Page 9 of Mastering Mayhem

Well, let’s see. I’d almost died…had the life literally sucked out of me. He’d almost been vanquished because of it. Wasn’t I allowed to be a little snippy?

If I wanted to dig in deep—which I didn’t—I’d admit I wasn’t angry. I’d tell him the truth: that I was scared to death of my feelings for him and that losing him—which was inevitable—would crush me, so I shut down at every mention of our goddess-forsakenunhappily ever after.

I couldn’t think about it, much less talk about it. Thankfully, Ash came in and got right to work, saving me from my thought spiral.

She set her bag on the counter and pulled out a bowl and six herb jars. “Did Donal tell you anything about the bracelet? I can mix the potion I use to neutralize the unsavory magical artifacts I find in the thrift shops, but I don’t know if it will work on Formorian magic.”

“He believed I was a witch when he put it on me,” Mayhem said.

She pursed her lips. “That’s not helpful.”

I drummed my fingers on the countertop and grinned. “We could save our vim and chop off his wrist instead. Got a knife?”

Mayhem rolled his eyes. “You are always a comedian, aren’t you?”

“I try.” Anything to deflect the thoughts, because he was right. It was beautiful, the way the colors of our fire blended. And our fire was deeply rooted in our souls, which meant our souls would blend beautifully if I gave them the chance.

Damn it. I was still thinking. I blamed the adrenaline still flooding my veins.

Ash mixed the herbs and poured six drops of lavender oil into the bowl. “The magic in the bracelet is strong enough to hold a demon prince. Neutralizing it won’t be easy.”

“Which is why we should just chop off his wrist.” I clamped my mouth shut.Really, Em?The man only wanted to love me, but every time he broke down a layer of my heart wall, I slapped another glob of mortar on it and added more bricks.

I couldn’t tell you what the hell was wrong with me, but it needed to stop. He only wanted to love me. My chest tightened and warmed at the thought. My stomach also looped, and a swarm of moths tried to take flight inside me, so there was that. I had hormones pinging off nerve cells and innards rising and sinking. I needed an hour in one of those sensory deprivation tanks to sort it all out.

“Sure,” Ash said. “Let’s chop off his wrist and have him bleed out before we make it to New York. Great plan.” She stirred the potion, and it smoked, the clean scents of lavender and mint adding to the sickly sweet smell in the air.

“I wonder what spell he cast to neutralize the stench of death.” I scanned the far wall, where the dozen-plus bodies sat chained. “Do you think they’re all witches, or would human energy work to reform the disgusting king?”

“It doesn’t matter what they were,” Mayhem said. “They’re dead now and not our concern.”

“I feel bad for their families.” I forced my gaze away. “They must be wondering where they are.”

“And we must focus on the task at hand.” He held up his magically shackled arm.

“He’s right, Em.” Ash shot a tiny flame into the potion, activating it. “A lot more people are going to die if we don’t get the amulet, and I seriously don’t want to be the one who kills them. Donal’s body count has nothing to do with us.”

Chaos stepped into the storefront. “Miles is tending to Shade in the van. He said we must hurry if he’s to have enough time to set up his equipment and hack into the auction house’s security system.”

“Potion’s ready.” Ash returned the bottles to her bag and poured a pink powder into her palm before holding her free hand toward her demon. “We need all the help we can get. Come share your power with us.”

He strode toward her and grasped her hand.

“I will share my power with you, Ember.” Mayhem held his hand toward me.

I crossed my arms. “You’re the one who’s trapped, dummy. If your magic could break the bind, don’t you think you’d have removed it by now?”

“Here. Take Chaos’s hand.” Ash poured half the powder into my palm, and I slipped my hand into his.

Mayhem’s eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring as his gaze locked on his brother. Was that jealousy I detected in his expression? And did the moths just multiply in my stomach?

Chaos gave me no time to ponder it. A surge of dark magic passed through my skin, filling me with demonic power that felt so different from Mayhem’s. Chaos’s low vibration—and lack of the pinpricking sensation I’d grown accustomed to with Mayhem—made me shudder.

I didn’t like it. Not at all.

Ash sprinkled her half of the powdered potion onto the bracelet, and I did the same. Mayhem caught my gaze as I finished, the intensity in his eyes making me want to rip free from Chaos’s hold and throw myself intomydemon’s arms.

Hecate have mercy; the emotion was strong.

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