Page 9 of Broken Shadows (Corrupt Shadows Duet #2)

CHAPTER NINE

Evie

I was never afraid of dying.

I recall the counselor I’d been forced to speak to when I was thirteen asking me about it. Edward and Antionette had voiced concern over my morbid curiosity after I befriended the funeral home director’s son and was caught sneaking into the morgue. It wasn’t my first time going there at night when everyone was asleep, it was just the first time I’d gotten caught.

I only wanted to look at the bodies, to see what they may look like after they were dead, and yes, on occasion I would lie on an empty table and pretend I was a corpse just like them.

The counselor suggested it was trauma that led me there. I’d been around so much death that I was naturally curious about it. In truth, it was because I was desensitizing myself for the inevitable. I knew my life wouldn’t be a long one. Whether I was to die young at my own hand from finally giving into the depression, or because my magic took me out, it was going to happen. Of that I was certain.

So, now when I am faced with the very real possibility of my demise, why am I suddenly afraid?

“You’re going to be okay,” Rosa says from the bedroom door as if she can sense my thoughts. “We don’t have to do it today if you want to rest…” She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth and looks me up then down. “Maybe it’s best if we wait.”

“No, I’m ready. We can’t wait too long. I ju…” I trail off and zone in on a spatter of blood over my hand. Edward’s blood.

Rosa is at my side before I realize I was dissociating. Her cold fingertips land over the blood splatter. “Hey, look at me.” My lashes flick up and I meet her warm, widening gaze. “We can wait. I promise The Order isn’t coming here tonight. This is the last place they’d think we’d come back to, precisely because it’s the most obvious choice. Aiden’s idea to come here was surprisingly brilliant.”

I blink thrice. “This was Aiden’s idea?”

She nods and squeezes my hand. “We are safe for the time being. Besides, we have escaped them once. We can do it again. I’ll even keep watch of the grounds, hmm? We all need a small respite.”

“But Lorcan—”

“Has waited a century. What’s another day?”

“Rosa.” My words tumble over each other as I spew all the suppressed feelings I’ve been keeping inside. “I know this sounds insane, but now that I’ve killed Edward, I don’t know what to do. I thought I’d feel better... but my anxiety is worse than ever.”

She tilts her head, her brows lowering slightly as her gaze narrows. “Just because he’s dead, doesn’t mean the deep wounds he left behind are. You can’t kill a memory, but you can heal your reaction to it, with time.” She pauses for a moment then sighs gently, pulling me an inch closer when she adds, “Look, the adrenaline is wearing off from earlier. You’re exhausted, your body has been put through so much. It’s not surprising that you’re anxious. What you need is a shower, clean clothes, and a good night of sleep.”

“We don’t have time—”

She cuts me off before I can argue that I don’t need to rest. I doubt I could even sleep if I tried. “I need to rest too. We’re all tired and can use one calm evening.”

“Now though? We’re fighting just to survive.”

“Especially now. We will be okay for one night. Now, go and shower and I’ll tell Aiden to nap so he can take watch while we rest later.”

“But—”

“Shower,” she orders and leaves the room. “I’ll bring Gomez.”

By the time midnight falls, we’re all showered, and Gomez is wrapped in a warm, fuzzy towel. I’ve successfully managed to remove every mirror from my bedroom with Rosa’s help. We agreed we need the privacy.

I pull open the dresser drawers and find stacks of neatly folded clothes. Aiden was right. Lorcan really had ordered my clothes to be brought here from when I was in the Shadow Realm. Which means he really did change his mind and wasn’t planning on me taking his place there.

None of this makes any sense. I mull over every word Lorcan said with a fine-toothed comb, desperate to find the truth between the lines, yet each time I end up more confused than before.

I grab my loose, purple knit cardigan, a black strap top, and pair of ripped, faded blue jeans out of the drawers and place them over the back of the chair, ready for the morning.

“I’m not tired,” I admit, which is miraculous considering how little sleep I’ve had over the past week.

“It’s the anxiety. Just close your eyes and rest, you don’t need to worry about falling asleep right now,” Rosa replies and pulls on one of my dark purple nightgowns. She tugs on the snug fabric around her chest. “Thanks for this. I mean, it’s a little creepy that he had them brought here, but I suppose we should be grateful for his stalker attitude right now.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” I pull on my black nightdress, then rub my temples. “I’m still so… angry at him.”

She nods, then stretches out over the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. Her pink, pointed nails graze over the carvings on the mahogany headboard, and I watch, desperate for anything mundane that might slow my racing thoughts.

She places Gomez, now nice and dry, in between two fluffy pillows. He squeaks and turns to cuddle the pillow closer to him. “Oh, my baby.” I lie next to him, with Rosa on the other side, and go to open my mouth to say something but the words turn into a yawn. My fingers absentmindedly meet Gomey’s fur, stroking his body over and over until my headache subsides and I can hear him snoring.

Rosa turns off the dim lamp, plunging us into a darkness only eased by the moonlight seeping through the crack in the drapes. “Aiden is keeping watch,” she whispers. “He’ll sleep in the morning, so don’t worry, there’s someone here looking out for us.”

A smile curves my lips. It’s just so nice to feel clean sheets under my legs again, to hold a freshly washed blanket to my chest, and to feel Gomez and Rosa close, knowing we’re all safe for now.

Soon enough, they’re both asleep and I am alone. Except, I’m not really. As I teeter on the edge of sleep, I can feel Lorcan’s presence all around me. Even without the mirrors, he’s close, and a small part of me wonders if he’s sleeping in this same bed in the Shadow Realm.

For a brief second, I swear I can smell his intoxicating cologne lingering on the pillow and my stomach dips.

I close my eyes as the stark reality hits me. Tomorrow, Lorcan will be free for the first time in a century and I have no fucking idea how he’s going to react once he’s without being bound to the Shadows Realm. I wonder if he even knows how he’ll feel without the shackles tethering him to my bloodline.

I hadn’t planned to wake up so ready to free my stalker from the Shadow Realm, but the moment my eyes opened, it was all I could think about. I must protect Rosa and Gomez, and Aiden too. He’s an innocent in all of this.

I stand in the living room, my Aunt Evangeline’s grimoire tucked between my arm and ribs, and stare at the arched windows and the snowy expanse beyond the heavy, purple drapes. A faint musk of aged furniture mixed with the lilies hangs in the air, masked only by the scent of fresh soap wafting from Gomez who clings to my shoulder.

Rosa looks at Aiden and arches a manicured brow. “You don’t want to take this time to sleep?”

“I wanna see this,” he states.

My brows furrow as I eye him. His eyes are bloodshot with pronounced dark circle rings under them. I understand the tiredness, as he had kept watch all night, but the pale tint to his skin and the way his eyes dart to the doors and windows every minute or so, as if he’s looking for someone, tells me everything. He’s afraid and doesn’t want to be alone.

Perhaps the realities of The Order and the demon brothers has sunk in more now than when we first arrived. He seemed okay yesterday.

“Are you feeling okay?” I ask before I get to work.

His eyes dart to the door again. “Yeah. Sorry.”

He definitely isn’t okay, but then none of us really are, so I don’t press him.

Rosa holds my free hand as we walk to the large mirror. Lorcan appears in it, his face all sharp angles and somber expressions. Perhaps he doubted my showing up this morning.

Ezra walks into the frame behind Lorcan, bouncing on the heels of his high-tops as he flashes me a grin. “If it isn’t my second favorite witch.” He winks and shoots Rosa a glance and she turns her head to look the other way.

“If it isn’t my least favorite demon,” I spit, which isn’t entirely true, but only next to Samuel. Ezra fucking chased me in the Shadow Realm while in his demonic form, choked me out in a dream, and tried to kill me. Now he talks as if we’re old friends.

Lorcan’s lips curve into a smirk and Ezra just grimaces. I’m just glad that smile is wiped off his face, even if it does mean I gave Lorcan a reason to smile.

Rosa lets go of my hand and takes ahold of the grimoire, opening it to the bookmarked page. I’ve already memorized the incantation a hundred times, but her speaking it with me helps. She’s a witch too, just one with earth magic that is classed a light magic and is the opposite of mine. Having her near calms my magic.

I close my eyes, focusing on the darkness, and allow my magic to surface as easily as my next breath. The tendrils of energy move within me, pulsing through my core and bringing with it a sense of power that pulls me higher, better than any drug.

I’ve spent so many years suppressing my magic out of fear of killing someone else I love that I hesitate for a moment. In some ways, it’s similar to anxiety, so I remind myself that I control it and not the other way around. I can do this. I won’t let myself sink into the shadows ever again but instead wield them to my will.

I place my palm outwards as the chill of the shadows seep into my hands with an icy caress. Then, all at once, my magic tears from my body like black ribbons, forming intricate patterns as my shadows creates a spiderweb over the long, ornate mirror hanging on the wall.

The deadly hum of death magic glitters like stars, lining the darkness of my shadows. They cover the obsidian frame, blanketing the mirror until the contours of Lorcan’s determined expression disappear entirely. Seeing him is the last thing I want and the sooner we get this over with, the better.

The force of my ancestors’ powers whooshes through me with an icy gust. I plant my legs apart and suck in a gasp of air, steadying myself. I clamp my eyes shut even tighter, gritting my teeth as I start the incantation along with Rosa, but my power only heightens with each word.

A tremor starts in my fingers, then convulses up my arms and to my chest.

I focus on my breathing and repeat the memorized words. “ In sanguine creato, terrae ac ventorum rima inter nostrates mundos aperite .”

My heart hammers desperately against its cage of bones, every beat a shockwave of pain as my ancestors’ magic works against me. My fingers curl into fists and I open my eyes.

Shadows cloud us like a thick fog, and the shadowy ribbons on the mirror has turned into a tarry substance that hangs over the glass like a sticky black web.

Rosa and I whisper in unison, “ Perde sanguinis nexum cum virtute quae per me currit. Solve cavea, sint liberi.”

The tarry-looking substance melds with the glass, and the glass cracks into two. A tremor rumbles through the walls, and I wince when Gomez’s claws scratch into my skin as he scrambles to hide in my hair.

I hold steady, but fatigue runs through me with fervor. My breaths slow and my legs feel as if they’ve turned into jelly.

When I glance up, I notice the tarry shadow attached to the mirror all the way to the center of my chest. Pulses are pulled from me through the bridge between the portal and me, stealing every last reserve of energy.

Rosa’s hand lands on mine as I hear her drop the book. Her fingers curl around my wrist as my legs buckle. The tarry, sticky thread remains attached to me, shooting icy stabs of pain through my chest until each breath becomes so agonizing, as if I am breathing in shards of glass.

Rosa’s magic blooms into me, as if she’s the lifeforce keeping me alive as the portal depletes me.

“We need to stop!” I hear her yell.

“Don’t,” I croak, knowing what will happen if we stop midway. “I’ll die if you stop it.”

Stars fill my vision and my jaws slacks as shadows escape through my mouth like vipers of darkness. I choke on them, just as Samuel had, and I try to scream but nothing comes out.

Crimson veins over the glass and I realize it’s not just energy that the sticky thread of magic linking me to the mirror is taking from me, but also my blood.

Just before I feel like I’m about to take my last breath, the pain and tremors ease as quickly as they had come.

Rosa’s panicked cries reach me through the ringing in my ears. My vision clears and I raise my hand to my throat as the shadows curl back into me like ink into a pen.

“I’m okay,” I promise, but struggle to stand. I glance up, staring at the newly made portal. The mirror is shiny and new, the glass rippling as if it’s water and someone has thrown a rock into it.

A hand appears, then an arm. Lorcan slowly steps through, and my heart skips a beat. Rosa sighs in relief, Gomez flies over toward Aiden who jumps up from his chair.

I press my fingers into my temples and clamp my eyes shut. Fuck, I’m so dizzy. The room spins around me, and I grip the edge of the doorway as I stumble into the next room.

As soon as I am alone in the adjoining room, I grasp the window ledge, gasping. I stare out of the window at the bleak, snowy wonderland beyond the glass, when I hear footsteps shuffle behind me. My vision steadies and I take an extra few seconds to keep my eyes closed and enjoy the silence before turning to face him.

His brows knit together when he scans my face, the skin of his nose creasing between them. I’m certain I can withhold from him, to leave here once we’ve worked together to destroy his brothers, then never think about him again.

“I knew you could do it, My Little Witch,” he praises and my chest heaves.

I swallow thickly. “You’re free now. You don’t need to keep up the game of pretend.”

“Pretend?” A fiery determination crosses his pastel green eyes.

I take a step toward the doors leading to another room, when he races over to me. His hands cup my cheeks before I can push him away.

His smell, all warm and heavy, spiced with a crisp note. That cologne mixed with his skin is like damn pheromones.

“Get off me.” I push him back, but he doesn’t budge. He takes my fists hammering against his chest as if it’s nothing, and instead of shoving me away, he holds me tighter, as if I might fall apart at any moment.

His breath is hot against my ear when he speaks into my hair. “I’m proud of you.”

My heart cartwheels. “For breaking you out of the portal?”

“No. For standing up to your father and surviving when he tried to break you.”

“Don’t,” I plead. I’m stronger when he’s not holding me. I can think straight. Hell, I can destroy entire buildings if I want to. Except my magic is sedated under his touch.

He lifts one hand, his touch dragging over my clavicle. I clench my thighs and close my eyes. Just one damned touch can do this. How?

No. I won’t be pulled back under his command.

“I said, get the fuck off me,” I shout with the last of my resolve. “Your games won’t work on me.”

“Work on you?” He lowers his arms, letting me go.

“Just stop it. You’re free now and you have what you want, there is no need to manipulate me like you did Evangaline. All I want to know,” I say as I back away from him, “is will you still work with us to kill Samuel and keep us safe from The Order?”

He arches a dark brow. “That is all you want from me?”

“Yes,” I lie.

We stand six feet apart, unblinking as we wait for the other to fold first, except I won’t be caught in another game.

I turn and walk into the living room with Rosa, Aiden, Ezra, and Gomez. Ezra points at me and says, “That was fucking awesome!”

Aiden nods in agreement, but Rosa’s eyes aren’t on me. Lorcan is behind me, again.

Don’t follow me. I push the thought into his mind and walk out of the room.