Page 5 of Commanding Chaos

I chuckled. “I assumed you wanted us to break your family curse first.”

“That’s a given.”

I gazed at Ash, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. So much danger wrapped in so much beauty.

“She’ll be out for hours, so I’m going to grab as much sleep as I can.” Ember disappeared into the hallway and returned with a blanket and pillow. “You’ll have to curl up on the loveseat tonight.”

“I don’t require sleep yet.” I set the bags on the floor and remained in my chair.

“But demons do sleep?” She dropped the bedding onto the small couch.

“In this realm, our bodies require sleep, though not as much as yours. In our natural forms, in our realm, we do not.”

“Good to know.” She shrugged as if she didn’t care, but I could see in her expression she had more questions. She chose not to ask them. “Come get me when she wakes up. I’m the first room on the left.”

“No wards to protect yourself?”

“Of course. I’m not an idiot. Just yell from the hall.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she turned and walked away.

I waited, watching Ash sleep, until no more noise sounded from Ember’s room. With both witches settled into slumber, I dressed in the clothes she had given me and put on the boots, which surprisingly fit. I would retrieve my brother’s skull while they slept and be back before either of them woke.

I rose, preparing to leave, but Ash stirred, drawing my attention to her delicate face.

“Chaos…” The sleepy sound of my name on her lips made me shiver. “Chaos, don’t leave me.”

“I’m here.” I returned to my chair. Was she dreaming? Was she coherent enough to recognize I was about to walk out the door?

“Bad demon,” she mumbled. “Stay.”

How could I leave now?

3

ASH

Sunlight streamed in through the window, coaxing me out of sleep. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, hoping to catch a few more minutes of peace before I had to face the world…and the demon I could feel watching me intently. His low vibration reached down to my bones, making his presence impossible to ignore.

“Your breathing has changed. We know you’re awake,” Ember said.

Funny. I could feel Chaos in the room, but I somehow missed my sister’s energy. I was still recovering from the exorcism. I needed more sleep, but I doubted these two would allow it. We had things to do, beasties to fight, demons to summon—yikes—so I reluctantly opened my eyes.

Chaos sat in one chair while Ember perched on the arm of the other. My demon was fully dressed now, thankfully, in boots, dark jeans, and a black shirt, and Ember wore her fireproof leather. She was ready to get this shit show on the road, but I could barely see straight.

I pushed to sitting, and the room spun. My mouth tasted like burnt dirt, and a crick had formed in my neck from sleeping on a throw pillow. Rolling my head from side to side helped ease the sharp pain, but I’d need to stand under a hot shower set to pulse if I wanted to work this knot out before we left.

“What time is it?” My vertebrae cracked, easing the tension a little more.

“It’s ten.” Ember rose to her feet as if she were ready to head out immediately. Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

I rubbed my neck. “A.M. or P.M.?”

Chaos tilted his head. “Can you not see the daylight in the window? Have your eyes been affected?”

I’d asked a stupid question. Yes, I could see the daylight, but… “Affected by what?”

“Blindness is a common side effect of exorcisms.” He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone that said he expected me to know this already.

“I’m not blind.” I tried to run my fingers through my hair, but they got stuck in a massive tangle. “You could have warned me there’d be side effects before we performed it.”

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