ILONA ANDREWS

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  1. 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!

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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?

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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?

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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!

  15. 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?

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  23. 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)

  24. 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.

  25. 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?

  26. 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.

  27. 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?

  28. 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.

  29. 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.

  30. 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?

  31. 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!

  32. 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.

  33. 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

  34. 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….

  35. 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;-)

  36. 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.

  37. 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.)

  38. 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.

  39. 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.

  40. 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.

  41. 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.

  42. 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.

  43. I just wonder how many times Dr. Arias has given a speech regarding Rogan’s inability to form healthy relationships?

  44. 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.

  45. 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.

  46. 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

  47. 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?

  48. 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.

  49. 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

  50. 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…

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