Page 40 of Commanding Chaos

I took my time applying makeup and drying my hair, not ready to face the demon in my bed or my sister’s wrath for letting him sleep next to me. When I couldn’t put it off any longer, I opened the bathroom door. Chaos sat on the edge of the bed, his hands on his knees, his eyes closed.

“Are you meditating?” I got a pair of orange striped socks from the drawer and sat next to him to put them on.

“In a way.” He opened his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I was fighting the urge to send my magic through my mark in hopes that you’d open the door and let me join you.”

“I appreciate you putting up a fight.” Because if he’d done that, I most definitely would have opened the door. “Your turn.”

He rose. “My other set of clothing is in a bag somewhere in your home. I left it by the living room chair.”

“I’ll get it, and…take your time. I’ll have to defuse the Ember bomb before we leave the house.”

“I wish you luck with that feat.”

“I’ll need it.” I left Chaos in my room and headed toward the living room. Ember’s door stood open, and my stomach clenched. This would not be fun.

She sat at the breakfast table, clutching a mug of coffee and glaring daggers at me. She didn’t say a word as I picked up Chaos’s bag and returned to my room. When Ember didn’t have anything to say, that meant one thing.

She was livid.

I left the bag near the bathroom door, which Chaos had left partially open. “Nice try, but no.”

“You can’t blame me,” he called from beneath the shower.

No, I could not. I swallowed the thickness from my throat and returned to the front of the house. Ember still didn’t speak as I poured a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal. I sat at the table and shoved a spoonful into my mouth. My sister stared at me, one brow lifted, her bitch face on point, though she wasn’t resting it. This was her active bitch face. Her if you weren’t my sister, I’d chop off your head face.

“I didn’t sleep with him.” I took a sip of coffee, watching her over the rim of the mug.

She licked her lips, narrowing her eyes. “That’s funny because I found him in bed with you when I opened your door this morning.”

I really needed to start using the lock. “And we were both fully clothed, weren’t we?”

“What’s going on with you, Ash? I thought you were smart. Smarter than this.” She gestured to the hallway.

“I let him sleep next to me because there was nowhere else for him to rest. He’s too big for the couch.”

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “This isn’t one of your ‘there’s only one bed’ romance novel tropes. You could have put him in Cinder’s room.”

I flattened my hands on the table. “I was exhausted and wasn’t thinking straight. It didn’t feel right to put him in there when we’re trying so hard to bring her back.” And maybe I wanted him to sleep next to me. We did share a bond, however manufactured it might be. I didn’t dare tell her that, though.

“You’re getting too close to him.”

“So what? It’s not like we can live happily ever after. When this is through, he and his brothers will go back across the veil, and I’ll never see him again.” I shoved another spoonful into my mouth, my shoulders slumping at the thought.

“What if he decides to stay? What if he falls in love with you?”

I fought my mouth. I really did, but the corners turned upward against my will.

“See?” Ember gestured at my face with her palm up. “You like the idea. That’s bad, sis. Really bad.”

“Even if he did…and he won’t…it wouldn’t matter. He and his brothers have to cross the veil to mend it. They’ll fix it from their side, and we’ll fix it from ours. The six of us together can set it back to its original state.”

I leaned forward, resting my chin on my fists. “There will be an end to this. To all of it. I swear.”

She nodded, her expression softening, and she matched my posture. “What if you fall in love with him?”

I took a deep breath. “I’m sure I won’t. Once I remove this sigil, I bet I won’t even find him attractive.”

“Yes, you will.” She sipped her coffee.

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