14. Ember

14

EMBER

“H oly Hecate. What day is it?” I leaned on the steering wheel, squinting at the sea of brake lights ahead of us.

“It’s the twenty-ninth. Halloween is the day after tomorrow,” Ash said, her voice grim. I had never felt such ominous doom coming from my little sister, but she had every reason to embody it.

Halloween was the biggest tourist day of the year in Salem. The day humans packed themselves into our quiet little town like a can of biscuits waiting to burst. The day the normally thinnest part of the veil became its absolute thinnest, and they had no clue it was all about to fall apart.

I’d seen it. When I’d held Mayhem’s hand and we’d shared our magic, the veil itself had become visible to me. I’d felt it too. Even in Worcester, seventy miles from Salem, the entire fabric of reality was about to unravel around us.

And an effing griffin had taken the one thing that could’ve saved us all.

“How is your shoulder?” Mayhem asked from the passenger seat.

“It’s fine.” I waved off his concern. Yes, it had hurt like a beast while it was dislocated, but once Ash popped it back into place and applied her healing salve, I couldn’t even tell I’d been injured.

It had taken a good half hour to cremate the fae, but Hector had turned into ashes in seconds. I felt bad for using my boot to spread his remains in a cemetery so far from home, but I sure as shit wasn’t packing him into a box and returning him to Adrian the asshat.

“Come on, people.” I laid on the horn, though I knew it would do no good. Traffic inched forward, and my fatigue inched further and further up my spine, threatening to pull me under. If we could just make it two more blocks, I could take a side street and get us home.

In the meantime, we might as well make use of our time. “Tell me what you know about griffins.”

“Who are you asking?” Shade said from the way back seat.

“Anyone who knows anything.” I tightened my grip on the wheel. “Why would it take the amulet?”

“I’m searching the witchy web,” Ash said. “It’s hard to distinguish between what’s real, what’s popular fiction, and what every random Dungeon Master in the D and D world has made up about them.”

“The griffin took the amulet for one simple reason,” Mayhem said. “They like shiny things.”

I barked out a laugh. “Wait. Are you serious?”

“She was probably drawn to its power as well,” Chaos said. “And to ours.”

Mayhem nodded. “Three beings of royal descent in one place. A High Priestess and Priest from rival covens. Air and fire magic. I’m surprised the griffin and the fae were the only ones who got through.”

“I thought the more power a being has, the harder it is to cross over,” Miles said.

I leaned my forehead on the steering wheel and closed my eyes. “Hecate’s hold is slipping. Remember Cinder’s letter? They’re doing what they can to keep it intact, but ‘even the goddess can’t hold it forever.’”

A horn blared behind me, the offending noise like a dagger to my eardrums. I jerked my head up as a blue SUV jutted onto the shoulder and passed me, filling in the single car length I’d let grow between our van and the sedan in front of us.

“Asshole.” I straightened, leaning my neck from side to side, stretching the tension in my muscles. Mayhem reached across the console and dug his thumb into the sorest spot as if he could feel exactly what hurt.

He massaged from the base of my skull, down to my shoulder, and back up again before letting go and winking. “I’ll get the other side for you when we’re home.”

I grinned. “You better. Because now I’m lopsided.” How odd was it that I could still enjoy the flutter in my belly his flirting caused? If I were a good High Priestess, my thoughts would have been laser-focused on saving my coven. Instead, giddiness bubbled in my gut from simply being near him.

“I found an article on Witchipedia,” Ash said. “It has links to sources, so maybe it’s true.”

“What does it say?” I inched the car forward, nearly kissing the SUV’s backside as I turned on my brights.

Mayhem laughed. “You are much more patient than I am. He’d be missing a bumper by now if I were driving.”

“Can we not cause a fender bender tonight?” Ash glared at me through the rearview mirror. “We have enough on our plates.”

I dimmed my lights. “What does the article say?”

“Griffins reside in the Underworld and rarely cross the veil.” Ash slid her finger up her screen, scrolling the page. “Females line their nests with gems and other shiny objects so they can find them from the sky.”

“Does the Underworld have a sky?” I asked.

Mayhem chuckled. “You know our realm isn’t actually under yours, right? We don’t live in a cave in the ground. It’s another dimension, parallel to yours.”

I gave him the side eye. “Of course I know that.”

“Then why did you ask?” He arched a teasing brow.

My belly fluttered again. “Because I’m tired and lopsided. So the griffin is making a nest somewhere in this realm. What else?”

“They nest in the mountains.” Ash continued to scroll. “When her eggs hatch, she’ll nurse her young until their wings are strong enough for them to fly away.”

“Nurse?” Shade sounded perplexed. “A mammal who lays eggs. What other anomalies do you have in the Underworld?”

“It’s not that unusual,” I said. “Platypi are mammals who lay eggs.”

“Platypuses is the right way to make it plural,” Ash said.

“Thank you, grammar police.” I blew out a hard breath. “You know what? Screw this.”

I jerked the wheel to the right and plowed up the shoulder to turn down a side street. The main road was normally the fastest route home, but there was nothing normal about…well…about this entire year. I took the back roads, going the long way around Salem so we could enter the town from behind the mess.

“So, we have a momma griffin about to lay eggs, the key to our salvation lays in her nest, and we have no idea where she decided to build it. We can scry for it, but how the hell will we get to it on the top of a mountain? And how will we get her and her eggs back to Hell?”

“Griffins are generally docile creatures. They won’t attack unless you agitate them…like trolls.” Chaos gave me a look, and yeah, okay, I deserved it.

I had agitated a troll, and we’d had to kill the poor beastie because of me. But I was getting better at not causing trouble. Someone should’ve acknowledged my progress, right? Baby steps were still steps, and I was a changed woman. I was in the process of becoming one, anyway.

“If she’s already laid her eggs, us just getting near her nest will upset her.” Ash swiped away the article and laid her phone in her lap. “Moms are vicious protectors of their babies.”

I turned left and made my way up the alley, a sense of relief washing over me as I pulled into the driveway behind our house. I allowed myself to feel peace for a moment before opening the door and sliding out of the van.

“Tonight, we sleep.” I opened the hidey hole and pulled out my sword. “Tomorrow morning, we scry. After that…I guess we’re climbing a mountain.”

“You have no idea the mountains we will have to climb.” Mayhem slid his arm around my waist and took the duffel bag from my hand.

“That’s why we’re going to scry.” I grabbed another bag of equipment and headed for the door.

“There are things you need to know.” He lowered his voice to a whisper and walked beside me. “We’ll talk inside.”

Well, that didn’t sound ominous at all. Honestly though, I was too tired to talk. At the moment, my one priority was snuggling with my demon and falling asleep in his arms. Something I wanted to do every night for the rest of my life. My heart wrenched at the thought.

This could be the last night I ever spent with Mayhem. Ever. Halloween was in two days. Once the sun came up, we’d have until midnight to get the amulet, summon Discord, bring back my family, and mend the veil.

Then…he’d be gone forever.

If we failed? The curse would come to fruition, and Ash would kill me…if the veil didn’t unravel and kill us all first. Either way, fate would tear us apart. Fickle, fickle bitch.

A sob rolled up from deep within my soul, but I caught it in my throat. I tried to swallow it, but the damn thing was the size of a baseball. Tears gathered on my lower lids as I led the way upstairs. I could not let my team see me like this.

“Set your alarms,” I said as I dropped the bag onto the counter and tugged Mayhem toward the hall. I caught a glimpse of Ash before I turned into my bedroom, and the expression on her face nearly made me lose it.

She realized what was about to happen too.

I dragged my demon into my room and locked the door before hanging my sword above the bed. A tear slid down my cheek, and I wiped it away, trying to compose myself before I turned to face him.

He rested his hands on my shoulders. “We will figure out a way.”

“Will we?” The sob hanging out in my throat finally surfaced, racking my entire body as it flowed past my lips.

He squeezed my left shoulder, massaging it for a second before sliding his arms around me, pulling my back against his front. “Bringing your sister back will be difficult at best, but it can be done.”

I laugh/sobbed as another tear rolled down my cheek, and I twisted in his arms to face him. “That’s not what I’m thinking about right now.”

His lips parted, sadness softening his eyes. “We will figure out a way for us as well.”

“Don’t.” I rested my palms on his chest, pushing him away. “I don’t need you to lie to me. We both know how this has to end. I just wish…”

He pulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me firmly. “I will do whatever it takes.”

I leaned into him, laying my head on his shoulder and letting him hold me. “I just wish I’d accepted all this sooner. Deep down, I think I knew from the moment we summoned you. I wasted so much time.”

“Nothing has been wasted.” He tucked my hair behind my ear and kissed the side of my head. “We are together here, now, in this moment. We should cherish it.”

He was right. I’d been so busy thinking about next steps, planning, leading… I’d become High Priestess and lost myself. Before everything happened, I lived in the moment. I appreciated little things, experiences. I needed to bring that part of me back. It was the only way I’d survive the aftermath.

I pulled away to look at him, and another tear slid down my cheek. “I love you, Mayhem.”

He wiped it with his thumb and smiled softly. “And I love you.”

Rising onto my toes, I pressed my lips to his. He held me tighter, neither of us moving, both of us frozen in a combined state of despair, determination, and downright anger. His lips parted, and he kissed me harder, bringing his hand to the back of my head before touching his forehead to mine and closing his eyes.

“We will…” he began.

“Please don’t.” My throat thickened. “If I keep thinking, it will paralyze me. Just…”

I stepped out of his embrace and traced my finger over his sigil. “I know I’ll have to remove this before you go home. Promise you’ll never forget about me.”

My throat, my heart, my stomach, my soul…every fiber of my being twisted and turned, my nerves and emotions so raw, I could have melted into a puddle on the floor without noticing.

Mayhem’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his lips parting and closing like he wanted to keep assuring me that we’d be together forever and always. But he knew better too. “For the rest of my existence, not a single moment will ever pass when I don’t think about you.”

He stepped toward me and cupped my face in his hand, kissing me slowly, purposely, drinking me in like…no, not like… because this could be the last chance he would get.

I slipped my hands beneath his shirt, my fingertips memorizing the cuts and dips of his muscles, the silkiness of the trail of hair leading downward from his navel. Firm sinew contrasting with soft skin. The creature from Hell simmering beneath the surface of the most amazing man I had ever met.

“Why?” My voice trembled. “Goddess, why did it have to happen this way?”

“Hecate had nothing to do with this. Fate wove our story long before she was born.” He grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged it over his head, dropping it on the floor.

Stop thinking, Ember. Enjoy this moment and forget it’s the last. I kicked off my boots and continued memorizing his body with my hands and my eyes.

And my tongue.

I kissed his chest and ran my fingers down his arms to lace with his. His nipples hardened beneath my tongue, and as my teeth grazed one, he sucked in a breath. Releasing his hands, I took off my shirt and bra, tossing them next to his discarded shirt.

His pupils dilated, and he licked his lips, slowly unbuttoning his pants and shoving them to the floor. We continued undressing, our gazes never straying from each other’s, until every article of clothing we’d worn lay in a heap next to my bed.

We stood there for a moment, looking at each other, once again frozen in the moment. He caressed every inch of my body with his gaze, and I inhaled deeply, reveling in his low vibration as it washed over me.

Based on past experience, this was the part where his pupils should constrict. He should prowl toward me, he, the predator, I, his prey. Instead, he gently trailed his fingers up my arms to my shoulders.

He stepped closer, a look of adoration in his eyes that nearly made me turn into that puddle after all. I sat on the mattress, moving to the center as he crawled on top of me and covered my body with his. The warmth of his skin and his spiced, fiery scent made my head spin in a good way, the passion-drunk look in his eyes telling me he enjoyed the same things from me.

Never in my life had I needed anyone the way I needed him now. I wanted all of him. I wanted to give him my all in return, so I opened to him, allowing my magic to rise to the surface and flow from me to him. Not just through our joined hands like normal. No, this time I let my magic seep from every inch of skin touching his.

A soft growl rumbled in his chest, and one corner of his mouth lifted into a lopsided, satisfied grin before he kissed me, slipping his tongue into my mouth to tangle with mine.

He glided a hand downward, between us, and teased my folds. He slid one finger inside me, then a second, and I gasped, the sensation stronger than I had ever felt before.

“Your sense of touch is heightened while you share your magic with me.” He pulled them out to circle my clit before sliding them back inside.

“Ya think?” I laughed, not because it was funny, but because this was yet another experience I wished I’d had before tonight.

“I know.” He pulled his fingers out and pressed his tip against me. “I can see it in your eyes.” With a deep inhale, he opened himself to me, allowing his energy to wash over me, to meld with mine.

It felt like I was coming to life. Like my first twenty-seven years on Earth were just a dress rehearsal, and now, this demon was showing me how to live. My skin turned to gooseflesh as our breaths found the same rhythm and our hearts beat in unison.

He filled me with one swift thrust, and we became one. One heart, one body, one soul. Fate had bound us together, and I knew in that moment I would never love another man. I couldn’t if I tried.

He made love to me slowly, his gaze never straying from mine, the adoration in his eyes palpable as we shared our bodies and our magic. His every touch electrified me, the delicious friction as he moved inside me like nothing I had ever felt before.

My core tightened, the orgasm exploding through my body without warning, setting my nerves ablaze. I gasped at the sensation, and he moaned his approval, but his rhythm didn’t cease.

He kept going, kissing one side of my neck, and then the other, tangling his fingers in my hair as he pumped his hips faster. Another wave of ecstasy crashed through me, tearing apart my being and weaving it back together, stronger than it was before.

The third time I came, he did too. He groaned, his face contorting with pleasure as he slammed into me three times before burying himself so deeply, we could have actually become one being.

He collapsed on top of me, nuzzling into my neck, our hearts still beating in unison, our breaths slowing as we came down from the climax together.

“This time was different.” He drew his magic inward and rose onto his elbows. “You tamed the demon in me.”

I smiled and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. “I would never try to tame you. Whether you’re in demon or human form doesn’t matter. They’re both you, and I love them both equally.”

Anguish flashed in his eyes before he rolled to his back and pulled me to his side. “I can’t imagine existing without you.”

“Then don’t imagine it. Hold me like the night will last forever.” I rested my head on his chest and draped my leg across his hips. “Feel everything now so you’ll never forget.”

He kissed the top of my head. “A million years could pass, and this moment would be as fresh in my thoughts as it is now.”

“Good.” I snuggled closer and tried not to fall asleep. I wanted to cherish the moment, to bask in it for as long as possible, but Morpheus had other plans for me.

I couldn’t say how long the god of sleep gave me before he dragged me under, but the morning sunlight slicing across my eyes couldn’t be ignored. Never had I ever been so reluctant to wake up and start my day, but I had to.

I blinked open my eyes and found my demon lying on his side, watching me sleep. “Good morning,” he said. I didn’t miss the sadness in his voice.

“I guess it’s time to bring Cinder home.” I ran a hand down my face and lightly slapped my cheeks, trying to wake myself up. “After we complete all the other tasks on the list.”

His brow furrowed. “Once we obtain the rest of the amulet, summoning Discord should be simple.”

“Thank the goddess for that.” I pushed to sitting.

“But there is something you need to know about your sister.” He sat up, his gaze searching mine. There was something in his eyes. Something…off.

“What do I need to know?”

“She’s…” He blew out a hard breath. “Cinder is dead.”

I laughed.

He didn’t.

“What?” I pressed the sheets to my chest and scooted toward the edge of the bed. “Are you serious?”

“I’m afraid so.”