Page 52 of Broken Shadows

Gideon’s serious expression sharpens as his gaze drifts from Aiden’s to mine at a glacial pace. While I’m curious to know what the fuck that’s about, I have no time to dissect it now.

“Obviously, we cannot leave you here,” I add when he doesn’t answer.

Ezra brings his index finger to his scrunched lips and taps them a few times. “I’d say we kill him, but I’m a selfish fuck and won’t risk something happening to me because of our twin bond.”

Gideon’s eyes track to Ezra, cold fury mounting in his pale green depths.

Ezra scooches farther away from Gideon dramatically. “Woah. Calm down, War. I was just dicking with you.”

Gideon returns his attention to Aiden and remains silent.

Evie points to Gideon’s bound wrists. “What if I bind myself to him? He wouldn’t be able to flee, and I can keep track of him at all times.”

I bite back a laugh as Gideon’s claws lengthen and cut into his hands as he clenches his fists, knuckles whitening. The fuzzy pink padding shifts and the cuffs dig into Gideon’s straining wrists.

“Absolutely not,” Rosa and I say together.

I arch a brow at Evie’s friend, and she mimics my movement.

Rosa hisses vehemently. “Evie, you cannot bind yourself to another demon!”

Evie’s lips curl around her cigarette, the corners tipping up, and my cock twitches. Damn. I miss those lips. They would look better wrapped around my cock instead. “I said bind, not bond,” Evie responds. “I’ll tether myself to the handcuffs, which Gideon is already bound to, not to the man himself.”

Gideon’s eyes widen the slightest bit, then he quickly masks his expression. That rare display of emotion tells me everything I need to know. My witch managed to surprise the King of War. I smirk and shake my head.

My clever girl,I say into her mind and her cheeks flush pink.

“Sounds perfect to me,” Ezra agrees, his words ending in a groan as he stretches his arms over his head.

“Agreed,” Rosa says croakily. I narrow my eyes on Rosa as she stares at the exposed skin where my brother’s t-shirt rides up, then licks her lips before quickly looking away.

“And how do you know a spell to accomplish that?” I snap, instantly regretting the bite to my words as the determined expression flees from her bright eyes.

My intentions tighten painfully.

I never intend to cut her like that, but the anger often controls my tongue.

“In your library,” she answers.

“I see,” I state flatly and fold my arms across my chest.

I look around and realize everyone in this room has their eyes on someone, whether it’s an intention to kill them or fuck them.

I soften my gaze and stroke her tattooed arm with a shadow, the dark smokey magic twisting into shapes to match her rose and skull tattoos.

She glances at me, then quickly walks away. Yep. My words, or tone, hurt her. She walks over to Rosa. Her best friend wraps an arm around her shoulders, then plucks the finished cigarette from Evie’s fingers and tosses it into the fireplace.

Evie continues, her eyes focused on me. “When I discovered the grimoires months ago, I noticed another dark book of magic, but I forgot about until now since I was so desperate to find the grimoires.”

“Show me, Little Witch.” I trail my gaze after Evie’s departing form. She quickly returns moments later with a plain leather-bound book, crisscross stitching binding the book and forming the spine.

Evie cracks open the book and places it on the coffee table, flicking through the pages quickly until she finds one marked with a scrap of paper. “Here.”

Rosa peers over her shoulder. “What can I do to help?”

“Not much, actually,” Evie replies. “I only need cinnamon, a dried basil leaf, and blood.”

“Okay, I’ll go see if I can find them in the kitchen.”

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