Page 31 of Mayhem and Ember

I moved to block her path, taking her shoulders in my hands. “Calm down, woman. Sit, and I will answer your questions.”

“Oh, boy,” Ash said under her breath, and my brother chuckled.

A vein pulsed in Ember’s neck, and her lips flattened, a wildness I hadn’t yet seen swirling in her eyes. Her jaw moved from side to side as she held my gaze, silently challenging me, a Prince of Hell. She was either unafraid or unaware of the fact I could snap her neck with a twist of my wrist.

Slowly, she lowered her gaze to my right hand on her shoulder. Flicking back to my eyes, she arched a brow, still not saying a word. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, and she cocked her head. “Get. Your. Hands. Off me.”

As if by instinct, I jerked from her shoulders, releasing her. How odd. My normal reaction to a demand like that would have been to grip her tighter.

She brushed past me and returned to the desk. “I guess you didn’t think to have that conversation with him while you binged reality TV?”

“I did not.” Chaos lowered his eyes before looking at me. “Telling a woman of this century to calm down will have the opposite effect of what you hope to achieve. It’s a lesson I learned the hard way.” He gently squeezed his witch’s shoulders.

She patted his hand. “Lucky for him, he’s a fast learner.”

“To answer your first question, Ember…” Chaos sat on the edge of the desk. “We cannot take you both to Hell because if four beings of such power as ours were to pass through the veil at the same time, it would collapse.”

“You don’t know that for sure.” She crossed her arms, jutting out one hip and tapping her foot. “I say we try it and see.”

“I agree,” I said. “It’s the only way to know for certain.” And the idea of watching her do battle in my realm made my dick twitch.

“Hold on.” Ash held a palm toward us. “Let’s explore your leap-first look-later method.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Then it becomes a plan.”

“Which is my specialty.” Ash smirked. “Say we do make it across without collapsing the veil. How would we return without someone to summon us?”

“What are we? Incompetent slugs? We’ll bring you back.” Shade’s voice drew my attention to the two men in the corner. I had forgotten they played a role in this game.

Ember gestured to them grandly. “Problem solved.”

“Not quite.” Ash swiveled her chair toward us and folded her hands in her lap. “Think about it. The biggest issues with the veil started when Cinder summoned Discord, right?”

“Obviously.” She continued pacing.

“So the main damage occurred when Discord came through, and then they both crossed over.” She opened a large book and traced her finger down the page containing our marks before tapping it. “Read this.” She turned the volume toward her sister.

Ember stopped and examined the page. “‘Discord, Chaos, and Mayhem are the original Princes of Hell, created by the Lord of the Underworld himself. Their strength and power are unmatched, and all of demonkind obey them.’ What is this? An ego-stroking session? They’re demon royalty. We know.”

“Not that. Read the section titled ‘Warnings.’”

She sniffed and looked at the passage again. “‘Summoning an entity of this power will weaken the veil between worlds. You must keep the demon contained for a period of one week before sending him back to his realm. Doing so too soon may cause…irreparable damage.’ Well, damn.”

She inhaled, opening her mouth to say more, but my brother cut her off. “With my summoning, the veil only weakened marginally.”

Ash nodded. “It’s worse since I brought Chaos over, but the damage didn’t double. Same with Mayhem.”

Ember crossed her arms, drumming her fingers against her biceps. “When Chrys brought him over, you vanquished him right away. That didn’t cause irreparable damage.”

“Because he didn’t have a corporeal form,” Shade said. “Now he does.”

“I haven’t sensed a rift today, and we have been out in the city twice. Let’s keep it that way.” Chaos rose to his feet. “If someone is to cross over to the Underworld, we must wait at least a week.”

“Waiting is not my thing. I need to battle another beastie ASAP.” She rested a hand on her hip, drawing my gaze to the curve of her waist. How could a warrior of her magnitude possess such delicate features?

“What’s the amulet he wants?” Miles asked. “Maybe if we can find it, no one will have to go to the Underworld.”

“It was a gift from Lucifer.” My lip curled. Discord was the first Prince of Hell and had always been the King’s favorite. Lucifer allowed him into the most private parts of the palace, making him privy to the inner workings and plans of our realm. He was the Lord of the Underworld’s pet.

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