History Literature / HiddenLegacy

* KnifeNut: Catalina is the sword version. In ''Emerald Blaze'', her new bedroom has an entire wall covered with various types of swords, from floor to ceiling. Her LoveInterest [[spoiler: who is a ''professional assassin'']] gently suggests that her bedroom decor might be a bit extreme - though it is very cool.

* WitchSpecies: Magic abilities are passed down by genes and the abilities and power level of the children is usually similar to the abilities and power level of their parents.

# ''Ruby Fever'' (release date tbd, presumably 2021)

* MixedAncestry: it's mostly a couple of throwaway lines, but Leon Baylor Snr, Frida's husband and Penelope's father was black. Catalina mentions in ''Sapphire flames'' that it's the reason she and Penelope have black hair, and Nevada has a permanent tan skin tone even though she's also a natural blonde.

* ChekovsGunman: there's several people who show up in a minor occurrence in one book who become a major player in another. Cornelius Harrison is a witness in ''Burn for Me'', the client in ''White Hot'' and a family friend and employee in the other books.

* MagicRealism: While many people regard Primes with awe, people with low level abilities are seen as mundane, something you might show off at a party if it's a cool ability.

* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: Although Victoria Tremaine ''technically'' goes to prison in ''Wild Fire'', it's more like a temporary concession to appease people it would be inconvenient to fight an actual punishment (which is the case with rich Primes in general). Not only is the "Spa" so nice it's more like a resort she just happens to be stuck at than a prison, she has plenty of agents on the outside, regularly finagles herself phone privileges, and [[spoiler: sneaks a visit to hospital in order to hold her newborn great-grandson in ''Emerald Blaze''.]]

** the other one, too; people have been known to run for the door [[BringMeMyBrownPants (or the bathroom)]] whenever Victoria Tremaine is so much as mentioned.

* MundaneUtility: Alessandro's magical ability allows him to copy any object he's seen - including the one of a kind armaments made by Linus Duncan. [[spoiler: The first time he and Catalina make love, he uses it to produce a condom out of literal thin air.]]

* KnifeNut: Catalina is the sword version. In ''Emerald Blaze'', her new bedroom has an entire wall covered with various types of swords, from floor to ceiling. Her LoveInterest [[spoiler: who is a ''professional assassin'']] gently suggests that her bedroom decor might be a bit extreme.

* TitleDrop: The Baylor sisters are described as "a hidden legacy" in the third book (being [[spoiler: secretly the descendants of Victoria Tremaine]]).

** In ''Emerald Blaze'', it's revealed that Catalina goes to visit Victoria in prison every two weeks for afternoon tea and education in House politics, and the tactics needed to succeed in House society. Depending on what she learns during these sessions, Catalina always has to pull over on the way home to cope with delayed reactions ranging from deep breathing to work through mild panic attacks to outright vomiting.

* Anytime a character talks down to Nevada before finding out that she is a Prime, the usually find out when she kicks their ass or [[MindRape Mind Rapes]] them.

** Arkan, one of major antagonists of ''Emerald Blaze'', has been given a black tag by the Warden's threat assessment system. Connor, who can level an ''entire city'' when he goes full-bore, has a brown tag.

* EvilAunt: Gisele, Leon and Bern's biological Mother; though so far she's simply TheGhost, in ''Emerald Blaze'' Catalina refers to a time when she thought Aunt Gisele was simply misunderstood, then she [[NoodleIncident "showed up and ruined all our lives"]], and now Catalina hates her as much as Leon (her own son) does.

* ActionGirl: Mainly Nevada Baylor who has magic that allows her to shoot with ImprobableAimingSkills and has Magic Shockers implanted in her arms that can kill anyone under Significant Level.

# ''Ruby Fever'' (release date tbd)

* ''Cool Aunt'' - A short story from Arabella's POV, detailing the birth of Nevada's baby. Given away as a (in Gordon and Ilona's words) a bribe for ordering a dead tree copy of ''Emerald Blaze''. Will be available on the website soon.

* AscendedExtra: In ''Burn for me'', Nevada interviews Cornelius Harrison as part of the Alexander Pierce case. In ''White Hot'' he becomes her client, and in ''Wildfire'' he starts working for her as a part-time operative.

* BlessedWithSuck: Many powers are more trouble than good to their people. Catalina has it especially bad (see LivingAphrodisiac below). Empathy is this to some extent as well; Rynda is extremely affected by the emotions of people around her, and she spent years in a terrible marriage fully aware that her husband didn't love her and considered their children genetic failures.

* MindRape: Truthseekers can invade a person's mind to get information, most people are extremely traumatized by the event oftentimes openly weeping after it's done.

* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler: Brian Sherwood. While his aim is not to kill his children, he could not care less as long as he can get out of marriage with his wife]]

** Philip McRaven, also known as Azazel. Likes killing people by choking and "to see light go out of their eyes as they wet themselves in terror".

# ''Ruby Inferno'' (release date tbd)

# ''Emerald Blaze'' (August 2020)
# Untitled Catalina Book 3

* LackOfEmpathy: Animal mages have a difficult time relating to other people, occasionally even their own children; they come into their powers so young they ''only'' learn to be friends with animals. This is why Cornelius's relationship with his sister is so distant, although by the end of the second book they're working to make it better.

''Diamond Fire'' - A Novella that takes place between ''Wildfire'' and ''Sapphire Flames''. It's considered 3.5, as it introduces at least one character who shows up in Catalina's trilogy, and was also issued as a physical paperback.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Augustin Montgomery, to the Baylor clan. He's a very old friend of Rogan's, [[note]] He's best man at Nevada and Connor's wedding [[/note]] but at least two books come about because of his exercising his rights as Baylor Investigation's mortgage holder, to their physical and financial peril. When he shows up at the family warehouse in book 4, Catalina is told to hurry up and come down before Penelope shoots him (it's implied that Penelope has wanted to shoot Augustin for quite some time).

** In ''Emerald Blaze'', this is revealed [[spoiler: to be at least partly a BatmanGambit by Nevada; her workaholic tendencies are real, but she partly exaggerated her collapse to have a reason for leaving House Baylor in such a way as to sever the connection to House Rogan. Nevada was making a HeroicSacrifice, because her exhaustion was due to a secret investigation of a conspiracy to frame Rogan as a human trafficker. Nevada is not pleased when Catalina reveals that the frame job was the result of two years worth of manipulation by their grandmother Victoria. It was all a test for Nevada, to see if she had what it took to be a ''real'' head of House (according to Victoria's standards). Nevada chose the man she loved rather than the welfare of the House, and failed the test. Catalina knows this... because Victoria told her every detail of the plan and how to set a similar one up herself as part of her ongoing 'education' of Catalina.]]
* WillNotTellALie: Many people will not lie in front of Nevada, in particular her family and Rogan, as it is pointless and will just end up pissing her off. Nevada also prefers not to lie, but will if she has to.
* WitchSpecies: Magic abilities are passed down by genes and the abilities and power level of the children is usually similar to the abilities and power level of their parents.

** Olivia Charles, Mother of Rynda Charles

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: At the end of ''Emerald Blaze'', a villain decides that Alessandro and Catalina are too dangerous a BattleCouple and they have to be driven apart. [[spoiler: Xavier accomplishes this by spilling the truth of the Sagredo's poverty and the fact Alessandro has been excised by his grandfather (for daring to get an actual job), and then snidely saying that as a new House, Catalina is obviously gold-digging and will dump him so she can get someone with actual wealth and power. Given what Catalina had to promise Victoria Tremaine, this has the exact opposite effect: it ''removes'' obstacles to their relationship, and pushes them into actually talking about it.]]
* NomDeMom: inverted with Penelope and (presumably) Gisela; Frida never took her husband's name, she's referred to once in-series as 'Mrs Afram'. Played straight with her grandchildren, who all have the name Baylor - although in Nevada, Catalina and Arabella's case their father took his wife's name (for good reason) rather than the other way around. In Bernard and Leon's case, it seems like Gisela just didn't care to marry.

* PrinceCharmingWannabe: Garen Shaffer, tries to convince Nevada that Rogan is dangerous and that he will corrupt her if she marries him. While he, on the other hand, shares a similar ideology, field of study, and their genes are more compatible for producing powerful babies. He believes that he and Nevada should marry instead. However, he's insecure and stuck-up, and the fact Nevada is significantly more powerful than him scares him off.
** Catalina gets one of these in ''Emerald Blaze''; she keeps trying to let him down gently because she does like him, and she doesn't want to insult another House. She never considers him because a) she isn't attracted to him at all and b) according to her bargain with Victoria, Catalina can only marry a man willing to leave his House for hers.

* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: Although Victoria Tremaine ''technically'' goes to prison in ''Wild Fire'', it's more like a temporary concession to appease people it would be inconvenient to fight an actual punishment (which is the case with rich Primes in general). Not only is the "Spa" so nice it's more like a resort she just happens to be stuck at than a prison, she has plenty of agents on the outside, regularly finagles herself phone privileges, and [[spoiler: sneaks a visit to her great-grandson in ''Emerald Blaze''.]]

* MixedAncestry: it's mostly a couple of throwaway lines, but Frida's husband and Penelope's father was black. Catalina mentions in ''Sapphire flames'' that it's the reason she and Penelope have black hair, and Nevada has a permanent tan skin tone even though she's also a natural blonde.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: the entire Baylor family, really. Also their client-turned-employee/family friend Cornelius Harrison. [[spoiler: He's a devoted father and husband, and a very nice man. When he finds out the person who murdered his beloved wife, he uses his Beastspeaker magic to have her ''eaten alive by a swarm of rats''.]]

** Runa Etterson is a minor character in ''Diamond Fire'', becomes the client in ''Sapphire Flames'', and by the time of ''Emerald Blaze'' has not only become Catalina's best friend (to her pleased bafflement) but also Bern's love interest.
** Xavier Ramirez is a petty spoiled brat in ''Diamond Fire''; he shows up [[spoiler: at the end of ''Emerald Blaze'' after using a DangerousForbiddenTechnique to achieve a NextLevelPowerUp.]] Speculation in the fandom pegs him as a major adversary in Catalina's third book.

** Alessandro Sagredo [[spoiler: saw his father murdered at the age of ten, spent years afterward being repeatedly lectured by his grandfather about what a colossal idiot his father was for dying defending his best friend, and became an assassin as a teenager to support his family and get reveng ofn his father's killer.]]

** In the first book Nevada continuously talks trash about Primes, when she is a Prime herself (though she d
** Anytime a character talks down to Nevada before finding out that she is a Prime, the usually find out when she kicks their ass or [[MindRape Mind Rapes]] them.

* TheDreaded: People are so terrified of Victoria Tremaine that merely the sight of a spell she invented--not even used by her--is enough to terrify an entire family of Prime summoners. The fact this is only ''partially'' because of her little kidnapping-and-mind-rape spree some years back says a lot about Victoria.

** The Baylors themselves. Leon Snr and Frida had two children: Penelope inherited her father's targeting magic (unknown what gifts Gisele has). The two girls had five children between them: while Leon Jnr is the only one to have targeting as his main magic, Nevada and Catalina both have targeting as a minor, secondary talent. Bern and Arabella are unknown, as Bern is permanently MissionControl and Arabella has... other talents.. for combat.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: James Baylor, Nevada's deceased father who was abused by his mother as a child.

** In the first book Nevada continuously talks trash about Primes, when she is a Prime herself

* EvilAunt: Gisela, Leon and Bern's biological Mother (though so far she's simply TheGhost). Kelly Waller is an EvilCousin to Rogan.

* HasTwoMommies: [[spoiler: James Tremaine Baylor]] literally. It's why the Baylor girls have such a wide array of magical talents. Nevada inherited the Truth Seeker talent of James' mother Victoria; Catalina inherited the Siren power of James' biological father. Arabella inherited [[spoiler: The Beast of Cologne from James' ''surrogate'' mother]]. The mish-mash of biological and thus magical influences meant that James himself had no magic.

* SiblingTeam: The Baylor sisters and cousins (as in all five of them). Alessandro and the older of his two sisters in a more literal sense: [[spoiler: at the age of fourteen she became his go-between/agent for his assassin and bodyguard work. After his BreakTheHaughty catastrophe she's flatly refusing to help him put himself in danger any longer.]]

* BrainyBrunette: Catalina. Also Alessandro; one of the reasons Grandma Frida ships them is "Your mind works so fast that most people take two minutes to catch up with your train of thought, but he can figure it out in two seconds."

** In ''Emerald Blaze'', it's revealed that Catalina goes to visit Victoria in prison every two weeks for afternoon tea and education in House politics. Depending on what she learns during these sessions, Catalina has to pull over on the way home for reactions ranging from deep breathing to work through mild panic attacks to outright vomiting.

* KnifeNut: Catalina is the sword version. In ''Emerald Blaze'', her new bedroom has an entire wall covered with various types of swords, from floor to ceiling. Her LoveInterest [[spoiler: who is a ''professional assassin'' gently suggests that it might be a bit much.)

* ImpoverishedAristocrat: turns out [[spoiler: the entire Sagredo family are this, and have been for ''centuries''. They keep producing charming, handsome powerful sons and more or less put them up on the auction block, marrying them to whoever has the largest dowry, which they use to put off the creditors for another generation. Simply getting a job isn't allowed because 'Sagredo's don't serve or obey other men'. Alessandro rebelled against this before he ever met Catalina; instead he uses his MagicNull ability to become an assassin and bodyguard. Over the ten years of his career he has made ''sixty million dollars US'', and ninety-nine per cent of this has gone to support his mother and two younger sisters - he says flatly that this amount won't even come close to clearing his family's debts.

* Chekov'sGunman: there's several people who show up in a minor occurrence in one book who become a major player in another. Cornelius Harrison is a witness in ''Burn for Me'', the client in ''White Hot'' and a family friend and employee in the other books.

* BrainyBrunette: Catalina. Also Alessandro; one of the reasons Grandma Frida ships them is "Your mind works so far that most people take two minutes to catch up with your train of thought, but he can figure it out in two seconds."

* ChekovsGunman: there's several people who show up in a minor occurrence in one book who become a major player in another. Cornelius Harrison is a witness in ''Burn for Me'', the client in ''White Hot'' and a family friend and employee in the other books.

* Xavier Ramirez is a petty spoiled brat in ''Diamond Fire''; he shows up [[spoiler: at the end of ''Emerald Blaze'' after using a DangerousForbiddenTechnique to achieve a NextLevelPowerUp.]] Speculation in the fandom pegs him as a major adversary in Catalina's third book.

* Title Currently unknown - A short story from Arabella's POV, detailing the birth of Nevada's baby. Given away as a (in Andrews' words) a bribe for ordering a dead tree copy of ''Emerald Blaze''. Will be available on the website in October 2020.