Page 43 of Mayhem and Ember

“The alarm was for anything demonic. I’m going to put this down. Don’t make me pick it up again.”

“I have no intention to.” Though I couldn’t shake the temptation of taking the amulet shard she still clutched in one hand.

“Good.” She returned her sword to the rack above her bed and stepped toward her dresser, where she put the box into a drawer before taking out a pair of sweats and pulling them on. “Why do you think the amulet should be yours? Discord made the bet and won.”

My jaw tightened at the reminder. “Why should he hold more power than me? Than Chaos? We should be the same, equals.”

She tilted her head, studying me. “Equal doesn’t always mean same.”

“How could it not?” I held her mesmerizing gaze. The common dark brown of her irises should have been unremarkable, but as I looked into them, I felt a pull in the core of my being. An invisible tether attempting to form, threatening to drown me in her eyes.

“My sisters and I are equals, but we’re very different from each other.” She sank onto the edge of the mattress, folding one leg beneath her. “We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, but when we come together, there’s no stopping us.”

“Does one of you not possess more abilities than the others? Surely your differences, your weaknesses, aren’t equal in their detriment.” I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms.

Ember sighed, casting her gaze to the ceiling and tilting her head side to side as she thought. “If I had to pick one, now it would be Ash. Our mother had bound her fire magic to try and keep the curse from coming to fruition. Now that the ties have been broken, she’s the most powerful witch I’ve ever met.”

“And it doesn’t bother you, being magically weaker than your sister?” I couldn’t fathom how it could not.

She shrugged. “Not really. She lacks self-confidence, and she’s careful to a fault, but she also keeps the coven running and provides protection to my team. We couldn’t keep the beasties at bay without her.”

“I see.”

She arched a brow. “Do you?”

“No.”

“I guess that’s the difference between light witches and demons. We love our families, and we’re loyal to our covens.” She picked up her phone and swiped the screen, letting out a relieved sigh before setting it on her nightstand.

“Discord bet against me and won a token that gives unnatural power to its bearer. Chaos allied himself with witches and allowed you to vanquish me back to my prison, denying me of the magic I should have received through my summoning. Whatever love or loyalty I could have felt for my brothers died with their betrayal. They don’t want my power to grow.”

“Maybe because they’re afraid of what you might do with it. Or maybe it’s not even about you.” She stretched her arms over her head, her cropped shirt lifting above her abdomen, revealing the delicate skin beneath her breasts.

Heat pooled in my groin, and I looked away, contemplating her words. “Do you fear Ash since she came into her power?”

“Not Ash herself.” She rose and strode to the dresser again, taking out her standard black clothes and laying them on the surface. “But I do fear the curse and what it could make her do.”

“Are you willing to stop her, should we not locate the rest of the amulet in time?”

Her head snapped toward me, her eyes narrowing in warning. “We’re going to find it, and you are going to end her curse. Now, it’s almost dawn. I’m going to take a shower, and then we’ll discuss our next steps. Close the door on your way out and get ready to move.”

“Are you not taking a weapon into the bathroom? What if I decide to take you up on your offer to make me scream your name?”

She smiled slyly. “I have more weapons hidden in this house than you can begin to imagine, and next time, I won’t hesitate to go all the way to your heart.”

My stomach tightened, my heart pounding out a rhythm that said she already had.

16

EMBER

“That was weird, wasn’t it?” I stood in the bathroom towel-drying my hair and talking to my reflection like a crazy person. After the heart-to-heart I’d just had with a demon prince and the way I’d warmed to him, I might be certifiable.

Since the moment we’d brought Mayhem into this realm, he and I had communicated by taking jabs and mocking each other. Hell, we’d almost killed each other less than twenty-four hours ago. This was the first real conversation we’d had, and dammit if he didn’t show a bit of humanity during it.

I hung the towel on a rack and pulled on my underwear, pausing before I grabbed my pants. I hadn’t missed his reaction to seeing me braless and in my skivvies, and dammit again if I hadn’t found a smidge of pleasure in his heated gaze.

After shoving my legs into my pants, I grabbed my shirt, pulling it on as I walked back to the bathroom. “Damn sexy demon, and his damn insecurities.”

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