Page 55 of Broken Shadows

“My claw will work just fine,” Gideon suggests, then slashes into his outstretched palm. Denim blue blood wells along the deep cut, gushing down his skin and into the bowl as Gideon offers Evie his bloodied claw. Fuck no.

A shadow snatches my brother’s proffered hand, twisting it sharply until a crack fills the silence. “No one makes my little witch bleed but me,” I growl darkly, the words almost obscured by my threatening rumble.

“Jesus fuck, Lor!” Ezra exclaims. “Ease up.”

I watch Gideon through narrow slits and bare my teeth as he hisses and clenches his teeth. “It’s okay, Ez,” Gideon reassures through gritted teeth, then smirks. Searing heat bites into my shadows, a muted lavender glow spreading beneath them.

“What the fuck,” I growl and recall my shadows as agony peaks where my shadows touch Gideon’s Hell fire.

“Keep your shadows to yourself,” Gideon growls, his expression quickly shifting into a feral visage.

“As long as you stay the fuck away from my witch.”

Gideon’s intense expression clears and his blank, serious one ripples into place like water smoothing over a river rock. “Are you two done?” Evie asks.

“Yes,” we both reply and a headache blossoms to life over my left eye. I step up to Evie’s back, then reach around her and gently take her hand in mine. I extend the claw on my other index finger.

“Is this okay?” The back of Evie’s head rubs against my pecs as she nods. My shoulders tense as I quickly and efficiently cut into her palm, just deep enough to extract the blood she needs for the spell. Retracting my claw, I slide my it up her torso, across the length of her sternum, and halt with my fingers around the column of her throat. Evie’s arousal sweetens the air as I use the hold on her neck to draw her back into an embrace, then whisper, “Good fucking girl.” A shudder works its way from her toes to the crown of her head as I draw my arms to my sides and back away.

Evie swallows thickly, then squeezes her bleeding hand over the bowl. I watch each drop intently as it drips in a thick stream to join Gideon’s. Her brows tip inward with concentration, then she glances at the page with the ritual instructions. My thumb tingles with the need to smooth out the little V forming between her brows. Damn, she’s cute. Gideon plucks the cuffs from the table, purple flames igniting the pink fuzz in a cloud of noxious smoke.

My shadows rise around my brother, poised to strike if he's so much as breathes negatively in my witch’s direction.

Gideon chuckles, rolling his shoulders back and focuses on the cuffs. Frost crawls along the metal of each, and for a moment nothing happens. Metal shrieks and grinds as each handcuff splits in half along the circumference. The severed metal bits thump to the table and a smile tips the corners of Gideon’s lips as he holds them out for Evie.

“Um. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I simply wished to remove that hideous pink fuzz,” Gideon explains and gestures for Evie to continue.

Evie blinks rapidly a few times before narrowing her eyes on the blood. Her husky voice floats over my skin as she chants the words of the spell under her breath, shadows spilling from her chest. Taking the modified handcuff bands, she dips them into the bowl of thick dark purple blood. Evie continues to chant as she sprinkles the herb mixture onto the waiting bracelets that drip steadily over the bowl with her shadows. Thick white smoke rises from the surface of the bracelets and clouds around them. My witch’s shadows split, one carrying a metal band to Evie and the other to Gideon. He holds up his wrist without comment, letting her shadow glide the band over his tattooed, scarred hand and secure it to his wrist. The band shrinks, fitting to his wrist snuggly.

A thin shadow glides around the circumference of the metal, then rushes to Evie's, repeating the process. Evie lowers her wrist, rolls back her shoulders, and straightens her spine. “It's done,” she exhales.

“Thank fuck. That was intense,” Ezra says.

“I know, bro,” Aiden agrees, and walks over to Ezra, knocking his elbow into his. “Cool as Hell to watch, but I've never been into the spooky stuff.”

“Ironic, considering you sold your soul to a demon,” I interject.

“Don't worry, Aiden,” Ezra says, then flops his arm around his shoulder. “We're besties now, remember? I'll keep you safe.” An oomph rushes past Ezra’s lips as Gideon's palm connects with his sternum.

Ezra stumbles back a step, his arm falling from Aiden. “What the fuck was that for?” he growls.

“Don't. Touch. Him.” He enunciates each word crisply.

“Fuck off, Gid,” Ezra huffs, moves to crouch by Rosa. “Hop on.”

“Excuse me?” Rosa asks skeptically.

“Climb on my back, Sugar. I know you’re eager to explore the shadows with me,” Ezra says and bounces his eyebrows.

A sigh pushes past Rosa’s lips, then her arms and legs coil around my brother. “Let’s go.”

Ezra laughs as Rosa squeals and tunnels her fingers into his hair to keep her seat as Ezra bounds into the shadow juxtaposed to the fireplace.

“Rosa!” Evie calls.

“I’m not gonna drop her, Evie,” Ezra replies with laughter in his voice from the entrance of the In-Between.

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