Page 6 of Broken Shadows

My death magic stirs weakly in my chest, then falls silent. I’ve lost track of time, utterly trapped in the abyss of all too familiar torture.

Edward plucks a pair of medical scissors from the tray and cuts a clean line down my gown to my naval. “Do you repent your evil ways, Evie?”

“Not to you.”

“You will learn,” he spits, placated by my act of squeezing the scalpel. “Do you remember what I used to tell you when you were a child? How we must bear all to God.”

“How could I forget? I wonder, though, if it’s God who wishes to bear witness to my body or if it’s you.”

Edward's eyes spark with fury. “It’s an age-old punishment.”

“You can’t humiliate me,” I say, moisture pooling in the corner of my eyes. Dammit. Why the fuck won’t my tear ducts listen to my command not to cry right now?

He focuses on my glossy eyes and smiles weakly. “Another lie.”

The final snick of the scissors severs the gown, unveiling my breasts. My nipples harden as the cold air circulating the room explores my skin with icy fingers. Panic swarms through my body and I gasp.

I squeeze my eyes shut. Not this. Please Gods, not this. I can barely catch my breath when his fingertips graze my cleavage. My lips tremble and I want to cry, regressing to my childlike want to tantrum and panic, to scream for help until someone comes.

But there’s no one here to save me.

Goosebumps prickle over my arms as nausea swarms with every press of his hand against the swell of my chest.

“This is for your own good,” he states, excitement pinching his words.

His mouth moves, but I can’t hear beyond my stammering heartbeat. My pulse pounds like a little hammer drumming against my eardrums as everything falls into slow motion. His hands are on me again, the cut gown trapped beneath me trembling with my shaking body.

My eyes flutter open to the ceiling as the room around me fades into a dull hum.

I lie quietly in the numbness, a place of absence and purgatory, where only the simplest bases of my senses exist. My thoughts wander aimlessly, each one falling into the other like nonsensical waves—maladaptive daydreaming with no sense of beginning or end. Control over my nerve endings lapse, the weight of my limbs meld into the bed. Time holds no power over me as I float in numb bliss, the pain and anxiety thoroughly banished.

A distant conversation filters into my awareness. I groan as a wave of pain radiates through my chest reaches into my subconscious.

Another slap lands against my stomach and my eyes fling open to reveal Edward, landing his palm against my naval as he shouts. Vomit rises to the back of my throat when I realize his hard dick rests on my bare belly. A gasp leaves my mouth as I take in the tall, demon brother covered in tattoos with thick dark hair, the top half braided back from his face, standing in the doorway.Ezra? If he’s here, then… Lorcan. They must have found a way out.

“What the Hell am I interrupting?” Ezra asks and side-eyes my uncovered chest.

Edward steps away from me. “Gideon. I’m in the middle of a session. You can’t ju—”

“We’re speeding things up,” he states, cutting Edward off. “We can’t wait anymore.” His eyes travel over me for a moment. Gideon glowers at Edward, his nose scrunching.

Gideon?My hope of seeing Lorcan deflates like a led balloon. I forgot Ezra has an identical twin. I wiggle my fingers, wincing as a sharp sting radiates through my palm.

Edward swallows thickly. He touches his throat and twists his torso from view. “I’ll continue once she has served her penance.”

Gideon clears his throat. “Thisis not penance, andyouclearly cannot wield the results we need. I’ll take over.”

“No,” Edward says shakily. “I know her better than anyone. I can get it out of her.”

A shiver travels the length of my body as the cold air circulates around my bare torso.

Gideon grits his teeth, then turns toward the stairs. “You have until tomorrow, or you’re being replaced. Remember, human, if you fail, The Order will have your head for harboring her for all those years when she was a child.”

Edward swallows thickly. “I won’t fail.”

Gideon glances at me. “I’m sending Asher to oversee this experiment.” He doesn’t look back when he leaves. Once the door closes, Edward bows his head, his shoulders slumping as he looks over the gore spattered torture tools on the metal tray. “Looks like we’re out of time, Evie.”

My fingers sink into the thin foam padding as I focus on him, hatred spilling through my expression until I’m clenching my jaw so hard I’m surprised my teeth don’t shatter. I eye his cross, the very thing protecting him from my magic, and imagine strangling him with it. I can still kill him if my magic isn’t involved.

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