Page 55 of Mayhem and Ember

“They won’t wipe you out.” Mayhem leaned back, steepling his fingers. “The fae lack an enzyme required to exist in this realm…one that your livers produce. They’ll keep you as livestock, breeding you, slaughtering you, taking only your livers, and disposing of you like garbage.”

“There’s a lovely thought.” I crossed my legs and massaged the injured one to spread the antidote through my muscles. I needed to move. My brain worked better when I walked. “And let me guess. The sheep don’t produce enough of the enzyme to sustain them. That’s why they slaughtered the entire herd.”

“Precisely.”

“We need to find the rest of the amulet.” Ash sat on the arm of Chaos’s chair. “With any luck, we can summon Discord and mend the veil before Ignacus and his followers pass through.”

“Yes.” Mayhem moved forward again, his knee resting against mine.

My stomach tightened, warmth spreading through my core like it did in the restaurant and again when he carried me up.

His gaze drifted down to where we touched, his brow scrunching as if he could feel the way my body reacted to him. I scooted back, breaking the connection, and he blinked twice, giving his head a tiny shake.

He cleared his throat. “The amulet is the answer to everything. We must find it.”

I let out a dry laugh. “We were planning to scry for it this morning. We’d already have it if you hadn’t snuck out to roam the streets and nearly gotten us shot.”

“Scry for it now.”

I rubbed my temples. “We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because scrying takes a lot of vim. Vim is part of a witch’s life force. Body, mind, and soul have to work together to replenish it, and even if I had enough in me to go into the trance it requires, I wouldn’t be able to come out. My body is injured, my mind is reeling, and my soul is so goddess damned tired I feel like curling into a ball to hibernate.”

His head jerked back as if I’d slapped him. “I am to blame for this?”

“Well, yeah.” I dropped my arms to my sides. “Not entirely, but having you here isn’t making it any easier, and speaking of my mind…” I looked at my sister. “What did you do to me out there? That guy wouldn’t have pulled the trigger if I’d kicked his ass, but all I wanted to do was keep the peace. I went from Jason Statham to Mother Theresa in half a second. You promised you’d never mess with my mind.”

“We didn’t do anything.” She looked at Chaos for confirmation, and he shook his head before giving Mayhem a pointed look.

“It was me.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I intended to wind you up so I could watch you fight without remorse. Had I known it would have the opposite effect, I would have kept my power to myself.”

My mouth hung open, so I snapped it shut. “So you could watch me fight without remorse? I’d have killed them.”

“They intended to kill you.”

I took a deep breath, holding it for a count of five before releasing it. It was pointless to argue with a demon. He didn’t even have a moral compass, much less one that pointed in the right direction. Chaos knew how to behave in this world, because Ash had taught him. He learned because he loved her.

This guy…?

Even if I had the patience to teach him right from wrong, you couldn’t pay me enough to try. He was unteachable.

“Now do you believe it’s fate?” Ash asked. “Chaos’s power has the opposite effect on me too. Some things are meant to be.”

Mayhem’s face blanked again, but my eyebrows shot toward my hairline. “Are you implying that he and I…” I laughed incredulously. “I’ll admit the goddess or someone nudged us in the right direction to find these guys. Was it all meant to happen exactly the way it happened? Doubtful.”

Ash lifted a finger. “But?—”

“But…” I mirrored her pose. “To imply that the universe is now a matchmaker is ludicrous. You and Chaos fell in love. Good for you. But don’t you think, if the universe or fate or whatever wanted you to be together, they would have given you a way to stay together?”

She straightened, lifting her chin. “Who are we to question fate?”

“Who are we, indeed?” I cast a glance to Mayhem, who looked indifferent AF. He wasn’t going to back me up, not that I expected him to.

I stood, testing my weight. When I didn’t wobble, I picked up my boot and headed for my room.

“Where are you going?” Ash asked, following me into the hall.

---