Page 29 of Commanding Chaos

“I don’t know.” I covered my face with my hands.

Ember sank onto the arm of my chair. “Goddess, I wish Cinder were here. She’d know what to do.”

“But she isn’t here. You two are, and you’re more capable than you give yourselves credit for. Both of you.” Chaos gave me a pointed look, reminding me all this was happening according to the universe’s plan. That was his theory, anyway.

“Maybe they were checking in on me, on the curse.” I wrung my hands. “Someone could have stumbled across Isabel’s journals and sent Ginger to see what was up. Ginger reported back that I was showing no signs of murdering everyone, but she was too ingrained in our coven for them to extract her. So they offed her instead.”

“That sounds feasible.” Ember stood and resumed pacing.

“But why the extravagant torture method? Why not kill her quickly?” I crossed and uncrossed my legs. My mind was going a mile a minute, making it impossible to keep my body still.

Chaos moved down the couch, closer to my chair. “You have two scenarios to choose from, and both involve BMS as the killer. Either they did it because of what happened to their library…which you cannot let your coven know…or they killed her because of her involvement in the dark arts. Labeling her as a spy is the least damning for us, regardless of the real reason.”

Ember nodded. “He’s got a point.”

“What about the basilisk?” I asked. “Did Ginger summon it, or did BMS?”

“Boston did it as a distraction.” She fisted and splayed her hands. “That’ll be our story, anyway. They summoned it to keep us busy while they made their escape.”

“So we’re blaming everything that’s happened on the dead woman, claiming she was a spy to keep the suspicion off us.” My throat thickened, a lump forming in my stomach and stretching up to my chest.

“She’s the only one of you with nothing to lose.” Chaos reached toward me as if to comfort me, but he dropped his hand on his knee.

Ember stopped pacing and put her hands on her hips. “We need to break the news to the others. If they do their research, they’ll figure out a demon didn’t kill her, no matter how big of one she summoned, so we’ve got to let them know we figured it out first. She summoned a demon, but it’s not what killed her.”

“She didn’t summon one.” I slid down in my seat.

“We already told them she did. That part of the story can’t change.” My sister crossed her arms. “Do you have a better idea?”

Aside from crawling into a dark hole and hiding until the world imploded? “No.” I scooted upright. “It’s going to crush Miles.”

“He should have reported her dark magic practice to us as soon as he found out. This wouldn’t have happened if he had.”

I was certain Miles would come to the same conclusion and be even more devastated. He didn’t need Ember’s crassness to twist the knife harder. “Maybe I should talk to him, and you can tell Shade and Chrys.”

She typed on her phone. A moment later, it pinged. “Chrys is at Shade’s. Meet you back here in thirty?”

“Better make it an hour,” I said. “He might need a shoulder to cry on.”

11

ASH

Miles lived four blocks away, so Chaos and I went on foot. Thick clouds blanketed the afternoon sky, looking way too much like snow clouds for my liking. Frigid air stung my cheeks, my fall jacket not keeping me nearly warm enough.

“It’s not supposed to be this cold in October.” I tucked my hands beneath my armpits.

Chaos wrapped his arm around me, tugging me to his side, his demonic heat taming the prewinter chill. Warmth spread through me, both due to his external temperature and another, more inappropriate, reason.

“Uh-uh.” I stepped out of his embrace. “That’s too close. No hanky panky.”

“I was merely trying to keep you warm.” He dropped his arm to his side. “If you interpreted my actions another way, perhaps we should finish what we started in your bedroom.”

“Fat chance.”

“As long as there is one.”

“There’s not.” There couldn’t be, no matter how hot and bothered I got from simply being in his presence, and I would keep telling myself that until I believed it.

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