Page 30 of Broken Shadows

“Now though? We’re fighting just to survive.”

“Especially now. We will be okay for one night. Now, go and shower and I’ll tell Aiden to nap so he can take watch while we rest later.”

“But—”

“Shower,” she orders and leaves the room. “I’ll bring Gomez.”

By the time midnight falls, we’re all showered, and Gomez is wrapped in a warm, fuzzy towel. I’ve successfully managed to remove every mirror from my bedroom with Rosa’s help. We agreed we need the privacy.

I pull open the dresser drawers and find stacks of neatly folded clothes. Aiden was right. Lorcan really had ordered my clothes to be brought here from when I was in the Shadow Realm. Which means he really did change his mind and wasn’t planning on me taking his place there.

None of this makes any sense. I mull over every word Lorcan said with a fine-toothed comb, desperate to find the truth between the lines, yet each time I end up more confused than before.

I grab my loose, purple knit cardigan, a black strap top, and pair of ripped, faded blue jeans out of the drawers and place them over the back of the chair, ready for the morning.

“I’m not tired,” I admit, which is miraculous considering how little sleep I’ve had over the past week.

“It’s the anxiety. Just close your eyes and rest, you don’t need to worry about falling asleep right now,” Rosa replies and pulls on one of my dark purple nightgowns. She tugs on the snug fabric around her chest. “Thanks for this. I mean, it’s a little creepy that he had them brought here, but I suppose we should be grateful for his stalker attitude right now.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” I pull on my black nightdress, then rub my temples. “I’m still so… angry at him.”

She nods, then stretches out over the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. Her pink, pointed nails graze over the carvings on the mahogany headboard, and I watch, desperate for anything mundane that might slow my racing thoughts.

She places Gomez, now nice and dry, in between two fluffy pillows. He squeaks and turns to cuddle the pillow closer to him. “Oh, my baby.” I lie next to him, with Rosa on the other side, and go to open my mouth to say something but the words turn into a yawn. My fingers absentmindedly meet Gomey’s fur, stroking his body over and over until my headache subsides and I can hear him snoring.

Rosa turns off the dim lamp, plunging us into a darkness only eased by the moonlight seeping through the crack in the drapes. “Aiden is keeping watch,” she whispers. “He’ll sleep in the morning, so don’t worry, there’s someone here looking out for us.”

A smile curves my lips. It’s just so nice to feel clean sheets under my legs again, to hold a freshly washed blanket to my chest, and to feel Gomez and Rosa close, knowing we’re all safe for now.

Soon enough, they’re both asleep and I am alone. Except, I’m not really. As I teeter on the edge of sleep, I can feel Lorcan’s presence all around me. Even without the mirrors, he’s close, and a small part of me wonders if he’s sleeping in this same bed in the Shadow Realm.

For a brief second, I swear I can smell his intoxicating cologne lingering on the pillow and my stomach dips.

I close my eyes as the stark reality hits me. Tomorrow, Lorcan will be free for the first time in a century and I have no fucking idea how he’s going to react once he’s without being bound to the Shadows Realm. I wonder if he even knows how he’ll feel without the shackles tethering him to my bloodline.

I hadn’t planned to wake up so ready to free my stalker from the Shadow Realm, but the moment my eyes opened, it was all I could think about. I must protect Rosa and Gomez, and Aiden too. He’s an innocent in all of this.

I stand in the living room, my Aunt Evangeline’s grimoire tucked between my arm and ribs, and stare at the arched windows and the snowy expanse beyond the heavy, purple drapes. A faint musk of aged furniture mixed with the lilies hangs in the air, masked only by the scent of fresh soap wafting from Gomez who clings to my shoulder.

Rosa looks at Aiden and arches a manicured brow. “You don’t want to take this time to sleep?”

“I wanna see this,” he states.

My brows furrow as I eye him. His eyes are bloodshot with pronounced dark circle rings under them. I understand the tiredness, as he had kept watch all night, but the pale tint to his skin and the way his eyes dart to the doors and windows every minute or so, as if he’s looking for someone, tells me everything. He’s afraid and doesn’t want to be alone.

Perhaps the realities of The Order and the demon brothers has sunk in more now than when we first arrived. He seemed okay yesterday.

“Are you feeling okay?” I ask before I get to work.

His eyes dart to the door again. “Yeah. Sorry.”

He definitely isn’t okay, but then none of us really are, so I don’t press him.

Rosa holds my free hand as we walk to the large mirror. Lorcan appears in it, his face all sharp angles and somber expressions. Perhaps he doubted my showing up this morning.

Ezra walks into the frame behind Lorcan, bouncing on the heels of his high-tops as he flashes me a grin. “If it isn’t my second favorite witch.” He winks and shoots Rosa a glance and she turns her head to look the other way.

“If it isn’t my least favorite demon,” I spit, which isn’t entirely true, but only next to Samuel. Ezra fucking chased me in the Shadow Realm while in his demonic form, choked me out in a dream, and tried to kill me. Now he talks as if we’re old friends.

---