Page 23 of Broken Shadows

They freeze, only their eyes moving, as if they’ve been rendered statues. Fortunately, Gomez has disappeared amongst the commotion. I only hope he’s hiding.

Raising my hands, magic pulses into a deadly hum under my fingertips. “Let them go.”

“Evangeline said you would be powerful, but she never said it would be this much.” His nostrils flare as he glances at the floor with disgust, as if he can see my dead aunt from here.

“You met my aunt?”

“I know her now,” he says with mock surprise and fiery eyes. “She’s waiting for you, you know.”

“She’s dead,” I reply. “Unless she isn’t?”

“Evangeline and I are doing this for your benefit too. Lorcan must be destroyed.”

“So, where is my great aunt?”

“Hell,” he says with an unnerving smile. “Where you will be soon if you don’t build that portal.”

“I’m more powerful than you.”

His expression shifts into that of a predator. “Not by much, and you can’t kill me.” He side-eyes Rosa and my stomach drops.

“Let. Them. Go,” I order with a guttural growl.

Shadows writhe with every pulse of my heart, sliding away from me in glittering, black swirls.

He laughs, eyes alight, and I realize he wants this. He loves it. We are one of the same, except he’s right. I have more to lose, therefore something worth fighting for.

Samuel spits demon blood on the floor, hands in his pockets as he saunters closer. “Rebuild the portal. Now.”

“No.”

He scoffs. “You’re fighting for someone who doesn’t even care about you.”

I know he’s talking about Lorcan. I want to believe he’s wrong, but at the same time, I know he’s probably right. “This isn’t about Lorcan.”

His brows furrow and he tilts his head, eyes penetrating as if he’s reaching into the depths of my soul, searching for the truth. It’s invasive and I suddenly feel as if I’m naked. “If that’s true,” he replies slowly, “then help me and I’ll let you and your friends go.”

I swallow thickly. “So you can kill me after?”

“You have my word. I will not harm you.”

I scoff, recalling everything Lorcan had said to me—every trick, when he made me believe he was falling for me. When he made me feel things for him. “In my experience, the word of a demon means nothing.”

“I am not my brother,” he spits, as if the unspoken comparison is so disgusting. “I keep my word.”

I glance sideways at Rosa and Aiden. Her eyes are wide, pupils flitting around, revealing the panic she can’t show with the rest of her body.

“Fine, I’ll do it, just let them go,” I relent, but he’s not so easily fooled.

“Build the portal first.”

“With what mirror, genius?” I ask and his eye twitches as if he’s not used to being unprepared. I’m glad I can get under his skin, if only a little.

“I’ll have one of my brothers bring one.” When he pulls out his cellphone from his pocket, I take the opportunity while he’s distracted to flick a shadow around his wrist, twisting until I hear bones crack.

The phone clashes onto the ground, and the ropes of onyx magic fade slightly. My eyes widen when I spot Rosa’s fingers wiggle as she tries to move. Aiden’s lips part slightly.

Samuel’s growl reverberates through the room. I lash another shadow at him, and he whips it away with his magic.

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