Page 42 of Corrupt Shadows

Her eyes widen. “Are you joking?”

“What, you think I’ll just follow you forever when you won’t even commit to anything with me, and yet I’m expected to continue fucking you in asylums or potentially with a third party? It’s weird, and yet you still think you’re too good to be my girlfriend.”

She scoffs, staring at his flaccid dick. “I don’t think that, and anyway, why would you want me to be your girlfriend if I’m so ‘weird’?”

He yanks up his pants and buckles his belt. “I just figured you’d… I don’t know, change when we got serious. I thought it was quirky and cute at first, but now… It can never just be normal.” He throws his hands up. “Is that so fucking bad? Sometimes I just want normal sex in a warm bed when you’re not drunk or high. Why does everything have to be so dramatic?”

Gomez squeaks from outside the door, and Jay sighs.

“Or without a bat flying around?”

She winces, just slightly, but I spot the expression when he clearly doesn’t. “You should go.”

“I will.”

“Good.”

He sighs slowly, then walks to her and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. She moves away from his touch, but he doesn’t pull his hand back. “I hate that you’re so beautiful,” he jokes, but frowns anyway. “That would make this so much easier.”

She makes a face, and I mirror it. Who the fuck is this guy? “I only ever wanted your dick,” she replied. “If you wanted me for my body, you didn’t need to like my personality. This was just sex.”

“Just my dick?” he asks, the corner of his lip twitching. I can feel his heart breaking from here. Pathetic asshole. “That’s all you want?”

“Did want,” she says and shrugs, her words slurring.

His Adam’s apple bobs when he gulps, then he leans forward, grabbing her wrist. “If that’s all you want…” His mouth crashes to hers, and his hand slides to her breast. A mix of anger, lust, and hurt crosses his expression.

The worst part is she kisses him back. He reaches down his pants and grabs his dick, and I fucking lose it. Before I even realize I’ve done it, I shatter the veil between us, sending a shockwave into both realms. I barely notice the slight sting from the sage and salt as I cross into her office and stomp toward Evie.

I grab a thick section of her hair, wrap it around my wrist, and use it to pull her away from him. He shakes in terror, stumbling backward onto the chair.

I wrap my tattooed hands around her throat and slam her against the wall. “Mine,” I hiss, projecting it into her brain. Her gaze flicks over my masked face, her eyes widening and filling with terror. My lips pull back over sharpened canines, and I growl, my demonic essence washing over her. My shadows take over, pinning her to the wall as I hunt my prey.

He hasn’t moved from his prone position on the chair—didn’t even make a misguided attempt to save her from me. I hoist him into the air with my shadows, dangling his nude body by the neck and shaking him violently. I may enjoy the sight of his half-flaccid cock flopping side to side, like a fish left on dry land.

I drag him toward me, the tips of his toes sliding along the carpet, until I’m right in his face. “Do you want to sample what’s mine, asshole?” I ask, forcing my question into his mind. I curl a tendril of shadow toward Evie and slip it between her thighs. She gasps as my shadow curls deep in her cunt and gathers some of her slickness before bringing it back to me. I dip my finger into the puddle of her arousal held aloft by my shadow, then bring it to my lips and suck on the tip of my finger. I groan and lick my lips, reveling in her addicting flavor. “So fucking good. Here, have a taste.” I shove the shadow down his throat. He gags and tries to scream, but my magic slowly fills his airway.

I close my eyes, relishing the symphony of his gurgles. He flails, scraping my forearms as I replace the shadows around his throat with my hands. I squeeze, feeling the seven delicate bones in his neck give slightly under my fingers. I pull my shadow out of his throat, but only enough to allow him to gulp a lungful of air. His skin slowly changes to an ugly ashy color as the oxygen seeps from his body.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, it registers that Evie is begging and pleading for his life, but I don’t hear her over the buzz of my magic and the power racing through me. This is a high I have never felt, and that’s when I realize her magic is fusing with mine.

I glance over my shoulder, and I will never forget the sight. My little witch is screaming for me to stop, but I can’t, and I won’t. My shadows have her bound and pinned spread eagle, wrapped around her arms and legs, only using enough force to keep her immobile and not harm her.

Her magic, which takes a shadow form like mine, swirls from her chest and coats her skin. The glittering darkness weaves around her coven tattoos and fills them with magic. I watch, mesmerized, as they grow before my eyes. A delicate, dusky-purple flower bud blooms from a thorny green stem, curling up and reaching her shoulder. The dark ink etches into her skin and flows through all of the roses, adding more detail.

In the small space between us, her magic blends with mine, swirling together like smoke. Her shadow magic is just barely a shade lighter than mine, but it glows with an intensity that causes the glittering cloud to sparkle. My eyes follow her magic, spreading out and twining through mine, as it cuts through my shimmering shadows and strengthens it. I track one vein and follow it all the way back to my shadow going down to the fucker’s throat.

I cackle in a completely unhinged mania. Her magic wants him gone just as much as I do, and despite my little witch’s cries for it to stop, her eyes are alight with the thirst for blood.

I close my eyes and inhale; the scent of our bonded magic fills the room. My eyes flash open, and I stare at Evie. I open the newly formed link between our minds. “Do you see now, little witch? No one but me will touch you ever again, and your magic agrees.” Her magic seems to purr in response, sending shivers all over my body, then my cock stiffens against my zipper.

Enough of this. I unleash my magic, unconcerned that it will harm Evie. Shadow magic can’t harm shadow witches.

He drops to his knees. “Please,” he begs, pressing his hands together. “If you want her take her. I won’t touch her again. I promise. She’s not worth it. Please.”

“You are not worth it,” I growl. The boy still in my grasp shakes as his eyes bulge and then pop from the pressure of my magic. Blood and other fluids run down his face in rivulets. His skin catches fire as shadows dance across his skin.

He screams loud enough to wake the dead before I reach my hand into his mouth and tear out his tongue, then toss it to the floor. Blood wells and pours out of his mouth as he slowly drowns. The flames don’t touch me as I hold his flailing body. I yank the shadow from around his throat, pulling his spinal column along with it, one excruciatingly painful vertebrae at a time.

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