Page 26 of Broken Shadows

CHAPTER EIGHT

Evie

I breathe in the scent of burned cigars, coffee, and polished wood as we walk into the empty, cold foyer. My eyes travel the room, over the grand staircase, marble flooring, gold-framed portraits, and the damask papered covered walls.

I never thought I’d be back here. My stomach clenches. The closer I get to seeing Lorcan, the bigger my desire to run out the door becomes.

We arrive at the living room and Rosa throws me a gray and purple sherpa blanket patterned with skull moths. I hug her jacket tighter around me as Aiden pours himself, Rosa, and me a drink, but I don’t touch mine. I’m more nauseous than ever now that the adrenaline has worn off.

Fortunately, Gomez has fallen asleep on my shoulder. The poor thing is exhausted, his tiny snores a soundtrack in my right ear.

Aiden sits across from Rosa and me on the long, clawfoot sofa and says, “Okay, so before you guys do your magic stuff, what’s the plan?”

My head throbs from all the new information over the past six hours. “I guess we need to find a solution to get away from The Order. I’m not going to kill Lorcan if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Even if he deserves it,I finish in my thoughts.

Rosa’s tone drops an octave. “You’ll only be giving Samuel what he wants. We need Lorcan. Ezra too. The Order won’t stop until they’ve found us. I overheard Asher talking with Samuel once,” she says, then adds with a roll of her eyes, “They’re either idiots or they planned on killing me, because they let a few things slip while in the room with me.”

Aiden nods. “They said a lot in front of me.” We both look at him and he shrugs. “No one ever sees me as a threat, so people often say things they shouldn’t with me in the room. The only one who was cautious around me was Gideon.” Aiden’s brows furrow and it could be a trick of light, but I swear a flush creeps over his cheeks. “Anyway, yeah, I just acted as if I wasn’t paying attention whenever Samuel came and spoke to Lazarus in particular. That was the only one he was like, honest with.”

I squeeze the edge of the couch cushions as I lean forward. “Well, people have a habit of underestimating me too. It’s their loss.” He shoots me half a smile and for the first time, I feel some sort of bond between us.

Rosa places her drink on the table and leans forward too. “So, what did Samuel say to Lazarus?”

Aiden pulls his sleeves down over his hands, and I notice they’re all frayed. I know the signs of anxiety when I see them. He’s nervous and I can’t blame him. I don’t even know how he got dragged into all of this, other than what Lorcan briefly mentioned about Aiden being indebted to him. Yet, he doesn’t seem loyal to him. Not really.

Aiden rushes his words out, barely stopping for breaths between sentences. “Well, okay, so he said there’s some chick in Hell. Your great aunt.”

“Evangeline,” I confirm.

“Right, well, I’m pretty sure Samuel’s in love with her. I’ve not been in love myself or anything, but when he talked about her it was always with like, such high regard. You know? Samuel didn’t seem like the kinda dude who was scared of anything,” he continues. “Except he did look afraid sometimes when he thought you weren’t going to crack, because he didn’t want to disappoint her. That’s all he kept saying again and again, that Evangeline needs him to succeed and wouldn’t let anything get in the way. Yeah, so he blames Lorcan for your great aunt being in Hell and says he manipulated her, and he wouldn’t rest until Lorcan’s dead.” He pauses to inhale sharply, then continues, “So, your great aunt needs Lorcan dead so she and Samuel can take over Hell, because Lorcan is next in line for the throne after Lucifer retires.” He pauses and shakes his head in disbelief. “I wasn’t sure if I heard it right either, but yeah, he said the actualdevilis going to retire. I don’t know if they meant that as in they’re going to kill him, I mean can you kill the devil?”

Rosa lets out a heavy sigh. “You’re getting off track.”

“Yeah, right,” he says shaking his head. “So, Samuel kept making all kinds of promises to Lazarus of what he’ll do once he’s in charge, but like, he wouldn’t tell the other demon bros that he was going to do that. If he was talking to Asher or one of the others, he just said that Lucifer was behind the command to kill Lorcan, and he told members of The Order something else entirely, saying they were angels, not demons or something.” He scoffs and leans back in his chair, then kicks his feet up on the priceless coffee table. “It’s a lie. From what I heard, Evangeline’s with Lucifer but is secretly seeing Samuel on the side and they’re planning a muttony.”

Rosa nods. “Do you mean a mutiny?”

“Yeah, like they’re planning on taking over behind the devil’s back.”

I sit back against the plush cushions and take a deep breath.Well, fuck.

Rosa puffs out her cheeks and releases a tense breath. “I knew about Lucifer ordering them to kill Lorcan, but I didn’t know the rest.” She rubs her temples and closes her eyes. “We need to get Lorcan and Ezra out of the Shadow Realm to protect us against The Order and Samuel. We can’t do this alone.”

Aiden hisses a breath between his teeth and slaps a hand over his neck. “Fuck, stupid servant’s mark. Yeah, Lorcan’s pissed. He says he’s going to tear Samuel apart.” He grabs his drink and downs it in one. “Okay! I hear you loud and clear,” he mumbles in response to something we can’t hear. Or someone. Lorcan must be communicating with him through his mind.

My muscles tense. Lorcan! I forgot all about mirrors in the chaos. He’s probably watching us now and listening to everything we say. The thought sends pins and needles over my bare legs. The feeling is quickly replaced with a rush of rage. Of course, Lorcan’s pissed, the woman he was in love with wants him dead.

A shiver skitters down my spine, and I shudder. “I’m assuming he needs my help to get him out first.” The bite in my tongue isn’t lost on Rosa, whose brown eyes widen twice their size.

Aiden looks behind me and I recall the layout of the room from when I was in the Shadow Realm. There’s a large oval mirror behind me on the wall. “Yeah, but he says to make sure you rest first.” Aiden adds with a mumble, “Ineverget suchsweettreatment.”

A lump forms in my throat and I’m at a loss for words. That’s the first time he’s communicated with me since I was in the Shadow Realm, even if it’s through someone else, and all he cares about is that I’m rested so I am strong enough to rebuild that fucking portal.

“What if I don’t want to rebuild it?” I question. “It’s not my problem if his ex-girlfriend wants him dead.”

Rosa springs to her feet and walks to me. She places her hands on my shoulders and kneels to my height. “Samuel is never going to stop hunting you. You’re the only one who can open the portal. Wouldn’t you rather do it on your terms?”

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