Page 94 of Broken Shadows

I dart my gaze over his head and slowly widen my eyes. “Don’t move. It’s right behind you.” The look of horror on his face will forever be etched into my memory.

Aiden whoops. “Are we messing with Ezra instead of me now?” He slaps his hands to his cheeks. “Oh no, bro, you better run. It’s gonna get yoouuuu.”

Evie looks toward Rosa, sighing. “Stop. Enough of this.”

Aiden’s brows furrow and fine wrinkles appear on his forehead. “But, Bromina, someone else was final—”

“No,” Evie and Rosa say, cutting him off.

Aiden’s shoulders droop as he sighs. “Okay, fine. What are those things anyway?” Gomez flies into the fray of fluffy bodies and rolls around with them on top of my brothers. “Whatever they are, Gomey sure likes them.”

My attention drifts back to my brothers as Gideon crawls over Ezra, kneeing him in the gut before crouching next to the boulder. “Get over here, Wrath. It won’t see us if we take cover behind the boulder.”

I laugh so hard my cheeks dig into the bottom edge of my mask. “You two are fucking idiots.” I reach out a hand to pet a periwinkle zalvie, but it bounces on feet too big for its body and bites my finger. I hiss and shake my hand, flinging it off me. “You fucker.”

“Let me try,” Aiden proposes, then removes his hat, attempts to scoop one up inside it. The cornflower blue monster hisses and narrows its cobalt eyes at Aiden. “Oh, common, little guy, I just wanna give you pets.”

Rosa sucks in a breath. “Shit. Aiden, I wouldn’t do that.”

The zalvie parts its jaws far past what it should be capable of, then sinks its fangs into the back of Aiden's hat near the Velcro sizing strap.

“That's mine,” Aiden says, then tugs his hat backward, but the little zalvie doesn't release its hold.

I roll my eyes as Evie and Rosa laugh at the absurd tug of war.

Crouching down in front of Ezra, I shake his shoulders. “This is a trial. Trust me, whatever you think is happening isn't.” Ezra stops flailing and coughs as a zalvie jumps onto his face and hangs onto his beard. Three more of the little assholes cling to Gideon’s warrior braids and swing along with the momentum of his head as he turns. “He's right, Ez, there’s no duck.”

I squint my left eye at the twins and mutter under my breath. “What fucking duck? You know what? I don't even want to know.”

Gomez flies back to Evie, squeaking and rubing his fluffy cheek against hers. “I know, Gomey. Aren't they so cute?” The bat releases a soft, pleased purr, and wraps his wings around his body.

Ezra falls flat on his back as one final periwinkle zalvie bounces on his chest, the others climbing onto the boulder. I narrow my eyes on the tiny monster, then realization dawns.

Ezra grabs the fluffy creature with two hands and smothers it against his chest. “Rupe? Rupert!” Ezra and Rupert roll around on the ground, a convoluted symphony of two extremely different pitched growls emitting from their aggressive cuddle.

“What’s a Rupert?” Aiden asks.

“Rupert is the name of Ezra's pet zalvie,” Gideon say laconically, then stands and brushes his hands over his pants.

Ezra stands, cuddling Rupert against his bearded cheek, and eyes all of us. “No one say the word duck to me ever-a-fuckin-gain.”

The group’s chatter fades into a buzzing as something scratches at the back of my mind, then a flash of the cave from the zalvie’s vision darts across my mind’s eye. I lace my fingers with Evie’s and stroll farther up the hill, confident the others will follow.

“Shit. Where the Hell are you going, Lor?” Ezra shouts.

I press a kiss to my witch’s cheek, smiling against her skin before answering my fucking pest of a brother. “To test a theory.”

Evie’s mind brushes against mine.I’m curious too.

She shivers as I stroke my thumb in leisurely circles on the back of her tattooed hand.I saw a cave in a vision. Something was off about it. It's not far. Less than one hundred yards, just over the final crest of the hill.

The feeling of power grows as the group takes in a tall archway cut into the rock of the shallow cave. My eyes trace over the ancient demonic language carved above it. Snorting, I glance back at my brothers.

“What does it say?” Rosa asks.

Ezra shrugs. “Essentially, that going in is a risk of death, etc… Standard posturing. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“Is that such a good idea, Bro Demon?” Aiden asks, his lips tugging down.

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