Page 15 of Mastering Mayhem

“You don’t remember?” Mayhem asked.

“Remember what?” She corked another bottle. “What’s going on? You’re all acting weird.”

“You burned Shade to stop their arguing.” Miles spread the salve over Shade’s neck and returned the jar to the bag.

Ash shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”

“You did.” I walked toward her cautiously. When she didn’t bristle, I pressed my hand to her forehead. What I was looking for, I couldn’t say. Did curses cause fevers?

Her skin felt a normal temperature, so I dropped my arm at my side. “You said you’d burn the building down if we didn’t stop.”

“I…” Her mouth hung open for a beat or two. “Oh, no.”

“I was able to calm you through our bond.” Chaos moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist. “You’ll be fine, as long as we’re together.”

“It can’t be the curse.” She returned to her herbs, her hands trembling as she mixed another potion. “Mayhem must have…”

“I did nothing.” He grasped my hand, and this time, I let him hold me. The familiar pinpricks danced across my skin, sending a warm jolt to my heart.

“We must obtain the rest of the amulet before your hysterics…” He cleared his throat. “Before the curse takes such hold that Chaos cannot control you.”

“We’ll take care of you.” I lifted our entwined hands for emphasis. “Don’t worry.” Because I was worrying enough for all of us. If we lost my sister to the curse because I couldn’t get my act together and lead this coven, I’d…

Well, I’d be dead. We all would.

Ash swallowed hard, her eyes glistening as if she held back tears. “I know you’ll do your best.”

I would from here on out. No more arguing with Mayhem or Shade or anyone else. No more letting my ego get in the way. I would keep myself in check, give it my best, and hope it would be good enough…which I should have been doing all along.

“Shade, what was your idea?” Chaos asked. “I assume you planned to go in under shadow because Boyd is only registered to bring one guest.”

“Exactly.” Shade straightened, turning toward Mayhem and me. “I’ll follow you in, under shadow, and both of you can distract the guards long enough for me to swipe the amulet.”

I shrugged, reminding myself he was just as capable of stealing a heavily guarded, eons-old amulet as I was. More so, thanks to his inborn power. “I suppose that could work too.”

Miles, who had been clicking away on the keyboard, stopped typing. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard so far. People will see your faces. You’re the High Priestess of Salem, so they might recognize you. It’s best if you aren’t the one to commit the crime.”

“I’m only the acting High Priestess. Most covens don’t have a clue about our situation, and once we get my family back, I won’t be in charge anymore.” And thank the goddess for that.

“You’re part of the governing bloodline, Em. Our pictures are on the witchy web.” Ash bottled the last potion and carried her supplies to the wet bar sink. “You’ll have to go in as you, married to Boyd, another fire witch.”

“Is his aura shroud still strong enough to fool them?” I rested my hand on his biceps.

“A Formorian prince believed he was a witch,” Chaos said. “I can’t imagine a witch less powerful than you seeing through it.”

I caught my bottom lip between my teeth, chewing on it as I tugged from Mayhem’s grasp, and resumed pacing. “One: Donal was tricky. Who knows if he saw through it or not? And two: Mayhem just had one foot…or hoof…in the Underworld. Guys, can you see through the shroud?”

Shade narrowed his eyes at my demon. “Yes, but we’ve known what he was from the get-go. I could always see through it.”

“No, you couldn’t.” Miles turned away from his computer. “You were in awe at how well the spell worked, remember? You mentioned it after…” He flicked his gaze down before returning it to Shade. “You mentioned it.”

Shade pressed his lips into a thin line and sighed. “Yeah. You’re right, but I can see through it now. Can’t you?”

Miles nodded.

“Did you bring all the ingredients for the spell?” I asked as Ash rummaged through her bag again.

She set a jar of lady’s mantel next to the marjoram and cinnamon oil. “I have everything but wolfsbane. I’ll need to buy some.”

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