Page 67 of Unleashing Chaos

“That you are. Keep your eyes on the sauce and make sure it doesn’t burn.”

Not only is Jace scouring the skin of this realm’s most famous beings, but he’s also overseeing my first attempt to cook him dinner. I don’t blame him for questioning my skills in the kitchen; cooking is hard work. Stirring, boiling, simmering, it’s difficult to remember it all. Thankfully, my power is handy when it comes to preparing food.

I twirl my finger and the spoon stirs the red sauce.

“Whoa!” His excited outburst makes me jump. “Snoop Dogg? An angel?”

I laugh as I wave my hand over the ladle stirring the noodles. “For real? Wait, I saw a demonic mark on Martha Stewart the other day on her cooking show. It’s on her wrist of all places. And they’re like, besties.”

“Angels and demons could be friends then?” he asks.

“I wouldn’t have thought so. The energy we create clashes. We would never so much as step foot in the other’s realm. The results would be devastating, throw everything off kilter. Not only would the energies be at risk but so would the beings that originated there. But I guess it’s possible when we’re here. Actually,” I say, leaning forward on the counter on my elbows, “that makes me think that maybe Meredith could be an angel.”

His eyes widen. “Wait, Meredith, our neighbor Meredith?”

“Yeah, I know for a fact I saw a mark on her back a few weeks ago, but I couldn’t tell which one it was. I figured she had to be a demon because we got along so well, but now that I know about Snoop and Martha . . .”

Jace just shakes his head as he gets up to grab some plates.

“I’m surprised you’re shocked that demons and angels can be friends. Didn’t you tell me that your dad and the ruler of Pax have a gentlemen’s bet? That sounds pretty friendly to me.”

“There’s nothing on the line but bragging rights, but it’s also more than that. What ruler doesn’t want to have the bigger kingdom?” I look over my shoulder and raise my eyebrows. “Demons and angels have dick measuring contests too. Anyway. At the end of every century, they compare numbers. Whoever has the most new energies wins. Angelo has always had the upper hand, but now that humans have become more technologically advanced, it looks like Dad might win for the first time.”

With the plates laid out, Jace moves in next to the stove. He crosses his arms and ankles, leaning against the counter. “Please don’t tell me that technology is the root of all evil. It would be devastating to my career.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not,” I tell him, tapping two fingers against the worry line between his eyebrows. “It has actually made life for most humans easier. No more hunting for what you eat and spending hours sewing fabric into clothes. Humans aren’t as weary as they once were. For the most part, having a peaceful life in this realm makes them crave a little chaos in the next.”

Jace rubs his jaw and looks up like he’s scrolling through all the new possibilities in his head. “That’s interesting. I always thought that once you live this life, you want a little serenity. RIP and all.”

“Angelic concept. It is one of the many desperate measures Angelo has turned to in efforts to swing things in his favor.”

I hold up a spoonful of sauce and raise it to his lips. He hums his approval before asking, “Isn’t that sort of dangerous, infringing on human free will?”

“Yeah, it could be. You know the drill. We need balance in the Force.”

Jace laughs and says, “I am so rubbing off on you. So, which are you, Desideria? The dark side or the light?”

I move to the sink to strain the noodles. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m the dark side.”

“I thought you said something about being a nice demon,” he says, moving behind me and slipping his arms around my waist, sliding his fingers under the hem of my shirt.

I swat at him. “Hey, now. I’m trying to cook your dinner without ‘burning the sauce.’ If you get me going like that, we might burn the house down.”

He laughs and slaps me on the ass as he makes his way back to his stool. “After dinner then.”

“It’s a deal.” Stepping to the sink to wash my hands, I’m drying them off on a hand towel when one of my rings flies off my finger and rolls under the refrigerator. “No!” I drop to my knees to stop it, but it’s too late.

“What happened?” Jace asks, squatting down beside me.

“My ring . . . it slipped off my finger and rolled under there.”

“Oh, no big deal, I’ll just pull it out. Here,” he says, ushering me aside.

I grin at him. “Move aside, big boy. I got this.” With both index fingers, I pull the fridge away from the wall, and Jace gasps behind me.

“I’m telling you, I’ll never get over it,” he whispers.

Grinning, I glimpse the piece of shiny silver and stoop down to get it. I pick it up, and right behind it is a photo, face down in a pile of dust bunnies. Cocking my head to the side, I pick it up and turn it over. What I see shocks me to my core.

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