Page 2 of Commanding Chaos

Who wouldn’t? “That’s irrelevant. I—”

Boots thudded on the stairs, saving me from making whatever rambling excuse I might’ve thrown at him, and he grumbled under his breath, his soldier returning to “at ease” as quickly as it had saluted. Ember rolled up a pair of sweatpants and swung her arm back, ready to throw them like a football, but I plucked them out of her hand.

“Gray? Really?” I started toward the circle, and she grabbed my elbow.

“Be careful. If he pulls you inside, you’ll lose the perimeter’s protection.”

“Thanks. I know how circles work.” Stopping a foot shy of the boundary and making damn certain my hand didn’t cross the line, I offered him the roll of pants. My pulse kicked into a sprint as he reached for them, the shock finally—hopefully—subsiding and letting me focus on the problem and not the penis.

He took them gently and put them on before gesturing to his hips. “Better?”

“Yes.” Not really. I mean gray sweatpants didn’t do much to mask the package on a human man, much less when they were stretched too tight on a super-muscular demon prince. But they were Dad’s sweatpants. My father’s junk had been inside them.

Gross. I curled my lip. Yeah, that was enough to make me get my act together. Thanks, sis. “Okay. I’m going to break this circle, but remember… If you try anything stupid, Ember will send you across the veil faster than you can say hellhound. Got it?”

He fought a grin and glanced at my sister. Honestly, I wasn’t sure who would win that battle if it happened. Ember was the toughest witch I knew, but she’d never fought a Prince of Hell before. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to find out.

“You have my word and my mark.” He stepped toward the salt line and held my gaze as if challenging me to keep my promise.

I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. “A deal is a deal.”

Ember stood two feet behind me to my right. I could feel the tension rolling from her body, her fire magic simmering just beneath the surface.

I stared into Chaos’s eyes, and he stared back at me. His smirk did things to me. Honestly, I couldn’t say if his expression was one of anticipation or amusement, but it made my hormones flare way more than it should have. I scooted my foot closer to the circle. This was it. He’d either keep his word or tear us to shreds.

“Oh, for Hecate’s sake, just do it.” Ember stomped forward and swiped her boot through the salt, breaking the perimeter and freeing the demon.

Chaos blinked once, glanced at Ember and then me, and stormed forward. His shoulders slammed into ours as he pushed between us. They were rock-solid and sure to leave a mark.

I stumbled, catching myself on the table before planting my feet and clutching his forearm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

He huffed and set his skin ablaze right where I’d grabbed him. Flames licked up my arm, singing my sleeve, and I tightened my grip. The nerve of this guy!

“You’re lucky I’m immune to fire, mister, or you’d have burned me.”

He extinguished the flames. “I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. Release me.”

“I did.”

“My arm.” He glanced at my hand before returning his gaze to mine.

Ember slid in front of the door in a wide stance, hands planted on her hips, her vim on the verge of going from simmer to boil.

The sigil pulsed, spreading that relaxing warmth through my body again, but this time, I fought against it, tightening my grip even more. “Whatever you’re trying to accomplish when you do that, it won’t work. This is our realm. We are in charge.”

He narrowed his eyes, but he reeled in his magic, allowing my pulse to return to its sprint. “I must find Mayhem.”

“We will, okay? But we have to have a plan. We can’t go tearing through Massachusetts like a bunch of rogues, and you especially can’t go out into near-freezing temperatures barefoot and shirtless.” I let go of his arm, and Ember dropped her hands to her sides, curling them into fists.

Chaos relaxed a smidge, the tendons in his neck, which had been as tight as guitar strings, loosening. “The cold doesn’t affect me.”

“Maybe not, but it does affect everyone else in town.” Ember leaned one shoulder against the door jamb, crossing her legs at the ankles. I knew that stance. She might have appeared to let down her guard, but she could shift her weight to the crossed leg, spin, and kick in half a second flat.

“Just.” I blew a hard breath, lifting my hands in a show of…I didn’t know what. Not surrender. Innocence, maybe? Frustration? Whatever it was, all the adrenaline that was keeping me upright drained out with my heavy exhale. My shoulders slumped, my entire body seeming to fill with lead. “Can we sit down and talk?”

“The sooner we release my brother, the sooner we can collect our price.” He looked from Ember to me, and I tilted my head. “And find your sister and end the curse. We will all benefit from retrieving Mayhem’s skull.”

My head spun, fatigue crashing into me like a cat-five hurricane. “You’re forgetting this body is mortal. Not to mention I’ve been carrying around a Prince of Hell for the past week.” I gripped the edge of the desk.

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