Page 21 of Broken Shadows

“Shiiiiiiiiiit,” Aiden cries as he tumbles, then catches himself from face planting. I blow out a relieved breath through my nostrils.

I need a fucking cigarette.

Rosa whispers, “Get up, Aiden!”

Aiden swivels his head to Rosa. “Right, but apart from that fall, this is going amazing. We’re the best team ever, right? Team Great Hair! You know, because we both have great hair,” Aiden whisper shouts to Rosa and offers her his fist bump.

Her eyes widen and her manicured brows rise nearly to her hairline in the clearest depiction of‘what the fuck is wrong with you’I have ever witnessed. Honestly, it’s impressive.

Don't celebrate yet,I warn.Move the rug directly in front of you. Underneath is a trapdoor.

“What do you think you're doing?” a voice booms. Aiden’s whips his head around as a member of The Order grabs his shoulders.

“Fuck,” I curse.

My head tilts to the side in befuddlement as Aiden cocks back his arm and punches the man directly between his legs. The Order acolyte crumples to a heap on the floor, and Aiden celebrates, swaying his hips in a dance of victory.

“Dude,” Aiden crows. “Did you see that!? I got him in his pregnancy tools! I'm just like John McClain!”

Ezra laughs, his whole body shaking with mirth as Rosa draws her leg back, then kicks The Order member in the groin a second time. “Shit, she’s vicious.I like it,” he adds with a whisper.

I cringe as Rosa shushes Aiden and Ezra aggressively. I hate that godsdamn sound. “C’mon, we’re almost there. Evie needs us,” Rosa encourages, elbowing Aiden out of the way and flings open the trapdoor. Admiration trickles into me as she marches down the steps like she owns the place. Aiden hurries behind her, pressing his back to one wall, then the opposite in a lopsided zig-zag pattern as he continues to pretend he’s the fictional cop who saved Christmas.

Fucking focus and keep up with her,I order Aiden.

“Right. Go team, go,” he whispers, trailing Rosa closely.

My skin tightens in awareness.Something's wrong.

Aiden, stop Rosa,I command.

He manages to encircle her wrist, effectively halting her forward momentum. Her palm scrapes the wood as it slides from the partially open door to the secret chamber. A dripping sound sets my nerves on high alert, it's familiarity at once a thrill and terror. My primal senses jolt awake and search for the perceived threat.

“Pfft. It can't be that bad,” Aiden proclaims, no doubt still high from his earlier actions and the adrenaline soaring through his veins. He swipes the compact mirror from Rosa and moves past her to swing the door wide.

I freeze, unable to dissect the scene unfolding in the torture chamber in my brain’s discombobulated state. I take the mirror from Ezra and am immersed in a myriad of Evie’s scent, the unnerving absence of sound, lashing shadows, and blood.

So. Much. Blood.

Aiden gasps, “What the shit did we just walk into?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Evie

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have cut off his dick. It was a quicker death than he deserved.

My shadows shudder against my bones as I stand over Edward’s body, staring at my father’s blanched face and wide, unblinking eyes. Tears fall thick and fast as years of pent-up anger swell through me.

I thought killing him would satiate the rage pulsing through me, but it only adds to it. This isn’t enough. He took advantage of me when I was just a fucking child!

I had intended to keep him alive and force him to see the ugliness he’d done. I wanted retribution! I need him to know he was a bad person. That was the best way to destroy him. He thought himself arighteous man, justifying all his actions. I was going to reveal his true nature.

I had a plan; one I had meticulously gone over in my mind since I’d been trapped in here. I had accounted for every detail, except for my bloodlust.

“Burn in Hell!” I spit through gritted teeth.

I vaguely register Samuel behind me, spluttering and coughing as my shadows dissipate from inside his throat. A mortal would have died by now, but he’s a demon and my choking him out was an equivalent of a pathetic slap on the wrist.

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