Page 49 of Claiming Chaos
He nodded. “You should be. You do good work.”
Wait. What? Did Shade just compliment me? My face scrunched in confusion. “Thanks?”
“You first.” Ember held up her finger, so I offered my arm. She shot a tiny, controlled flame onto my sigils, making them glow deep red before fading to cool blue.
My muscles tensed as the magic took hold, my stomach doing flip-flops while my pulse sprinted. Holy Hecate. I wasn’t used to having my abilities enhanced. “How much stronger am I?”
I wrapped my arms around Chaos and strained to lift him three inches off the floor. I should have tried a before and after because he still felt heavy as hell.
“Don’t waste it.” Ember lit Shade’s sigils before pointing her finger at Miles. “It lasts about six hours, but the more you use it, the less it works.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “She says to the Ink Master.”
She activated Patrice’s sigils, and I clenched my jaw. That was my job. I could do it now. I didn’t need the Zippo anymore, and it took all the willpower I could muster to not step in and take over. But Ember was right about their poker faces. We were counting on Chrys underestimating me, so it was best if everyone else did too.
Ember lit the sigils on her arm, and everyone pulled down their sleeves, hiding the protection marks. Chrys wouldn’t be expecting those either.
We made our way to the library and gathered our supplies before heading to the back door. Ember grabbed the lever and held up a fist, telling us to wait. She slowly pulled it inward, peeking through the narrow opening, and I bounced on my toes.
These sigils made me feel like I was high on caffeine, and the anticipation of using my newly unlocked fire power had me itching to bust through the door and run to the church. Maybe this was why Ember always seemed so reckless.
No, she was reckless with or without the ink.
I needed to calm the eff down before I forgot who I was and started acting like my sister. I made a mental note to never enhance my speed and strength again and rose onto my toes to whisper in Chaos’s ear.
“I can’t calm down. Can you help?”
He arched a brow, questioning me, so I pulled up my sleeve and rubbed his mark. With a deep inhale, he closed his eyes, his lips curving upward, and sent a pulse of magic through our bond.
Calmness spread through my veins, warming me from the inside out, slowing my pulse, and relaxing the tension in my legs. I mouthed the words thank you, and we followed Ember out the door.
“Were you expecting an ambush?” Chaos asked as we paced toward the van.
“I’m expecting anything and everything she can throw at us.” Ember scanned the alley in both directions before climbing into the driver’s seat. Patrice took shotgun, and Miles went for the way back seat. I started to get in the back, but Shade cleared his throat.
“Hey, Ash?”
I stopped and turned toward him, and Chaos rested his hand on the small of my back, no doubt ready to defend me against whatever sourness Shade wanted to share.
He opened his mouth and closed it again before nodding. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you.”
I flinched like he’d slapped me.
He gestured with his head at Chaos. “Does he know about our history?”
“He does…” Wariness lifted my voice.
Shade shrugged. “I don’t handle rejection well, and I acted like a dick because of it. And then seeing you two together… I realized I never really got over you and that was fueling it too.”
My mouth hung open, whatever words I should have said not even registering in my brain.
“Anyway, with the close calls we’ve had, I wanted to get that off my chest…just in case.”
Chaos climbed into the van, giving us some perceived privacy, and my brain finally started working again. “Umm… Thanks for saying that, Shade. It means a lot, and…”
Now it was my turn to shrug awkwardly. “I’m sorry too. We’ve both behaved badly toward each other.”
“Cool.” He climbed inside without another word, so I did too.