Page 33 of Mayhem and Ember

Shade rose to his feet. “Do that again, and I’ll suck the life out of you so slowly, you’ll beg me to vanquish you.”

I lit a small ball of fire and let it roll over and under each of my fingers before I extinguished it in my palm. “I would like to see you try, shadow witch. I won’t be tamed like my brother.”

Shade puffed out his chest, but Miles rested a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

Ember crossed her arms. “Check your egos, boys. We’re on the same team.”

I arched a brow. “Are we?”

Her mouth tightened. “We’re pretending like we are. Now, what does the amulet do, and why won’t Discord accept our summons without it?”

13

EMBER

“There’s nothing in the book about it, and I couldn’t find anything on the witchy web.” Ash turned to the index of the stolen volume and searched again, but if she couldn’t find it the first time, it wasn’t there. Ash was a research master.

“It would have no documentation.” Mayhem strolled toward the staircase and headed up without another word.

Silence hung over us for a beat or two before Ash hit Chaos’s arm with the back of her hand. “You embarrassed him. Go apologize.”

The demon shrugged. “I spoke the truth. It was time he knew.”

“He’s embarrassed,” Ash said again.

“Embarrassment and shame are two emotions my brother is incapable of feeling.” He took a tissue from Ash’s desk and cleaned the blood from his fingers and neck. The wound was already healing.

“I’m siding with Chaos on this one. He’s pissed for sure, but embarrassed? That guy?” I laughed. “Come on. Let’s head up.”

I ascended the stairs and found Mayhem in the kitchen, shoveling chocolate chips into his mouth. What was it with demons and sugar?

He swallowed and filled his hand with more. “The amulet increases power. Whatever magic the being possesses will multiply when they wear it.”

I tilted my head, an idea wriggling in the back of my mind as the others joined us. “What else?”

He shoved the handful of chocolate into his mouth. “It’s the only reason Discord is the most powerful of princes. Without it, he’s no stronger than Chaos or me.”

“Isabel must have taken it before she imprisoned him.” Chaos held out his hand, and Mayhem begrudgingly filled it with chocolate. “Lucifer made him swear never to take it off, especially in this realm. It’s too powerful for a mortal to bear.”

“And he won’t come back to earth unless he can be stronger than his brothers?” Shade sank onto a stool. “He sounds like a pompous prick.”

“Takes one to know one,” Ash said with a grin.

“Ha ha.” Shade rolled his eyes and laughed.

I would never get used to their new dynamic. A month ago, they’d be close to strangling each other by now. A month ago, everything was different. Everything…

The wriggling idea burrowed deep in my brain, dissolving all traces of doubt. “I know where the amulet is.” Of course I did. It made so much sense, any other explanation sounded ridiculous.

“Care to share?” Ash grabbed a box of crackers from the pantry and sat next to Shade.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I met each of their expectant gazes, but no one had a clue. “Chrys had it. How else could she have gotten so strong so quickly?”

Ash stopped chewing, her brow furrowing as the gears turned in her mind. “But…how did she find it? If Isabel had it, wouldn’t it have been hidden…? And how would Chrys even know it existed?”

“She must be Isabel’s descendant.” Miles took a beer from the fridge and sat at the table.

“That makes sense.” Shade joined him. “She said she had no choice. When Cinder confided in her about her plans to summon Discord, Chrys did as Isabel had instructed and tried to free the others so she could beg for forgiveness.”

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