Page 26 of Mayhem and Ember

Slowly, slowly, the fae began to crumble. Five minutes passed. Six. Seven, and finally, the creature turned into a pile of ashes.

Ember heaved a breath and leaned against the wall, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “That was fun.”

I couldn’t tell if she used sarcasm, but I had to agree. Watching her fight a worthy adversary had been thrilling.

Miles approached with Shade and handed the bag to Ash. “I guess we know what happened to the woman.”

“Maybe.” Ember retrieved her knife from the ground and sheathed her sword. “But humans are capable of much more violence than that, so we can’t rule anything out.”

“Did anyone get a close enough look at the body to see if all her organs were in place?” I asked.

“It’ll take an autopsy to figure that out,” Ash said. “Why?”

“If the woman is missing her liver,” I said, “the fae was responsible for her demise.”

Ember dragged a hand down her face. “Giant bugs who eat liver. My worst effing nightmare.”

The fact this witch had entranced me with her battle skills was mine…

11

EMBER

“You have to let us do this, or the entire coven will know what you are.” I fisted my hand around the powdered potion Ash had mixed. After we’d cremated the fae soldier, we’d returned home and taken a moment to brush our teeth and change. Shade and Miles had stopped to get clean clothes, and the rest of us gathered in the kitchen.

“It’s painless.” Chaos sat on the stool next to Mayhem and rested his forearms on the counter. “You won’t feel any different.”

Mayhem scoffed. “I’m not afraid of pain, but I will not allow you to destroy my demonic nature. I am a demon. You can’t change that.”

I closed my eyes and tried not to grind my teeth. If I ever got the chance to see a dentist again, he’d probably pass out when he saw the nubs I had left. “We aren’t trying to change you, though Hecate knows if we could take that ego down a notch or two, we would.”

Mayhem narrowed his eyes. “You speak as though you aren’t afraid of me in the slightest.”

I held his gaze. “I think we’ve established that I’m not.”

His expression shifted, one brow lifting, drawing up the corner of his mouth. “You should be. I could do things to you that you’ve never dared imagine.”

A warm shiver formed at the base of my neck before heat spread through my body. I could imagine…had imagined plenty since my eyes first locked on his unwrapped package.

But nope. I was not going there. No way.

I lifted one shoulder dismissively. “Doubtful.”

“Try me.” His gaze smoldered, so I rolled my eyes and looked at his brother before my panties got wet.

Chaos drummed his fingers on the counter. “Cast the spell on me so he can see it’s harmless. Surely the one you placed on me weeks ago has lost its potency.”

“That’s a good idea.” Ash took my free hand. “We’re used to him now, so it could be wearing off without us noticing.”

I shook my head. “Do you remember how much vim it took to cast it last time? I’m not sure we can do it twice in a row.”

“Last time we did it, Chrys’s suppression spell was active on the house,” Ash said. “We’re operating at full power now.”

“A High Priestess who isn’t strong enough to cast a spell twice.” Mayhem chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?”

Whatever heat had built in my body from his smolder turned to ice. “Let’s do it, and then I want the biggest, fattest breakfast burrito we can find.”

Ash opened her vim to me, her magic flowing from her hand and into mine. I did the same, letting our powers mix and meld, bringing it all to the surface. “Aura strong, magic deep, we hide your essence from all who seek,” we said in unison before blowing the fine pink powder toward Chaos.

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