Page 40 of Mending Mayhem
“What is that?” I asked.
“I…” She tilted her head. “It’s the ether…the veil. It feels different.”
I opened my senses, letting the vibration wash over me and through me. “Does it feel…stronger?”
13
MAYHEM
The women had been gone for over an hour, yet the knife in my heart remained. Chaos had assured us he would know if they ran into trouble, that his connection to Ash spanned any distance. I knew it was true because I felt the same bond with Ember.
The knife twisted at the thought of her name.
We had occupied ourselves with the television, Shade and Miles taking the couch while Chaos and I sat in the chairs. Miles had chosen a program about cooking, where humans created dishes for judges to compare, but I paid it no mind.
I couldn’t distract myself, couldn’t extract the blade of agony from my heart, for my soulmate had rejected me.
Was I too rough with her? My goal had been to worship her, body and being, but perhaps my perception had been off. She’d seemed to enjoy my affections, and when my beast demanded release, my horns and talons erupting from my skin, she hadn’t flinched.
What in Lucifer’s name had I done wrong?
I didn’t dare seek my brother’s counsel in front of the male witches. The business of my heart was none of theirs, and I didn’t doubt Chaos would ridicule me for driving the entire meaning of my existence away.
“What’s wrong with him?” Shade jabbed a thumb in my direction.
I growled in return before rising and striding out of the room. Ember’s bedsheets still lay in a tangle from our lovemaking. The knife twisted harder, and I seethed.
There had to be another vying for her attention. Someone who had entranced her before she met me, confusing her thoughts to the point she could not see that we were meant to be. That there was no other man for her but me.
Hellfire built in my gut, rising up to my chest and melting the blade of betrayal, using the molten metal to fuel my rage. Ember would not betray me. She wasn’t capable. The universe had deemed it so.
My palms tingled. Sparks danced across my fingers, gathering into spheres as I curled my hands, my talons erupting from my fingertips. Her interactions with men were few. Their mundane, balding police chief, with his gruff manners and oversized stomach, would never catch her eye. He would need an artifact to entrance her, and he lacked the intelligence to manage one.
My brother belonged to Ash. Of that there was no question.
That left the two males in the living room.
The fire in my palms raged with my fury. I stormed into the room, my expression wild with wrath. Miles saw me first. His knees shot toward his chest before he launched to his feet, springing behind a chair and gathering energy between his hands.
Shade reacted a moment later, joining Miles behind the chair. “Shit, man. Chill.”
“Brother…” Chaos stood in front of me, blocking my path, his voice dripping with warning. “These men have done nothing to you.”
I moved to the left, attempting to sidestep him, but he moved with me.
“Which one of you has entranced my soulmate?” I growled. “Who has her under his spell? I will rip off your fingers one by one and feed them to you while I skin you alive.”
Chaos put heavy hands against my chest, his eyes glowing red in threat. “Neither of them has hurt her.”
“Lies. She would not have rejected me otherwise.” I shoved him, but he fisted my shirt in his hands and pinned me against the wall.
“Extinguish your fire before you burn this home to the ground. This is Ember’s home.” He released my shirt and used his forearm to hold me down. “Put it out now.”
“What in Hecate’s name?” The sound of her voice drew the air from my lungs.
I raked in a breath, a fist of anguish clenching my heart. “I will kill them both for what they’ve done to my soulmate.”
Ember’s boots thudded on the wood as she stomped into the room, putting herself between me and the treacherous witches. “No one has done anything to me. What is going on?”