Page 18 of Broken Shadows

I don’t even look at Ezra to know that he’s smiling. Fucking ‘Yeppers?’

A soft click sounds as he sets down the compact mirror on his nightstand, flops on his bed, then turns on his side facing me. “So, what do you wanna know, Bro Demon?”

I growl low in my chest but force it away.The fucking things I subject myself to for my witch.“Rosa mentioned that you can hear the abbey’s bell chiming on the hour. Is that correct?” I ask, my tone brooking no argument. Reaching into my pocket, I pluck out another cigarette, rolling it between my fingers. “Anything else you might've forgot to mention?”

Aiden adjusts his ball cap and scrunches up his nose. “Nope. I don't think so,” he admits, but the light in his eyes swiftly dies, like a fire doused with water. And yet, there is something intriguing beneath the surface. Interesting. “Oh, right! One of your brothers has been stalking me, following me around and shit anytime I’m out of this room.”

“They’ve let you out? Why?”

Aiden shrugs. “The plumbing in my shower is bad and another brother of yours constantly complains ‘about my stench,’” he says, making air quotes. “But yeah, anyway. He’s been stalking me, and I mean in like real life, not in the mirror or anything.” He pauses, then his lips turn down. “Somehow, it's even creepier. But at least he doesn’t pop-up on me like a demented jack-in-the-box though. So, I win there I guess.”

I push the hair off my forehead. “Interesting. Do you know his name?”

“Nope, he's mostly quiet. Always lurking around dark corners, smoking, and brooding,” Aiden explains.

Fuck, that could be any of my brothers. “What does he look like?” I ask.

Aiden’s eyes light up and he bobs and weaves his head as if trying to view something over my shoulder. “Actually, just like that bro demon,” he says, squinting into the mirror and pointing at Ezra. “Wait! He actually is your bro. So trippy.”

I twist my torso to the side, both my brows arching high into my hairline. How the Hell did I not feel him escape? Curiosity and anger blend into a potent cocktail within me. I glare through slitted eyes at Ezra as he leans on the windowsill and cleans under his claws with the blade he started carrying ever since I stabbed him.

My brother smirks and winks at me, then focuses on the tiny image of Aiden in the mirror. “Did he have an awesome bun like his and look sexy as fuck?”

Aiden grins at Ezra. “Oh, yeah. He looks just like you, it’s crazy.” He pauses, eyebrows pinching together. “Wait… are you guys like twins or something? That's so fucking cool.”

“Isn’t it though?” Ezra agrees. “Seriously, Lorry, I fucking love this kid. But yes, that demon is Gideon, my twin.”

My eyes roll so far into my head the tendons and ligaments ache with strain. “Fucking fools. Your part of the plan is simple, Aiden,” I state, folding my arms over my chest, and rolling my shoulders back. “Be prepared to leave tonight, just after the six o’clock bells.”

“Shit, really? What do I do?” he asks much too excitedly for my taste.

“Just be fucking ready,” I order. “Rosa will come collect you, then I’ll take it from there.”

Aiden looks off to the side, his brows furrowing and his upper lip pooching under his nose. “How?” he asks slowly, extending the ‘O’.

“You get your wish, Aiden. I’ll be inside your head again, pulling the strings,” I say, my tone a dark promise.

“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything,” Aiden murmurs with a sigh.

“Pass the mirror back to Rosa,” I order.

Ezra pushes me out of the frame once he sees her brown eyes, and grins. “Hey, Sugar, so here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to make Asher super horny.”

Rosa recoils, her nostrils flaring. “You want me to what?”

“Fine. Seduce and distract him then,” Ezra repeats, then winks. “Or distract, then seduce. The order doesn’t really matter.”

“Fucking demons,” she says under her breath as she smooths her brown to ombre pink hair back into a high ponytail. Rosa shakes her head, pink locks swinging like a metronome. “There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t. And we both know you will do this, if not for your sake, then for Evie’s,” I counter.

“Ugh. Okay, fine, you’re right.” Rosa crosses her arms, inadvertently pushing her tits up and deepening her cleavage. “I mean, I know all the ways to bring a man to his knees, but a demon? Not so much.”

Ezra whistles. “Damn, Sweetness, that confidence in seduction is sexy as Hell. Don’t worry, I got you covered. The Order is fuckity-fucked, but they aren’t military. The abbey is not as secure as they think it is, especially because we know our brother’s weaknesses.” Ezra pins me with his stare like he wants me to jump in on the conversation.

I wave him off, then glide to the window. Hues of gray and blue light trickle across my hands as I take out my packs of cigs and light a cigarette. I inhale at a glacial pace, relishing each burning molecule as I take it into my lungs.Fuck, that’s good.The tension in my shoulders eases with the familiar habit. “Go ahead,” I state, then watch two streams of smoke ripple and distort in a pane of thick blue glass as I exhale through my nose. “You’ve been around him more recently anyway.”

Ezra shrugs, then clears his throat. “Okay, beautiful. I can already tell, even realms apart, that you weren’t lying about knowing your way around seduction. It oozes from your every pore like a sensual perfume,” he praises gruffly and inhales, his nostrils flaring. “Fuck, how I wish I could smell that sexy—”

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