Page 47 of Broken Souls

Get...u…

Eighteen

HIM

Khalid’s girl isn’t picking up.

He has his phone to his ear. His shoulders are tense. His knuckles are white, and I can hear it ringing from my side of the car.

Riiiing.

The hairs on my arms rise as I stare out the window, a sudden thought occurring to me.Fuck.

Riiiing.

The beat of Khalid’s heart picks up, and so does mine.

How the hel did I not realize this before?

Riiiing.

I can smell the panic being pushed out of his pores, the rush of adrenaline pumping through his body.

His phone drops.

And my heart stops.

The reaper is never afraid.

My head turns to him.

“What’s wrong?” Talon asks, but I don’t give Khalid time to answer, barking out a quick, “Go.”

And he doesn’t hesitate. Doesn’t try to tell us what he’s realized or sensed or felt. He just shifts into his shadow and leaves. Whatever he’s afraid of, he needs to address itnow,is terrified that if he stops to give us even a two-second brief, that he’ll be too late. And that same fear is damn near squeezing at my lungs because I’ve just realized Aleric can get past our godsdamn ward.

It’s species specific – created by Mother and Caden when they built the house we live in to keep out all non-witches.

Except I’m not a fucking witch.

I’m part vampire.

So if I can get in, then so can my father.

My jaw locked, I pull out my phone and dial Enoch. As it connects, I say, “Maddox, Talon, follow Khalid.”

Talon shifts into his shadow instantly, but Maddox waits for his relief.

As soon as Enoch answers, I say, “You’re driving.”

“Got it.”

I hang up as Talon’s shadow slips out through the cracks in the floor. A few seconds later, another black mass appears in the footwell. I lean forward to grab the wheel as Maddox shifts, then chases after his brothers.

Enoch forms in the driver’s seat, his shadows swirling up around his muscled body, all the way up to his ginger hair. His forearm flexes as he grabs the wheel “What’s the sit?” he asks.

“Force it.”

He glances at me, seeking answers, but he doesn’t push before he makes the car speed up. He weaves in and out of the traffic, using his telekinesis to move people out of the way just enough for him to cut through gaps that are barely there.