Page 108 of Broken Shadows

Lorcan nods, I assume this is about as close to anything sentimental as these three get. Silence hangs between them as the music picks up and I decide to break it. We all should get along, and we might need Lazarus and Asher on our side.

I glance at the spirits lingering nearby, searching for anything to break this awkward silence, and turn to Asher. “Why do they look like that? The spirits? Some appear human.”

Asher tips the contents of his glass into his mouth. “Some souls look worse than others.” He shrugs. “Don’t really know why. Suppose it depends on how long they’ve been here and how worn down they are.”

Lazarus tsks and runs a hand around to the back of his neck. “That’s not true. Excuse my brother. He’s spent so much time at the crossing that he’s forgotten how to observe.”

Asher rolls his blue eyes. “With that, I’m leaving. Good evening, Evie, Lorcan.” He nods at us both, then shoots a scathing glare at his brother. “Lazarus.”

Asher disappears into the crowd, heading toward the nearest exit, and Lazarus turns his attention to me. His neat, slicked back hair doesn’t move when he rakes a hand over his head. “When a human soul enters Hell, while they’re translucent with their spectral form, they maintain their appearance from the Human Realm. The more time they spend trapped in their punishment, they forget the essence of who they are and shift into what you see there.”

He waves a hand toward two spirits caught in a dance of ghostly smoke, flurrying as they spin to the music, the steps not in time with the symphony, their movements slowing despite the haunting tune lifting into a crescendo. It’s as if they’re trapped in a memory we cannot see, habitually dancing to a time in the Human Realm that the world has long forgotten.

“Evangeline still has her form,” I say, and Lorcan grunts.

“Only because of our dad. Without him, she’d wither here too.”

Lazarus’s lips quirk upward. “Indeed, she would. I must talk to our father, anyway. Good evening.”

I watch Evangeline on the other side of the room now, wrapped in Lucifer’s arms, but her gaze is elsewhere—fixed on us.

Let’s change the plan,I say into Lorcan’s mind.Evangeline looks as if she’s going to combust. Let’s make sure she does. Lucifer isn’t the only one who can obliterate a soul out of existence. Your brothers hunted me down so I could do it to you, remember?

Eyes half-closed, long lashes shadowing his lids, and fingers digging into my hips as he tugs me into his embrace.It won’t work here. This is my dad’s domain and if you hurt her, I worry what he’ll do to you. He needs to see what she’s like first.

Death magic dances in my fingers, shadows coiling around each one like vipers.Then let’s show him. Drive her wild with jealousy and she won’t be able to hold back. Look at her, she’s already struggling to hold it in.

A nudge of agreement sears into our bond, but I sense something else has consumed his thoughts over the threat waltzing near us. Bringing his lips to the shell of my ear, his whisper climbing into my brain in a gentle caress. “Did you read my letter?”

Bruising touches linger on my hips as he pulls away, then drifts his fingers up my spine and over my arms, leaving traces of him over every pore in my body. I close my eyes, wanting nothing more than to feel him in every part of me.

I nod, my hand sliding over his chest. “You are my eternity too.”

His hand grips the nape of my neck, lips pressing to mine as he holds my face with more urgency than ever before. Breathless, he breaks our kiss and with all that untapped power behind his eyes focused on me, he utters, “I am all yours, Evie. My heart belongs to you, always. I never thought I could love anything or anyone.” He brings his hands to my hair, fingers threading the stands as he stares wild-eyed. “It’s terrifying, only because I’ve never truly been afraid, but the thought of losing you tears my soul into shreds.” His fingers skate my cheeks, my neck, then down to my chest as if he’s needling unseen threads and whispers, “Your mortal heart taunts me with every beat.”

Amidst his swirling shadows, my heart quickens. “If I could tear out my heart and give it to you—if it meant I could stay here with you for an eternity, I would.”

“MyWitch.” His hand inches down my back and paused at the bottom of my spine with the gentlest touch. “You deserve a life outside of Hell. In the Human Realm. I’m not fit for court life, and you shouldn’t be subjected to it.”

“I’ve never much fit into the real world,” I say as he spins us to the music, holding me so close to his body, so tightly, as if any gap between us is an insult. “If our plan works, we could stay here. Perhaps it’s where we both belong.”

He slumps over me, forehead pressing against mine. “I only belong with you, wherever that is.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Evie

I close the door to our chambers and allow the smile I’ve repressed for the last hour to spread.

He loves me. I never thought he’d say it. My heart pounds as I replay the memory repeatedly. Lorcan will be back soon, after going to meet with Gideon and Ezra, so I use the time to my advantage.

He tells me he's not suitable for court life and all the politics that come with it, but he has a larger skill set than he realizes.

Even though it's been over a century since he was caged by his brothers, I believe a part of him—even if it’s smaller than a grain of sand—still twinges with self-doubt at times. And while that barely noticeable spec is nothing compared to his grandiose personality, itdoesaffect him.

I really hope that officially claiming him back, accepting his twisted love, and ensuring him he’s my eternity as well, incinerates that black mark entirely. I intend to obliterate it with my claiming shadows.

My footsteps pad quietly against the stone floors as I make my way to the black dresser, open the smallest drawer of the top row, and pluck out the set of silver earrings Lucifer gifted me.

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