Page 82 of Devour the Dark

Vane holds the hat over Roc’s head like he’s about to place a crown. It’s deliberate, slow, calculated.

I can’t feel my legs, but I’m determined to run the second it’s on Roc’s head.

Time seems to slow.

My ears ring.

When the hat is finally placed, the air snaps.

I let Roc go and race across the room, pulling Wendy behind me.

Vane takes Winnie, then Asha.

Light flickers over the room. Bright red, then silver, then red again. The flashing intensifies, snapping like lightning.

Roc’s hands curl into fists. The sound he makes is more monstrous than any he’s ever uttered. A primordial roar.

The ground vibrates beneath us. I pull Wendy into my side, tight against my hip.

In the flickering light, veins pop across Roc’s forehead as he grits his teeth.

And then?—

Silence.

The sudden absence of the flashing light has me momentarily blind.

When my vision adjusts, I spot Roc across the room face down on the stone. The hat has come off and rolled on its side.

Wendy and I race to him, our footsteps echoing across the conservatory.

“Thank god, he’s breathing.” Wendy drops to her knees. “Roc?”

“I need a drink,” he mutters.

Wendy groans, but there’s a smile of relief pulling at the corners of her mouth.

“Is the witch gone?” I ask him.

Slowly, he climbs to all fours, then sits back on his ass. “Yeah. She’s gone. Along with her sister.”

Asha, Winnie, and Vane come up behind us.

“You dumb shit,” Vane says.

Roc gets up on his feet. He stares down at Vane. “I love you too,” he says and then wraps Vane in a hug.

Vane is stiff for all of two seconds, and then he hugs his brother back.

“Thank you,” Roc says.

“Stop devouring every random inconvenience. We only have one hat. If something happens to that one, I’m not going through the glass for another.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll behave.” Then Roc plants a kiss on Vane’s forehead.

Vane curses beneath his breath.

“Through the glass?” Wendy mouths to me.

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