Page 96 of Unleashing Chaos

“Wow,” I breathe, as we walk toward the pedestal where groups of people are taking photos in front of the statue and pointing and talking in countless different languages. “It’s so much bigger than I thought it was going to be!” I look up at Jace only to see him staring down at me again. “What?”

“You levitate things and are going to rule your own Circle, and this is what impresses you?”

I shrug and look back up at the statue. “I’ve been levitating things since I was old enough to walk, and ruling my own Circle has been expected of me since I was born. This is just cool,” I say, bumping his hip with mine. I open my mouth to say something else when my gaze falls on a familiar figure leaning against the flagpole. “Oh no.” My voice is little more than a rasp above the wind.

“What? What is it?”

“There’s my freaking brother,” I say, my heart sinking.

“What?” Jace says again, louder and sharper this time. “Where?”

“Right there,” I mutter, guiding us toward him.

“What is he doing here?”

“I have no idea.” Avaros meets us in the middle of the walkway as tourists stroll past us. My brother is, as always, dressed to the nines in a blue pinstriped suit and wing-tipped shoes, his red hair somehow managing to stay in place whereas mine is still whipping around my head like a kite. “Avaros. What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Mom and Dad?”

He ignores me and holds out a hand to Jace. “How’s it going, man? It’s good to see my sister hasn’t scared you off yet.”

“Far from it,” Jace replies as they shake.

I cross my arms. “Hello, Avaros! Over here. I asked you a question.”

He gives me a pointed look, like I’m the one being rude when he was the one who ignored me. Brushing a speck of lint from his sleeve, he says, “I need you both to come with me. Father needs to speak with you.”

My heart speeds up, and despite the cold, beads of sweat form along my brow. This is disastrous. Jace can’t go back with us to Infernis. Not unless . . .

“But Jace can’t go!”

Avaros stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “He can’t go to a pub in Manhattan?”

“Oh. I—yeah, a pub. I thought you meant—never mind, it doesn’t matter. Yeah, right now?”

“Yeah, let’s head over there. He’s probably waiting for us by now.”

In the dimly lit pub on Ninth Avenue, a few people in business suits sit around the dark wood bar, sipping their drink of choice. The music is lively but not overbearing and the red-bearded barkeep could be the eighth child in our family. We zigzag through the round tables to a large booth in the back corner. I trip over my own feet when my dad scoots out of the vinyl seat.

No leather. No boots. No ax hanging at his side. My father is dressed in a black tailored suit with a tie.

“Dad,” I say as he pulls me into his arms for a hug. “Is everything okay? Avaros was short on details.” I shoot my brother a glare as he sits in the spot next to the one my dad vacated.

Dad smiles and puts his palms on my cheeks. “Don’t worry, Desideria. Everything will be fine. Just sit so we can talk.”

My stomach sinks when I notice that he doesn’t say that everything is fine, but Jace doesn’t falter as he shakes my father’s hand.

“Jace!” Dad exclaims. “Good to see you’re still hanging in there with our girl.”

“I don’t think hanging in there is the right term. It makes it sound like being around Desi is difficult, and that’s the last thing being with her is, sir.”

Despite the stress of my father calling us to an urgent meeting, I want to melt out of my chair into a sticky puddle on the ground. Even if I spent forever in this realm, I’d never get used to hearing Jace say sweet things.

Instead of melting, I settle for intertwining our fingers under the table and squeezing. “Thank you, Jace,” I say before giving my father a pointed look. “See? Not everyone thinks I’m difficult.”

“That makes one being in the entire universe,” Avaros mumbles.

“I personally enjoy a challenge,” Jace says.

Something in my dad’s green gaze softens. I’ve never seen him look at another being like that before. Apparently, Jace is the unknowing thief of many hearts.

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