“It won’t hold her long enough. She broke through the one Patrice cast at the bonfire in half a minute. Here.” He placed a bottle in her hand. “You can try.”
Cinder furrowed her brow, looking first at the bottled spell and then at Ember. “Since when do you keep premixed spells at home?”
“We’ve learned to be prepared.” Ember shrugged and offered her hand. “And to share vim. Hopefully, she’s exhausted and she’ll stay put long enough for the guys to do their thing.”
My witch accepted the offer, the hint of a proud smile playing on her lips as they recited the incantation in unison. Cinder tossed the granules onto Ash, and Chaos released her, stepping away as her body froze to the spot.
Ash strained, the tendons in her neck protruding as she fought the restraint. Unfortunately, our curse amplified her strength, as it was intended to. She flexed her fingers. Her head turned slowly as she made fists, bending her arms at the elbows first, and then lifting them over her head. She opened her mouth to scream, her jaw unhinging slowly, but no sound emanated from her throat.
“Perhaps another sleeping spell,” I said.
“On it.” Miles hurried to the counter where his supplies lay strewn about.
“Now, brothers. While she’s still subdued.” Chaos clasped my hand.
I reached for Mayhem, my power gathering in my chest and cascading down my arm. Everyone held their breaths.
Knock, knock, knock. The sound was soft, hesitant, yet in the charged silence of the room, it sounded like a gavel striking a sounding block.
Ash took advantage of the distraction, breaking free and lunging, biting Chaos’s forearm. He ignored the pain and caught her in his arms once more. Miles blew the sleeping powder into Ash’s face. Her knees buckled, and my brother lowered her to the floor.
“We need to do this now,” Chaos said, his attention focused solely on Ash.
My attention, however, locked on the witch with red hair and fair skin, descending the stairs.
“Patrice,” relief flooded Ember’s voice. “Thank the goddess you’re okay.”
The healer stepped into the library, her eyes wide with concern, her hands clutching her medical bag. She looked from the charred bookshelf to Scorsha, and finally to Ash, crumpled on the floor.
“You’re all—” Her words died in her throat as her gaze landed on me.
A sickening, festering vibration struck my soul…a frequency in her blood that sang a song of betrayal and ancient magic. She must have masked it well for my brothers not to know. Without our unholy trinity intact, they had been unable to detect it, as I had been with Seraphine.
But now, as this red-haired woman stood mere feet from all three demons whom her ancestor had wronged, her aura screamed the truth.
Chaos went rigid. The air around him heated, crackling with hellfire and hatred. Mayhem turned slowly toward the healer, his nostrils flaring, his eyes glowing with a violent, purple light.
“Isabel,” Chaos whispered, the name dripping from his lips like venom.
“She is of the blood.” Mayhem tilted his head, studying her. “How did we not know?”
“We needed the power of three.” I narrowed my eyes. This woman, this healer who had tended to their wounds, was the spawn of the witch who had stolen centuries of our lives.
“Hold up.” Ember raised her hands. “Are you saying Patrice is Isabel’s descendant?”
Cinder’s posture stiffened. “There’s no way. She can’t be the reason for…”
“Oh, Patrice,” Scorsha said, her tone that of a disappointed mother. “Why didn’t you say something?”
The healer froze, her gaze darting between the witches and us. She took a stumbling step back, clutching her bag to her chest like a shield. “I…I can explain.”
“Explain?” Chaos glanced at Ash, who lay still on the floor, and stalked toward Patrice. Shadowy heat shimmered around him, a sign his demon lurked just beneath the surface. “You are the descendant of the witch who cursed us. You carry her rot in your veins.”
“I didn’t choose my family.” Patrice’s voice trembled as she inched toward the door. “I didn’t want any of this to happen.”
“You chose to hide it.” Mayhem moved in a blur, appearing directly behind her, blocking her exit. “You have been in our presence for weeks. You knew who we were. You knew what your bloodline did to ours.”
“I tried to fix it.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I wanted to end it.”
