“Yes.”
He arched a brow and crossed his arms. “For what?”
I spread my hands in an open gesture. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you, for the jokes I’ve made at your expense. And I’m sorry for having Chaos rig your match with Cerberus.”
His eyes narrowed as he regarded me, searching for signs of truth while no doubt waiting for the punchline. “Where is this coming from?”
I laughed dryly. “I’ve had a bit of time to consider the error of my ways. Forgive me.”
Mayhem straightened, lifting his chin. “Your Holland witch has changed you.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Cinder was the catalyst that made me truly see myself as others do. She has made me a better man.”
He pursed his lips, studying me again. Finally, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he shook his head. “I know the feeling. Come. We must save them.”
I followed him out of the bedroom, and as we descended the stairs, the scent of burning wood rose from the library. We quickened our pace, rushing down the remaining steps to find Cinder holding a red canister and shooting white foam onto a burning bookshelf.
With the fire extinguished, she knocked on the closet door. “I understand why you want to kill us, Ash, but you just started a fire in your library. Curse or not, you don’t want to burn books. I know you don’t.”
“I don’t care,” she screamed. “I’ll burn everything.”
Cinder closed her eyes for a long blink. When she opened them, her gaze landed on me. “Oh, thank Hecate. You need to lift this curse now.”
“Please.” Scorsha clasped her hands over her chest, and tears gathered on her lower lids. “Save my girls.”
“We will save them,” I promised, my voice low and steady. “But first, we must subdue her enough to form a circle.”
“I’ll reinforce the wards.” Ember rubbed her palms together.
“We can’t do it while she’s in the closet.” I stepped toward the door and rested my hands against it. The heat radiating through the wood warmed my palms. Chaos stood beside me, his jaw set in a line of grim determination, while Mayhem paced behind us, his energy crackling like a live wire.
I looked at my brother and then at Cinder. “The process will be excruciating. She will scream as if she were dying.”
“But she won’t die, right?” She clutched her mother’s hand. “You can break the curse without killing my sister.”
“She will survive,” Chaos said, his voice thick. “I will save her at any cost. Ash, stand back. We are opening the door.”
“Come in and die!” she shrieked, and another heavy object slammed against the frame with a thwack.
“She’s a lovely one, brother.” I chuckled despite the gravity of the situation. “Aren’t you a lucky man?”
Chaos shot me a glare that could have frozen Hell ten times over. “Open it.”
I placed my hand on the knob, nodding to my brothers. “One. Two. Three.”
I threw the door open. A blast of heat and smoke rolled out, blinding us for a split second. Ash lunged from the darkness, a feral scream tearing from her throat, her hands wreathed in balls of flame.
She aimed for Scorsha, but Chaos was faster. He caught her wrists mid-air, extinguishing her fire with a pulse of his own dark magic. She thrashed against him, spitting and snarling, her eyes wild with a madness that made my stomach turn. This was not the calm, intelligent sister Cinder had described. This was a vessel consumed by an ancient hatred.
“Hold her still,” Mayhem growled, stepping forward. “Or we can’t draw the curse out.”
“I’m trying.” Chaos grunted as Ash landed a solid kick to his shin. He tightened his grip, pulling her against his chest to immobilize her. “Now!”
Mayhem and I raised our hands, preparing to weave the counter-curse…to unravel the very magic we created, the magic which had caused so much strife. Purple and green energy coalesced in our palms, lighting up the smoke-filled library.
Energy crackled on Chaos’s fingertips, ready to join with ours and free his witch from the abhorrence we helped sow. “We must join hands. I cannot hold her while we do this.”
“Miles, mix a binding spell,” Cinder said, her voice steady and commanding…the voice of a true leader.
