Page 12 of Broken Shadows

“I know that look. What are you searching for?”

I follow my instincts and yank the shitty wooden chair from beneath the desk. My eyes widen slightly as I take in the bag, for it’s a fucking leather backpack, not a purse, nestled between the grooves meant for legs on the unupholstered seat. Without hesitation, I snatch the thing from the chair, unzip it, then upend the contents onto the desk. Ezra meanders closer, his gaze following a tube of mascara as it clatters to the desk, then rolls off the edge and under the bed. I shake the bag again, my claws tearing into the leather as more shit clatters against the wooden surface beneath it.

“Damn,” Ezra says as he leans over my shoulder.

My elbow connects with his ribs. “Would you give me some fucking space?” I rifle through the pile of unnecessary contents, smacking away Ezra’s hand as he snatches something before I can inspect it. One of my claws catches against a bat patterned coin purse as I shove it out of the way, only to unearth two tampons, a black tube of lipstick, and a baggie of blueberries and granola.

Picking up the snack bag, I roll my eyes and sigh. Bats on her coin purse and treats for him? Reminders of Fluffy Fucker are everywhere I go—something I’ll soon remedy once Evie and I are in the Human Realm together. I toss the bat snacks over my shoulder, then cross my arms over my chest and stare at the remaining contents. Adrenaline bubbles into my bloodstream like liquid hope as my eyes light on something Silas missed. Of course, Rosa couldn’t have a simple, round compact mirror like any other human. No, she has to have something loud—a glittery, bright purple mirror in the shape of an eggplant.

I flip open the compact and glare into the Human Realm, the same room reflecting back at me. The plastic surrounding the loathsome little mirror cracks as I grip it tightly between my forefinger and thumb. I force my fingers to relax. The last fucking thing I need is to shatter the only means of communication I have.

I snap my gaze to Ezra as a skull splitting shriek of grinding metal spears from the corner. “Shit, they could’ve gotten the poor monster a better cage. They haven’t even given him fresh water today. What the fuck.” More groans of bending metal score my senses.

A snarl twists my lips. “Would you knock it the fuck off?”

Ezra continues his rant without taking a breath or acknowledging my request. “That,” he spits and jabs a tattooed finger at Gomez’s crumpled cage, “is a rusted piece of shit.” His eyes land on mine as he turns away from the destruction he wrought and back to me. “So, they forgot one after all. Excellent.” Ezra laughs and shoves a fist full of Fluffy Fucker’s snacks into his mouth while waggling his brows.

“Really?” I snarl, then shoot him a warning glare.

“What? It’s a little stale, but still edible.”

Satan give me strength to not disembowel my brother.Anger swells within me. This is what I am fucking reduced to, aligning myself with an idiot sidekick. But none of it matters—I’ll get my witch back, even if I must look like a fool to do so. Ezra squats by the desk, pokes his finger into a crack at the base of the wall, then drops to his stomach and peers through.

“I can see all the way through into the next room.”

I disregard him, keeping my focus on the miniscule mirror. The oval reflection tilts, then a pair of lips fill the space, the lower lip significantly fuller than the upper, blocking my view of the reflected room. I tap a nail against the lid of the compact as I watch her lips transform from a soft pink to a neon purple with each glide of her lipstick.

This is too godsdamn perfect.

“Oh, I gotta see this. Move over,” Ezra orders, smooshing his cheek into mine.

My claws dig into his shoulder as I shove him away from me. I reach into my back pocket, then secure my mask behind my head, my knuckles brushing against my curling onyx horns. It’s time for Rosa to finally meet the man in the mirror in all his demonic glory. My cheek taps against the bottom of my mask as I fail to suppress a smirk.

I dissolve the barrier hiding my masked demonic face from view and growl, “Human Rainbow.” A scream rents the air and Rosa’s side of the mirror swirls into a vortex of swirling colors. Silence descends and my chest rises and falls as I inhale slowly in through my nose and out through my mouth while I wait for Rosa to calm the fuck down. My adrenaline surges higher the longer I stand here waiting for something to happen. It’s been too long since I scared the absolute shit out of someone. Aiden’s reactions, while still entertaining, have become dull and expected. Rosa, however, is fresh prey.

I narrow my eyes as light fills the reflection once more, then one large dark brown eye widens in horror.

“What the fuck?”

“Hold the mirror farther back from your face, human,” I demand.

The eye narrows to a slit, then a soft thump greets me as she sets the mirror down on the desk. Darkness creeps around the edges of the mirror.

“Don’t you fucking dare close this mirror.”

“Watch me, demon.” Despite the threat, she takes a step back, leaving the compact open. Rosa’s footsteps thud as she paces much the same way I did earlier, the odd glimpse of her arm or chest flashing in my limited point of view as she moves.

“Evie. Have you seen her?”

The woman continues walking back and forth at the foot of the bed, gesticulating wildly as she mumbles to herself.

A dark growl rips from my throat. “Rosa.”

Teeth mashing together, food reverberates through my ears, then Ezra’s face is fucking touching mine once more.

“Rosa, huh? Mmm, hey, Sugar,” he croons.

“Seriously? Another one? How many fucking brothers do you have, asshole?” she shouts and throws her hands out to her sides, huffing as she drops onto the foot of the bed. She glares at Ezra and I, then circles her hand in the air in front of her face. “Can you both change all of that?”

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