is so insistent that she wants to protect him and Matilda, and then when they take fort, Cornelius is surprised of her power, and comment that she is so shy, that she has barely spoken to him.

    • I’m with you in the long run, definitely seemed like she was more attuned to him and Matilda. But coming on the heels of his wife’s death, not to mention the age gap, I don’t think it’ll be a major player in the next book…(books??).

      • I don’t think so! He’s twice her age. I think Catalina is in general shyer than Arabella, maybe because she’s afraid of her magic unintentionally influencing people (this is pure conjecture on my part). She’s very attached to Matilda (in the book, she’s always chasing Matilda around) so any protectiveness of that family is due to Matilda.

      • Do we know how old he is? Because I can board this ship. It seems less predatory than the Catalina-Augustine one someone suggested upthread. Though it would be great if she meets boys her own age and goes from there.

        • I agree that there could potentially be something between Catalina and Cornelius, since he thought she was so quiet. Waiting for Wildlife.

        • not sure, but wasn’t it mentioned Cornelius was only in his late twenties? He has to be roughly the same age as Adam Peirce…

          • You’re right actually. They may only be ten years or so apart. Adam is not very old. Cornelius could have married young and had Matilda right away.

        • There’s nothing wrong with a teenage girl having an innocent crush on an older man. It’s only predatory if Cornelius or Augustine act on it, which they have not in any way and seem pretty oblivious to it.

          I don’t get the creepy vibe from either man that they would become predatory to the younger girls.

          The authors may just be hinting at something that is going to happen down the road when the girls are young women. Or maybe not :), we’ll have to wait and see.

      • This is an interesting thought, Catalina and Cornelius as a possible future couple. The age difference isn’t THAT severe (10 years or so, give or take), but I’d want to wait a few years, at least until she’s in her early to mid twenties, for anything to develop. Right now she’s just a teenager and he’s mourning his late wife. With him coming on board at the agency, that gives them plenty of time for interaction down the road.

        Magically they might work out. Catalina’s power causes people to love her to the point of obsession and death (am I the only one that thinks it’s irresponsible not to get her enough magical training to learn to tone that down and/or control it so that she can live a halfway normal life?) but Cornelius’ power makes it difficult if not impossible to form normal attachments to human beings. Is it possible he might have some innate resistance to her magic and/or her magic might be strong enough to overcome his resistance to bonding with other people?

    • I didn’t detect any crush.

      I am happy that Cornelius is being folded into the Baylor tribe. They accept him and his animals (and his daughter), and working for Nevada will keep him busy and may help him heal.

      Nevada is like Kate in that she collects people. They are drawn to her honor and goodness, and she will ALWAYS figure out a way to protect them, so her circle of friends and family just keeps getting bigger.

    • I just thought she seemed to like kids bc she also took care of Rynda`kids but honestly Im not a fan of that ship…

    • Hmmmm, now that you mention it, I have to agree. It would be such a sweet story line too!

  26. I absolutelly loved it! And as about questions; does Catalina have a “passive” aspect of her power? If yes, then what is it and how does it work? And why is Arabellas’ power so different? Is she also a Prime?

    • Given the fact that “charming” that large a group didn’t exhaust her, I think the charm may BE the passive field, and she has to work to contain it. Which leads to the question of what the active vector would be. o.O

      • Oh geeze, just pictured her as the elven queen off LOTR when offered the Ring. “All shall love me and despair. “

      • That is what I’m thinking. Also the beguiling doesn’t require a circle or power glyphs which indicates a passive talent. But that means that her active could be extremely important.

  27. I’m really curious about Ceaser’s talent. He would have to be a prime. And he gets suspiciously strong loyalty. That makes me wonder if it’s similar to Catalina’s love talent. And if his has a down side similar to hers.

    • It makes me wonder if they’re related somehow… Catalina & Ceasar. On the one hand, I think we’ve met Caesar, and he’s either Linus Duncan or Michael Latimer. I could buy into Leonora Jordan as Caesar, but it would take some convincing. I could also (and more easily) see Augustine on the side of the bad guys — maybe trying to woo Rogan and Nevada with wondering aloud if they’re on the right side. I like the idea of genetic splicing (“did things”) better than thinking that maybe James Baylor wasn’t the father of all three girls (my thoughts before I read this page). I also think EG can’t be Caesar — toooooo Evil — but can be on that team.

      • I can’t see Augustine as Caesar at all >.< And he considered Rogan as his best friend. If he's Caesar, it's another betrayal for Rogan and it's… just awful. I can't see his motive. Chaos is not good for business

      • Being on the side that is not trying to kill you — the only side that is possible. There is nothing going to convince then to join up with the Romans after all those assassination attempts.

  28. Oh and please, will there be a “meeting-future-mother-in-law” scene for Nevada? I’m really curious about Rogans’ mother. 😀

    • here here! Here here! That would be awesome, especially given how much Rogan clearly loves his mom.

      I’m curious what finally knocked his dad off, assassination attempts or a heart attack?

    • Yes, me too. I find surprising that we didn’t see one yet because Rogan is supposed to be close with his mother.

      • I think she was close to Connor, but can’t handle Mad. She is an empath so the darkness in him now probably scares her.

  30. I think that all those people who were born from magical parents but don’t seem to have magic are not duds (like her father and ryndas son Kyle (in wildfire excerpt)) they just have a different type of magic that was previously unknown. Like Leon, if that very specific situation hadn’t presented itself, they would still think he had no magic. Her mom mentions her father not being able to handle crowds, paranoia, and a compulsion to fix things. I figured he had some sort of magic they just didn’t understand.

    • I had figured it was a side effect of Tremaine’s pulling his mind apart like cotton candy on a daily basis. I was astounded he had a functional mind of any sort after that, but if it was simply compounding issues caused by latent or unknown magical abilities….interesting.

    • I figure that sometimes a secondary ability goes into hiding and then has the potential to pop out full strength in a later generation. Theory : a technomancer like Grandma Frida would be useful to a nursary when they started because it would be cheaper to have someone in-house fix vehicles that broke down. But once the money starts flowing that ability isn’t bred for. So a child generations later might not trigger around plants or psychically but show him cool vehicles…

  31. So many good questions!!!

    I’ve definitely wondered if Tremaine’s experiments on Nevadas’s father caused the massive differences in his children’s magics. I’ve also wondered if the trauma to his brain caused his cancer.

    With all the differences in Bern and Leon’s magics, I wonder if the family was levelling up in power already? Then adding a House bloodline just made it happen faster?

    The dual comment makes me very curious…

    When Nevada sees everyone’s magic as a colour. Is that a usual Truthseeker ability?

  32. I’m seeing loads of speculation about Caesar…am I alone in thinking it’s Cesare Costa?

  33. I have a silly question…was Sgt. Teddy in the first book? Or is he familiar because of a snippet teaser? Love that character…love, love, Love the series.

    • He’s familiar because of a snippet from a while back! The snippet was from the first chapter of WILDFIRE.

    • Snippet from Wildfire included Sgt. Teddy (and also at the time made me ponder what Nevada was doing visiting Rogan’s personal military base — which is now clear, she was simply crossing the street from home!)

    • When Nevada finds out about Rogan buying all the land and her mortgage, and the next morning they wake up and there’s a white line and the military base is now fully woken up? SGT Teddy is in that description.

  34. 1) How is House Tremaine still considered to be a house if there is only one prime (Victoria)? I thought you needed two primes in three generations to be a “house.” WHITE HOT says: “There were three in the continental United States, and House Tremaine was the smallest and the most feared. It had only one Prime: Victoria Tremaine.”

    2) Are Bern and Leon’s last names “Baylor?” Did Penelope and James officially adopt them?

    3) What is the level of Bern’s magic? Significant, notable, average, minor?

    4) Rogan says that two primes from different magical realms (e.g. telekinesis and truthseeking) will probably result in non-prime kids. But why is that? Why wouldn’t the kids just have one parent’s magic? Why would it mean a reduction in magical talent?

    5) Is Caesar someone we’ve never met before or has he appeared in the first two books? 😀 I predict the answer will be “read the next book!’

    • From what I understood you have to have those Primes to “start” a House. And until it runs out of them compleatly it is still considered one.

      • I don’t think that’s true though. Here are some quotes I found: they imply that if at any time there AREN’T two primes then they lose status immediately.

        QUOTE

        Finding the right person to marry and producing a gifted child dominated everything Primes did. In our world, magic equaled power, and the Primes feared losing power more than anything. “If there is no wife, then there is no heir and his family will lose the House designation.” A family had to have at least two living Primes in three generations to be considered a House and to qualify for a seat in the Assembly.

        • I wondered about that when I read it becuase if that is true how can Nevada form House Baylor? She, her sisters and her cousins are all the same generation and surely she can’t claim EG.

          • I think you should understand it as you need two living Primes in three generations or less which would explain how Nevada could form a House with her sister. A Prime and its Prime great-grandchildren​ could not form a House as it would span four generations.

          • I read that as IN three generations…and five in one cohort is still within a three generation span, though they will need offspring to continue.

    • 2) I am on the side that Grandma Frieda Afram kept her name when she married Leon Baylor, and James Tremaine took Penelope Baylor’s name.

      4) Rogan says his father was afraid of losing telekinesis, not Prime status. Rogan’s father’s first goal was to keep the House telekinetic. But the possibility exists that they would cancel each other out on some level.

    • 1 ) Victoria is the only prime of House Tremaine for her generation. Like Rogan is currently the only Prime of his House too

      3) I think Bern’s magic is at least significant. First, because he holds a record for the Nebula homework (among all the students taking Magic theory courses from his school who have that exact homework and even Leon and Nevada had to do it so it’s not just a one-year span taken into account). Secondly, because even Bug needs his help to crack the Deamon Eye (?) security lock (?). Having Bug’s recognition seems huge to me

      4) Maybe it’s a matter of compatibility ? Like water and oïl ? Maybe certain types of powers nullify other types of powers ? i don’t know. But in Rogan’s case, it’s his mother’s line that is disadvantaged I guess (it’s her type of power that got “reduced” in the process)

      I do think that Joanna is right. From what I understood, you need two Primes (alive) to start a new House (because it’s the “first generation”, so to complete the “two primes in three generations” rule, you have to be these two primes xD) . But after that first generation, I think it’s better to at least have one Prime for each other generation to maintain a House status. But it may not be imperative : I would say that the second generation, for example, could be a no Prime one. But this means that the third one have to be absolutely a Prime one (or else, the fourth generation won’t meet the rule and the House will lose its status). So the best way and the safer way to maintain a House status is to get at least one Prime for each generation after the first one. Plus, being the heir/head of your House without having a Prime status must be quite hard to be respected among the other Houses…

      • Forget about my 1) with Rogan being the only Prime of his House. I just forgot his mother O_O

  35. Am I the only one who’s thinking the revelation of Caesar is going to be a big betrayal? I don’t think it’s going to be a character we’ve just been introduced to. Maybe it’s because I was a Latin/Greek nerd in high school that Montgomery’s name made my radar go off, but Augustus was the founding emperor of Rome. His full title was Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus. Also, Augustus Montgomery’s middle name is Julian. Like Julius Casear, Augustus’ great-uncle who was murdered.
    It would explain why Rogan’s teams can never get ahead of the conspiracy. The head of it runs a PI firm and has eyes/ear everywhere, not to mention can make himself look like one of Rogan’s team to get an idea of where they’re headed. Talk about a betrayal!

      • It can’t be Augustine, for the simple reason that Nevada’s would have sensed a lie by now. For example, look at this line:

        QUOTE
        “Augustine sighed again. “I don’t like it. I don’t like not knowing what the hell is going on. In fact, I make it my life’s mission to know what is going on at all times.”

        Out of Augustine’s view, Rogan rolled his eyes.

        Augustine grimaced. “I’m tired of odd things happening. I don’t want excitement, I want boredom. Boredom is good for business.”

        END QUOTE

        He says a bunch of stuff like this in both books, talking about his confusion and lack of knowledge for the conspiracy. He hasn’t lied about it. He has no motive for it (the system of Houses is quite advantageous for him). It’s not Augustine.

        • Just playing Devils advocate here..

          He wasn’t lying. If you read what he said. He DOESN’T like not knowing. He DOESN’T like excitement. Those are general statements.

          That said, I don’t think it’s him either. He doesn’t strike me as someone the masses will follow without question/adore.

          • Great idea above about Augustine being Cesar. Taking it a step further:

            – Augustine is an illusion Prime.

            – He often looks more or less beautiful, so clearly using his illusion to change his looks… so

            – What if Augustine ISN’T Augustine? Maybe he isn’t enhancing his looks; maybe he is changing them completely? Maybe the real Augustine is long gone?

            • Oh man, you just opened a can of worms. This is a great idea. The real Augustine is dead, and has been manipulating Nevada and Rogan. I never understood the reasoning behind Rogan’s cousin, Waller (can’t get first name right now) got Rogan involved in saving her son. She obviously was okay with sacrificing him. Why get scary Rogan involved in going up against the Change. Maybe Augustine used Nevada not because she was expendable, but because she could get close to Rogan and keep Augustine updated, which she invariably did not. Like vampires, is he playing the long game?

              • Okay, I’m going to freak out now xD…
                Because even if I can’t believe it’s him (I don’t want to T-T), that I don’t see his motive at all… But you make great points with your etymology and… He could be the mastermind, he has the position to do it and it’s not like Nevada questioned him…

                “Why get scary Rogan involved in going up against the Change.”
                ==> Wasn’t it so that he could destroy the city ? Kelly Waller, if my memories are not wrong, and her “colleagues”, wanted Adam to destroy the city and involving Rogan and his Null Space state was another way to secure the success of the plan (like a plan B). And the plan was supposed to succeed.. But Nevada was there (the unplanned factor) and for an unknown reason, she managed to reach him in his trance state (even his mother couldn’t so…)

                And… How could Augustine know beforehand that Nevada could have that influence over Rogan ? It seems almost impossible to predict

                • I also have a question : Why do you think that in BFM, it’s stated that Lenora likes Rogan more than Augustine ? Back at that time, I was really surprised because Augustine is way less drastic or violent (I mean, the guy doesn’t destroy things on a massive scale like a certain someone or drops bus on somebody). Moreover, Augustine seems to be a more law abiding citizen than Rogan (who may not care about laws at all ? xD). From my point of view, Lenora would like Augustine more than Rogan if she’s a preacher of Justice and Law Oo’ (Or maybe I just misunderstood the words…)

              • They expected Rogan to destroy downtown Houston in trying to stop Adam.

                That was what Kelly said at the end of the book. She ask how he stopped.

                If he hadn’t stopped he would have been vilified and would have been in a worse position to investigate.

    • Ohhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn that would be such a good twist! And terrible, for Rogan.

      But wasn’t Caesar supposed to be revered and someone everyone trusted? Augustine is pretty mercenary and at the ball, all of his well wishers were lying.

    • Holy smokes! Especially as Nevada is warming up to him – his sense of humor, worrying about the shell vs everyone willing to kill him to protect her.

    • I really, really hope it’s not Augustine but that name connection is very interesting. Still, I feel like we have a good enough insight to his character to be confident that it’s not him. Plus, I just don’t think the IA team is that evil. Augustine is Rogan’s only friend and it would hurt him too much. I’m liking either Linus Duncan or Lenora Jordan for the big baddie.

    • It could totally be a red herring, but I wondered if anyone else picked up on the name thing. Especially with the random reveal of his middle name. I do agree it would be the worst for Rogan, but I think the fact that he’s supposed to be adored is what’s making me think twice about it. Unless he puts on an other face as Caesar.

      • I hadn’t picked up on the name thing at all. I agree, it’s a very strong connection, especially with the middle name. Plus he’s amazing at impersonating other people, so it’s entirely possible he has a whole other alternate persona that’s leading the group. Eek, this is terrifying to think about!

      • I’d been thinking Augustine might end up at least on the other team. The one thing that was holding me back was the reference to their Caesar being “above reproach”, but then Rogan mentions how Augustine has principles.

        • Also Remember when Rogan saw Augustine again in book one and he’s like what with the glasses. He said I know for a fact you don’t need them. Just playing devil advocate if he is dead and some was impersonating him.

    • Look at his password. In 45 BC,Caesar became dictator of Rome.
      The only thing that doesn’t fit is that he doesn’t seem like Augustine wants destabilization.

  36. Does anyone else find Leon’s moral code (or lack thereof) interesting? I know he’s a teenager and all, but I thought the fact that Nevada’s mom sat him down and gave him a talking to waved all sorts of interesting red flags. No theory, but it does make me wonder…

    • Yeah, I thought I heard (got the pulse of the story) wrong and had to go back and listen to that part again. Is Bern the one who works hard in school so he can support the family sooner, or was that Leon?

      • Leon is still in high school, vs Bern in college. Nevada wants Bern to take his time and enjoy it like she couldn’t , but he just keeps adding more classes ( which I wonder if that has to do with his power – patterns, etc – maybe just general knowledge accumulation ).

    • Wasn’t it Rogan or Bug who mentioned Leon’s “flexible morality” during the viewing of the recordings with his voice overs?

      • I think it was Rogan. In the context of “I could really use that in an employee” sort of way. More I think on it, more I wonder if it doesn’t link in with his powers somehow…

    • OK…. I will play. I am wildly speculating, but I wonder if there are some hints as to Leon’s father trailed…. For example, in “Burn for Me”‘ Bern says that Leon was conceived ‘…because [their mother] was too wasted to remember a rubber’. Bern then notes that his own father was her mother’s ‘boyfriend at the time’, so Giselda (their mother) appears to have had her two sons to different men. In “White Hot” it is noted that Baranovsky is an oneiromancer (prediction of future by dreaming, specifically a short term precog in his case). Given Nevada’s mother’s talent (and that she is Giselda’s sister), and, what we know of Leon’s talent, this looks like a good fit. Plus Augustine states of Baranovsky, ‘Rumour has it, there is a bastard child. But nobody’s ever seen him or her’. Also, the way Baranovsky is described in “White Hot” in terms of his build (‘…slender, almost slight’), and, his liking for Elena de Trevino (maybe, for similar reasons, he would like the straightforwardness of Griselda?), does make me wonder.

      Ah…. I am almost certainly wrong (and am not sure I want to be right), but ‘it’s fun to speculate.

      What is sure is that whatever direction the authorlords take the third book, ’twill be much fun!

      • I like your thinking…plus that would ease some of the financial burden on the family without tapping into Rogan’s money (since Baranovsky has already passed and the heir can step forward). Then Nevada would have her independence and the family would still be ok.

      • Unless Baranovsky had gone through a phase where he was seriously slumming, I don’t think Aunt Gisele would have been his type. Doubtful he ever associated with anyone who didn’t run in his circles. Nevada only warranted a second look because of the dress and the 2 men who were supposedly fighting over her.

        • Two scenarios that could bring Baronovsky together with Gisela. 1.she tried to rob his place. I think in the first book one of the boys mentioned that mom had sex with his father to keep from being arrested.
          2. She was his bodyguard.

      • Ok, I like that theory. When Bug revealed Leon’s talent I wondered when anyone would say, hey that looks like a very situation specific precog. I don’t remember much about Griselda, other than she slept around and had a substance abuse problem. Do we know if there was anything unique about her that would have made her attractive to Baranovsky?

        Also, from a somewhat legal perspective, even if it turns out that Leon is the missing bastard love child of Baranovsky and Griselda, it doesn’t mean he would inherit anything unless 1) Baranovsky died intestate and 2) there was irrefutable proof that Leon was his biological child. Both of which are unlikely. And even then it still might not be possible since Baranovsky never acknowledged Leon as a descendent as far as we know and depending upon the applicable provisions of the Texas probate code.

        • I’m wondering if House inheritance is always bound by the Texas probate code. Seems like they’d have their own system.

      • This is my favorite thing I’ve read so far. Love it. Do we have any descriptions of Leon’s eyes? Since that was a big part of the description of Baranovsky. And Leon runs track and Nevada described Baranovsky as having a runners build.

      • On one hand this is probably my favorite theory till now but on the other hand this would be such a huge coincidence where you cant help but think this will never happen in real life, only in fiction ( which it is ) but I dont like being made aware that it is fiction… Im not sure I make sense

        • I actually don’t think Leon’s magic is any kind of precog because Bug made a point of it. He brought up other zooms/camera changes where no one was hit but there was a feasible shot.

      • But where would Griselda meet Baranovsky? I’m sure he doesn’t hang around dive bars, and Griselda doesn’t sound like the high society type, even as a server or bartender.

  37. OMG. I have so many questions and theories. I’m so glad we only have to wait 2 months for the next book. Most of what I want to know has been asked above so I won’t repeat but my mind is now going further down the road when Nevada and Rogan have kids. I’m dying to see what their kids will be like and how powerful (or not) they would be. Are Rogan and Nevada dual primes? Or do they have 1 prime and 1 less significant? I will have to re-read if that is mentioned about having 2 prime abilities. So if they had kids would there be 4 prime abilities to choose from? Or 2 primes and 2 less significant? Or would all their prime-ness negate everything?

    I would also like Catalina, Arabella, Bern and Leon to have their own books exploring their powers in depth but including Nevada/Rogan in the books too. Gah.. I love this world!

    • I don’t think they are dual primes, or at least Rogan isn’t. His telepathic powers are not as powerful as his telekinesis. Not sure yet about Nevada’s other power.

    • Rogan is sure that their powers come from different realms, and their children would not be primes. I think they could probably get technological help for this problem.

      • Nevada seems like she’d be happy as long as the kids were healthy and loved. She’s not worried about rank, at this point anyway.

      • Hum, I remember him saying that their powers were not compatible (from different realms) and that his father’s attempt was a clear proof… But I don’t remember him saying that their child would not be Prime (like, 0% to be Prime).. Their child “may not be Prime”. Now… I’m not English and I’m still learning the language at school so I’m in no position to play with words but I still cling to that “may” and the potentiality within it x)

  38. Here’s my #1 question – are we going to get some more Rogan POV to help us wait for Wildfire??? I love the other snippets from his pov and there are a bunch of scenes that I’d really like to know what he was thinking! And I’d REALLY love to know at what point he realized he was in love with Nevada and how he reacted to that revelation.

    Also, thank you, thank you, thank you!! This was totally worth the wait. You guys are so amazing. Seriously. <3 <3

    • This!!!!!! When he said the world needs people to do evil deeds to protect the ones they loved, I wondered when he realized that. I thought it was cute that mad rogan was happy that Nevada likedhis house.

      • My thoughts exactly! I loved that line. At the end of Burn for Me, he knew he wanted her but I don’t think he’d quite reached the “I love her” thought yet. Maybe in the two months when they didn’t see each other, he missed her so much that he started to realize it? If not then, maybe when he heard about the attack on her on the overpass – he got to the warehouse, watched the video of her almost dying, and then had to go up to see her to make sure she was okay. I suspect if he didn’t know it already, he knew it then.

    • I love the other snippets too T-T I actually was praying to have a snippet on the battle against David (so that we could know Rogan’s mental state since he more or less decided to sacrifice himself ._.)

  39. Completely off the wall question here.
    Does anyone else picture the late Barbara Jordan when Lenora Jordan is mentioned?
    It’s a different world, no reason she could not be an analog or a relative…
    Anyway, I am old enough to remember her and it struck me.

    • It did cross my mind, mostly because they are both strong, principled, and eloquent women from the state of Texas.

  40. Pretty trivial question but it’s bugging me: during the atv attack on the warehouse, Nevada sees an aerokinetic/elementalist “floating three feet above the pavement”. I always thought the floating thing was associated with a prime expending enough magic to create null space. So how did Nevada manage to shoot him?

    • The floating thing with primes has to do with entering a higher state of power for mages who weren’t able to levitate normally… Neither Logan nor Adam could levitate, but they did when they entered that trance to let their power loose indiscriminately while inside a power circle.

      1) It’s possible that the aerokinetic was able to levitate themselves with their own wind power without actually entering null space.

      2) The aerokinetic didn’t use a circle, so no null space.

      2) It’s also possible that someone else was levitating the aerokinetic mage, like someone tried to do in the YouTube of Logan’s first military test, where you can hear the levitation mage freaking out when he’s beyond her range. If so, then no null space.

      I don’t know the specific answer, but I can think of possible explanations.

  41. It seems like so far all of the characters in Nevada’s generation have mental powers, of one sort or another, except Arabella. A few people have mentioned that maybe her magic is similar to illusion, except, if that is the case, 1) why would there be talk of putting her in a cage, illusion magic has been portrayed as fairly common; and 2) why would she need such a big hole to get Catalina out of the building? As I recall, Rogan had to practically knock down the whole wall so that she could leave the building. I also don’t recall whether any previous scenes involving pure illusion discussed any changes in mass, e.g. did the demon illusion that came after Nevada have difficulty getting out of the truck? I don’t believe so, but I’d have to go back and reread it specifically for that point to be sure. Regardless, it appears that Arabella has a type of magical ability unique in her generation. So far it seems that the only ancestor we know of whose magic isn’t some sort of mental variety is grandma Frida. She has some sort of affinity for heavy equipment/ vehicles/artillery/ metal. I don’t know that we’ve ever been given an exact classification. We also know next to nothing about the powers on the Tremaine side of the family, except that James’ mother has extensive mental powers. There has to be at least one other living Tremaine prime for it to still be a house. Who is this person and what are their abilities? Perhaps Arabella’s unique ability can be traced to the Tremaine side somehow.

    I’m also very worried about Rynda in the next book. In this book she came across as very likeable and sweet in spite of her hellion mother. But her story really doesn’t make a lot of sense. So far we know that the two families had arranged a marriage between Rynda and Rogan from the time they were toddlers but in their late teens Rogan decides that he can’t marry Rynda because he doesn’t love her and he’d never be able to be himself around her because of her empathy. So he runs off and joins the army and they remain friends. Wait…. what?! Put yourself in Rynda’s shoes. Her whole life she has been expecting to marry a particular person because he is supposedly a good magical match for her. Every description we have of young Rogan claims that he is handsome, intelligent, personable, rich, and very powerful. He and Rynda have supposedly been friends their whole lives. Suddenly, Rogan decides, nope, not gonna do it, and runs off to the army. And Rynda is supposedly ok with this? Not if she’s anything like every single teenage girl I’ve ever known. The phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” comes to mind. So what happens to Rynda after Rogan does a runner? Her family, that has painstakingly spent years plotting the perfect match with the powerful Rogan family, is suddenly ok with marrying her off to a magically incompatible plant mage? Have we met her mother, the psycho bad guy from book two? I don’t think so. And then in the preview chapter of book three she’s suddenly ensconced in Nevada’s kitchen doing an odd split personality act alternating between, “I hate you, you killed my mother”, to “oh, woe is me, my husband mysteriously disappeared and you’re my only hope” (the timing is suspicious at best on that one), and making doe eyes at Rogan. I’m with grandma Frida on this one, the chick is bad news, kick her butt to the curb.

    Let’s think about this for a second. Rynda is an empath prime. Her default setting is absorbing/ feeling the emotions of everyone around her, sort of like Nevada can tell when anyone around her is lying without even trying. If Nevada puts some effort into it she becomes a truth seeker and can force people to reveal the truth. What can Rynda do if she puts some effort into it? Can she manipulate people’s feelings, force them to feel a certain way? Would they even know she was doing it? Her mother was a manipulator and could force people to act against their will. And speaking of her mother, Rynda had to spend her whole life growing up with this woman and being exposed to her emotions on a daily basis. According to Rogan, Rynda is so sensitive that he could never be himself around her because it would upset her too much. And yet she has been exposed to her volatile, psycho, mother all of her life and is supposedly unaffected by that? Unlikely. Part of me is really looking forward to seeing how IA deals with this in the third book. They are far, far too good at writing intricate plots not to be fully aware of the inconsistencies inherent in the portrayal of Rynda’s character. I can almost picture them giggling behind their hands at how they are going to stun us with an unforeseen revelation or twist in book three. The other part of me really, really, really, hates the vindictive/conniving ex storyline. I cringe at the thought of reading about Rogan getting caught in Rynda’s twisted web. On the other hand, IA are far too talented to be that cliche. Either way, it’s a long wait until August to find out.

    • I don’t like Rynda. I don’t know if it’s because I’m firmly entrenched on the Nevada side of the border and just see her as potential competition ( history, beauty, ‘save the princess’ ) or at least that Nevada sees her as potential competition – OR if somwthing in my head is saying ‘this B is going to be a problem!’

    • Yep. Been looking at her cross-wise too. Have her in a bucket as possible Caesar, or at the very least on their team like her mother was.

      • I’m with Siobhan. Laura brings up good points about a woman scorned and Rhonda seems adored by many, especially because her empath abilities make her seem all “fragile flower.” If she CAN manipulate people’s emotions, that would go a long way towards gaining devoted followers. I can entertain the idea of her being Caesar, or at least connected to Caesar.

      • I’m not happy with the choice of IA bringing Rogans ex in book 3. I personally lose respect for our main characters for the love triangle BS. Easy strings… IMO. I don’t see the characters as stupid but this screams BS, betrayal, and (redacted. Andrea, please try not to cuss on the blog, we have younger readers. Thank you – Ilona).

    • And Rynda would have been part of the distraction at the party with her witchy Mommy.

      • Mmmmmm. IA already did scorned childhood fiancé gets revenge in Silent Blade, I don’t think they would repeat themselves.

    • Yes, totally agree. No way her mom can be that evil and some of it did not rub off on her. I think she may be able to manipulate others, or maybe she is able manipulate others impression of her and hide her true intentions and make herself appear sweet, a peacemaker, light and nice, when really she is much much darker. I just can’t help but think she cannot be as good as the image she seems to project.

      Also, remember that Rogan’s mom was a powerful empath, and she was still capable of killing, aggression (thwarting assassination attempt, leveling summerhouse at age 14 of family that targeted hers)

    • Totally agree with all of this! Rynda was my only (minor) grumble about WH, I really detest the conniving ex angle but I suspect you are right and that IA with handle it beautifully ?

    • Im going to play devils advocate:

      1) You can have horrible parents but still turn out okay e.g. like Nevada`s father although their circumstances might be different bc while James hated his Mother, Rynda still loves her

      2) Olivia probably loved her daughter and most likely showed an other side of herself to her daughter, we cant treat her as an one-dimensional villain, she wasnt one to her daughter

      3) Olivia might have been different in the past, we dont know when she got involved with Caeser and turned into a psycho fanatic

      4) Rogan knew Rynda her whole life and didnt notice her supposedly dark side ? Rogan seemed like a good jugde of character ( except the case with kelly) so how didnt he notice that Rynda isnt as innocent as she seemed

      5) If feeling emotions of other people was a passive skill she wouldnt be able to switch it off, so she would even feel the emotions of the people she hurt which might be a detriment to her. Yes, Rogans mother did kill people even though shes an empath, but theres a difference between taking revenge against evil people who would murder children and being “evil” yourself and I dont think empaths can be truly evil

      6) If Rogan had a change of mind about the marriage although he really liked her why couldnt she? She saw Rogan as childhood friend and if he explained his decision to her and she could feel his feelings she might have understood where he came from. She might have been already in love with her now husband bc they married pretty fast, but it still doesnt explain why Olivia agreed to let her daughter marry a plan mage ? This doesnt make sense.

      • All very good points Sarah!

        I think I’m trying to make sense of the Rynda we meet in chapter 9 at Baranovsky’s soiree and the one who shows up in Nevada’s kitchen in chapter 1 of book three. They just don’t even seem like the same character. Why does she immediately accuse Nevada of killing her mother? There were a lot of people involved in that mission, including Rogan, why single out Nevada?

        In fact, Nevada should not have even been on that mission. She told Cornelius that she would find irrefutable proof of who killed Nari but she wouldn’t participate in his revenge. Then, after learning the extent of the evil perpetrated by Olivia, she decided she had to see it through so she went. But she didn’t kill Olivia, Cornelius did, so why is Rynda in Nevada’s house accusing Nevada of killing her mother?

      • I’m not sold on Rogan being a good judge of character *in his youth* after reading this book- remember Dr Daniela Arias talking about their calling him BL- Bubble Lieutenant ie the guy who didn’t realise he was being played and protected. In the timeline this was happening in his late teens (18+) or early twenties so he would’ve known Rynda for 15+ years at this point….

    • I think it would be interesting if Rynda were Caesar. What if she could compel adoration by pushing it at her followers? What if her mother was so vindictive because she was being manipulated by Rynda? We know Rynda’s son is apparently lacking in magic. What’s a better reason for overthrowing the status quo than to give your child a better future?

      Loved the book 🙂 can’t wait for the next one!

      • She could have been good girl until Rogan walk away. Revenge is a dish best serve cold.It could also be the reason why Rogan was involved by his cousin Kelly they knew what he was capable of ie leveling cities which would cause the chaos they needed,

    • Laura> Grandma Frida’s type of magic might be classified (I don’t remember well, but maybe in a FAQ of the Reddit post or in a blog post… But I remember reading something along with Bern’s type of magic)
      If we supposed that the colors seen by Nevada at the end correspond to types of magics, so Arabella’s power (color red) is not Illusion (Augustine’s color was grey/white or something like that)
      With the cage story, I thought that Arabella was a kind of beast/demons (like.. shapeshifting) but it’s just speculation (the first idea that pops in my mind xD)

      I totally agree with you about Rynda. She makes me uncomfortable. I don’t like her at all. And.. Her mother was in the bad team and… she seems to be still quite close with her mother. The woman is very powerful but she acts like an innocent sheep, it just too upsetting and feels suspicious xD She knew Nevada was jealous of her and she didn’t go to Montgomery (she definitely has the money for it). Nop nop, she goes right to Nevada (who was a major role in her mother’s death) and she was immediately hugging Rogan in front of the PI she said she wanted to hire. So maybe, she goes to Nevada not to have her help but Rogan’s one (forcefully, since she thought he didn’t want to help her) ? Or… I don’t know, I can’t find the logic here. This woman’s brain is a total mystery for me.
      Maybe, I’m totally wrong and she’s indeed a gentle and innocent sheep, but I’m more rooting for her trying to jeopardize their relationship and her being an evil girl (Team Grandma Frida 100% !). The third party who tries to jeopardize the relationship between two people is a well-known scheme but I don’t see it following the usual plot (“the cliche plot”). Indeed, first, the bad guys tried to use Rogan to destroy the city and make one of their plans succeed, but it was a failure because of Nevada’s ability to reach Rogan ; then, they tried to get rid of the two of them ( separately first by targetting Nevada, then together with David) but the attempts are also failures… one of them because Rogan’s was in her house (and he was not supposed to be), another because of Nevada keeping a chalk on her and Rogan’s magical knowledge… What I mean is… Both of them, together, in a team ? They are way too powerful xD So, if I were the mastermind, I’d try to separate them completely (emotionally and physically) and kill them after. More chance to succeed with my evil plans… (and it’s the best timing to do that with Nevada being an emergent Prime and being potentially coveted by a lot of Prime guys xD). And as you said Laura… who could do that better than an empath “ex girlfriend” (who could, potentially, manipulate feelings) that is already aware of the jealousy she can create ?

      And maybe she accused Nevada because… they might not have been able to kill her mother if Nevada’s was not there ? (the mental war, Nevada was the only (?) one who could be able to do that)

      And Sarah> I totally agree with you too in your point 1) 2) and 3) and 6)
      But point 4) : Yeah, but… He knows her past self, not her present self (the one after his departure, which can be a trigger to her “dark” side), right ? And you tend to be softer with your childhood friends… So his judgement in the present might be biased
      5) There is a way to be empath and evil : being totally nut (because of your empathy, you’re so sensitive that.. too much suffering, too much anger, too much something and bam, you break ?) ? (I don’t know, but I don’t feel like these two things are that antagonical)

      And finally, your “she might be able to control feelings” makes me go into overanalyzing mode… But…
      What if… Nevada’s mysterious ability at the end to see colors will be helpful later to detect that manipulation and to find the true mastermind -Caesar- ? What if, it’s like an upgrade of her current power : instead of just detecting the truth in words, she’d be able to sense deceptive actions, know the true power of each individual (since Prime tends to hide the extend of their talents)..

      (I think i’m going to sleep because I’m thinking too much xD)

    • I would be so on board with a highly disciplined manipulative* empath just because empaths are so frequently portrayed in a fairly narrow range of ways and I’d find some shaking up of those motifs refreshing. Also, the look on Rogan’s face would be hilarious. (Oh, so you thought she was a wilting flower, did you?) I don’t know if that’s the way things are heading, mind…

      * even if just receptive empath, I don’t mean they’re necessarily projective. If you know what someone is feeling, and you’re reasonably intelligent, you shouldn’t need projective empathy to manipulate them.

  42. Did anyone else question the “disappearance” of Augustine’s secretary? She was the only other person who knew who the Lady in Green was…and Nevada went to such trouble to mind-protect Augustine but never gave a thought to her. Then she’s gone and a man is sitting at her desk…
    Did Evil Grandmother get her hooks in the secretary before Nevada could cover her? Is that how EG knows to come after Nevada?

      • I made the assumption, perhaps unwarranted, that Augustine deliberately choose another secretary for the time period he expected EG to be around. As you pointed out, the 1st secretary knew who the lady in green was and therefore was at risk from EG. On the other hand, maybe she got a late start and hadn’t finished her make up yet 😉

          • Although now that I think about it, why didn’t Nevada put the fake shield over the secretary? Unless the assumption is that bad granny would think a secretary was beneath knowing the identity of the Lady in Green. (At least she wasn’t the Lady in White — that would have been a cliche.)

            • Nevada had to anchor the shield over Augustine’s mind in his magic. If Lina, his secretary, has no magic (nothing so far has suggested she does), then Nevada might not be able to protect her.

              Also, just protecting Augustine wiped out Nevada’s reserves.

    • I thought about this. We don’t know who the guy at the desk works for. If the assistant (name Lina I think) does know Nevada and the Green Lady are one in the same, wouldn’t Augustine just have to tell Lina to get lost to keep GFH (grandma from Hell) from having access to her and guy was just filling space so GFH wouldn’t get suspicious?

    • I assumed he brought a temp in for the duration of the visit, someone who didn’t know anything that EG could ransack his brains for. Augustine was protecting both himself and the usual secretary.

      • He has shown how he treats some people as disposable. So having a sacrificial goat would be withing character.

  43. Is anyone else thinking that James Tremaine had no apparent magic BECAUSE his mother took his mind apart daily looking for it?

    • Possibly, I could see that happening. Also could see the theory that whatever she had done to -ugh- create him could have caused it as well.

    • Ditto on both of those thoughts.

      Also, are we all sort of dancing around the concept of hybrid vigor? From what we’ve seen, the families try to set up pairings with similar types of magic to try for offspring with high magic potential. This seems to be a sort of hit or miss proposition. And then we have Nevada’s family who all have new or rare abilities that are seemingly off the charts. What if the prevailing theory is wrong and they should be mixing different types of magic and just looking for unusual or unexpected results?

      • So, the Primes themselves have the wrong idea about how to breed babies? But magic has been around for a while now, and there are alot of families. They even have that Failed Vector thing figured out. Shouldn’t they have been able to see what breeding programs work best by now?

        • One would think so. Just trying to figure out how Nevada and het siblings are possible given the prevailing thinking.

        • Rubber band theory. They forgot to take their time. Only so many generations have occurred since Osiris.

  44. Would Sgt Teddy, as an animal, even though magically-enhanced, be immune to a Truthseeker’s powers? I’d love for him to give Evil Grandmother a hug.

    • I approve of this plan. Also, I suspect that, even though SGT Teddy is a pacifist, he might make an exception for Tremaine. In fact, I fully expect SGT Teddy will function pivotally at some point. Why else introduce him in White Hot and make a point of explainin him in Wildfire?

    • I am waiting to see Cornelius get ahold of Sgt Teddy. Can you imagine him as part of Nevada’s team?

  45. I had the thought that maybe Grandma Tremaine, in trying desperately to have a child, made some sort of venture into the arcane realm and pulled something out in a last ditch effort to save her House. I like the theories about genetic manipulation but there seems to be just as much impact of magic as science in this series. The way Penelope said Tremaine “did things” sounded a lot more sinister than genetics tinkering to me. I wonder if there’s a chance Mr. Baylor wasn’t even human or at least maybe not entirely human. That could explain why he fathered three amazingly powerful children without having any active magic of his own.

    Also, I feel like we have only scratched the surface of Nevada’s powers. I have a sneaking suspicion she probably has abilities equal to or maybe even more powerful than Rogan’s in pure strength even though they lie in different areas. I eagerly look forward to her growing into them and opening up a can of whoop-ass on Evil Grandma someday (come on, we all know we want to see that showdown!) I do think Rogan must have meant she’s a dual Prime, so there’s a whole other set of powers she’s not even consciously aware of still to be explored.

    Unfortunately we have more questions than answers when it comes to the arcane realm but we have slowly been seeing more of it over time, from the shockers in the first book to the giant Prime-level summoned creature in the second and the odd colors Nevada saw in reading others’ magic while battling Olivia. That experience really made me think of the “null” space that Primes doing high-level magic enter. Maybe Nevada crossed over into her own sort of null/arcane realm space. I hope we see more/learn more about it in the coming book/s.

    Additionally, I can’t help but wonder if Nevada seeing the colors of others’ magic is a known ability that just happens when mind-mages fight, or if it’s part of her Truthseeking abilities revealing themselves, or something entirely else? Because someone being able to literally see what type of magic a person has…being able to see that through walls and across a distance even…imagine how different things could have gone if Nevada had been able to see immediately what powers others have. Imagine the kind of applications that could have. Not being able to hide your magic abilities from someone…the military would want to get their hands on her immediately (not that they don’t already of course).

    Anyway this was SUCH a wonderful book, a great follow-up to Burn for Me, and I’m thrilled to know we only have a few more months to wait for Wildfire. Kudos to the authors! Love your work!

    • Interesting idea about Nevada’s dad. It would go a long way toward explaining why Arabella apparently has a real demon form.

      • Agreed, that is what I was thinking with Arabella too. And the “things” Grandma Tremaine did sound so sinister already…I feel like she pulled something from the arcane realm to either help her carry to term, or was used as a surrogate, and maybe that horribleness is part of the reason James ran away.

    • Oh, that first theory isn’t creepy AT ALL. I love it! Or even if she pulled something like the shockers out and stuck it in her unborn child….not completely of the arcane realm, but a meld of it. Hmmm

    • Rogan sees the red of the barrage mages — two different shades, which escaped Nevada at first. It is likely that seeing color is a minor affect.

      • Hum… Okay, i’m confused here too… The two different shades of red.. It was about the two different shades of the fire’s color, wasn’t it Oo’ ? The two mages were lauching fire attacks, I just thought that Rogan was speaking about the color of the flame

      • My impression was that the red on the barrage mages was an actual visible effect of the magic, whereas the colors Nevada is seeing are only in her mind.

    • Rogan said his father survived nine assassination attempts. Other than listing all the machinations his dad made to insure having a magically successful child, I don’t think his father was mentioned at all. I thought perhaps assassination attempt number ten hit the mark. Hopefully Ilona will answer this question in Wildfire.

    • I was wondering about that too! And what’s his relationship with his mother? I’m sure we’ll get more on that in Wildfire… Nevada’s going to have to meet the in-laws at some point 😉

  47. When Rogan talked to Nevada about making a Baylor house, am I the only one who thought “Oh for Pete’s sake, just marry the girl already! Then her family is yours and no one can touch them!”

    • I thought this too! I think that Rogan is pretty concerned about making sure his children are powerful primes though…if you read in BFM when he is talking about Harper being a failed vector, he talks about how no one will touch her, importance of Houses retaining power, etc. Those thoughts seem to reflect his own upbringing (Dad obsessed with finding right match to create Rogan, as well as find him a potential wife at age 3). He says that he couldn’t have kids with Nevada because potential kids would be less powerful/magic is incompatible. But then Rynda married someone of a totally different kind of magic…

      • Then Rogan needs a change in his thought process. Loving children, (and their mother) is way, WAY more important then power. Nevada knows this, (and as her parents proved,) and in the end, love will win! ?

      • No, he said that children with Nevada would likely not be primes — not that they could not have them. This type thing is mostly and unknown or the reader. We do not know that empathy and plant loving are in different types — we only know that Rogan thinks he and Nevada are different types.

      • Rogan was more concerned about Nevada changing her mind about him. He wanted her, but was sure she wouldn’t want him anymore if she created her own house. That’s why he brought it up at that time. He totally shut down his emotions while talking about it. He was scared and hurt about it. But of course, he’d never say so.

      • In his thirties and not dating seriously. He is in no hurry to have children, is he?

    • But if he just marries her and she becomes part of House Rogan she and her family are still fair game. If they form their own house they are protected for three years from attacks.

    • Eva M.> At first, I thought about it too… But then.. I didn’t know what it would solve. Creating a House give you immunity for three (?) years. But I don’t think it’s still applied when you enter a House by marriage.
      However, Rogan did ask her if she wanted him to “save” her. I wonder how he could do that (it’s not by killing Augustine since he was ready to do just that without her apprroval on the matter xD)

      Sakinah> I don’t think Rogan is concerned by that (he would love his child even if it’s not a Prime child and he didn’t lie when Nevada asked him just that). I don’t even know if he cares about his “House” status (when you think about this man, you don’t think about his association with a House, but you think about him being the most dangerous Prime in Houston or him being the Scourge of Mexico. Sure, being in a House comes with privileges, but he has networks and means unrelated to his House status and enough money/resources).
      But I do think that he was pretty concerned about Nevada and the child’s feelings. I think he thought that she would change her mind one day because of that factor, that it was for her best interest that they didn’t get involved.
      His failed vector story and so on were just facts. The common world of a Prime. The common reality of most Prime families. Nevada needs to know about those thing since she’s an emergent Prime. But it doesn’t mean that he agrees with those “traditions”. He’s the one who said that Primes usually marry for power but he is also the one who stated that he couldn’t and wouldn’t marry Rynda because he didn’t love her. So… He is the type who marries for love I guess ?

  48. If you`re in the mood or creativity strikes would you ever consider writing a book about Rogans experience in the military, especially the jungle part?

    I just thought that I would LOVE to read more about Rogans military past bc the short version in White Hot had me already hooked in and it would make such a fricking good story…

    • I’d love to read more about Rogan’s past.. But not for a whole book *hide*. The jungle part was really a difficult part for me I guess. The situation was just too awful T-T

  49. I started thinking it would be reasonable to set Catalina on Harper Larvo. Extracting her information with love would be sneaky but effective.

  50. Here is a question I keep asking myself. Why Houston? I get that every story needs to be set SOMEWHERE, but in terms of logic for three characters, why is the mastermind behind all this choosing Houston to try and start a war? Is is because the mastermind/Caesar is FROM Houston? Is it because Rogan is there and they want to manipulate him specifically? Politically speaking, the Houses seem to selectivity ignore the elected government of the US whenever they see fit, so I can see starting a social coup of sorts in a place that’s not New York or DC (where it seems so much of politics these days turns things to a goopy mess). So I wonder. In three context of the story world, why Houston? *ponders*

    • It’s not a coincidence that’s in Texas. Texas as a long history of first being apart from the Union. There are still some crazy secession activists today. I think this quote from WHITE HOT is very illuminating.

      QUOTE

      “So this is the plan?” My words came out garbled. I had to strain to make my lips move. It felt like my feet were turning into chunks of ice. My skin hurt, every muscle underneath awash with icy agony. “Throw Texas into chaos and use it to create a dictatorship? Do you think Texas will just stand for that?”

      “By the time we’re done, they’ll welcome anyone who promises stability with open arms. And our Caesar is beyond reproach. A person of true honor.”

      Keep him talking. “Even if you manage to do it here, the United States won’t stand for it.”

      “It’s a slippery slope,” David said. “Our republic offers an illusion of freedom. You’d be surprised how many people would trade it in for certainty.”

    • Ilona and Andrew used to live near Houston. They’re still in Texas now. I think they’ve done a really good job with magical society and its influence. It’s not unlike how industry giants throw their weight around here. As someone who lives in the outer edges of Houston, I LOVE knowing exactly where these characters are and being able to picture the landscape in the middle of the action. You have no idea how terrifying that flyover that was iced while Troy and Nevada were driving on it really is. (The angle and height are kind of crazy.)
      But to the point Di made with the quote, Texas was a republic once. It’s why our flag is allowed to fly at the same height as the US flag. It also has a really long history of seeing itself as other and strong. Sure, there are some small groups that are goofy enough to think an anchor of oil&gas industries, as well as one of science and space exploration, would be allowed to leave but whatever. 😉
      I center the story of Hidden Legacy on this location, just like Kate’s in Atlanta. It’s just where the action is happening for the sake of the story. This IS an alternate universe after all.

      • Ilona also said something about enjoying blowing up certain parts of Houston. Some residual hatred of the highway system probably.

      • Possibly they picked Houston because not many authors choose to set things here. After all, the most memorable things about Houston are the humidity, the heat and the traffic. No idea if there is a space program in the Hidden Legacy universe. No way to know if covered sports stadia are popular in HL. The Museum of Fine Arts is excellent, true – but not world renowned – in both universes.

        In a word, Houston has “possibilities” for creative authorlords to play with. We are eagerly awaiting the revelation of how IA is going to remodel our fair city.

        Personally, I get a blast out of “I know where that is!”. I don’t live far from where Nevada’s “house” would be if it existed in our universe. (I come north on Blaylock to Clay and cross Gessner to reach my son’s house. Fun!)

    • I also thought it was because Ilona and Gordon lived near Houston so that’s why it was set there

  51. I don’t know what this says about me as a person, but I kinda want the Evil Grandma to roll through Houston lobotomizing members of the Ceasar conspiracy in her search for information….especially Rogans cousin. It’s been built up for 2 books, but it would definitely go against the normal book trope to completely switch the big bad villain and destroy or at least reveal the Ceaser plot in the first act. Meanwhile evil grandma/creating House Baylor is the true threat/conflict in Wildfire. I hate that I missed the possibility of being a beta reader. How far away is July25th?

    • This works for me – if Tremaine is completely focused on continuing her House, this pesky conspiracy is a threat to that aim. She needs Nevada (and Catalina and Arabella and the rest) to be not dead in order to secure the future of the House.

      Even better if she lobotomizes a couple just trying to hunt down Nevada and stumbles onto the conspiracy and is like.. hell no!

  52. I suspect that Grandma Tremaine dosed her son with some version of the Osirius serum. If anyone could discover the location they locked away the serum, it would be a truth seeker. And it would explain the explosion of Prime talents in Nevada’s generation.

    • Wow.. this could be it. And can this revelation be something big for WF? Like Caesar may not want anymore new powers, even accidentally that they want to destroy the original Serum. Finding the location of it might be important. And that is where Nevada comes into play. And this was their plan all along.

  53. So I found this in the Hidden Legacy FAQ

    “9. How come Magic in the Baylor family appears in so many forms?

    You’ll just have to read and find out. I can tell you that Penelope shares magic with her father. Grandma Frida’s husband was a sharpshooter. Penelope’s sister also has the sniper magic, but a different variation of it. Grandma Frida’s talent skipped a generation and returned in Bernard and Leon. Their computer magic is a variant of Grandma Frida’s bond with all things mechanical.”

    The girls (with the exception of Nevada’s second ability) all seemed to have inherited their magic from the Tremain side of the family.

  54. I would like to know what the power levels of each family member is. I don’t need to know what all their powers are at this time, even though I’m dying. But I really would like to know what is the power level of the family. We know that that is a prime and her sisters are probably prime.

  55. Has anyone thought what would happen if Catalina pits her Love Magic against EG? They’re both primes and EG has decades more experience. But Catalina’s magic is so insidious that she might be able to whammy EG before she knew what was happening. Any thoughts?

  56. I’m stuck on the name thing. I agree Augustus Julian is a suspicious name. Linus is also a Roman name (with imperial connotations). I still like Leonora for Caesar. Has anyone else thought about the similarity b/w Leon and Leonora’s names? I can’t see how they’d be connected but the authorlords rarely do anything like that my accident…

    • Leon was named after their grandfather right? Maybe there’s a family connection

    • I am definitely going to have to vote for Linus Duncan. Primes don’t give up power easily and it sounded like he has a cause. I also think he is working with Victoria Tremaine. She became suspicious of Nevada’s lineage while digging up information on her after the party. It is why Olivia had such a good hex on her at the end.

      Spoiler from the book ****
      “He used to be the Speaker of the Upper Chamber. The most powerful man in Houston. Until they drove him out”
      “Why?”
      “Because he was honest and he tried to change the Assembly for the better,” Cornelius said.

      • Yeah I really like someone like Linus for it. I don’t think Lenora is as likely but the arguments for it are very good.

        • I too could see it being Linus. On the other hand, his character has barely been fleshed out. He’d be a good surprise. I’m wondering why some are guessing it’s Lenora? Other than the fact that Neveda idolized her in the first book, which would make for a good spin, I’m not seeing other signs.

      • That’s what I thought. Could he have something similar to Carolina’s magic also? It would explain the extreme devotion

        • maybe it’s too convoluted ( or too soap-opera like) but what if Linus is Nevada’s granfather?

          Penelope said “She couldn’t carry a child to term, so she did . . . things and your father was born.” she didn’t mention what “things” but having a child with someone else beside your husband if his magic is stronger sound quite plausible in that world.

          Also it’s not “usual” point a light on a character, like this one and forgot him… last time we had one was Cornelius and we see what happened.

          Plus Linus as Cesar sound quite realistic too, but he was saying the truth when he said “Let me see what I can do.” mmmmm

      • Exactly what I was thinking. As soon as Howling called him a man of ‘true honor’ my kind jumped to Duncan.

    • This whole time I’m just dreading that it’s Leonora but I think if it was then the “collective” would be using a different strategy. I don’t think people would be lining up to make Leonora their ruler after she’s been made to look totally incompetent because of the social destabilization & not being on top of all the problematic shenanigans.

    • I totally had the same thought. And while Linus is a roman name (as he is considered the pope after Peter) I think an even bigger coincidence is Augustine Julian. Augustus us the title of the Emperor in rome, while Cesar is more the general. Julian was Caesar until he decided to become Emperor and almost fought a civil war in order to become the ruler of Rome. He saw it as his duty to bring Rome back to its original values and save it from its dissolution (sounds a lot like this Caesar). However, it would seem like Augustine is working against himself as he helps bring in Richard Howling…. so it just depends on how twisty they decide to get!

      • I think the houses just have an obsession with Roman times and Caesar. Rogan calls his company Castra which is an old Roman term too.

      • Has anyone mentioned Augustine’s name?
        Julian Augustus was what Julian Caesar was called by his soldiers before he became Caesar.
        They made a point of letting us know that Augustine’s middle name was Julian and that he hated it. Which was unnecessary, unless it was a huge ass clue.
        Also Nevada was trying to break/preoccupy Olivia Charles she said he was emitting two colours.

        If he’s not Caesar, which I don’t think he is. I think he has a complicated relationship with whoever is Caesar.

    • I’m thinking Lenora Jordan for Caesar. It’s been mentioned, a few times, that she worships law and order … and that screams fanatic to me. David Howling was clearly a fanatic. And she is pretty much perfectly positioned to step in as this well-respected badass, that is going to put things to right when the world falls into chaos. It would basically be an encore of her wild west-ish initial appearance – walking down the court steps and binding the bad guy in chains. If the evil group plans to have a patsy create chaos – like they tried to do with Adam Pierce, for example – then Lenora shoots into a leadership position just by taking him down.

      Though Linus is also a possibility – he feels like a much bigger character than the short scene in which we met him, and he seems like he could easily pull together a group of devoted followers.

      My money is still on Lenora though. I was suspicious of her in Burn For Me, when the villains got the artifact away from her so easily (despite her reputation as a badass). And the repeated mentions of her being a bit of a fanatic really feels ominous to me… Coupled with the fact that she has, a couple of times, seemed pissed that the Houses are a bit above the law (rightfully so, I’d be pissed too) – like when she told Rogan that no one is above the law, not even him – I could see her wanting to make the Houses look bad in order to take them down a few pegs, and put her in charge.

    • I will vote for Linus Duncan as the Caesar. He seems suspicious, the way he phrased his replies… and the information we have about him. I really can’t see Leonora as the evil mastermind. Doesn’t seem to go with her personality. She is a zealot, she worships law and order. To have her create so much caos sounds forced for me. And for Augustine, it can be, but I hope he is one of the “good guys”. His interactions with Rogan are always so funny.

      • I also vote for Linus Duncan. Even if he sincerely is sorry that Cornelius’ wife died, that doesn’t mean he didn’t order the death or passively condone the murder.

        • That is very true. When she was talking to the serial killer and he told her he did nothing wrong. He was truthful because he truly believed he did no wrong. I could see Duncan truly being sorry she died, because in his mind it was for the good of his vision.

          • Right. You can still be sad that something happened even if you were directly involved in it or even the cause. D is for Duncan. and Deceit!

            • Hey, don’t forget Duncan is also for cake mix (as a non-fictional Duncan I have issues with your comment! However, I do think the fictional Duncan is Caesar.

  57. Why didnt Rogans parents try for more children after they realized that Rogan is a tactile and not a telepath?
    Or is Rogan so powerful that his siblings wouldnt turn out to be primes?

    • Yeah it is a bit strange. Rogan says clearly that people in the Houses always go for at least two, but not more than three children, unless something pushes them to have more, and Rogan’s father seemed to be the kind of person that always followed this kind of rules.

      But Rogan appears to be a only child, and so cousin Kelly (even if she did not have a lot of magic).

      And now House Rogan is down to just two Primes.

      • Actually, we don’t know very much about Connor’s family at all now that you mention it! Who’s the other active Prime in House Rogan?? Must be his father right?

            • His mother’s alive. In chapter 14, when Dr. Arias is giving Nevada a rundown of Rogan’s history, she mentions that there *are* only two Primes in House Rogan: Rogan and his mother. His mother just has no interest in “involving herself”.

              Also, it’s possible Rogan’s father died before they could have any more children. In BFM he says his father survived nine assassination attempts; it doesn’t say he survived a tenth.

              • One of those nine he survived was when Rogan was 3, and his mother killed the assassin.

                On a tangent, Tremaine couldn’t carry a child to term, and had to resort to nebulously vague insidious means to produce her child. Now maybe that is simply a tangent, or maybe a certain level of infertility is relatively common amongst Primes.

                It’s possible that Rogan’s father or mother suffered some sort of magical, physical, or emotional injury that caused them to stop trying around Rogan’s third birthday. The stories appear to depict a dysfunctional Prime family for the 13-15 years after that assassination attempt, but never a mention of other children.

                I wonder if that’ll be part of Wildfire’s storyline. We’ve seen Rogan with the Baylor family. Not introducing Nevada to the Rogan matriarch would be sad. Bound to be plenty of drama and showmanship in that meeting. Wildfire will force Nevada getting to know at least one style of Prime motherhood with Rynda. Not exploring that cultural context, especially with the Evil Grandmother looming would be a mistake. Or maybe perfect for a short story…

                • Yes, I’m betting his father died before producing another heir with his wife. We don’t know when his powers started to show, so we don’t know if he knew what Rogan actually became. They do normally have an heir and a spare but he could have been waiting so they could see what his magic became. But also we know Kelly was his cousin we don’t know if that was his dad’s sister or it could have been his grandfather or grandmother’s sibling’s child or grandchild. They are still considered cousins, right?

                  • But it says that Rogan had an argument with his father about house rules when he was sixteen, and then went to live on the streets…

                  • He had shown enough that by age 3 he was engaged to make up for his dominate power being to strong and his mother’s power not showing up as was hoped for.

    • I wondered if his father died from one of those assasination attempts he was trying to avoid with Rogan’s birth. None of Rogan’s childhood recollections so far include him.

  58. Is there any mention in either book about Arabella’s talent? I knew Nevada specifically told her not to hurt anyone, and the soldiers reported that the girl was stolen by a “thing”, and Arabella herself said her mum was worried she would end up in a cage.. but is there anything else anywhere? Im dying to know 🙂

    • Two things:
      – her magic is the same colour as Nevada’s
      – she can do illusions. One hint is when when Nevada warns her after Augustine does an impression of the demon illusion and the other when she rescues her sister Catalina from the soldiers.

      Exciting to find out for sure though and Leon too..

      • No, Catalina is light yellow like Nevada’s. Arabella is red. And I think she can do actual transformation, not just illusion.

      • I believe the author was stating that Catalina was the same spectrum as Nevada because both their talents work on the same wavelength controlling others wills. Arabella was the furious red. Her power sounds like it might allow her to transform. Whether that means its an illusion or that she changes into a giant creature. Only the authers know. If its an illusion why would they need such a large hole in the wall.

        • And not only was a 25 foot wide hole in the wall not large enough for Arabella, even a 40 foot hole might apparently be constraining… which means Arabella can true-transform (not illusion) into a freaking dinosaur-sized magical creature of some sort. Also, Arabella’s magic color (pure furious red) is nothing like Augustine (pale white and grey), again emphasizing it is not illusion.

          Those were some deeply in love mercenaries, to chase after Catalina being carried off by a nightmare-changed Arabella.

          • Have you read their “Alphas” short story. I’m totally going with her transforming into a terrifying beast like the dude in Alphas.

          • I am wondering if she is a dragon, thus why Nevada seems to visualize dragons so often.

            • I wouldn’t think a dragon since they needed to get her to a helicopter to get both sisters out. In most books dragons can fly. And also thinking about the guy she wants to sleep with as the same as her sister wouldn’t put me in the mood.

        • Exactly! It implied she can only transform into something thats large

    • When Augustine was showing his demon illusion, Nevada was hoping Arabella wouldn’t show off. That’s a significant hint, too.

      • I think Arabella’s magic is probably Arcane based, thus the furious red. She probably merges with or becomes some type of giant monster from the arcane realm.

  59. Am I the only one who thinks Leonora Jordan will be the “Caesar”? After all didn’t David say Caesar war beyond reproach?

    • Yes I agree. That is the only character that fits the bill that we have been introduced. Information was getting out of the fort when it was tightly secured by the DA’s office

    • Leonora doesn’t make sense to me based on her actions in the prior book. She authorized the evacuation of downtown Houston when it would have been more destabilizing to not doing so

      Augustus Julian makes more sense to me because there is no reason for him to have a part in the book. He played no role and didn’t move the plot forward so why include him unless he has a role in the next book? Of course he could have a good guy role instead

      • I thought of Leonora also and she really couldn’t not evacuate after all Rogan pretty much barked the order at her

        • Totally agreed, she had to evacuate. If she is Caesar, and is planning to seize power after things go to chaos … that only works if she is beyond reproach. If it comes out that she knew bad things were going on and did nothing … that would destroy her ability to take over. People would blame her.

          I think it is Lenora. The repeated mentions of her worshiping law and order make her sound like a fanatic … which is exactly how David Howling sounded. Total fanatic.

        • Also, if she didn’t evacuate, what excuse could she have had for not being in the Justice Center when Rogan brought it down as part of containing Adam?

    • Actually, it was Caesar’s wife who was supposed to be beyond reproach. Emperors can be as reproachful as they want. 🙂

    • I agree that the ‘beyond reproach’ comment made me wonder about her. Also, the fact that someone in the police / DA’s office told the mother of the abducted child about the ‘lady in green’. It would have to be someone on the inside to have that information.
      Could she be an unwitting Caesar? Like, someone else has built this plan around her being the person to step in at the end, but she isn’t aware of it? Someone close to her, who plans on continuing to pull strings from behind the scenes once their coup is complete?

  60. Okay, so I also have a technical House-related question:

    If two Primes are required to publicly verify their magic in order to submit an official New House Establishment request (or whatever), and it seems like specific magic is associated with specific Houses, does that mean that in order for a House to perpetuate that the standing Prime of the House would have to have specific magics related to the original two Prime petitioners? Or if the House’s only leading Prime had magic unrelated to original founding Primes’ magic, would the House then be dissolved?

    Just wondering why Nevada is so very certain Grandma Tremaine would go after her as the heir to House Tremaine, and wouldn’t give up in favor of an easier target, such as Catalina. I know, I know, Nevada is a Truthseeker, but she’s also one tough cookie (older, more experienced, willing to make tough decisions, embedded with etric eels on steroids, and with a demolition-dealing boyfriend). Catalina is inexperienced, seemingly less dangerous, and her power isn’t fully developed or within her control, so she may be easier to manipulate. However, Nevada seems convinced that her sisters would only be used by Grandma to control her. Catalina would be a smarter bet, but maybe she isn’t what House Tremaine needs in order to continue? Someone please correct me if I am wrong!

    Maybe Nevada could use a book on How To Form Your Own House: Laws & Legacies from Rogan so we can find out how this fascinating society works!

    • It might be as simple as Tremaine placing the most value on “rare” and “familiar”. We don’t know exactly what Catalina’s gift is, only that it’s strong and similar to–but not exactly the same as–Nevada’s. And so dangerous law enforcement would kill her on sight if she’s ever found out. Nevada, on the other hand possesses the same gift as Tremaine. It’s subtle and highly sought-after. It’s the third-rarest (known) magic talent. It’s the one Tremaine has spent her lifetime perfecting. She wouldn’t have to face the unknowns with Nevada that she would with Catalina. Assuming she can conquer Nevada’s will, Tremaine could “point and shoot” at a moment’s notice. There would be very little learning curve.

      • Nevada appears to be acting on the presumption that Grandma Tremaine won’t recognize that Catalina is also a prime & is just after Nevada because she advertised her abilities a bit too well. Nevada has been known to make errors in judgment however!
        On the plus side, apparently Catalina is now well enough trained to resist a prime truthseeker at least some of the time, however, I am quite concerned that Arabella and Catalina’s practice in resisting Nevada was clear foreshadowing of events to come in Wildfire…with a less than friendly mindbending Grandma

      • This made my brain bounce off into “What would happen if CATELINA were the one doing an interrogation” territory. I wonder, does her power work if someone knocked her unconcious? Like, if someone had to zap her to try and make her stop, would the effects still work on the people she love-whammied?

        • Catalina’s magic hasn’t been recorded, so its basically an unknown, and it appears to be the same for arabella. The whole family is kind of random in that its not all telepaths etc. But that would be more in keeping with the fact houses pretty much breed to keep specific magic in their family lines. While nevada’s family is a mixing pot of genes, so random magic! Also why the evil grandma is only really going to be interested in nevada, she has no use for the other types of magic in the family, she just wants truthseeker magic to continue her line. Though its interesting that the maternal part of the family is guns (mother, leon, her grandfather) patterns (bern) and her grandmother being mechanical (cant remember the specific classification names of their magic and can’t be bothered to look them up) and are all things that fit in well with the military, while you add nevada’s dad and you get some really unusual stuff. If you think about it, being so strict in who has kids with who is really limiting what kind of magic turns up, they would get more unrecorded magic by mixing things up.

          • Agreed, I was thinking the same thing.
            It’s basically the same as for looks: staying within the same “race” (excuse the term, here, but right now I can’t think of a better one in English) such as blonde-blue-eyed marrying in the same phototype (is that correct in English?) or brunettes marrying people with similar colors doesn’t produce as much diversity as throwing it all in the mix and letting the chips fall where they will.
            Neva’s parents married for love, one of them from a “combat magic” family and one from a weird branch of “will magic”, instead of keeping it all in the family they sort of mushed together stuff that didn’t belong and made weird but crazy powerful kids. Even Rogan’s parents mixed unrelated powers (pure telekinesis and a little bit of mind powers) and got the Uracan out of it. I wonder what would come out of a mix between Nevada’s and Rogan’s genetics. Those kids would be scary powerful, I think.

            • Back in the day, “race” was a perfectly legitimate biological term, before all the problems that racism causes were realized.

              Perhaps you mean phenotype? Phototype is apparently some sort of printing process. Not ethnic group, because while Finns mostly look the same, blue-eyed natural blonds can be Russian, German, English, or Kurdish, among many others.

  61. I agree with Lenora for Ceaser, and also think that Rohan’s ex-fiancée is in on it. The timing of her showing up is suspicious.

    • I agree about Rogan’s ex-fiancé being in on the conspiracy. What better way to get a spy into the enemy camp? Argh! I keep shaking my book upside down hoping clues will fall out. ?

      • yes, something is fishy with that Rynda or whatever her name was. it seemed to me she had some ulterior motives. and it’s very disturbing how fast she jumped in Rogan’s arms and cried on his shoulder after Nevada explicitly told her that she was indeed jealous at the party. sincerely if I was in her shoes I couldn’t do that to the person that would help me when nobody else wants to, especially when she is an empath and can feel that again Nevada had a spike of jealousy at seeing her throw herself in Rogan’s arms. I just hope he isn’t that stupid and doesn’t hurt Nevada for that leech

    • I saw the scene with Rynda as a device to help humanize Rogan. It shows that he does care about people, and not just people who are useful to him. It also shows that he has honor and integrity: he could have still married her for her genes, knowing that she would know (empathically) that he didn’t love her, but he didn’t. Instead, he set her free, and by all accounts she has found true happiness with her husband. The scene also shows that he does have meaningful relationships. So far, we’ve seen his relationships with his people/employees and Augustine, and that’s about it. We know that his mother loves him, but we’ve not seen that relationship. But Rynda presented a non-work-related relationship that is clearly based on friendship. Neither one of them is “getting anything” out of it except for friendship.

      In the first book, Nevada really damned Rogan at the end with her speech. She saw him as being largely uncaring and coldly calculating and sociopathic. There were a lot of interactions in THIS book — including the one with Rynda — that showed how off-base Nevada had been with her initial assessment.

    • Yes, agreed! I don’t understand how an empath wouldn’t know that her mom is batshit-crazy and evil. Ex-fiance is totally in on it.

  62. I think “Caesar ” is Linus Duncan. He is the Prime wearing the gold stole that Nevada & Cornelius met the the elevator. From the way Cornelius talked about him makes me suspect this guy.

    • I agree. There are so many subtle clues from the “favorite uncle who lived somewhere in Italy”, to the way he hesitates and rephrases things once he notices Nevada, to the way his views on the responsibilities of the heads of houses match up so well with David’s.

      • I agree. There are so many subtle clues from the “favorite uncle who lived somewhere in Italy”, to the way he hesitates and rephrases things once he notices Nevada, to the way his views on the responsibilities of the heads of houses match up so well with David’s.

        There’s also the fact that he has already tried to change the Assembly for the better before. Those methods failed, so perhaps he feels it’s time to try new methods. After all, Caesar’s followers are primarily after destabilization, not total destruction. They say they’re trying to rebuild by taking their society’s power structure back to the beginning to refocus on taking care of the many rather than the few.

        • I think Caesar is the guy who tried to save Nevada from domestic abuse (I’m not near my book so I can’t look up the name). I can’t think of another reason he was introduced and he returned at least a month early.

          • The man who approached Nevada at the ball was Michael Latimer. It was obvious he and Lady Azora were working together to “save” Nevada from domestic abuse having Laday Azora draw Augustine away so Michael could talk to Nevada privately.

          • Why? Why would he care so much for some girl that he didn’t know. He tried to save her, thinking that she was being abused. If he was Ceasar I think he would have approached her differently since he would already know that she was not being abused. He pointed out the women in his family letting her know that she wouldn’t just be with another guy that could hurt her. I think his mother, aunt or sister that was abused and when he sees something that blatant he couldn’t ignore it like the other rich people, who would just turn the other cheek. I think we will see him again and he will end up helping or on their side.

          • I think Michael Latimer was just looking out for family. I think he is related through Grampa Leon.

            • Why do you think there’s​ is a link between Latimer and Grandpa Leon? Just curious.

        • You’ve got me wondering if he has some variation on the magic that Catalina has? Instead of love, maybe a rev’ed up version of charisma? The longer they are in his presence, the more they worship him. The only thing that throws me off is when Linus is empathizing with Cornelius, Nevada doesn’t catch him lying. But looking back at the conversation, when Linus says, “I’m so sorry” and Nevada knew he told the truth, he could mean he was sorry she had to die. The way Nevada responded so strongly to him with such a short interaction makes me believe he’s the snake in the grass.

          With apologies to others, I just don’t see Lenora as the Caesar. My impression is there is history with Rogan and Augustine and they don’t strike me as the kind who would be oblivious to such machinations. The fact that the magical community feels secure enough to have her overseeing them tells me they’ve vetted her already for a potential “god complex.” People may fear her or appreciate her, they don’t worship her.

          • There is also the fact that all the people with no magic or no house also hold her in great respect, she’s pretty much a hero, nevada’s hero even and she can’t stand prime’s and house’s . And they’re trying to make the houses look bad so i dont think people would accept somebody who is a prime leading a house. Also if you think back, in the first book they tell lenora about the magic amplification thing (cant remember its name) and then after they leave theyre attacked. Then they visit her in the second book and immediately attacked again. Also there is a sentence ‘this was her Kingdom and she ruled it unopposed’ Suspicious. But who knows, authors dont want to make it too obvious. But definitely lenora, augustine (though i hope not, having julian for a middle name is too obvious i think) and linus are at the top for who caesar might be.

  63. I just had a thought. Because bonding/binding has been brought up a few times. What if magically you will bond with a person who is compatible with you and your magic.
    Because James and Penolpe didn’t make sense, but they loved each other anyway and then went on to produce 3 talented children. Rynda and Brian she said they are bound, and one child has magic and the other hasn’t manifested yet, but he could be really strong (quite a few Primes haven’t manifested until later)
    So what would that mean to Nevada and Rogan? They have obviously bonded, even before the sex.

    • Yeah I’m not buying the whole ‘we’re not magically compatible so therefore we are doomed in the long run genetically’ if she managed to attune herself to him with no effort on either of their parts then I think there’s a lot more we and maybe even the characters need to learn about how it all works.

      I cannot wait to have everything revealed in the next book! I devoured this one so fast I kinda wish I’d waited for it all to come out so I could binge all at once.,.

    • Nevada is a dual prime. She has perfect aim against someone attacking her. “Threat-based” and “Dual” were the words used. I don’t know if that secondary power is considered kinetic, but if it is, it’s a perfect match for Rogan.

    • The way I read it I think the bond is different than the way Rynda meant it in the excerpt. The way it was explained to Nevada leads me to believe that it is a animal mage thing. If it was a husband/wife thing then he would have explained it to her that way instead of telling her that animal mages bond to animals and sometimes never bond to their children.

      I also HATE when authors bring the ex back just to add a little controversy. It would have been ok just having her in the last book in the way it was, but to bring her back for this book is just… common. Too many authors do this.

      • Maybe Rynda is a mole for Caesar and she exploits Nevada’s feelings of compassion and guilt (and can also manipulate Rogan to some degree by reminding him of their long friendship and his desertion). What will happen if Nevada feels she and her children need protection? Bingo, move her into her house. She can cause a lot of damage as she’s perceived as a victim and not a threat and lead Nevada and Rogan into a trap.

  64. when Penelope is talking with Nevada about E.G., she says that E.G. “Couldn’t carry a child to term, so she did…things.” And then she mentions that E.G. “Tore apart your fathers mind every day looking for his magic.” Later in the book we hear that E.G. Leaves people a “vegetable” when she does this, but their father survived. Does this mean that E.G. Did some serious evil summoning in order to have a kid? It would explain the weirdly strong powers in her grandchildren & why C and A have weird powers. Any thoughts?

    • I am super suspicious about the mysterious ‘things’ the E.G did. So this kid she did ‘things’ for had no magic, AND YET! All three grandchildren are primed with rare or completely brand new magic?? Uhuh… that’s not going to need tobe explained more… suuure

    • Maybe the cancer was a physical side effect of Dad’s powers coming into effect? Because the power was incompatible with human life?

      • I need to go back and read up on Dad’s cancer. Was it in the brain? Any chance that it was an after effect of his mother’s mind torture?

    • Ooohhh! I “like” that thought process. Only from a story stand point. What an icky mother to have to survive!

  65. I am a bit confused about Rynda’s powers.

    In White Hot, Rogan says she is a powerful telekinetic and an empath, and says expressly that his father did not want him to marry a Prime telepathic, fearing that the eventual children would lose telekinesis. He also says that she manifested her magic at two by levitating a pacifier, clearly a telekinetic act.

    But when we meet Rynda in the preview from Wildfire, Nevada speaks about her saying she is a Prime Empath. And then Rynda herself says that her oldest daughter is an empath like her.

    What happened to her telekinesis?

  66. I have a question: In chapter 13, where Rogan and Nevada are trapped in the cistern, it’s pointed out that Rogan can’t collapse the walls around them because he’d flood the entire area. However, after reading that description my mind keeps going back and forth between two scenes: The one in BFM where Rogan shreds the chopstick at Takara, and the one at the beginning of WH where he has the quarters and levitates them like projectile weapons. Maybe I missed it, but I wasn’t seeing null space around David or Rogan like there was around Rogan and Adam Pierce at the end of BFM, so I think projectiles could have hit David.

    In theory, because he’s an ultra-high precision, super-scarily powerful telekinetic, couldn’t Rogan just chip off a few tiny pieces of the stone walls (we’re talking a few millimeters at most) and “fire” them at David like shotgun pellets? Even tiny projectiles can do catastrophic damage if allowed enough hits, and unlike bullets fired from a gun, Rogan would be able to bring the rock chips to bear multiple times; and David is a sitting duck out in the middle of the room, so he’d be an easy target.

    Maybe? 0_o

    • Except he did the chopsticks in a better environment. And the quarters too. In the cistern, he’s been teleported and is slowing freezing to death. I do agree though, that his level of control (and power) seems to fluctuate as needed. First he can do the chopstick thing, before that, he leveled a city. Then he throws around buses and is wiped, but later he has the power to toss a van around (not to mention leveling downtown and building WALLS out of it).
      Also, remember, if he structurally weakens the cistern too much, there’d still flooding. Remember how Buffalo Bayou got formed? Squish the water out, bring the water back, hello swamp.

      • All true. I guess I’ll chalk it up to stress and be grateful they still found a workable solution that allows them to get out alive. I do admit, this way wouldn’t be anywhere near as exciting as what happened in the book. =o)

      • The van vs bus thing, a van is much smaller and he tore it apart and used it as a shield. A bus is massive and he has it up in the air, higher than the aeromancer (?that was the correct name right?). Maybe that makes a difference? The farther something is from you the harder it is to handle?

        Maybe the circle David sat in was a protective one? So that only big changes to the environment would wreck it? So a couple chips of stone wouldn’t do anything.

        As for wrecking cities and downtown while in null space. I always assumed that null space was a magical booster circle that only primes could access, so he is much more powerful in null space.

      • The fact that they’re trapped in an arcane circle at the time might have something to do with why Rogan couldn’t attack David. It wasn’t until after he completely reworked the circles using Nevada’s chalk and almost competely drained himself in the process that they were able to drag David within reach so that Nevada could zap him. I don’t think Rogan had enough magic left after reworking the circle to do any precision telekinesis.

      • My guess is that every time he does the city-leveling shtick he is in a power circle. We know he was in one for the fight with Adam in book 1. And it is constantly pointed out how good he is at constructing them.

        • Not in the initial video of him at 19, where he walks down the street before starting.

      • If I remember correctly, the bus was after he had already done several things. Also, it never said where the bus was from.. he could have carried it across the parking lot after using his powers on Nevada and the other chick, being knocked out and then lifting a bus from some place and smushing that guy with it. Seemed like he used a lot before the bus.

    • They were stuck in separate circles. Rogan did his secondary chalk spell, simply to overwhelm Howling’s circle simply to get Nevada into the same circle as Howling. Howling fought him initially, so it became a battle of wills and who ran out of reserves first. That’s what exhausted him, iirc.

    • What I’d like to know is why Rogan didn’t just levitate the whole car over the kids??? We know that he can’t pick up a person without killing them, but he could lift a car with a person in it without harming them!

      • I think it comes down to giving Rogan limits. If he could use his powers to save the day for every scenario then it wouldn’t be a compelling story. In regards to the car thing, I believe magic takes a certain level of control and concentration, he might be able to do it in a stationary car with time to concentrate, but not in a very fast moving vehicle when he had to make a quick reflex decision.

        • I’m not sure about what I’m going to say at all… But doesn’t Rogan needs to see his target to strike (see them for more than 1 second) ? (Like in BFM and the scene with the elevator door. Rogan just swang the door to protect Nevada while she was shooting. Whereas he could just swing the door to the men’s heads or something else) If he’s in the car, he can’t see the car, so he can’t levitate the car he is in.
          I don’t know x)

          • Rogan’s words : ” I could try to slice the barrels off their guns, but considering the distance, I would need several seconds to aim, and they would likely shoot us. So I’ll provide a shield, but the rest is up to you”

        • I think also his ability only works on non-biological matter. Remember in the first book they talk about levitators and how ONLY they have the ability to lift a person but if rogan or other telekinetics tried they would crush their internal organs or something like that. I think that his telekinetic ability would have done something like that to them in the car

          • He levitates a car with someone in it to save them from the monster a few pages before the kids. I agree that it is a time and speed issue that stops him from hopping the car over the kids.

    • The reason he couldn’t nuke the whole place was that they were under a college campus full of civilians. He was trapped in a circle, so he couldn’t attack directly. If he’d done the same trick as at the end of BFM, he’d have put himself into null space and thus avoided freezing, but when the circle ran out of power he’d kill hundreds if not thousands of students.

  67. I think Rogan and Nevada are going to form a new house together. That is what Rogan is talking about when he says she has to decide tonight.

    • That would be a twist!!

      I don’t understand what happens to houses when the prime heirs or heads marry prime heirs or heads from other houses? It probably isn’t the done thing because it destabilises one of the houses. But there must be a precedent or something for the joining of houses through marriage right? Otherwise one house would always be disadvantaged by the marriage of primes because they lose a potential heir.

      • When she is asking him for advice and he suggests creating her own house, he hesitates before saying that it is the best choice. I’m sure a part of him wants to suggest marriage, but he knows that would be selfish and not let Nevada save herself. Of course, it probably kills him a bit not to swoop in and protect her.

    • I actually like them forming a house together.

      I think Cornelius is a sleeper. I think we will see some very surprising elements from him and his animals.

  68. On a slightly different topic, I just wanted to say that I got a kick out of the discussion of the Smirnoff rubber band theory and the AU version of the run-up to WWII with the Russian Revolution never having occurred. Just a little example, unrelated to the Osiris serum, that things in this world are the same, but not. One of the many things I like about IA’s writing.

    • Mmm. Maybe not totally unrelated. I’m guessing a peasant and worker revolution would be even harder to win if the royalty and nobles had all drunk the serum.

    • When Nevada and Rogan went to Lenora with the video and said that a pair of ferret and a ferret-badger stole it, She didn’t react much..
      Can you imagine the things she has seen in her job that burglar ferrets don’t seem strange at all for her?!!

      • Maybe she turned at the right time to see three animals skittering down the hall with one wearing a backpack.

    • I LOVED Rogan and Augustine both quietly freaking out that they needed to ferret-proof their fortresses now. LOL

    • Yes, I loved that scene. And when Cornelius becomes an employee – oh I can just see so many awesome books of the Baylor Investigative team and using their unconventional powers.

    • With the way he knows the sequence of combat hits, I nominate Leon for Baranovsky’s unknown child.

      • Oh that’d be a cool twist. Not impossible either because of the loose mother, but maybe a bit of a stretch

      • I don’t think so. They said it’s not precog, but ricochet. As in he can compute trajectories in his head. That’s why he panned to a target that didn’t happen and then moved on when it didn’t get hit.

      • That was one of the reasons he came downtown. Because he thought something bad was going to happen. Obviously not a well thought out solution, but still sounds pre-cog to me. Plus the Baylor kids should all be Primes, there is a certain elegance to that solution.

      • It’s more precog than calculating/computing trajectories I think. Leon is not that good academically :p

      • I think Leon’s power may stem from “statistics”. There was a 100% chance kill shot with the ricochet; there was a very likely chance that trouble would find Rogan and Nevada downtown.

        • John Conroe has a series called the Demon Accords. In that series vampires gain some magical powers as they get older. One of the oldest vampires was able to consciously calculate the odds of a specific outcome from a given situation. Leon’s power seems like it might be an unconscious version of that.

          At the moment his calculation is probably based on his passive field. What will his actual active power be? Maybe he can actively influence probability if he tries. That would be a hell of a power for gambling or in a fight. This could be related to Baranovsky’s power by taking it to the next level from predicting the near-term future to actively influencing it.

          • Thank you!! You got where I was coming from. In my mind, I pictured Leon’s powers similar to George Takai’s powers in Heros.

  73. I hope we see more of Michael Latimer in Wildfire. I can aready picture the animosity between him and Rogan due to Rogan’s jealousy. What do y’all think???

    • I’m wondering if ML is the guy Nevada is on a date with in the snippet for Wildfire. Wouldn’t that be fun? :))

      • ?????? All’s fair in love and war. I say if Nevada is jealous then Rogan needs to be a bit jealous too. Ain’t payback a b…? However awesome that idea is though, I could very well be that Nevada’s date is part of her investigation.

      • I don’t see where Nevada is on a date with anyone other than Rogan in the wildfire snippet?

            • So you don’t have to search…
              JAN 03 2017

              WILDFIRE Snippet

              My mother sat near Bug, Grandma Frida’s “knitting” on her lap. As I approached, she picked at it with a crochet hook and unraveled another tangled row.
              I paused by Grandma Frida and nodded at the metal carnage.
              “He was watching your date, and the walls started buckling. I needed some old frames scrapped, so I gave him something to do.”
              “What’s Mom doing?”
              Grandma Frida gave me the evil eye. “That yarn cost $38 a skein. I want her to salvage it. I tried doing it myself, except I have frayed nerves today. I was going to set it on fire for closure, but your mother took away my blow torch.“

              Written by Ilona · Categorized:Nevada Baylor

              • Yeah that does sound like part of an investigation, he would have to be at their warehouse watching on a screen in front of her family so its a good bet. And nevada doesnt seem like the type of person who would date somebody else when she is in a relationship. and if they were broken up he wouldn’t be at the warehouse. Though i do think she will be courted by other primes when she starts her house or whatever, probably micheal latimer will be one since he’s seems decent, and lets face it rogan isn’t going to be bothered by some scumbag prime cuz he would know nevada would hate them. Though she would probably use those opportunities to get info on caesar

      • I thought the same thing when he gave her his card xD And since I think this Latimer guy is really suspicious, it may also be for work =p At least, Nevada would not be the only jealous one in next book (it’s going to be hilarious)

  74. Not sure if someone else already asked this:
    Can a Truthseeker successfully lie to a fellow Truthseeker?
    If familial love negates Catalina’s power, (like canceling out like) then is it the same for other types of power?

    • Cool question. I think it might be possible if the truthseeker lying is more powerful than the other one. If they are of equal strength then I do not think it would be possible. Nevada was able to catch Rogan lying in a partial truth and Rogan seemed impressed. I think that means there is the possibility of a loopjole in lying to truthseekers. But this is just my thoughts i could very well be wrong.

      • I don’t think you can lie to a Prime Truthseeker. But depending on your ways of seeing things, it can be like a “lie” (like the scene with Nevada and Rogan and the thing about dating/sex in BFM). So I wonder : if you commit a crime but to your mind, it’s not a crime and Nevada asks you “did you commit a crime” and you say “no”. Technically, it’s a lie, but to your mind, it’s not. So, would it be a lie or a truth for Nevada’s power ?

    • I don’t think it cancels it out though. I think it’s just as she said, they already do love her so much. I think for others it’s more the shocking element of SUDDENLY loving someone like that.

      But it was interesting that Rogan didn’t seem to react to her 🙂 I guess he already loves Nevada’s little sisters too.

    • Good question. I think it’s more what the person believes is the truth vs the actual facts. Like when the child kidnapper feels he hasn’t done anything wrong and so isn’t lying.
      As to truthseekers lying to each other, they probably know best how the ability works so they can form their responses appropriately. Like asking hypothetical questions and then answering partially.

      • That is what the serial killer did, and it did him no good. If the interrogating truthseeker knows what the truth is, it can be extracted by the application of active force.

  75. I’m wondering about Nevada’s sensitivity to magic in general. For instance, when she and Cornelius are talking to Forsberg and Conner starts toward them, Nevada can feel Conner’s magic from thirty yards. Then, when Forsberg gathers magic, Nevada has to shove Cornelius out of the way, even though he should have been able to feel the buildup, too. Later, when Daniela was telling Nevada about the jungle and how Conner became Mad Rogan, she mentions that the Cazadores had sniffers, mages who were sensitive to magic. Maybe the sensitivity is the passive field, like her lie detecting, and the different colors of magic were the active version?

  76. I’m rereading White Hot right now and find it sad that both Rogan and Augustine consider each other their best friend. They fight and argue so much! More like frenemies than friends.

    • I think part of that is because they each has what the other wants in some way and it’s a tad bit of jealousy and resentment that pops up. Augustine is the perfect prime who followed all the rules except he isn’t married yet. He may at some point have wanted to be something else. Rogan decided to leave Prime expectations in the dust, joined the military and had his innocence destroyed. Now everyone is afraid of him but he does the duty of a prime to his house. Like maybe they each think the other person got the better end of the bargain and it grates on them but they went to high school/college together and were in the same fraternity so there’s also mutual respect.

  77. Wildfire snippet(s)?
    Do we just have the chapter that’s at the end of White Hot or has there been another snippet posted on the blog that I’ve missed?

  78. I wonder if EG, when messing around in her son’s brain, left a means of tracing him. If so, the manifestation of the Lady in Green, told her, she had an heir. E.G. knew of her son’s whereabouts. She probably knew where they lived. She saw the color and strength of the hex placed by Nevada. That’s all E.G. needed. Just maybe, she may wind up being a good guy.

    • After the the way Nevada’s mom panics at E.G.’s name there is no way in hell she is a good guy let alone a decent human being. Sorry but that is just how i see it.

      • Totally agree! Anyone who would do something that cruel to her own child has nothing good in them!

      • Seems to me likely that having his mind taken apart on a daily basis during his formative years would likely have interfered with the development of his power. The evil itch destroyed exactly what she was so desperately trying to find.

  79. My vote for Caesar is Rynda’s sister. Didn’t Rogan say he could marry Rynda or her sister? She should be a conspirator at least. And they did kill her mother.

    • I think Rynda is definitely a conspirator IMO, but my vote goes for Linus Duncan (at the beginning) as Caesar.

      • I agree. In the WF preview, Rynda admits outright that she hates Rogan for killing her mother, so she’s definitely motivated. It probably adds insult to injury that Rogan is with Nevada now. But Rynda just doesn’t seem–stable? tough?–enough to pull something like this off in the long-term. She’s a butterfly: pretty to look at, but ultimately lacking in strength. I just can’t picture her being able to endure long enough to play the long game. Also, without her mother’s influence she doesn’t seem to have the social clout necessary to pull something like this off. Her allies are abandoning her right, left, and center.

        As sensitive as she is, I’d think being surrounded by people like Kelly Waller and David Howling for any significant length of time would deive her mad.

        • On the other hand, having your powerful fiance/childhood friend break off a 15 year engagement must be humiliating. If she’s not a genuinely nice person, and has been hiding her resentment for years, then she’s quite good at enduring.

  80. Every time someone writes EG, I think Evil Genie, not Evil Grandma. I think we need to get some alliteration going.

    Nutter Nana (or Nonna)
    Nasty Nana
    Greedy Grandma
    Gruesome Grandma

    Suggestions?

  81. I really loved White Hot and I’m really hoping for a long series of Hidden Legacy books! After the first trilogy, surely there could be another big story arc that could give us another three of four books, right??

    One thing bothers me: why was Rogan’s cousin’s son referred to as Rogan’s nephew?? Your cousin’s child is your cousin. If it is your first cousin’s child, then that is your first cousin once removed. Your children and your first cousin’s children would be second cousins. The only way you get a nephew is if your sibling has a son (or your wife’s sibling has a son).

    Am I missing something???

    • I guess by technically definition? But I call all my mother’s cousins Aunt and Uncle and they call me their niece. I think it really depends on the family dynamic. (My best friend also calls my baby her nephew, and they’re not related at all.)

      • I agree. I come from a large, close-knit family and often refer to my cousins’ kids as my “nieces” or “nephews”. It’s much easier than saying “first cousin, once removed” or “my cousin’s son (or daughter)”. Once you cross a certain age gap, “cousin” doesn’t always do a good enough job indicating the age difference between me and the person I’m referring to, so they become a “niece” or “nephew” instead.

        We also see this same thing in the Edge series. Richard often refers to Sophie as his niece, though technically, she’s his much-younger cousin.

      • In a Q&A Ilona mentioned that if the books sell well, there is a possiblity to renew with Avon or self publish. I love this series so much. I hope they continue beyond Wildfire. The world building is genius and I don’t think three books is enough to fully explore the characters. Fingers crossed for more books beyond the trilogy!

  82. I want to see a romance with Catalina when she grows up. And I wonder if she has a passive field to her power. I can see her becoming a bit disillusioned before finding her true love.

    • I think it would be a really cool love story, since Nevada says their sister’s magic doesn’t work on her and Arabella because they already love Cata as much as they can. So Cata just need to find a guy or a girl that loves her so much that she can’t influence them 🙂

    • I kind of toyed with the idea of a romance between Catalina and Gavin Waller for this exact reason–two people who have become disillusioned with life who have had to forge a path for themselves.

    • Ah. That’s probably how you continue the Hidden Legacy storyline in later books. Follow House Baylor, not Nevada and Rogan. Sure, they can be in it, dropping in and being badass in the background, but you follow any one of the 4 younger members. (Or all of them, and now that’s 12 more books and the author lords have another decade planned.)

      I think you have to have Arabella come out as the second Prime, because Catalina’s Power, if that’s her only Power, is too powerful for the Assembly to know about.

      And one last thought, why does everyone consider Nevada to solely be telepathic and will-based. Yes, the Truthseeker/Breaker Prime is the one everyone’s learning about, but surely ‘SureFire’ magic that manipulates either the path of bullets or your body’s ability to aim via magic is more telekinetic and will-based than telepathic. Nevada is as much a perfect genetic match for Rogan as they thought Rynda would be, more so, because Nevada’s is will-based, and not receptive.

      • Huh, I’d never thought about that with the gun, aiming magic stuff. That’s a really interesting way to look at it!

      • I thought they were going to out Bern as the second prime. My impression was that all 5 of the younger Baylors are primes.

        And yes, I agree about Surefire being telekinetic and just posted about it earlier. It seems Nevada is not aware of it, just like how Leon never had a chance to really use his power.

  83. Dear admin, my comments seem to be stuck in awaiting moderation,did I do something wrong? This is not the first time this has happened. Please advise Me if I have erred

  84. I can’t decide which Leon commentary quote is my favorite. It’s either, “My teeth have biceps and my biceps have teeth.” Or, “I’ve survived five months in a jungle eating pinecones and killing terrorists with a pair of old chopsticks.”

    Classic. I loved the secondary characters. Leon, Cornelius, Matilda, the sisters, Bug. I just want more. So glad the next one is due out in less than two months. Only I can already see the withdrawal setting in. I so hope we get more books in this world.

    • I can’t decide either. But I know that whenever I’d want to laugh a little bit, I’d just re-read those scenes and Leon comments and I’d just cracked up

    • I have been wondering just how much truth there is to Leon’s ‘fictional’ background stories he’s made up for the doomed mercenaries.
      And on a random note, would love to see Cherry moved to a healthier environment – I don’t know whether she can handle salt water or only fresh, but either way Florida would do….

  85. Alas- the audio version did not have a Wildfire excerpt! Hopefully it will be posted somewhere on the website.

    As far as the things EG did to her son, I wonder if she got her hands on the Osiris serum and shot him up, but then didn’t recognize his magic because she was so focused on looking for truth seeker abilities, which he didn’t have.

    I also rather like some of the theories posted that involve reaching into the arcane realm. I see no evidence they have sophisticated gene therapy or the houses would naturally all have their own biologists to insure their heirs were primes. There could be a hidden prime ability that manipulates genes as sort of a micro PK talent. Just think of the house warfare control of that talent might cause!

    Just because David said Cesar was above reproach doesn’t mean he really is. Remember that Adam said that he promised the strong could take over and do whatever they want with no consequences (Adam’s personal ideal, but not honorable or above reproach.). Kelly expected Rogan to be the “backup plan” to destroy Huston. I suspect Cesar is whatever the listener values most- a projection of the followers desires rather than an accurate picture. I think Catalina’s magic might work like that too.

    I think Leonora is much too invested in right and wrong to have anything to do with this organization. It leaves too many bodies on the ground for her. In BFM I suspected the professor. Could also be Latimer or Duncan. My vote right now is on evil grandma- if she shreds minds as easily as Nevada thinks she does she has the right amorality, and a touch of Catalina’s “love me” magic could allow followers to project their own philosophies onto her, but her nasty reputation kind of negates that possibility- why shred a mind if you can make your victim love you enough to share all your secrets?

    Cesar clearly focuses on finding the disenfranchised (dark horse, mother who didn’t get the son in law she was promised, cousin hater, dead lineage, disowned illusionist, and bad boy biker.). So far we have no followers that actually have power or influence in the current culture. EG has had no heir for at least 26 years, so her House may actually have been dissolved, but still spoken of as long as she is still alive. If she isn’t running the organization she is a good candidate for membership.

    Of course a failed politician is always a suspect for evil cabals;-)

  86. It’s interesting to me that even though House Rogan is down to two Primes, Rogan and his mother, Rogan has expressed no concerns about the fact that if he marries Nevada and they don’t produce a Prime, House Rogan dies. I wonder if this is something we’ll see more of in WF. This seems like exactly the sort of argument Rhynda (or anyone else, really) could throw in Nevada’s face.

  87. Not sure if this has been covered anywhere but were Rogan and Nevada using any birth control?! I know this is a pretty random question but its bugging me at the moment!!

    • Definitely would bug me if I didn’t bet that the authorlords will fix it in book 3. Perhaps it’s routine to get birth control shots and it’ll get mentioned in the next book.

    • I think it is quite conventional for paranormal or urban fantasy settings when it comes to sex to skip about pesky things like condoms, birth control and STD.

      Kate and Curran have been having sex since book four, and I don’t think birth control was discussed at any moment – even if she magically manages to get pregnant only after the wedding and just then – and the same is for Sean and Dina’s sex scene if my memory does not betray it.

      Actually I can’t remember an urban fantasy where mundane birth control is mentioned.

      • You’re forgetting that Curran used a condom in MAGIC BLEEDS. It was mentioned very clearly during their first time.

        • I think we’re just meant to assume. I remember I read a UF series where the reader was informed that she took ‘her little white pills every day’ in. Every. Book. Before every. Sex scene. It got old really fast. I’d prefer to assume because it’s not really going to add anything to the plot or genre to have a dramatic unplanned pregnancy. If it wasn’t mentioned in a teen romance novel? Hell yeah I’d want to know!! That’s the exact environment dramatic pregnancy twists thrive in. Bad ass IA urban fantasy book? Not so much.

          • Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assasin series? Love those books, but yes, hearing about their dual contraception before every sex scene drives me bananas. Like, I understand you’re being very responsible and that’s great but I don’t care. Lol!

      • Well, they have had the baby talk, which is a start. Technically, we don’t even know for certain how birth control is handled in this world, though considering the magic tech we’ve seen so far, the thought of something they’ve pulled out of magic hanging out in one’s fallopian tubes… (Well, then, consider all the side effects associated with hormonal birth control. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.)

  88. To me it looks like Brian (Rynda’s husband) is involved in this whole de-stabilization conspiracy. It seems suspicious that he disappeared when his son didnt show his abilities and is missing now again when his son’s abilities are being checked.. Maybe like how Thomas Waller had no idea that his wife was involved, even Rynda doesnt know/suspect? Could be her mom and husband were working together?

    It would be easy for either of them to recruit the other because they are both part of the same ‘family’.

    • But Rynda is an empath. So she’d know if her husband was acting weird.

      On the other hand, he just goes away for a day or two at a time… So maybe she wouldn’t.

  89. From a purely political standpoint, rather than form their own House, wouldn’t it be a better move for the Baylors to ally with one that is already established? As of right now, they have no money–their net worth is NEGATIVE $1.4 million. They have few resources aside from their magic, and even though that magic is strong, in some cases it’s unclassifiable (Catalina) and a huge liability (Arabella). It’s also mostly non-combative, unless they’re holding a gun, which leaves them vulnerable to attack and kidnapping because they have no security force. Forming their own House sounds great in the short-term, but once their three years are up, they’ll be going up against the likes of Rogan and Augustine not to mention Tremaine. Wouldn’t it be better to ally with a House that’s already established, with money, power and its own private army? Can Houses “adopt” members? It seems this happens by marriage. (If Nevada marries Rogan, wouldn’t she technically then become a Rogan instead?) Does this happen in any other way?

    • From a purely political standpoint, I guess you’re right. But the point in creating House Baylor was to obtain the three-year immunity. That would give them more time to make up a plan to counter EG (and so many things are happening at the same time, having the EG off the shoulder, even for a temporary period of time, would be a blessing for them).
      And it’s not like they don’t have any protection. The family has more or less links/ties/alliances with House Montgomerry, Rogan and Harrison. And I don’t think a lot of Houses have as many as powerful magic wielders than this family (they just lack outside resources I guess)

    • Nevada values her independence.. Augustine offered that kind of protection a House can provide (although the price he demanded isn’t marriage but something that will cost her independence) but Nevada rejected it because she chose to stand up with her own power and be a dragon rawr! :))

      And Rogan might offer her a marriage proposal if she indeed did come to him for more than ‘advice’ in WH.

    • Honestly? If Tremaine knows her House is failing, but that she does have a biological heir? After she somehow fails to take control of the Baylor’s, they’ll somehow inherit her wealth. And then, bam, instantly wealthy. It could be some interesting drama, going toe to toe with Evil Grandmother and then realising that she isn’t evil, just totally focused on the survival of her family line? Like every other Prime? Yeah, that could be interesting.

    • I agree! Besides, Nevada keeps saying she doesn’t want the life of a prime, that House Baylor would have to be a last resort. In my humble opinion, none of the Baylor girls are really equipped to be a house (other than, of course, their powerful magic). Having lived happy, ordinary lives they’re lacking the technical magic training and know-how as well as the social/political training and know-how. It’d be like throwing lambs into a tiger cage. Only you make the tigers wait three years and give them time to plan and trick the lambs into thinking that their really very friendly, vegetarian tigers.

    • I don’t think so. Yes, they have negative net worth right now, but if they are willing to out themselves as primes, then they can hire out their abilities. Truthseeker is rare and so are the others’ abilities. Her abilities are worth AT LEAST $1M+ per year, per the contract Augustine offered her, and he was way lowballing her, from the context. So they’d be positive easily within a year.

      Also, they can have allies without having a positive net worth. Remember that the ultimate goal is power, not money. Money is just a way to power.

      • Plus think about how all these other more powerful houses got started. In exactly the same way. Formed a new house and eventually grew from baby lambs to ferocious tigers. Nevada is all about protecting her family. Her family will grow physically (reproduction) and establishing their power equals protection even after she dies. She can be a contender for MII which is how House Montgomery is established. House Baylor isn’t without means. Not only are Baylor Investigations case winnings statistics great, but the owner is a truthseeker (rare and powerful). House will spend a lot of money to hire a truthseeker PI and they can’t attack her pressure her into folding until her three years are up. Perfect time to make 10xs as much profit on cases to fund her security and living needs as a House.

  90. hey 🙂 i wonder about Kelly Waller. From what we read in “burn for me” she seemed a reasonable down to earth woman. does somebody has an idea what her place is in all of that. is she angry that Rogan made her son sign a contract for the military? i mean, it was the best he could do. why isnt she thankful her son is still alive? i cant see why this hate is suddenly coming from.

    • Read the epilogue in Burn for Me again. It’s a straight-up message from her, laying out exactly where the hate comes from.

      • Here’s a thought. Kelly is a dark horse prime. Augustine said that all dark horses that he knew of went badly, because the person turned against the family.

  91. My predictions:
    {I have not read and am not going to read WF excerpts or snippets. I want that book pristine.}

    Cornelius will be playing a role of some importance in the next book. I want to see more animals. His Pied Piper moment knocked me out of my chair.

    Rogan and Nevada will b separated, either by manipulated misunderstandings or some stupid honor related move by these two. (u know, sacrifice for lover’s happiness.)

    The sisters will go for war. (they will be glorious. )

    Leon has a big secret in his paternity. Or it may be about Bern.

    Augustine is not Caesar. (It can’t be. I can’t.. my poor heart.)

    Its either Lenora, Linus or Latimer ..ha L’s

    First was Burn- it had fire; White Hot- was Ice; What happens in Wildfire..

    • There is a tornado on the cover of wildfire, so that might mean the is a bunch of weather or air mages. That’s my guess.

    • Maybe wild magic. Correct me if I’m wrong, but we haven’t seen who summoned the creatures that attacked them downtown and herded them to the teleportation circle.

      • if we go with the idea of wild magic, Catalina and Arabella -heck the whole Baylor family-are perfect examples

    • Agree about reading Wildfire pristine. The snippets of White Hot stepped on too many moments that would have been delicious without the reveal — especially the snippet of Delicious Cookies.

      White Hot was wonderful — but I do not want hints of Wildfire.

  92. I have been wondering if we will see Bern and Leon’s mother (Gisela). She seems to have a series of deadbeat boyfriends and I suspect they are the sort of relations who turn up if there is a sniff of money. If House Baylor is formed and Nevada and a Rogan stay together the family finances will probably start improving.

    The gradual reveal of Baylor family magic is fascinating. I look forward to learning more in WF.

    Cornelius, Matilda and their menagerie are wonderful additions to the cast. The ferret burglars were brilliant and I loved that Bunny came to Nevada’s rescue in the fight outside the warehouse.

  93. I just wonder how many times Dr. Arias has given a speech regarding Rogan’s inability to form healthy relationships?

  94. Ok, no one seems to be thinking about 2 houses joining. Baylor + Rogan? This is a total awesome thought and instead of aligning if Nevada married Rogan wouldn’t her household fall under his? Total heroine squash but all her family would be protected. The “Houses Joined” thing would be totally explorable, and Nevada always works outside the box, would be nice to see the too joined. Rogan-Baylor House, could totally see and we have no parameters, yet…….

    • I think rogan might shock the hell out of people and dissolve his house and join baylor. I think its only really himself and his mother left so why not, and i dont think rogan really gives a damn about continuing his house, not sure who is left in rogans family though.

      Or it could flip and instead of waiting 3 years to deal with her evil grandmother, nevada will join rogans house and that basically means tremaine will go to war with house rogan. And they will kill her.

  95. Ok I want to put this out there: When the conspiracy first began in the Burn for Me I was pretty sure that this was about the Osiris serum – Some of the houses are losing power (failing vectors) and I figured the reason why they are getting so many lower powered people is because the whole cause was to release the Osiris serum again but this time with the intention of making those failing vectors stronger and powerful houses even more powerful. I still think this might be about that – all the houses care about is MAGIC and it would explain why they have so many Primes willing to side with them.

    • I like this theory. It might also make Cornelius a good option for Caesar. I’m of mind that Linus and Lenora are red herrings. (But I’m thinking along the lines of the Killing and Broadchurch).

      • My reservations around this theory come from BFM and the scenes in Jersey Village where you find the magic warped. The serum is still somehow available and clearly unpredictable in its results

    • I think you are correct. I also think it involves whatever they meant by “the Change” in BFM and the magic time/space experiment in WH.

    • I really like your thoughts on the Osiris serum being the at the center of this. It’s use on failed vectors explains the phrase “The Change.” And would explain why established Primes joined the conspiracy since they would get the serum for their people over those who aren’t part of Caesar’s plan. Though I still think Linus is Caesar.

  96. Ok, I have a theory about Rynda Charles. I think Rynda got pregnant with someone else’s baby and then quickly married Brian to cover it up. Cause Jessica is all Empath, and whilst in House life, people don’t Mary outside their lines of magic, but Olivia let Rynda marry Brian who is Herbomagus, completely unrelated to her empathy and tk, and within 6 moths of Rogan breaking off their engagement. Very suspicious, no?

    Oh, and when I read the book the first time EG reminded me so much of Roland. O_o

  97. There is tons of speculation on E.G. and a hidden talent that he may have had or may not have had but my big curiosity lies in James’s lineage. We know who his mom is (E.G.) and we know that Primes are very selective in who they have children with in order to maintain or advance certain powers. So who is James’s father or sperm donor or whatever? Primes and heads of households never do things for just one purpose so who did E.G. think was good enough to contribute to her family’s lineage and where has he been? What are his powers? His family’s powers?

  98. I’m convinced Lena (Augustine’s secretary) had something to do with all of this. She’s been missing in action twice now. The first time when Nevada went to shield Augustine’s mind, and the second on the recording when Evil Grandmother came in to get her answers.

    She’s a minion. Either for Ceasar, or for E.G.

    On another note, she could have been there on the recoding as the guy. It was mentioned earlier in the book (when that demon THING was coming after Nevada) that only true illusionists show up on camera etc. as their disguised forms.

    Lena is up to something. The authors made a point of detailing her absence on both occasions AND we always overlook the secretary. They know literally everything. I couldn’t think of a more perfect plant…

    • I don’t know about the first time but the second time they got rid of her on purpose because aside from Augustine she was the only other person who could link Nevada to the lady in the green robe. So she couldn’t be anywhere near Evil Grandmother.
      Replaced her with a dude who had never met Nevada.

    • I thought they just didn’t want Lina to be at the desk when EG came because there was the possibility EG would rifle through Lina’s mind and Lina knew all about Nevada. That’s why they put someone Nevada had never met in Lina’s place–because he had no knowledge of Nevada he could leak to EG.

    • I found the first abscence weird. But for the second one, when EG come I assumed that Augustine had intentionally changed the secretary. Didn’t Nevada commented that she had never met that guy. I took it as Augustine taking the precaution of keeping any possible leaks away from EG.

    • Nevada’s appointment at MII is at 8pm, she simply might be gone for the day. Otherwise she would have been at work for 12 hours or so. The 2nd is just that they replaced the secretary for Nevada’s grandmother didn’t have her mind to dig through to find the answer to her question.

  99. I read it again last night and another detail struck out at me. I don’t know if it’s been mentioned. When Nevada is mentally fighting with Olivia and she sees everyone’s colors, everyone is one color but Augustine is 2 colors. I think they said something like a conflicting clash of pale white and grey. If someone is Projecting an allusion of someone else, would their color and the subjects color show through? I just thought the way they phrased it stuck with me that there could be more going on with Augustine.

    • I agree with this. I do like Augustine, but he’s supposed to own a high end investigative agency, yet he’s the last to know… Or is he. He would protect his family at any cost and maybe causing chaos is a roundabout way of protecting them. I don’t think his secondary talents are mentioned. I really want to know what he really looks like.

      • I wonder if having Cornelius on board will help with the real/ not-real Augustine question? Like Rogan mentions in the book, you can fool people’s eyes but you can’t fool an animal’s nose… They would need to have some sample guaranteed to be from the original Augustine for this to work though…

    • There was a conversation where Rogan said that no one knows what Augustine looks like because he constantly uses his magic to hide his real face

  100. Just wondering where the Baylor name come from then, if their father was in hiding I assume he didn’t use his real name. And if it’s going to be their house name…

  101. I’m not the type of people who usually notice this kind of things, but it was so well-written that I did. I have no idea how the authors can write like that, but don’t you think that the action scenes and their descriptions are absolutely thrilling and captivating. Mindblowing. I was like in a sort of trance, no kidding, especially during the night action scene where Rogan just stopped a tank and Nevada fired round after round, it feels like she was making a huge badass combo with high precision *.*

    • Absolutely! The IA team is just amazing. Their scenes are so descriptive and their character- and world-building is so detailed and complete.

  102. I don’t know why, but I keep thinking that Leon will enlist because no one explains his magic. When he comes out, it will be 4-8 years later and a new trilogy can start focused on Catalina, Arabella, etc. Would let everyone jump ahead, check in on Nevada, etc. However, I am usually wrong…

  103. whatever happens , I don’t have any worries . Ilona mentioned earlier it will be HEA.

    • Pretty sure she said they had a firm HEA for WF, but the editor wanted it more open, so they left it more open.

        • Yeah, I got the same, that it’s nite gong to be a firm HEA because the editor wanted it more open.
          I’m happy with that, it means more books. The autholords don’t do love triangles (thank you for your eternal mercy, AL) so I’m not worried about Nevada and Rogan. If anything I was afraid this was going to be a will-they-won’t-they for 4 books like Kate and Curran, which it wasn’t 😀

  104. If you’re quiet and listen really closely you can hear the authorlords chucking in the background over all the speculation 🙂 I never guess correctly so I just read the wonderful books as they come out

    • Chuckling? I thought I heard screaming intermittently mixed with hysterical laughter while planning their escape (prolonged vacation) after July 25th.

  105. SInce E.G. tried to buy Nevada’s mortgage some time ago, she appears to have known of her family’s existence much earlier than the Green Lady appearance. I think E.G. is the Caeser and has been in Houston much longer than we realize. Also, many primes have additional talents beyond their main skill which they do not disclose. What if E.G. has a form of the talent Catalina has but has not disclosed it? She could use it to gain the adoration that is usually directed toward Caeser. Whether she is Caeser or not, I think she has been involved in all this for some time.
    Also, did anyone note that Nevada appears to be a dual prime? Her uncanny shooting accuracy seems to be part of it.

    • I think she knew about the family, she seems like the type to keep track of her son. But I think she thought they were all duds until the Green Lady incident. Nevada’s Prime status is the only thing that’s changed.

    • No, she tried to buy the mortgage after the Lady in Green incident. Nevada and Rogan are discussing it at Baranovsky’s gala and she asks if someone tried to buy her mortgage, he says yes, she asks who and when, and he says “A boutique bank, yesterday. My people are tracking it down.”

  106. Let’s combine Rogan and Baylor into one name for a new House…

    Roglor House

    Brogan House

    Rogbay House

    Raylor House

    Just a few thoughts ?

    • What about House Bagan or Baygan? Their standard could be a piece of bacon, since it sounds similar. 😛

    • One could have a lot of fun with this; I replied to an earlier post suggesting “House Raylor” or “House Bogan” (Bogan?!!! Heeheehee)

    • If House Baylor becomes a thing before Rogan and Nevada marry, I fully expect her family to practice ship-naming the houses. Of course, Herald probably does this all the time with Primes.

        • It’s also the type of shoe, specifically a heavy ankle high boot…the kind every kick-ass heroine needs in her closet.;-))

  108. My apologies if someone else has mentioned this. I haven’t read every post because every time I come to the site the count has jumped by 50 posts!

    I think House Baylor is going to register with FIVE Primes (all the kids) in two magical disciplines.

    Truth Spectrum
    Nevada – Truthseeker; can tell if someone is lying or not
    Catalina – Manipulator(ish); can make people believe something as truth
    Arabella (opt. 1) – Illusionist; can make believe something they see is true

    Pattern Spectrum
    Bern – can’t remember what Nevada called him; can see patterns (I’m thinking that’s his passive vector; active may be following or manipulating the patterns so he can hack computer networks)

    Leon – same as Bern, but flavored more toward threat assessment. His passive vector is that he can see potential threats, his active vector is probably that he can exploit a weakness that he sees.

    Arabella (opt. 2) – Morpher(?); she can manipulate her own DNA to mimic a pattern that she sees. This option fits better with everyone thinking she changes into something that needs a huge hole in the wall to escape.

    I think House Baylor registering with 5 Primes is going to shake up the arcane community. Especially with House Rogan allying with them.

    • From what I can tell I don’t think Bern or Leon are strong enough to be a Prime. Maybe a significant? I think Leon would be more average since his ability is only now manifesting (age 15) and usually Primes manifest at a younger age. Remember Nevada recalls her ability when she is very young and both the girls seemed to have already manifested their ability for a while since they are well known in the family and Catalina is already considered a prime. Besides we know that Bern and Leon are from the female line not like the girls who’s father is the son of a Prime

      • Except the brother of Adam Price (was that his name?) was a late bloomer, which is why the parents tried for a third kid (Adam), because his brother’s Prime capabilities didn’t develop until his teen years, I think. Might have been before teens, but later than normal.

      • Although good point about Bern and Leon having the maternal grandmother in common and not the girls’ father or paternal grandmother.

        • You also have to consider the possibility that Leon’s had this talent for a while, but hasn’t been in a situation where it could be noticed before now.

  109. On the identity of Caesar: I like Linus Duncan or Michael Latimer for the hidden mastermind because of the Law of Conservation of Characters: “any main character whose purpose is not readily apparent must be more important than he or she seems”. I can’t remember the authorlords violating this law in any previous books, though they have chosen to drop characters from series.

    Linus seems more likely, because Cornelius describes him as honest. That seems to be an open reputation. Michael Latimer’s reputation seems to be that he is dangerous, not concerned about other people. Rogan was surprised that Michael cared about the possibility Nevada was under coercion.

    (BTW: 10 to 1, Michael is Nevada’s “date” mentioned in the “Wildfire” snippet.)

    On increasing a House’s strength by concentrating talents: is it really a form of inbreeding?

    Nevada and her sisters are three different primes. Nevada and Catalina both seem to be mental, but if Arabella does transform then it’s likely her power is arcane. Their genetic background had mixed power inputs, including whatever Victoria Tremaine did to finally have a son. The theory mentioned in another comment that Nevada’s father’s talent might have been nurturing his children’s abilities is good, but I like the theory that crossing lines and power makes for more successful offspring more.

    Rogan is a cross. David Howling (hope he’s in the ninth circle of hell, that would be appropriate) is a cross. Nevada and her sisters are definitely a cross; we don’t know about Bern and Leon. Maybe the Houses have been charging down the wrong path? It’s not what you know that hurts you, it’s what you know that ain’t so.

    Admittedly, I want this theory to be true because I want barriers blocking Nevada and Connor’s relationship eliminated. Wish fulfillment?

    On Leon’s power: remember the “Fringe” episode where the villain could predict what would happen, and take a small action that rapidly snowballed into a disaster? Or Uriel’s ability in “Lucifer”, able to see patterns and quickly become unbeatable in a fight? Leon might fall somewhere between those, with a focus on combat tactics. It would be interesting if his passive field is tactics, and his active vector is either strategy or deliberate changes.

    • I absolutly love this theory.
      I totally agree with you that the Houses seem to practice a form of inbreeding, and that must have consequences. Crossing powers bring something new, as we can see in the Baylor family. The three girls have rare and unexpected ability. (Since Nevada also has the sniper magic, so two talents, I consider it as unexpected.) And you can also see that in family with lesser powers. Bern has a variant of Grandma’s magic, but with computers instead of tanks. Leon has something else, linked to his grandfather magic.

      You know what? I think the problem Houses have with mixing magic is because THEY CAN’T PREDICT THE RESULTS. Look at the Ice mage who was born into a fulgurkinesis family. There was no place for him because the business was linked to lightning use. You would obtain powerful individuals who couldn’t be controlled because they wouldn’t belong into their Houses.

      About “barriers blocking Nevada and Connor’s relationship”, I don’t think you should be too worried about that. It’s something that Connor learned his whole life and he is still a little insecure about his relationship with Nevada but at the end of the line, he wouldn’t care if his kids weren’t primes. He would teach them how to survive and be a papa wolf.

    • “Law of Conservation of Characters: “any main character whose purpose is not readily apparent must be more important than he or she seems”.”

      I don’t think Michael is the hidden mastermind, I think he is family, related through Grampa Leon. That would explain why he was concerned about the bruise though it didn’t fit his personality according to Augustine’s surprise. It would also fit in with the “hidden legacy” tone of the books.

      • I like that…grandpa Leon had a falling out over the mixed race marriage and the later generation doesn’t care.

    • With the law of conversation of characters, Leon could be the bastard precog son mentioned in one line (there’s similarity in their physical description and there’s that whole track-thing that was obliquely commented on) OOOORRRRR what if the bastard son is also the great New Ceasar? Hm?

  111. Ah… House Baylor-Rogan, 🙂

    5 Primes, is stretching it. I think we’ve got (3) girls as primes in Truth, Charisma, and what ever left field DNA manipulation to shape change Arabella has…

    Leon is a brillant whatthefuckery talent (LOL) as Bug says. I think it maybe is a variant of the Magister Exemplar which is Bern’s stated talent. I think Bern may be at a Significant level, not Prime. Leon OTH is likely to be a Prime and rare at that since his talent is so *different*. I would say he is likely a pattern recognition at short term and can predict outcomes based on that – but it has to be gun based or action based. Impressive as all get out, and yes can’t you JUST see him jumping ship to work for House Rogan?? Cause, hey he has a bit of that hero worship going there…

    So I’ll spring for 3 girls who are Primes and 1 boy who is Prime. 1 Significant. Still not bad for a House.

    I find myself wondering if Brian the herbmagos) developed a serum to assist in making Houses more powerful or ordinary people more powerful? Then if it was ORDINARY people and say, Nevada’s father was the product of an ordinary person who was given the serum who then bred with a Prime, who produces power in the second or third generation… established houses might either be a) motivated to get or b) motivated to silence this work…all depending on if they are powerful or not currently. Also depending on how they view Magic and Morality.

    so Brian is kidnapped to but pressure on Rynda via her child (we can give you the “cure” for his “problem” of not manifesting) who does all sorts of things to get the serum back (or get access to the serum). Olivia might have known all about the research and OK’d the match for those reasons.

    As far as Rogan goes, can’t wait to see him seething as “his” Nevada goes on a date (which she might do in a completely non-romantic way) and chewing up metal to relieve the stress! A little like chewing on ice, ha ha…

    I am surprised he would fall for Rynda, but it might happen. I think Nevada’s belief in Connor is what is going to save the day. Eg. she trusts the man she *knows* that others don’t know at all…and others may make flawed decisions based on that which will let Nevada exploit them. Also, others may assume Nevada is going to go for the full on House games, whereas she has no interest in that? Thus, despite her “powers” she could just as easily walk away, where others would never consider that action as an outcome? Therefore, the threat they *thought* they had and the hold they thought they had over – poof, it doesn’t exist?

    I also wonder if Nevada as a truthseeker is immune to being manipulated by a manipulator? And immune to having her emotions manipulated by Rynda?

    Can’t wait for the next installment!

  112. Has anyone mentioned Augustine’s name?
    Julian Augustus was what Julian Caesar was called by his soldiers before he became Caesar.
    They made a point of letting us know that Augustine’s middle name was Julian and that he hated it. Which was unnecessary, unless it was a huge ass clue.
    Also Nevada was trying to break/preoccupy Olivia Charles she said he was emitting two colours.

    If he’s not Caesar, which I don’t think he is. I think he has a complicated relationship with whoever is Caesar.

    • I never thought of that! This is a smart theory…makes me wonder about Augustine and Caesar….

    • YES! The color magic thing I was confuse by during the Olivia Charles scene. Is it simply because he is an illusion mage or is it something more sinister? So many questions!!

    • The mercenary attack on the warehouse is also suspicious. Augustine sends Cornelius to Nevada on the same day that someone hires mercenaries to kill Cornelius and Nevada’s adult family. who else could have a reason to target that exact grouping?

    • I hate to think that it’s Augustine… but what about his parents? Doesn’t it say that Augustine’s father stepped down? As in he is still alive, just not actively running his House? Which would leave him lots of time to plot and structure society as he sees fit. Naming his son as he did would indicate an early fascination with the Roman Empire and big plans for his legacy… his HIDDEN LEGACY, maybe?

      It would give us some parallels with Rynda and Augustine, both of whom I believe love Rogan and would normally be on Nevada’s side for moral reasons, but must struggle with the pull of family ties.

    • I think it’s Lenora. They made reference to his/her sterling reputation or something along those lines.

    • Julius Caesar was killed in 44 BC and was later avenged by his adopted son/heir – Augustus Caesar in 31 BC— 31BC just happens to be the lock code on the hidden door Olivia is hiding behind at the ranch. Coincidence? If i was hiding in plain sight I would want to make sure all co-conspirators who knew me by sight were eliminated. Just sayin’.

      • This thread is blowing my mind! But I so do not want Augustine to be Caesar. He is growing on me as a character. And Rogan still needs one magical Prime friend to poke fun at him.

        • Pancakes is NOT Ceasar. He is too much of a butt head to be Ceasar. If he is I will swear off reading for a year.

    • Okay, it could be Augustus or since it is suppose to be domeone respected it vouls be Lornia.

  113. I think that Augustus’s name is not a clue, its a “red herring” designed to lure us off course.
    🙂 Our author lords are sneaky that way.

    I’d spring as mentioned before for Linus or Lenora or Michael Latimer. People we don’t see too much of.

    On a side note: someone mentioned Baranovsky’s bastard son, and wondered if that might be Leon.
    I’m game for that! Aumt Gisela got around lol. Might have gotten some type of pre-cog from him.

    What ever it paternity he def. has awesome pattern recognition when it comes to fire fights. Def. only one place for him: military UNLESS of course, Rogan hires him on. And thereby infuriates Nevada in book 3. I can certainly see it happening…

    Pretty sure Rogan has some idea of his talent. Bug will let it slip to Rogan if he thinks Nevada isn’t acting in Leon’s best interests…that’s a plot twist to look for.

    Was Arabella flirting with / amused by Augustus or just the situation? I liked that scene. Also the one where she was taking pictures of him and he told her to stop it? Ha ha ha..hum “he’s too pretty for you” or something is what Nevada said and it made me snicker. I could see something a few years down the line there ….and let’s face it – Augustus’s face when he sees Arabella’s transformation ought to be priceless. Rogan’s too. After all, they’ve been assume House Baylor has *no* offensive / combat capabilities and then dum dum dum… Arabella Transforms! Scary monster, indestructable, with powers of projecting fear and gibbering terror… oooooohhhhh! Yes, yes I like this!

    Corneileus is going to come on strong in the 3rd book – I think he’s been hiding the extent of his power – he may *also* be a Prime level.. at least if the snippet is anything to go by, he can control otherworldly animal like Zeus… which is interesting because in the other fight at the warehouse he wasn’t able to control the MCM (magically created monsters). But he *is* able to control Zeus, who is a summoned? animal?

    I can’t see how Zeus doesn’t rate as a MCM but maybe not.

    I also note that Rogan made a point of telling Nevada she didn’t have combat magic as that somehow that made her weak in Augustus and Rogan’s eyes — *yet*… Corneileus was also seen as weak, and just demonstrated his Beast Master skills have a great *deal* of combat application (eg the ferrets, and Bunny ripping out the MCM throat before it got to Nevada). And he certainly gave Rogan and Augustus pause with his skills…

    Sooo we must ask ourselves, what if Nevada’s magic has more combat application than first appears?

    Installment 3 is going to be corker!!

    • Arabella isn’t indestructible, Nevada says that if SWAT sees her, they will kill her.

      • Actually, the quote was SWAT would “try” to kill her… which to me implied they probably wouldn’t succeed, but might still hurt Arabella

    • Cornelius’s special powers are not from the Osiris serum. So I don’t know that it can be rated in the same way. For example, would it interact with circles the same way? Is it pulled from the same plane as other mages’ powers?

      • It wouldn’t be possible that no one in his family used the Osiris serum. He only said his magic predates it. That doesn’t mean the talent wasn’t enhanced by the serum or that it isn’t measurable on the scale developed by the authors.

    • Remember that Nevada also has magic with shooting. They talked about it after the freeway incident. Conner said “Dual” with some satisfaction. So. Does that mean she is a dual prime or just has more than 1 magical ability?

  114. This may draw some fire, but I don’t think that Grandma Tremaine is completely evil. Hear me out. She would have been under tremendous societal and familial pressure to bear a child. Who knows how many divorces she went through before James. James is roughly my age, so he was born during the late 60s early 70s, so start of women’s rights. Harper is judged due to her reproductive ability, so consider what it’s like for a female prime who can’t carry to term. And losing however many children before James had to be hard on her.
    Our POV is Nevada/Rogan. We don’t know Grandma Tremaine other than through James’ experience and the badass reputation that she earned to protect James and herself.
    She could come face to face with the entire family, and be ” who do I have to kill to keep you all safe. And what kind of guy is this Conner Rogan. If he hurts you, I am going to hurt him.”

    • Except Penelope said that Nutter Nana did terrible things [i]to[/i] her son, not just to [i]get[/i] her son. Wasn’t there some comment about scraping his mind or something to find any sign of magical talent? It’s one thing to do extreme things to get a child (other than kidnapping) — doing bad things to your child definitely falls under the classification of evil.

      • Oops. The [i] and[/i] was trying to italicize the text to emphasize those words. Apparently I used the wrong code.

        • Perhaps angle brackets instead of square brackets? And I’ve seen em instead of i. Trying in order:

          i in angle brackets
          [em]em in square brackets[/em]
          em in angle brackets

          • I tried angled brackets yesterday when I was trying to underline something, which is why I switched to square brackets. But underline is being deprecated, so it’s possible it doesn’t recognize that tag anymore. Thanks, though.

      • Yh, I agree with Tink. It’s not so much what she did to get her son or her reputation. All that, within their society, is understandable. You could probably argue it was/is necessary. What makes her EG is what she did to her son, how she scarred him. The fear isn’t her not valuing Nevada, she’ll be fine. EG helping Nevada explore her powers is in EG’s interests. It’s the others that are in danger, they’re expendable and if she was willing to break and discard her son….

        • Or she was eager to get her only living child out of a literally cutthroat society when she finally accepted he wouldn’t be able to defend himself. So she did a Nikita Duncan and drove him away.

          • I like you point, but Nikita never tried to tear apart Sascha’s brain. Instead she made sure Sascha had developed extremely strong sheilds.

      • If Grandma is as evil and as powerful, couldn’t she have easily covered her tracks in someone who had no magic? So maybe she wanted him to think she’s horrible for some reason.

    • I feel this. And she could genuinely be interested in helping Nevada with her powers. Or she’s totally evil. We’ll know soon enough. 😀

    • Sorry but I disagree – I think Grandma T is evil. It says when getting the truth of someone she could lobotomize them and frequently did. If she’s a prime she would have enough control not to lobotomize them and yet she still chooses to do so. Evil I tell you – evil

      • Ah, but evil isn’t always entirely evil. I think Grandma T will be a little more complex than just all evil. The authorlords are great at developing characters who aren’t one sided. The villains thus far have been giving their families the finger and pursuing some form of their ideals or greater cause which they think will improve the world.

        Rogan and the Baylors have also taken lives. Rogan was in a bubble and praised, but what must he have done to warrant such building a fake factory to ambush him or be such an efficient scare tactic?

        • Yes, but she defaults to digging through minds to get what she wants. She didn’t even speak to Augustine after she saw the fake hex.

      • “It says when getting the truth of someone she could lobotomize them and frequently did.”

        You do it once and everyone thinks you run around doing it while bragging about it with a megaphone.

        Remember that first chapter of Burn For Me and all the horrible things that everyone said about Mad Rogan?

        • She could have lobotomised someone early on when she had little experience. Nevada said she nearly accidently destroyed the mind of the guy hiding the artefact, purely out of in experience.

          • She could also have lobotomised someone who was a threat to her or her family.

        • Everything they said about Rogan is true. He was a WMD for the military, has tortured people in the past and will murder with very little remorse. It’s because we understand his motivation that we don’t see him as a villain.

  115. Nevada will be able to crush minds like walnuts with her power.

    I keep wondering, is it Arabella och Catalina who’s a prime? It’s indicated that it’s Catalina, but not confirmed if my memory serves me correctly. Maybe it’s Arabella?! Either way, house Baylor is gonna rock some serious ass.

    I really hope this whole ex-business doesn’t become a big deal, Nevada and Rogan deserves to have some happiness. They probably have enough to deal with in Wildfire. :/

    • My theory is that all 3 sisters are Prime. When Catalina declares she’s a Prime too Arabella says “yes, yes, we’re all special here.”

      • Yup, Catalina declares to Nevada that she is a Prime, Nevada responds that she is as well, then Arabella says that we’re all special here.
        I agree, all 3 are Primes.

        • Good point! I agree. Nevada doesn’t say only two in the family are Primes; when asked if at least two are Primes, she says yes.

    • I think Catalina is definitely a Prime too. I think Arabella is… Something else. Possibly on par with a Prime power wise, but I definitely recall something about the original serum causing monsters as well as mages. Considering we have no idea what The Grim Granny did to get her son, and that sometimes magic doesn’t flow equally smoothly between generations, we’re probably going to be in for some surprises once it all starts hitting the fan in book 3.

      • You’re thinking of the lady who lives on the river in The Pit in BFM. She was twisted by magic. Nevada bribed her with chicken. Maybe that’s why Nevada is kind to her?

    • This makes me wonder what happened for Nevada and her family to know how powerful Catalina is and how dangerous prolonged exposure to her power would be? I mean, Nevada’s description of overexposure was pretty graphicーespecially considering she can’t name Catalina’s power and therefore can’t cite historical accounts of previous Primes with that power.

      • Good point! I suspect Catalina’s childhood was difficult, especially when she was really little and couldn’t control it. She probably couldn’t be taken out in public much as an infant/toddler.

      • Yes, that was the voice of experience describing what happens when Catalina uses her power on a crowd. But how could Nevada’s family have covered up something like that with out House level money and power?

    • Nevada said Connor was talking about her sisters, plural, when he asked about primes. I think she already knows both of them are. I’m really looking forward to the backstory for them being revealed in the next book. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of Bern and Leon.

  116. Now that I’ve finally figured out who this Linus guy that you are all talking about is, I agree he could be one of the main baddies,if not the main. I don’t think the main honcho is someone we’ve been introduced to.

    Anyway, it seems odd that someone would previously held such a influential seat would just give it up. Especially when it was made clear he thought the Prime way of life was wrong/flawed. That to me seems like motivation to establish an underground society that will one day overthrow this corrupt one.
    He seems a little too content, happily continuing to engage in a system he thinks is flawed. There should be the odd complaint or push back/protest. It’s not so much him being nice but him being powerful and not doing anything with that. I’m assuming he worked his way up to that position, earned his reputation. Where’d all that ambition go sunny? So he’s suspicious

    • I agree. I think Linus is “Caesar” and the clues leading to Augustine are red herrings. There’s no other reason to introduce Linus in the elevator scene. Everyone seems to like him, and he is known to dislike the present system of leadership. We’ll see in a couple of months. Can’t wait!

      • Could people’s initials be code for Roman numerals associated with Cesar and that’s a clue?

    • I had the impression from what Cornelius said that Linus Duncan was railroaded out of Assembly leadership. If he is Caesar he might not have known what Olivia Charles and David Howling had done yet. I can see cells or right and left hands that have no clue what the other is doing because knowledge falls under operational security. Plus Primes seem to be like our lovely wonderful governing weasels, oops, I meant politicians, in that they only look after themselves and their interests.
      Or Augustine could be Caesar but that would hurt Rogan as I also had the impression that Augustine is one of his few long time friends. I do not think bff as I do not think Rogan has bff. I do not consider Grandmother Tremaine to be Caesar as I think she is too narcissistic.
      Anyway, something to think about until next book comes out which thankfully won’t be long.

  117. One of the things I liked abt this book was the inclusion of a same-sex marriage (Marcos and Jeremy Nather) and how it was so casual. No big deal, here’s a family like any other that got ripped apart by the murders. There’s couples like this in the KD series too (the Lonsecos, Christopher and Barabas).

    What I don’t get is, how come there are never any female same-sex couples? I notice this with other authors I read too (Nalini Singh comes to mind). A couple of really nicely done gay characters, no lesbians. Is it like Queen Victoria, who didn’t make any laws against women having sexual because she didn’t believe it happened? I’m perplexed.

      • I too enjoyed how casually they’re represented. Until I read this I didn’t even think about how we never/rarely see lesbian couples in books. That is odd. Once again, intersectionality of the identities at play. Gay men still showing better outcomes overall when compared to gay women. (I mean this comment as a whole. Not to IA directly.) Perhaps they have a couple of gay male friends and that’s why they haven’t yet included a female couple. Or, perhaps b/c lesbian couples are less represented in media as a whole (this is arguable though) they get missed on accident.

        • Mercedes Lackey introduced lesbian couples as well as male couples in her Valdermar series years ago.

          • You have to remember the audience. These books are in the romance section. Author overlords do an incredible job just allowing same sex to not be a big deal. Yet romance novels don’t deal much with same sex couples, but having a gay guy friend is trendy. Romance novels may be the last frontier for true acceptance, because they are so formatic. People read romance for the titillation and reading about same sex romance is not part of the formula for mass market romance success. Someone will eventually break the barrier,

          • Jayne Anne Krentz has lesbian couples in some of her books. One of her Victorian setting books as a matter of fact and another in a current time book. Sympathetically treated, but one of partners is a murder victim that puts heroine on alert.

            • Krentz’s lesbian couples go way……… further back, in her earliest outings as Amanda Quick (I think Scandal) had a lesbian couple.

              • I was wondering as I have read Jayne Castle which is Krentz but I have read very little Jayne Krentz and two Amanda Quick books. I like dust bunnies and planet Harmony. But yes Jayne Castle has lesbian couples in several books. The bookshop owners on Rainbow island in the Harmony series and the married aunts in Illusion Town.

                I liked the way Ilona Andrews portrayed Jeremy and Marcos Nather as normal people. I have known a number of gay and lesbian couples thru the years and they are just like everyone else…people…some good, some bad, some so-so. Or as my Dad would say they put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. But then I grew up reading Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMasters Bujold……

                I don’t read romance books as they are too cookie cutter for me to enjoy but I will ask my sibs who do read romance and see what they say about LGBT couples.

        • I think it could also be because, statistically speaking, there are more female than male readers. And women are much more likely to pick up a book in the romance section. So the audience for this book is skewed more heavily to the female end. With that, gay men are fun to be around. There isn’t any worry over sexual overtures and men, culturally have to go through a different kind of hell than women do when they come out, so they are generally very compassionate, open-minded people. There are a lot of m/m romance novels that are written by straight women for an audience of straight women. We are interested in this topic, kind of like the old trope of how straight men are turned on by the idea of two women.

    • Because unless it fits the storyline it feels like a damn checklist. I have read authors where the main character literally proves she/he is “good” because they know same-sex couples and are OK with it.

      I may be living in a strange part of the universe at the moment, but I don’t run into people all the time and NOTICE the whole same-sex factor. Now granted, I’m not a private detective, nor do I have a job where I get to ask questions about private lives.

      I think what makes THIS particular story aspect well done is BECAUSE they don’t point it out. BECAUSE the character doesn’t note it beyond a glance. It’s like “Ah, I see they also hire the same lawn company weekly!” DUN DUN DUUUN! It’s a non-issue because… it’s REALLY a non-issue!

      • Sarah,

        The nice thing about Amanda Quick’s lesbian couples is that they were often used to explain an integral part of the storyline. This was back in the early ’90’s and heroines being raised or influenced by lesbian aunts was used to explain why they were educated and independent and so different from how average women have been shown to be during those historical periods. I really like explanations for characters and I’ve always hated the overpowered/oversmarted, materially different characters, or over whatevered characters with no explanations.

        Often she would also use them to talk about or reference the real women who pioneered the issues of women’s rights such as Wollstonecraft who was a feminest writer in the late 1700’s in England. I love that and I actually learned a lot since I’d go and research these things later.

    • We have a lesbian couple in KD. It was also done very causally when Kate was looking to get the Clerk back and called his assistant who has two mother who run a bakery.

      • Yeah but in a world that emphasizes passing genes to be more powerful, it wouldn’t benefit the Houses of Houston if suddenly a bloodline stopped.

        • Well, I assume that this world has artificial insemination and test tube babies etc. They have cell phones and other advanced medical treatment. Since I have only read about growth vats in Bujold and Weber I assumed surrogate mothers would be utilized by Houses.
          I personally know of one lesbian couple who have biological children thanks to sperm bank. I also know of gay couple who adopted after much legal agony and then had a bio child thru a surrogate mother. Medical insurance is still a nightmare, but daycare is not a problem probably because daycares look at children and insurance companies look at making money.

    • You should try Wen Spencer’s Ukiah Oregon series, then, starting with Alien Taste. The hero there was raised by a lesbian couple that is featured prominently. Due to special circumstances, he still lives with his moms.

      • I don’t remember which book, but in one of Karina Cooper’s Dark Mission novels the male main characters parents are lesbians.

  118. What about the fact that the side notes on the document about Adam Pierce that Nevada got from MII in “Burn For me” had the signature of “ASM” which Nevada thought meant “Augustine Something Montgomery”??

    And now he is Julian?

    Also I don’t quite understand the fluctuations in Rogan’s powers. He can level half of Houston but needs an amplification circle to throw a bus.
    Or is it that when he is in null space he taps the magic realm and uses the power stored there and not his own power?

    • I think he’s reluctant to use his full force because he can’t control it, he’ll just level everything until he runs out. If he wants to aim a bus and stop when he chooses, he has to work magic differently.

    • He used a circle to “level half of Houston”
      Also, it might be a question of control. There is a maximum amount of powet he can expend and still control, perhaps?

    • At bus throwing time he had been choking Harper, doing sensate examples onNevada, and been knocked out and dragged under a car. A circle was probably needed.

    • The ‘levelling half of Houston’ event was fairly clearly delineated from everything else – he goes into ‘the ascent’ at which point nothing and no one – except for Nevada – can break him out of it until he runs out of magic. That’s an entirely different thing from everything else he’s done, which he could stop at will, so it makes sense that there’s a power differential as well.

    • Ok, it might make sense that he would only need the amplification circle to improve his control over his telekinesis, but regarding the amount of power needed I am still not convinced.

      Say, he needed a lot of control to choke Harper with the braids of her dress, he needed control to do the tactile thingie to Nevada and after being knocked out, he was groggy so his control was not the best and that’s why he needed the circle to drop the bus on the elusive air mage.

      On the other hand, the braids probably weigh 2 pounds at most, “touching” Nevada was mostly a concentration thing and a bus weighted a quarter of a building at most (a small building) but he still needed a circle. To level half of Houston he did not need a circle (they were standing on a grass field in a park, chalk cannot draw on grass…) but in my opinion he would still need a lot of concentration to crush all those buildings into dust and make a wall out of them.
      But it seems like he still had power reserves left after Nevada stopped him, so my question stands. If levelling half of Houston did not make him spend his magic reserves but throwing a bus was difficult, rolling the tank up (WH) and shifting the floor after the explosion of the building in BFM was exhausting where is the relation between the amount of power spent and Rogan’s activities?
      The ascent allows him to reach the apex of hip power. It a a kind of meditation where he just reaches deep inside himself, finds his magic reserve and lets loose or is it a place somewhere in the magic realm (null pace) that lets him access raw magic so that he uses less of his own magic and it takes more time until he is exhausted?

      Is nobody going to comment on Augustine’s name change?

      • Maybe Augustine has more than one middle name and does not use the one he dislikes ?

      • There was a circle in the grass — a border that would kill Nevada if she tried to cross it.

      • Authorlord commented that it isn’t a name change, Nevada sucks at reading cursive.

    • I think that with magic things get skewed. everyone talks about power levels and control but it would take more concentration to pick up a bus and drop it some where specific rather than just let all his power loose. When in his null space he didn’t control where everything went, things frequently hit his null space.

      Its sort of like the old granny able to lift a car of her grand kid thing your hear about. she wouldn’t be able to budge it on a normal day but reacting instinctively she could. (This is probably not a good explanation for what I was thinking, but its the only one I’ve got)

    • I have no idea about Augustine’s middle name. My best guess is what Olivia said, maybe he has two and only uses the “S” because he hates Julien. Or maybe he just made up a middle name because of how much he hates Julien.

      But for Rogan and the bus incident, keep in mind that he had been completely drained the day before when he reconstructed a bunch of marble into a bunker to shield him and Nevada. It also makes sense that he has to access that null space to reach the apex of his powers. It’s part of the arcane realm (I think) and he has to be there in order to do any of the city-leveling stuff, as shown in that leaked video from the military.

    • at least that is the explanation he gave to Nevada for the name on the account. I hope we are at least amusing the author overlords with our speculations and theories.

  119. Not entirely related to most of these conversations:
    The part of the story where Leon was narrating the attack on the Baylor homestead was laugh-out-loud funny to me.

    • It really was. Totally appropriate for a teen with little or no actual experience. Or a really black sense of humor. “My biceps have teeth and my teeth have biceps.”

  120. I wonder how someone with new magic is labeled as Average, Significant, or Prime. If no one else can do what Catalina does, is she automatically a Prime? What about Arabella? Maybe they have three Primes in House Baylor.

    And what about Bern? Or Leon?

    • I wondered about that, too, especially since Leon’s ability is apparently a new one. There is probably some formula with relation to distance to object and duration of use that factors in a bit, but scale would be hard to determine until you have something to measure it against. But it could be that there is a formula for determining depending on which magic discipline it is. So a truthseeker might have different criteria than an one of the guys who could throw lightning.

      • It seems quite likely that each field of magic would have its own way of determining which level they are at e.g. Adam Pierce had stainless steel classification and this rating wouldn’t make sense for an animal mage.

      • Leon has a combat capability very related to his Aunt and Grandmother. Neither of them is a Prime

      • There is a Hidden Legacy link on this Ilona Andrews homepage, and it actually discusses what makes a Prime, Significant, average, etc.

    • I thought it implied that mages get tested when they come into power.

      I like the idea that Bern and Leon are primes too. Especially Bern. Otherwise, it’s really unrealistic that a college student can hack into all these government / high security servers no matter how good his intuition is.

      • Exactly my thought! Bern must be a high-level Mage, if not a Prime, to accomplish everything he does on a computer.

    • Wouldn’t it be too far stretched to have 5 primes in a family of 7, and every single one in a different field? I personally wouldn’t buy it. At least 2 have to be lower-ranked (I’d say 3, but I do want Arabella to be a prime to match her sisters. The scene when she laughs at scary-looking Augustine is priceless).

      • Depends on some things.

        How does EG try to give Nevada’s father magic? Demonic pact? Osiris formula? Something else? That could explain the girls being primes.

        Leon has the potential if he is the bastard son of precog prime. Bern doesn’t know his father so him being a prime could be stretch. I get he is an unregistered talent in a rare specialty. It seems he is probably an average to a significant, it is just that he is a rare subset of a rare talent so even a less powerful talent is still very powerful.

        4 primes would be huge and would probably wreck whatever theories there are about how magic is passed between generations. It would make House Baylor a very interesting house in which everyone wants to know their secrets.

      • I want to know what Arabella turns into. The people under Catalina’s siren spell (that is what I personally think she should be called is a siren) said “A thing took her away” and Nevada trusted her to get her away. I also believe all three sisters are Primes because Catalina stated that she is a Prime and Arabella just said something ironic about them all being special snowflakes.
        I think Leon would be a sniper talent or perhaps he has the right stuff to be a swarmer, like Bug, and Big recognized that.
        I am so psyched to see the next book and the possible formation of House Baylor. I just hope they can maintain the fine art of not being arrogant a-holes.

    • Testing. Rogan mentioned it when he told Nevada about setting up a House of Baylor.

  121. How is it that Rogan’s super fancy car doesn’t have anti-inflammatory brakes?

    • Anti-lock brakes aren’t perfect. I would guess that the extra weight of an armored vehicle would make it more difficult to slow or stop on ice, especially at freeway speed, on a curve. Once you’re sliding, you rely on the weight of the car and gentle steering to slow you down. Brakes can make it worse. Driving on ice sucks at any speed.

      • This really bugged me because if you have anti-lock brakes you should NEVER pump them (am of course assuming Rogan’s state of the art SUV’s have them)

  123. Has anyone read H. P. Hovercraft? In The Dunwich Horror the daughter of a sorcerer gives birth to the offspring of a evil God of the overworld. One took after his father and was a beast of enormous size. Just think if the evil grand mother made a deal with an evil God one sister could assume a form like grandpa and the other would attract worshippers. Nevada got her powers from evil grandma.

    • This is a great point. It explains why the girls powers have never been seen before.

  124. The thing I’m curious about is how Nevada’s truthseeker passive field pucks up in illusion magic as a lie. I guess the illusions are an attempt at deception just like lies are – any thoughts?

    • That’s my assessment. Although in the first book Nevada said hers works better if she can see and hear the person, but hearing works fine. She didn’t mention visual-only. The truthseeker part may not have kicked in until the “demon” said something. Did he say something? If he didn’t say anything, then touching her may have been enough, since it was now tactile instead of auditory. Although she saw through Augustine’s illusion when he and Rogan were having it out in the first book, but they were also talking at the time. It still took her a bit to figure out it was an illusion, though. Visual and audio processing are in different parts of the brain, so the visual lies might take her longer to process.

      That’s my guess anyway.

      • I think it only worked when he touched her, and maybe there was a connection because he was also using his psionic powers to make her panic – that mental connection might make it easier.
        Also, that Augustine thing wasn’t normal illusion, and probably accounts for the weird other color she saw when she looked at his power at the end. She didn’t know what it was but she knew it wasn’t normal. Keep in mind she doesn’t see through most illusion – people’s faces that are magically touched up, etc.

    • Any ideas? I was thinking something to defend her better, like a super gun. I’m sure the car he sent her only looks ordinary but is bulletproof and has some other security enhancements.
      Alternatively, a big diamond on a bended knee. 😉

      • I too was thinking sex-wear! But, yeah what to get him? New dog tags? Keys to her house? Don’t know!

    • Silk undies, in case they get snatched via teleportation again. So people don’t see the bits that he has claimed exclusive rights to.

  126. I just read the Wildfire description on Amazon, because when I pre-ordered I didn’t even look, (it’s the Authorlords book no description needed) and this made me laugh, “Rogan faces his own challenges, too, as Nevada’s magical rank has made her a desirable match for other Primes.”
    I’m picturing a scene where Rogan does a huge public claiming thing to scare away other primes that pisses Nevada off. She’s like I have this and he’s like but they want to sleep with you so you can have their prime babies, but their our babies… And awkward silence as what he says sinks in. It’s going to be magical!

    • Well, there was an earlier snippet where she was preparing for a date with someone other than Rogan…

        • Click on the Nevada Taylor tag at the bottom of Ilona’s post, the click on the Snippet tag on one of the posts that appears. That shows all posts that she tagged as snippets. It’s among them.

          • i got the impression that date was part of an operation. cornelius is now an employee, and the date was under surveillance. I don’t think nevada would date an employee nor, if it was a true date, let it be monitored. It was still infuriate rogan of course…

            • Truth. Plus she’s perfect bait for Caesar… a newbie prime who can sniff out traitors in their organization. I could see it.

      • I think it was job-related. Nevada probably wanted Intel and had to be the bait/date. Rogan raged but had to give in cos Nevada insisted and he had to treat her as an equal who can handle herself in any situation. Looking forward to the full account.

      • I think that as the head of a new house she has to use her 3-year grace period to make connections to protect her family. She knows she’s not going to get into a relationship with anyone but Rogan, but because she’s not actually married, she can’t turn down dates without offending the Primes who as her. Rogan would know that too. So though not happy about it, he wouldn’t stop her. He’ll just kill anyone who actually manages to kiss her.

  127. Wow! That book was fantastic! Thank you so much ilona and gordon for an amazing book! I think i have been spoiled with the 10+ books (including novellas etc) in the kd series and can’t quite believe that the next book is the end of this wonderful series. You build an amazing world and i for one would be very very happy to read more from this place, even if it isnt rogan and nevada.

    • I think the authorlords only have a 3 book contract from Avon for this series. There was some delay between the first and second books, so the publisher might want to see how the 2nd and 3rd books do before offering an extension for more books. I would love to have this series turn into a long, long series.

      • I would love the Authorlords to write more books in the Hidden a legacy world but I hope they self publish because
        (1) there wouldn’t be a long publisher imposed wait between book releases as there was this series
        (2) the publisher promised new ? Better? Covers and the inclusion of ” extras” in the rerelease which didn’t happen
        ( 3) if they self publish they may get Doris to do the covers . I think she does great covers for Innkeeperand would love to see her take on Hidden Legacy.

        • In their original contract the publisher may have claimed rights to the HL characters for a few years. That way, IA cannot legally self-publish those characters for however long that term is. I’m sure IA does not want to burn publishing bridges unnecessarily.

  128. Dear God, this book was so freaking good! On so many levels!!!

    Now I’m at a loss until Wildfire comes out!

    Can anyone recommend me a book/series with as delicious a slow burn romance between an independent, awesome heroine and her not-that-much of an asshole Love Interest? I’m open to m/m romances too!

    • The Toby Daye series by Seanan McGuire is very complex. It’s a lot more magic, and the first book is Rosemary and Rue.

      • The Magic series by Devon Monk is a lot of books and more similar to how HL is set up. It is set in Washington state, mostly. Magic is hereditary.

  129. From the wildfire snippet – I noticed this…
    Rynda: “I know what you’ll ask: Does he have a mistress? Did we have a good marriage? Does he disappear on drunken binges? No. No, he doesn’t. He loves me and the kids. He comes home!”

    The only statements she technically answered were no, he doesn’t go on drunken binges and that he loves her and the kids and that he routinely comes home. She deviously got out of answering the other questions. I feel like she must know what Nevada is (if not being a part of the conspiracy then) just by being around her during the ballroom confrontation with her mom. She’s an empath, so she knows that Nevada was “faking” running off on her mothers “suggestion” and she knows Rogan wasn’t concerned but amused by the thought that Olivia could control her. She also probably knows how Rogan feels about her. If you re-read that part of white hot from the point of empath bystander, there is a lot to be mined there.

    • I don’t think Rynda is completely innocent, but I don’t know just where she fits in.

  130. I like the hooded guy with the red beard in the elevator for Ceasar.

    Augustine is suspicious but he’s had so many opportunities to “off” Nevada or disrupt her and Rogan’s efforts I can’t believe he is Ceasar. Plus he’s not military. The Ceasar employs military trained mages left and right.

    The mercenaries that attacked Nevada’s place were diverted to that goal on the same day that Cornelius first visited Nevada. Before Rogan joined them. Rogan wasn’t on the hit list. Who knew about this meeting? Did Augustine give something away or has Nevada or Cornelius been bugged somehow? Or did the same person who squealed about the Green Lady also inform on Nevada’s meeting with Cornelius?

    I wonder if Ceasar has a similar ability to Catalina since David spoke so admiringly of the Ceasar?

    There is certainly a lot of info with which to put together a profile of the Ceasar.
    – Brutally ruthless
    – Military background. Hires military trained mages – a lot of them. Has access to military equipment that’s hard to get. Can divert mercenaries quickly off a current assignment.
    – Wealthy. Rogan and Nevada have cost the Ceasar a lot of money and people.
    – Wants to rule a dictatorship
    – Manipulative. I can’t believe Kelly Waller and Harper Larvo really believe they will have a place in this dictator’s new world. But the world is full of fools.
    – Preys upon the power hungry members of the House Elite (Adam Pierce, Kelly Waller, David, Harper Larvo), those who want to be in charge but are prevented by birth order or amount of magic.
    – Hates Rogan. Has twice tried to put him in the middle of a big scheme to destroy him and use him to further the Ceasar’s plans for domination.
    – Capable of gaining respect and allegience of Primes from multiple houses.
    – No care for people’s lives. Willing to kill large numbers of people and throws his own people’s lives away.
    – May have a similar “charm” talent to Catalina.
    – Long-term big scheme planner.

    I’m really looking forward to Wildfire.

    • I’m not sure that hates Rogan should be on the list. In burn for me Harper mentioned how Rogan could have joined them if his cousin hasn’t sold him out. That tells me this ceasar person didn’t start out hating rogan.

      • I wonder if Caesar wants to remove Rogan because he has the largest private military force in the world (or was it just US?)…Regardless, he has a lot of military power that Caeser has to contend with and i could see how this could be a huge obstacle in Caesar’s plans

    • Did you notice that Augustine’s assistant, Lina if I remember right, was missing both when Nevada visited Augustine and when grandma T visited. The second instance could be arranged by Augustine but what about the first time? Maybe she’s spilling the info and she definitely knew about the green lady, Cornelius and his case going to Nevada and Nevada’s abilities.

      • I took this to be that Lina was removed because Nevada couldn’t mess with her head too. If she put the hex on Augustine but not Lina, then when Grandmother Tremaine came calling, even if she couldn’t get anything from Augustine’s mind, she could pull it out of Lina’s. So Lina was removed to keep everyone safe. Nevada made a point of saying that the guy replacing Lina had never met her before and knew nothing about her.

      • We don’t know much about Frida or Grandpa Leon’s ancestry, iirc. As well as James’ heritage. As the dark horse Howling shows, people can have more than one power.

    • You have some very valid points. I checked the history, there was a time when there were three men working together ( First triumvirate – Rule of three men): one was arguably the richest man in Rome, the second had a military background and the third (Caesar) had the political standing and influence. So I would split up your description onto three characters.

      • 1) Money: Baranovsky is dead, but who controls his money now? Why exactly was he killed?
        2) Military: I am blank on this one, there were too many people introduced, any ideas? Michael Latimer?
        3) Political standing: Lenora Jordan? Linus Duncan? Anybody from the first book?

  131. Another thing I’m curious about are the hints we get about Nevada’s possible precognition abilities. A number of times we read that her instincts “whine” at her – is this the “sensing danger” ability that Connor’s father wanted to breed for, precognition or something else?

    • Well if you think about it the sharpshooter talent could be a form of precognition. The ability to see where a bullet lands before you fire it. It is either that or a physical trait to give you perfect body control. In hidden legacy magic terms this would be the passive ability of the talent. It would be interesting to see what this talent offers in an active ability. If it is about seeing perfect firing lines and instantly predicting where something lands, then this talent is probably precognition based. If this is a form of perfect body control then you have something different.

      If we assume this talent is precognition based it explains Nevada’s feelings. Though many of those feeling can be explained off simply by her not being an idiot.

  132. Anybody else reading all the illusory “chains” Nevada was seeing from the purple figure as a tie in to Leonora? I’m going with Leonora as Caesar.

    • YES! If think about it, Ceasar’s goals would give Leonora ultimate power. Warring houses, public demands they be leashed, Leonora steps in under the guise of her Law and Order, saves the day. It would be the perfect crushing point for Nevada. And Leonora would have enough pull to get all this accomplished.

  133. I found something that has been bothering me ever since I noticed it. Bern. In White Hot it says that his last name is Baylor, yet Nevada’s father was an only child and Baylor was the last name he took after leaving his family so my question is; How exactly is Bern related? Or was that just a mistake on the villains part?

    • I’d assumed it was Grandpa Leon Baylor (and Frida kept her maiden name) and that Nevada’s dad took her mom’s name upon marriage. And that because Giselda didn’t disclose the names of the dads, the cousins also went with their mother’s name. But my memory is very bad right now, so I may be completely wrong.

      • I thought the same but I could have sworn in White Hot Granma Frida had a completely different last name.

        • Yeah, it’s Frida Afram. But that could just be she kept her maiden name. Seems like something a strong woman might choose to do, if she liked her family name and/or had an established career prior to marriage.

      • I noticed it, too. I figured Bern and Leon had been adopted by Nevada’s mom and dad.

      • It has been established that they are related through the boys’ mother and Penelope wouldn’t let their mother and her boyfriend take them.

  134. OK. This has got to win the IA award for most comments. The sucker has been up, what 3 days? and has 775 comments!!! Inconceivable!

  135. Does anyone else think that Michael Latimer is going to be one of the Primes vying for Nevada’s affection in Wildfire? I think it would be fun to see him and Rogan to face off.

    • That would be lots of fun! I wonder what kind of magic ML has. I think Nevada has been much too accepting of Rynda being back in the picture (I guess I have some Grandma Frida in me). Maybe bring in Kevin and his wife/kids and see how Rogan reacts….

    • I loved his quiet intensity and willingness to take action when he sees a wrong thing done. And Nevada thanking him on behalf of all women. He seems a decent guy.

      • I agree. He seems like an awesome guy, and Augustine said he was very dangerous. Which means he both cares about the well-being of others (as evidenced by him trying to help a domestic abuse victim) and is powerful. I can see Rogan not so quietly freaking out when ML pays Nevada attention. Rogan will see him as a real threat, because unlike most other Primes Nevada has seen ML seems to care about the little people.

  136. I’m just SUPER stoked right now that Authorlords mentioned my hometown of Monterrey, Mexico in one of their books!!!!!! This is such an amaaaazing feeling, almost as if I were a character. If Authorlords need any Mexican language/geogragphy/culture consultants…. *raises hands* pick me! Pick me!

  137. Ok, so we know that Rogan was making his outpost around Nevada’s property and she somehow attuned herself to him. I have to ask was he really outside her door that one night she thought she imagined it? Could he have been checking up on her and she felt his presence?

  138. I’m just SUPER stoked that my hometown of Monterrey, Mexico was mentioned!! Almost as if I was a character in the book! If Authorlords need any cultural consultants *raises hands* Pick me! Pick me!

  139. Baranovsky had no known heir. It would be freaking hilarious if his will said “and if I’m assassinated, whoever gets my killer gets everything.”

    • I think the ‘unknown’ Baranovsky offspring is youngest de Trevino. Supposedly her mother had a 3 year ‘affair’ with Baranovsky beut then de Tevino may or may not be telling truth. That would also explain why third offspring might be more magically significant than first two.

  140. I don’t understand what Leon’s power is. I’ve listened to Bug’s conversation with Nevada a couple of times and it still eludes me.
    Maybe this doesn’t translate well to audio…

    • None of us are exactly sure yet. It sounded to me like he was able to rapidly evaluate the battle and somehow pick the most likely target that was going to die based on strategy/logistics.

      • Here is what Bug pointed out.

        1. Leon knew who was going to die next seconds before they died.

        2. Leon was able to see the path of a ricochet bullet that could have killed someone.

        3. Bug has never seen anything like this.

        4. Bug originally thought Leon was a precog, but noticed that Leon used line of sight from snipers and saw potential deaths as well.

        The presumed theory by Nevada is that Leon can calculate firing lines instantly. The speculation is that Leon is either a sharpshooter prime or the bastard son of a precog prime crossed with a sharpshooter.

        • Leon did say he had a feeling something bad would happen to Nevada when he snuck into the car with a gun…

    • Harmonizers can look at an interior and see the emotional possibilities. Grandma Frieda can looks at a tank and see the mechanical possibilities. Bern can look at computer code and see the programing possibilities. Leon looked at a battle field and saw the tactical possibilities at that same magical level. Since what Bug saw was probably just a passive field effect, then with training and practice Leon can probably understand instantly how to win any winnable battle. This could make him the greatest general the world has ever seen.

  141. Catalina and Caesar sound more in line with someone who has mental harmonizing abilities (went to Hidden Legacy website). I’m guessing Caesar is a Prime Harmonizer who has had more time practicing his/her magical abilities than Catalina. I won’t guess who Caesar is though, but all the theories so far are good, but please don’t be Lenora!!!! It would crush Nevada.

    • It did occur to me that immediately following each visit to Lenora’s office by Rogan and Nevada, they are attacked by the cabal as soon as they leave. And they would have to have an appointment (I think) to get in to see Lenora, so she would know they were coming. If she’s the bad guy, she could give her cohorts the heads-up so that they were waiting in the wings as soon as Rogan and Nevada exit the building.

      I could also see her being the bad guy because she has to stand by and watch as the Houses wreak havoc on Houston. I think of Kelly Waller’s comment to Rogan in book one: that she hates him because he’s magic and she’s not. If the cabal is trying to upset the current power structure, I could see how Lenora would at the very least be complicit (even if she herself is not Caesar). She wants law and order. She doesn’t want these unfettered Houses flouting the law and doing their own thing, usually without repercussion.

      • That is suspicious – the attacks. However, I’m seeing such overwhelming circumstantial Lenora must be Caesar I’m pretty sure she’s not. Also Lenora has arcane-based magic – so what about her House?

  142. A new line of inquiry. Do you think that Nevada can tell how strong magical abilities are by the effort it takes her to take control? She would have had a good idea after grabbing Conner and later Emmens about power difference. She then practiced on her family. She may have also practiced the stealth method during cases.
    So she probably came across a good variety of power levels. Nulls would have very little resistance while Primes would be able to resist until near unconsciousness.
    Which would explain how Cat and Ari are known primes in the family. And how she KNEW Leon had magic, even when he thought he was a dudomancer. Because she would have been practicing on all of her family, not just her sisters.

    • Oooo. I like this. I was trying to figure out how she was certain there was more than one prime in her family when it took so long to know she herself was a prime.

      • I think it is along the line of Nevada thinking, I have so much power. My sisters/other family members have the same amount. I assume that everyone is the same (or we are pretty normal) until I find out that I am special. Now I know my sisters/other family members are also special.

  143. After aydee’s comment, I take it that I’m not the only one who is suspecting that Caesar will be Lenora. I am curious as to how many other people agree with me.

    • That’d be good, but I think it’s Duncan from the Assembly. They mentioned that he was above reproach.

  146. So many great comments! I loved reading more of the characters personalities. The kids came through really well. Ariballa acting like she was eight, her reactions to Augistine, and calling Nevada “boss lady”. Leon’s laugh when when he was narrating the attack recording. And Catalina’s protective instinct for her family and Matilda. I love that the entire Baylor family has love and protection at their core. July seems so far away, it’s so hard to wait for the next book.

  147. I read pretty quickly, so I’m not sure if this was covered – but about pairs bonding… Did they talk about how/when a bonding happens? I’m assuming it isn’t a ritual and that it probably needs to be mutual love (can one person bond to another if they both aren’t in love, that would be horrible). Could Nevada & Connor be bonded already? That was the first thought I had when Nevada woke up with that cave nightmare.

    I read through most of the comments here. I feel that whatever relationship stumbles Nevada & Connor have it will just be the petty jealousies – nothing to drive them apart. Like, in the WF extra, Nevada watching Connor comfort an old friend (which I’m fairly certain he only did once he knew Nevada was ok with it); or when, again, in WF snippet, Connor watches Nevada on a date (and again, I’m fairly certain the only dates will be for business – I don’t think Nevada will entertain any dates just to appease other houses – I can’t see her, as a truthseeker, leading anyone on).

    All these conspiracy theories are fun to read. I’m very much a live in the moment reader – I’m not good at picking out red herrings or heck, on any clues. I didn’t pick up on Augustine’s middle name, but I can’t bring myself to think the authorlords would be that devious (having Augustine be so close to Nevada & Connor).

    Waiting another 7+ weeks is going to be killer!

    • I think the bonding relates to animal mages. If they bond to specific animals, then there’s no reason that they couldn’t bond to a human as well. It’s just rare.

      • Empaths bond as well. Nari, Rynda, and Matilda have bonded with spouses or parents.

  148. The building of a “House” requires two Primes per family, and Catalina said to Nevada that if she died they wouln’t be a House so… I think Nevada and Catalina are Primes and Arabella Significant. About the others I don’t know.

  149. I have to confess – I’m having a little difficulty seeing what happens in the story that turns the physical desire that Connor and Navada both feel into the love they both declare by the end of the book. Some help here much appreciated – maybe I’m just overlooking some pasages…

    • There is a huge hint in the snippet Delicious Cookies that practically shouts that Nevada has become attached to him, and wants to expand the relationship. She wants him, and she is headed there. Love? Likely.

    • And in the epilogue of Burn for Me, Rogan feels like he’s waking up, like a drug addict who suddenly finds himself sober and walking out to find a beautiful spring day waiting for him. Over the course of Burn for Me, he comes to respect her a lot and when she is able to reach him in the null space, he probably really sees her for the first time. Plus, look at how many times she makes him grin or laugh.

  150. Nevada did not seem as star struck about Leonora. She could be part of the plot. I think the whole family must be primes. Duncan gets my vote for Caesar. I need another chapter fix of Wildfire. Mean grandmother may have a change of heart. She already knew about Nevada (tried to buy mortgage) when she went to see Augustine. Did she just want him to arrange a meeting, but could tell it was useless?

  151. I don’t know if anyone has said this yet, but why assume that their father really had no magic. He’s born to a mother with mental magic who seems to have tried to go into his head almost since birth. It’s likely that he would have mental magic, too. Just like an irritant like sand can cause a pearl in an oyster. His mother could have caused an extreme block/protection of his magic and if he was at prime level and this was it’s focus throughout his youth, no one was ever going to see it, let alone reach it, including him.

    • Because as a Prime truthseeker she would have seen the magic, like Nevada was able to see through the illusion, she could tell it wasn’t real.

      But Grandma Tremaine must have had an interesting influence on the father, bc he did start an investigative firm as a son of a cruel truthseeker.

    • Because Nevada’s mother told her that her dad had no magic straight out. If that were a lie, it would have tripped Nevada’s passive field and told her.

      • Rena, I was wondering about that. If a person was misinformed, but they really believe what they’re saying, does it register as a lie?

        • Apparently not. The pedophile Nevada forced to confess did not register as lying when she asked him about the crime.

      • only if her mother knew it was a lie. If her father had not admitted to himself or to Penelope that he had magic, she could say that without lying

  152. I blame the cold, wet long weekend we’re enjoying in my part of the world – I’m sitting here knitting and re-reading White Hot and just struck something that doesn’t make sense to me: near the beginning of the book Navada and Connor go to question the families of the victims of the murder they are investigating. After the shake-down, Antonio De Trevino must contact the “new republic” conspirators and tell them that he’s still alive because Connor wouldn’t kill him in front of a child as we hear from David Howling that he was confident Kelly Waller could use children to make Connor turn his vehicle, thereby guiding him into the teleportation circle. I’m good with all that. What I don’t understand is why the new republic conspirators don’t seem to know that Nevada is a truth seeker. Surely Antonio would have also told them about how Nevada ripped the answers to her questions from him and, surely, they would have passed this information out widely, meaning Olivia Charles shouldn’t have been surprised by Nevada’s will-based magic. Any thoughts?

    • If most people think that the passive field is all a truthseeker can do, it might not occur to them that there’s an active ability. He might have thought that Nevada was a different talent, like telepathy.

      • A good thought, but Nevada still would have had to have a mental/will-based magic to pull the information out of his head, meaning Olivia shouldn’t have been so surprised…

    • Because truthseekers are very rare. She’s just a PI with no House affiliation so people don’t pay attention to her, or any staff/employee for that matter. She was a meer “employee” when Olivia met her in the gala, and she acted accordingly to her “manipulations”.

    • Antonio only lived because Connor knew Nevada won’t want him killed. That’s why Connor asked her if he’s not going to be killed. She affirmed this with the reasons why not to kill him: Return him back so that they don’t send people to find out what happened and that these ‘kill targets’ are not helpless. She also mentally raped him. As a harda** mercenary, this must have really broken him.

      As for Truthseeker, I agree with Gene.

    • I think that maybe they don’t remember if she doesn’t want them to? Rogan seemed to know but when she did it with Augustine he didn’t realize until she told him and showed him the recording. Maybe she controls it now? Makes them forget it..? I had the same thought and this is all I could come up with as an answer..

    • I don’t think house Forsberg is invaded in the “new republic”. I think that someone was watching either Trevino or Rogan. If someone was watching\listening they might not know magic was used

    • The people that attacked them at Antonio’s house were from house Forsberg, not the NWO conspirators.

      • Sorry, I got cut off. There are many ways the conspirators could have discovered why Rogan didn’t kill Antonio that don’t involve a direct report or disclosure of Nevada’s abilities. Not to mention that until the gala, she wasn’t even specifically on their radar.

    • I am sure de Trevino had to file a police report before insurance would pay to replace all the things Rogan busted. When police detectives or Forsberg people asked why Rogan stopped destroying the house, De Trevino probably only said because his son asked Rogan to not kill him. He would not want to admit that he told Nevada the truth and what it was because the truth would make him look bad.

  153. I loved this book! I’m losing my mind trying to figure out all the plot lines, but I’m loving every word! In my happy bubble, Rogan and Nevada’s children will be Primes, there’s too much magic in their families for any other outcome. He thinks their magic won’t be compatible, but he’s wrong. Nevada’s got strong, deep magic wells from both the Baylor and Tremaine bloodlines and that will be the game changer. Can’t wait to read about their children-they’ll be so adorable!

    I think Nevada’s dad was Prime with mental abilities and a little something extra and that’s how he got away from E.G. Because of whatever E.G. did to her dad, I think he’s the game-changing strand in the Smirnoff Rubberband model with Nevada and her sisters providing the first changes in the genealogical model. Think about it, he was a teenager, but he managed to keep E.G., a very powerful Prime that was taking his mind apart everyday-from knowing about his escape plan. Only a Prime could have hidden something that important from E.G. everyday. He may have used his magic on Nevada in order to hide his illness, still trying to protect his family.

    The Baylor side seems to be keeping a low profile too. Why? It’s obvious they have a few Primes-Penelope, Grandpa Leon (?) and let’s not forget Penelope’s sister. I think Bern and Leon’s mom is a Prime with pattern and precog abilities. Both boys have those abilities and they’re probably Primes. I bet Bern and Leon’s dads weren’t so randomly chosen. What if she had the precog ability and could see the magical genealogical pattern to produce Primes? And where is she now? Remember, this is my happy bubble, lol!

    • I think that Nevada’sand Rogan’s babies will be gods and goddesses of the magic world with how powerful their magic will be.

    • I re-read BFM. It talks a little bit about Gisela. She’s apparently not dead, anyway.

    • I have a little theory on primes and significants. If we compare the magic model to a money model we would have people like the Kardashians, buying a new car each year when it becomes trendy, people like the Wozniaks who buy new cars but not yearly or trendily, and then we have the Bill Smith (not to be confused with Will Smith) who buys used cars and uses them until the car suffered a catastrophic failure. What a financial advisor once called the millionaire next door, a person worth millions but doesn’t do anything ostentatious with it.
      When tremendous magical abilities started showing there were probably people who looked at the society forming and said “F–k it.” And kept a low profile. The children were trained to not bring attention to themselves, might have had abilities that aren’t flashy or easily measurable(how can you test a technomancer, have them take apart a carburetor and time them? They could easily fudge the test in their favor by slowing down if they want to remain hidden.)

    • I think that Bern is the other Prime that Nevada will use to start their house.? I think they are all primes because of what evil grandmother did to have a child.

    • That’s a good possibility. He may have abilities that are new and EG doesn’t know how to recognise it. Of they have no idea what it is. I wonder how do they test the level of their abilities? I think it has to manifest first before they could test of its level. Though Nevada has an idea of her ability and how strong it is, she is still in denial and she wasn’t properly tested by experts. They only knew of it’s level because she did it on a Prime and Rogan recognised how strong she really is.

      • I don’t recall exactly when the conversation happens, but I think it’s before Connor sees what Nevada’s sister can do. So he knows she can establish her own house, it takes two primes so he may think the second is likely a sister (as they tend to run in the family in siblings) or not discounting her cousins (Bern specifically). He may have an inkling for them as well, but not know, as Nevada was able to hide her full strength for quite a while (basically until she needs to use it- most who suspect how powerful she is has seen her electro-shock her assailants).

      • I had to look up images of ATVs, because I have not seen them before, and are the authors imagining something that looks like the Toyo Tires Ferret?

  154. Can I just say that I loved that Nevada, while she _hadn’t_ been facing her Prime status until forced, _did_ acknowledge to herself that really she knew and was just avoiding it? She’s not stupid, and it was nice to see that played as an “okay, I wasn’t looking but now I have to” instead of a “REALLY?” breathless moment, which would have been very hard to believe.

    Also, *squee* so glad the next one comes out so soon, can barely wait!

  155. OMG This book was 100% pure genius. It was full of Oscar-worthy moments such as:
    Best action scene: Ice on the overpass
    Best romantic scene: Cookie scene
    Best character development scene: Austine’s interrogation and the ride home
    Best Magical Power: Egocissor
    Characters I want to find out more about:
    -the man in the green stole
    -Michael Latimer
    -Anyone from House Shaffer
    -Grandma Tremaine
    -Caesar
    -Arabella
    -Catalina
    -Leon (could it be that he will end up a swarmer?)
    Questions:
    -will Nevada be able to maintain her principles once she is caught up in the strife of House politics or will she in time become the type of person that she most fears? (I hope that she is able to maintain her principles)
    -what color is Rogan’s stole?
    -what else can Nevada, Arabella and Catalina do with their powers?
    -what does Nevada get for Christmas?
    -what do you have to do in the trials to prove you are a prime?
    -if Nevada becomes a prime, will she be eligible to join the Assembly?
    -what did Rogan mean when he said ‘Duel’?
    -what is Nevada’s secondary talent?
    And finally, for purely frivolous reasons, I have included a wish list of scenes I would most like to see in the next book(s)- I really hope the series is not going to stop at just 3 books:
    -Nevada at the trials to become a Prime
    -Nevada meets Grandma T for the first time
    -Nevada kicks ass without Rogan (again)
    -Nevada kicks ass with Rogan (again)
    -Nevada improves her circle drawing skills
    -Nevada attends the assembly as a Prime
    -Nevada gets to play dress up at another black tie function
    -Nevada kicks ass with her sisters
    and (because I am a romantic at heart)
    -more tender scenes with Rogan

    p.s. I find myself secretly wishing that Nevada’s secondary talent is being an egocissor and hoping that she inadvertently uses it on Rogan or maybe Augustine, but sadly I don’t think this is ever likely to happen lol

    • Her dual talent is her aim when under pressure. Opposed to Penelope who waits and goes to her “happy place”, Nevada hits her targets dead one when they are trying to kill her.
      I loved the conversation with Augustine too. Calling Connor his best friend stopped me in my tracks.

    • Leon possibly being a swarmer- I never thought of that but it’s so similar to what Bug does! My mind is blown.

      • Leon can’t be a swammer because i believe it’s an artificial thing that military made Bug

        • Yes, swarmers are created by attaching volunteers to something pulled out of the arcane realm. Bug’s natural talent, if any, would be that he survived longer than anyone else who submitted to the binding. Leon’s talent in similar to Bern’s because it involves simultaneous calculations, in his case of trajectories.

        • *sigh a relieved breath*

          Somehow I got the feeling we might already meet Caesar in Book I… maybe the Caesar is Adam Pierce’s own brother, the late-bloomer Prime heir… maybe, just maybe

          • Who says Caesar is a man? That might be a bit of misdirection by our benevolent Authorlords.

            • We’ve already met Caesar. Remember our clues – … (he’s) a very well respected Prime …

              I won’t spoil things by saying who, just remember Agatha Christie …

            • Caesar is:
              Michael Latimer 50%
              Augustine Montgomery 30%
              Linux Duncan 19%
              Bernard Baylor 0.7%
              Other 0.3%

          • I have a theory. It’s probably totally wrong because it seems too obvious. Two famous Caesars were Augustus and Julius. Could Caesar be Augustine Julien Montgomery?

            • OMG. That is some awesome thinking. Now I’m racing back over scenes with him to try to make sense of this.

            • I don’t think it’s Augustine. He’s been too helpful when he could’ve easily misdirected them. Plus, I don’t think he’s well known enough to be “above reproach” in the way Howling meant.

              At first I thought it might be Linus Duncan, but it seems like he’d generate more division than adulation. I’ve been listening to Burn for Me as a re-read and got this sudden sinking feeling that it’s Lenora. She is above reproach in a way that the masses would follow her and sing her praises. And she seems strangely apart from House politics for someone so powerful. I can see her as someone both Primes (Howling, Pierce) and outcasts (Waller) would follow. In hindsight, I find it highly suspicious that the artifact was so easily stolen just moments after being handed over to her.

              I don’t really want it to be her, but it would fit into the story very neatly.

        • Actually Lenora makes more sense when we harken back to how Nevada used to hero worship her. She could have a power similar to Catalina’s that she has been more canny about using. Now that Nevada is more aware of her own truthseeking, she could be more immune to the power. My immediate thought with Catalina’s talent was to get her in front of crowds and influencers with one Hi! at a time…

  157. White Hot is already listed as a best seller via Amazon so keep the Legacy series coming. Wildfire is just 55 days away if you do not change the publication date. Please dont change the date!

    Legacy, The Edge and Kate Daniels/Curran. . .I have loved them all and gobble them up in one sitting like almond M&Ms. Then, I reread to insure that I dont miss the more subtle nuances.

    By the way, I am 40 year veteran English teacher who reads 650 words per minute with 95% comprehension and accuracy. I score in the 99th% on all reading tests. PLEASE make me a BETA reader!!!!!

  158. Re-reading White Hot, and now that I’m at the ferret part, it is enven MORE fun with the suggested Mission Impossible theme music.

    • The call Rogan makes to his people after the ferret and badger ferret break in is the BEST!

      • I actually stopped and reread the parts where Nevada wondered about the security of the vents and all 3 men looked at her as if she sprouted a 2nd head. I thought it was so funny, I had to reread it…. Then I wondered why Connor had an odd look while watching the ferrets at work. When he called his employee to put pressure sensors in the vent…. and his ‘yes, dryer vents’ .. I started laughing so hard. And Augustine texting….

        • I love how no one thinks some of these powers can be militarized or used outside the box… unless someone outside the box has needs ?

    • Would have loved to have Leon humming the music during that scene. But they wouldn’t want to distract Cornelius.

  159. Just re-read BFM and am WH after reading the these comments and the website extras. I think Caesar is Augustine’s father. The whole theme for this trilogy is parents and children and their Hidden Legacys’. Nevada has Prime level truthseeker magic that was hidden, Rogan is the result of very specific genetic engineering by his father, Rynda is suffering the consequences of her mother’s legacy in WF, Cornelius has the legacy of the Pied Piper. Everything would be tied together if Caesar is Augustine’s father. It makes more sense than Augustine if you factor in his name. He didn’t choose it, his parents did.

    I also think that Nevada’s father was a Prime. However I think his magic was the subtle type that wouldn’t/didn’t register on the usual scales. I think EG experimented with the Osiris Serum and essentially turned her son into a living OS who affects the development of magic in those around him. That would also explain why there is the scene where Leon learns about the generational delay necessary for the rubber band theory to show results (nothing the authorlords show us is without significance). EG messed up because she expected immediate results from tinkering with her son, whereas the effects would be seen generations down the line.

    James being a Prime living version of the OS would also be the only way to explain why Bern and Leon could have Prime or high level magic as well, as the AL’s have gone out of their way to explain how rare and important high level magic is in this world. Remember they talk about how the DeTrevino’s are both rated Average and have this huge house and live so differently from the Nather’s. Grandma Frida, Granpa Leon, and Penelope all served in the military and would have had their magic tested and rated. They would have had a very different lifestyle if they were high level mages.

    It could also tie in to his cancer as well. If you think about James’ magic as being produced by his nervous system and constantly boiling out of his neurons you could consider that his CNS (Brain) is protected from side effects because of the concentration of stuff there causing dilution of the forces, but peripheral nerves are coated by only one cell layer of myelin sheath and therefore would be more vulnerable to insult/injury, which could have lead to his cancer, which was Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor.

    • Well, my intuition is telling me that Augustine is Caesar.

      For starters, Rogan believes Augustine to be principled (which I disagree with when compared to his coercing Nevada to bring in Pierce and likely sacrificing her life), and Augustine makes all the right noises making him appear (sorry for the pun) to be a supporter of the status quo. And in BFM, he and Rogan had a rather ugly interaction after meeting each other for the first time in a while (one gets the impression since college) for them to be friends as described in WH.

      Rogan did not see his cousin’s involvement in events until she revealed herself and promised him retribution he wouldn’t even see coming. So, Rogan may not see Augustine as Ceasar for similar reasons.

      We know Kelly is deeply embittered and has willingly sacrificed her family to advance events to bring down Rogan. Did this happen at the outset of her being excised or did someone who was knows Rogan and has a grudge to settle deliberately (get ready, the puns are coming) fan the flames of her bitterness in order to burn him and his House to the ground?

      Hmm

      • I just realized I overlooked the paragraph that says Augustine’s father is dead (so can’t be Caesar-duh), but Augustine does state his house has four primes and we are told he has two siblings so his mother is likely living and a prime and IMHO still a candidate for Caesar.

        I just think Augustine as Caesar is both too obvious and too messy. He’s been part of everything from the beginning, if he was manipulating outcomes I think everything would look different. I’m onboard with him being a more villainous type, but I just don’t see how he could be Caesar (manipulated unwillingly by Caesar, yes) but actually being the mastermind or the candidate that all Prime’s would respect and believe above reproach, no.

        • What about Nevada seeing Augustine’s shark teeth? They are friends but not always friendly.

          • In BFM the scene between Augustine and Rogan was definitely not friendly.

            In WH Nevada’s comment about Augustine’s shark teeth was (IMHO) just an acknowledgement about Augustine’s drive to put his House’s interests before any other House when he was trying to lure her to House Montgomery and not necessarily a comment about him being a nefarious sort.

            Too obvious? When you want to hide, where’s the best place? Why in plain sight, of course. }:-)

            So now we wait . . . (Wildfire release countdown continues)

    • Could Caesar possibly be Baranovsky’s mysterious love child? Angry at never being acknowledged, ready to strip the House system?

    • James is not related to Bern or Leon, unless he fooled around with Gisela, which is just icky. James could only affect Penelope’s children by genetics.

      • I know, that’s why the point about a living Osiris Serum, with magic boiling off of him (James). It just doesn’t make any sense that magic is supoosed to be rare and special and yet randomly all of these kids have crazy magic for no good reason. James’ children yes, but there’s got to be a better explanation for Bern & Leon than “just because”.

    • James was not the father of Bern and Leon they were adopted into the family they are first cousins and the sons of Nevada’s aunt (the one who is always in trouble) so the extra gene may be on the maternal side of the family.

  160. I love the series. I read it and reread it, but one question I continually have is, why is the Baylor family struggling with money and Navada acting like everything depends on her when they have Grandma Frida? Even if she is only working part time, her skill set is specialized and in demand, so it should bring in a reasonable income. Maybe it wouldn’t be enough for a comfortable life, but enough for Nevada to worry less. If something happened to Nevada or Baylor Investgations, everyone could work for Grandma Frida and they could run a high end, armored vehicle repair shop.

    • Interesting thought. With ATV prices, she should be able to do really well just repairing them.

    • Do you know how much a warehouse costs? Theirs sounds hugh. There is struggling for money and being really poor. Seven people to support with one in college is not cheap, but they do not sound poor to me. They do have that loan to pay.

      • Plus, Grandma, hello? Nothing we have seen suggests that Primes are immortal, and a mechanic is one serious injury away from unemployment. Do any of you support families of seven? How about a family of four? On one income, a family of four is tough in any major urban area. For a family of seven, two solid incomes make things easier, but you are still worrying if you have three more headed to college within a couple-three years. The Baylor money is primarily tied up in that warehouse, which is both residence and business site.

        It makes perfect sense to me that they are always worrying about money, because we have a family of four on one regular income and one part-time self-employed. Granted that we are not poor by any stretch of the imagination, money is on my mind pretty much every day. There is always something that needs repair. Don’t even get me started on school expenses.

        • Yes, just think of their electric bill! It would have to be huge.
          Feeding 7 people… clothing 7 people… shoes for the kids alone.

          • Not to mention, teenagers’ appetites. When I was in college, I’m pretty sure my friends and I put one all-you-can-eat place out of business.

        • You forgot medical expenses. Nevada does not say in BFM or WH that they have paid off all the medical expenses for her fathers battle with cancer. But yes I agree with all your other items. Rent aka the warehouse mortgage and the business mortgage and associated property taxes, Utilities as heating and cooling especially cooling in Texas is not cheap by any means, Electronics– phones and multiple computers, Groceries– food for hollow legged boys is huge expense no matter where you live and vehicle fuel etc…. Also you have specific for business expenses like business licenses, continuing education to keep business licenses, dental and medical insurance is expensive…… long term care and life insurance is expensive too…. ammo, guns, target range expense, taxess….. One would hope that Grandma Frida Afrim’s business is self supporting….

    • It’s the mortgage. The mortgaged the house and the business for the cancer treatment. They even mention how horrendous the interest is on it and how little they manage to pay. Add that to all the running expenses for the warehouse and agence. And add four teenagers, then you have money worries.

  162. In BFM Rogan’s new house is described as Mediterranean. In WH it is described as Spanish Colonial. Is it a different house, a different persons description (Kelly vs. Nevada), or did he rebuild the house into a house he thought Nevada would love?

        • I thought they were just so close in type/style that either an SC would be considered a subtype of Mediteranean or it’d be easy for anyone to mix up the types.

          • No, two different people came up with two different names for the same basic style. Bottom line: it’s a house with several stories, lots of bump-outs, Romanesque curved windows, white stucco, and a red tile roof.

        • No, it’s a confirmation that nobody except a house enthusiast would be able to tell the two styles apart and that they are interchangeable to an average person.

          • I like both styles. Now, if I could find a single-story no more than 2500 SF, in a neighborhood with no home owners association in a near-Mediterranean climate on an acre. That would be near heaven. =P

          • *sigh* … but what an utterly romantic notion … rebuilding your home with the idea the woman you love will find it her dream home. Maybe in another novel, lol.

            • Well, Nevada said Rogan has her dream house, and was plotting on how to get her own smaller one. But now she can get Rogan’s, which I’m sure he built for her.

              • BFM says he built it and demolished the large Colonial style house. He had not yet met Nevada. But I like his smile when she says she loves it. It matters to him, right at the beginning of WH.

  163. OK, there are over 1100 comments, so I’m not going through all of them. Sorry if someone already asked this, but When Nevada snapped Howling’s neck, was she channeling Rogan or was that her threat-based magic at play because she was about to die?
    I know Grandma Freida said that both Nevada and Penelope got their shooting from Grandpa Leon, but since she’s a dual prime, or at least I feel free assuming she is, could that magic lend itself to any life or death situation? Because, unless Nevada hasn’t revealed something very important, she doesn’t have combat training, and your everyday average person, no matter how frightened they are, won’t know how to snap someone’s neck. Rogan however, wood. Just wondering…
    P.S. I’m pissed off that the evil chick’s name was Olivia… just saying…

    • There was no magic involved. She snapped his neck, because otherwise he would have killed her.

        • I’m sure Frida and Penelope passed on more self defense info than just how to shoot.

      • I find all the discussion fascinating. Do we ever get it right or mostly wrong? Thank you for participating. I hope we sometimes give you a good laugh. But I hope it helps you realized how much we love all of your books.

    • I imagine she has had quite a bit of self defense training due to her PI work. How to snap a neck isn’t likely to be part of it however.

      • She has marksmanship training and highly specialized knowledge about guns. It is not a stretch to believe that her martial arts training includes kill tactics. Be prepared seems like a Baylor motto.

  164. “Our Caesar is beyond reproach. A person of true honor.” The only person mentioned in both books that fits that classification is Lenora whose civil service standing is backed by all the houses. It can’t be Augustine because of the way he was mentally turned away mid step by Olivia Charles when he was coming to Nevada’s aide after Olivia tried to chase Nevada away. If he was Caesar he wouldn’t have been treated in that manner.
    The history lesson given by David points to Lenora.

      • Disagree. Linus Duncan also fits those categories. Lenora doesn’t qualify because she’s had ample opportunity to screw up Rogan’s plans (in the end of WHITE HOT, she knows about the siege of the base and could’ve warned Olivia Charles and the other soldiers that Rogan/Neva were coming).

        • I think there is so much evidence suggesting Lenora is Caesar that it can’t be true. I could be wrong, though.

        • I think its Linus. (just to be clear he is the nice prime in the elevator, right?)

    • Where is Rogans dad? I need to reread everything and find out what happened to him. Also his Mom? I thought it read like she is still alive. Could either of them be Caesar?

  165. Ok, am I mis-remembering or does someone have the last name Tremaine in one of the Edge books?

    • There are several names the beloved authorlords seem to like and re-use. I only noticed because I just went on a massive Ilona Andrews binge and re- read all of the series over the last 2 weeks. 🙂

      • Thanks. I couldn’t quite track it down and was wondering if it was a hidden easter egg.

  166. Absolutely loved the book and cannot wait for the next one! I actually love this series more than the Kate Daniels one…

    As for Caesar: “Our Caesar is beyond reproach. A person of true honor.” No one of true honor would go along with much of what this group is doing… so it is possible that the leader of this conspiracy is actually not Caesar? That all this is being enacted without his/her knowledge? That once everything is chaos, a few plan to approach him and beg him to rule, to bring stability and justice… not letting on that they created the chaos or that the goal was to bring him into power and change how the Houses interacted with the populace.

    It would not be the first time that a group of people, admiring someone and how they think he will rule, his code of honor, secretly “dirty their hands” behinds the scenes in order to bring about his rule, knowing that he would never approve if he found out.

    Heck, even Conner is somewhat this way with Nevada – there is nothing he would not do for her and he does not tell her what he is doing, although he does respect her enough to not lie when she questions him about things (not to mention he cannot lie to her). I can see him killing anyone whoever threatens or even annoys her, except he knows she will figure it out if bodies start dropping and he will not do anything for her that she can’t live with… but then he loves her.

    This group could have the same mindset without the in love and afraid of losing her mindset. They could be doing everything they can behind the scenes to put their Caesar, without regard to his approval, into power, with him completely unaware.

    • This thought had occurred to me as well, primarily because I don’t want any of the likeliest candidates to be Caesar.

  167. I LOVED WHITE HOT!!!!!! I am anxiously awaiting Wildfire. I think LInus Duncan is Caesar. He was once powerful and now he is not.
    I wonder if Arabella is an illusionist like Augustine, but when Nevada saw their colors Augustine was gray & white, and Arabella was red.
    When Augustine turned into the demon bat illusion, Arabella giggled, and Nevada said “don’t”. Hmmm, and the soldiers said something big stole Catalina, and when Rogan made a hole in the cafeteria’s wall, it had to be BIG.
    Any guesses?

      • At first, I thought she was an illusionist like Augustine. But when Nevada’s mom told her that Victoria Tremaine would lock Arabella in a cage, I realized that she’s a shapeshifter (a monster).

    • That is a theory I posed. Honestly, if Caesar is really “beyond approach and a man of true honor” he can’t be part of this conspiracy… he must be someone they plan on appealing to for order and help (without him knowing they are behind what happened) once everything is in total chaos.

      Either they were wrong in thinking he was a man of true honor (because no one with honor would accept all the collateral damage, innocents being killed) or he know nothing about what they are doing.

      • Well, it could be that he is ‘a man of true honour’ from their perspective but not actually or from the reader’s perspective.

      • I respect he is able to manipulate minds because of how devoted his followers are, and therefore not a ‘man of true honour’…

  169. Love it! Can’t wait for wildfire. I think Caesar is Lenora based on the description of Caesar as irreproachable and Lenora’s slightly implausible fumble of the relic in BFM.

    • I wondered about that fumble too. Also she was coming to soon to the fortress.

  170. I know I am late to the spoiler party, but, is it too far out there to think the Nemesis has made a deal with the arcane realm? Isn’t that where the power comes from (thinking that is why the DNA is important). It seems like many Primes are willing to die for the cause, I would think it would have to have a huge prize. Whether they win or lose, the status quo is no more, there will be a new sheriff in town. As for individuals, I think it would be hysterical if Harper turned out to be the evil leader (great cover). Thank you for giving us Cornelius, he fit in so well with the Baylor family, that should be fun. Augustine’s assistant -is she his romantic interest or a sibling in illusion to learn the family business? So many questions! Thank you for a great story. I have introduced you to some friends who had never read UF and now they are hooked. Looking forward to Wildfire.

      • Harper wouldn’t put herself in harm’s way if she was the mastermind. The person who pulls the strings stays behind the stage and keeps safe.

    • “The status quo is no more, there will be a new sheriff in town.”

      That’s part of why I think it could be Lenora. She’s a fanatic for justice which is a trait that can get twisted into an “end justifies the means” mentality. So far all the conspirators have been disaffected or have had grudges. Theoretically, when the new sheriff arrives, the majority won’t know about the behind the scenes shenanigans and will take the sheriff at face value.

  171. I just finished reading WH for the third time! I love, love, love these books!
    I haven’t seen anyone else mention it but I am dying to know what Rogan was going to say to Nevada when he gets cut off in this scene:

    His face turned thoughtful. “Do you remember that big speech I made in your garage?”
    “Which one?” I sighed. “You’ve made3 several. I’m contemplating installing a personal soapbox with your name on it.”
    “The one [speech] where I said you would beg to climb into my bed?”
    “Ah. That one. How could I forget? I kept waiting for you to pound your chest like a silverback gorilla.”
    “Forget what I said-”

    WHAT WAS HE GOING TO SAY?????
    Also, I keep wondering if Nevada really did see him standing outside her house one night and he just slipped into the shadows so she wouldn’t think he was stalking her.

    • He’s telling Nevada that he’s NOT going to wait for her to beg … he wants her NOW ❤ so to forget that ‘beg’ speech of his.

      And, yes I think she really did see him that night – remember he’d moved his HQ after buying all that property around her home.
      He also just wants to be near her and know she’s safe xx

      • I love these two together. I so hope we get a Rogan POV for this scene eventually <3

  172. Caesar – of the candidates mentioned, I favor Linus Duncan, though he could easily be someone we haven’t met yet.
    Nevada’s Dad – i kind of like the theory that EG messing with him so much blocked his magic somehow, However, since we know she did something out of the ordinary to have him, that could have affected his ability to perform magic while still leaving the genetic material to pass on.
    One other off-the-wall theory: The magic exhibited by members of the Baylor family is all over the place. Freida and Penelope are not primes, and Grandpa isn’t mentioned as having been one either. Yet it looks like Penelope’s three daughters are primes or (since we haven’t seen everything Arabella can do) significants. Bern appears to be prime or significant as well, and if I understand what Bug was showing Nevada, so is Leon. The two boys have no biological connection to Nevada’s father. Arabella’s magic doesn’t appear in the family tree anywhere. I think there is a gene for wild magic in the family, that expresses itself in a wide variety of ways, not typical of the usual family lines. Waiting anxiously for Wildfire to know if I am right about any of it!

  173. I haven’t see anyone saying this but I wonder if Mom’s family line is the type that have upgraded magic for every generation. Remember? There are 3 types. The stay the same, the better magic and the downgraded. If Baylor is the better type, their family will be really popular.

    For Caesar I have 2 candidates. The Duccan guy and the guy that give her card in the party.

  174. Wasn’t there a hex breaker named Caesare or something in BFM? We don’t know how James was conceived or carried, so Nevada could be related to him or anybody. And it would be interesting if it came down to a struggle with another Prime truthseeker. Also, I don’t think Nevada’s mother or grandmother are Primes. There are a lot of different gifts and degrees of power, and Primes are an extreme, and rare. And the idea of Nevada using egoscissor(sp?) powers on anyone is creepy. It would make her immediately unlikeable. What a horrible violation it would be to take over another person. And it would probably damage a person immensely to have that power from youth. People would fear and despise you. The power Nevada has now is awful enough, though she doesn’t misuse it.

  175. Ooh. I am conflicted about my choice for Cesare. I thought in was Linus Duncan but now I think it *could* be Lenora….

    Interesting that David Howling had help setting up for taking down Nevada and Mad Rogan – he didn’t do things on his own, and you know that he was cut lose from his house. The head of the house Richard, was secured before Nevada and Rogan went to “see” Lenora –

    So, if it was not Lenora – I am thinking it is a cabal t hat mean to appeal to Ceasare when things go fubar. I just haven’t seen anyone I think that is as capable of mass destruction and destabilization, so my only other pick would have to be Linus.

    I find myself wondering what the Scorpion Team was doing in Mexico…especially interesting after seeing that Rogan was set up in Mexico to be caught by the Cazadore way back when. Could it be someone was trying to take him down even then, when he was first seen as a threat? And the Scorpions were sent in now to “tie up” any lose ends that might know about that old history, and provide a clue to Nevada and Rogan as to whom the enemy *really* is? Hum. Or maybe it was EG who was fishing for more info on Rogan and sent a team in to extract the person(s) that could provide that info? (EG being able to read people could get the truth out of them pretty quick.)

    I’m also very intrigued about the fact that Nevada’s father claimed he had no magic, but he was able to withstand EG’s constant mental attacks. I really do wonder *where* James’s parentage comes from on the Dad’s side. (Assuming EG supplied the genetic material, e.g. egg.. who contributed the sperm?)

    Can’t wait. 25th of July is: 54 days and counting away!!! 🙂 Join me in the forums if you want to chat more. I love the blog but can’t read through what seems like 1,100 posts!!!

  176. I find myself wondering what would happen if EG happened to be on Nevada’s doorstep to introduce herself and most likely to make demands, when an attack directed at Nevada occurred. I bet she wouldn’t take kindly to an assassination attempt on her granddaughter, who could be the salvation of her house.

    • If EG was there, her entourage would be also. There would be no ‘sneak’ attack.

  177. I want to post my thoughts about who might be Caesar. Beside Linus Duncan, Leonora Jordan, Michael Latimer, and Augustine Montgomery, I had a suspicion toward Adam Pierce’s brother who we met before however briefly in Burn For Me.

    My theory is, so far the evil party involved was Harper Larvo, Kelly Rogan, Adam Pierce (manipulated), Olivia Charles, and David Rowling. All those mentioned except Olivia Charles had one similarity: they are from the younger generation or the same as Nevada. It occured to me that the real manipulator or as we called him/her ‘Caesar’ is someone who isn’t… old-fashioned? Caesar could pull Adam and his friend’s string easily. Somehow it’s not that hard to imagine Adam’s brother (who I’m deeply sorry to have kind of forgotten his name) giving persuasive instruction to Harper or David (who might be his buddy lol) or Olivia (who hates Rogan so much btw). And Adam’s brother also has close connection with Augustine too since their houses are linked as business partner. I personally thought Augustine’s full name is a great bait if he really isn’t caesar.

    My second guess for Caesar’s candidate is Linus Duncan. When his character was first introduced, it really caught me off guard because I didn’t suspect him even a little until someone pointed out something about an Italian uncle(?) in this blog. It might be another bait from author though, but who knows it might be the real catch too hehe

    • Remember the ring in BFM for their college, and school is mentioned again by David Howling. Could it be someone they went to school? Also Kelly and Harper have little powers but seem to think that they will have more.

  178. CAESAR THEORY: “… our Caesar is beyond reproach. A person of true honor.”

    I think it’s Lenora Jordan. Tired of playing by the rules of the Primes, probably thinks that the only way to achieve the law and order she craves is to tear down the current system first.

  179. I don’t know if the question has been asked, but who is her paternal grandfather?
    It had to be someone with a honest streak that is it could be considered a pass along trait from her father when you consider there rules that they learnt from their father that even their maternal grandmother complains about it.
    That’s why Linus Duncan could have been the sperm donor!

    • That honest streak could be a defence mechanism from being subjected to EG for so long. Like a child of an abusive alcoholic won’t touch a single drink and freaks when his/her kids try drinking.

      I am curious who the paternal grandfather is though!!

  180. Does anyone else find it interesting that the Osiris serum took large portions of the world back to Feudalism, complete with “selling your progeny to the best/highest magic user? The kids are often a tool. Followed closely by if a House does it we will ignore it ( except for a big settlement check)? Great World building! Thank you both so much for the great book!

    • Outstanding catch!

      Makes sense if you look at it a creating a new unregulated resource, society then kind of starts from scratch figuring out how to deal with said resource.

  181. What about the history teacher David referenced……of course, it could also be someone they have not introduced yet…..I feel like a kid waiting for December 25th……July seems so far away…..

  182. This post and all of the theories are amazing (almost as amazing as the book!) Seriously, I haven’t had that much fun reading since I don’t remember when. But! Over 1,000 comments and I didn’t see anyone asking my hard-hitting question: so who, exactly, has Nevada been reading about on Herald, hmmm?

    Is there fanfic where people imagine Adam and Cornelius were more than boyhood friends? Totally over-the-top stories where people think they know the full extent of certain types of magic, but are completely off base? Action adventure tales of swashbuckling through jungles and high seas where shockers play a necessary part…until the guy with the shockers is killed and dum-dum-dum you have to check in next week to see how they handle an out of control Prime?

    Anyway, I plan to utilize my time of eager anticipation for Wildfire to dream up some Herald fanfic for myself. Then snicker accordingly because I’m completely, abominably terrible at creating fiction and there are those pesky concepts of copyrights and other legal-y stuff that I know nothing about.

    (Personally, I think a marketing campaign for the next book utilizing Herald is like low-hanging fruit and could be hilarious fun if only traditional publishers could do that kind of thing. But probably that’s just me.)

    (And no, this isn’t my way of begging the Authorlords to do it.)

  183. What if the Evil grandmother is Caesar? She could have a secondary magic similar to Nevada’s sister and trick people into thinking she is all kinds of great . WH talks about when the evil peeps are talking about Caesar they have a crazy fanatical look in their eyes like they have been spelled??

    • One problem – no one has a positive opinion about her. Evan Augustine, who takes the broad view about the Houses, sees her as a negative.

  184. So after reading White Hot, which was amazing!, I keep thinking that the song “My House” by Flo Rida captures Rogan sooo well! 🙂

    I know not really a question or anything but I can’t get it out of my head now!

  185. That conversation between Augustine and Nevada when she had to show him her power to convince him to build that she’ll – pretty amazing read. And Augustine’s reaction and self reflection was very interesting. Love that Rogan made that phone call and was waiting for her.

  186. I know this has got to be getting tiresome. But I do have a question.
    Rogan saved Nevada multiple times by moving her right before she was magicly hit in BFM & WH. Is he perhaps more intuitive then he realizes?
    Oh and Augustine is at least 4-5 years older then Rogan, right? Rogan was a guenius and graduated college early at 19.
    Thanks for your time.

    • No, probably around the same age. Basically Augustine was pledging a fraternity (Harvard calls them finals clubs BTW) that Rogan already belonged to, and Rogan completed college in 3 years, so if Augustine was a normal 18yo Freshman, Rogan couldn’t have been younger than 17 but more likely 18ish.

  187. Ok first can we not call the bad guys the New Republic? It just sounds wrong if youve seen any of the Star Wars movies…and im not sure how that would be possible!

    I think its very interesting the whole idea about Augustine’s name, after all Augustus was Julius Caesar’s successor though Augustus was also Caesar’s nephew…of course Augustus wasnt his original name.

  188. Caesar is:
    Michael Latimer 50%
    Augustine Montgomery 30%
    Linux Duncan 19%
    Bernard Baylor 0.7%
    Other 0.3%

  189. Have a different take on Caesar based on something said in White Hot. Augustine talking “….Like I said, dark horses never turn out well. They tend to hate their handlers.”

    I believe that Caesar is a Dark Horse. possibly the animator that we saw in the first book who was missing in the second.

    But whatever happened to John Rutger (whose name means famous Spear-man)

  190. I keep wondering if EG bound something from the arcane to her son when he was still in utero so she could carry him to term. Maybe she made a deal with something, like a dragon from another realm.
    If she gave up something truly important her hatred makes sense, not right but understandable, especially if she gave up a part of her soul or something that actually makes hers human.
    He has no magic because whatever she did doesn’t blend well with human DNA but the third generation has fully changed DNA. So maybe Arabella is a dragon? Or able to shape shift to anything. That would also explain how Catalina has a brand new skill too.
    I’m curious how Nevada is affected. Is she an extra powerful Truthseeker? Or just a regular prime. We haven’t seen her compared to another prime Truthseeker yet. However she did defeat Olivia mentally and Olivia is a trained prime manipulator in one of those chalk rooms and Nevada is untrained and standing in a quickly drawn small circle. Is that usual for a Truthseeker?

  191. My primary thought: need more ferret scenes. That was my favorite part of this book.

  192. Cuteness overload prediction for white hot: sgt teddy becomes Matilda’s caretaker when Cornelius is working and the girls are in school.

  193. Was the post taken down? Or is this simply a thread created for the purposes of discussing White Hot rather than the bulletin board.

    Sorry for being dense here.

  195. I started to think since Tremaine made the hexes on Emmons in “burn for me” and we found out that Nevada can extract information without a person bowing it. I think it’s Tremaine is apart of conspiracy. And Nevada’s Dad (james?) was thier attempt to create a Khan (star trek) . Instead of making an ultimate prime James became more of a carrier of some powerful magic. Which could be way the sisters have different magic. Just an idea.

    • “He was hexed by Cesare Costa at birth. You’re not strong enough to break through. This will take a Breaker Prime.”

      Not hexed by Tremaine, but that’s a very interesting name… cesare;)

  196. First – thank you author lords, for writing the most incredible series. I think this is topping Kate Daniels for me, and that’s a very tall order. It’s wonderful, every bit.

    On the Caesar theories, my money is on Augustine. He’s such a fascinating character, and if he isn’t the big end-level boss, then he needs to play a significant role in bringing the boss down. And I think we have enough players in that arena to need that from him.

    My reasoning:
    – he is highly image focused – that almost-perfect veneer, his mask, maybe there because in his efforts to control and manipulate as extensively as he does, his face becomes an invariable. Tight control where everywhere else has to rapidly flex and shift.

    – the name. Misdirection maybe, or a blinking neon sign.

    – Rogan says this in his BFM POV:
    ‘I half wanted to walk into the building and ask Augustine what the hell happened to the young idealist who was going to change the world and wanted no part of House politics? I guess he became his old man after all.’
    What is it Augustine wants to change so badly? He wanted out of the politics and hated the system but now is the epitome of its central core?

    – he doesn’t like the idea of being seen as a bad person by Nevada. Suggesting he’s still an idealist at his core.

    With his perfect facade he’s my number one target.

  197. Why can’t Cesare have the same abilities as Nevadas sister Catalina? The Love factor except the baddie keeps the followers on a leash? And if no one knows the baddie has the ability then it could be anyone we’ve met in the two books. Also did anyone watch the live Facebook video from the Austin library? Gordon said something about Leon’s father? Or something….or just something about who Leon could have got his ability from?

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