Page 93 of Corrupt Shadows

Pain radiates deep into my bones when I smash against the plum-velvet-upholstered stool. Ezra drags me toward him, and I scream. My shadows unravel and grab onto the stool, but it clatters to the ground and slides along with me.

Lorcan roars as his shadows yank back his brother’s head, and he stabs him in the neck with the dagger that was sheathed at his side. Blood drips from the blade as Lorcan clenches it tightly in his fist. The muscles in his back ripple through his fitted T-shirt, and a continuous stream of growls issue from his throat.

His brother falls to one knee, trying to stanch the flow of blood with his hand, but it seeps through his fingers, staining his hoodie crimson.

I push to my feet and wince. My hip throbs. My heart races as Ezra stares at me for a moment.

Ezra smiles, blood coating his teeth, and laughs. “You think that stabbing me will be the end of this?”

I peer around Lorcan and move to step in front of him, but he blocks my path.

“You should know better than to think a dagger would end me, King of Demons,” Ezra hisses.

“Oh, I know it won’t,” my demon states as he cleans his fingernails with the tip of the dagger. “I’m surprised you don’t recognize the blade, brother.”

Ezra’s eyes narrow as he squints at the dagger. “Motherfucking cocksucker!” Ezra shouts. “Where the fuck did you get a demonic blade?”

Lorcan shrugs. “Parting gift from Hell.” Lorcan stalks closer to his brother.

Ezra gets to his feet and stumbles back, trailing blood in his wake.

“This needs to end, Ezra. There’s only one way out of this realm, and I will protect her at all costs.” My demon slashes at his brother with the dagger, but Ezra floods the room with inky shadows at the same moment. I can’t see anything for a few moments.

“I will take her and everything from you,” Ezra promises. “Just like I did the last time.”

“Lorcan?”

The shadows slowly dissipate just as I hear the door to the courtyard click shut.

“He’s getting away!” I yell to Lorcan.

I eye the blade still coated in his brother’s blood, then dart my eyes toward my demon. Lorcan looms over me before wiping the dagger on his jeans and stabbing it into the sheath.

He grips the sides of his head and growls a demonic sound. Panic freezes the air in my lungs, and I gape at him. He spins on his heels, his upper lip pulled back over his teeth. His eyes change. Anything resembling humanity in them before is gone.

Anger over his brother has shifted him into a version of him I don’t recognize. He shoves me to the floor and comes down on top of me. Lorcan digs his claws into the waistband of my jeans and tears them apart at the seams.

I choke. “Lorcan, stop.”

He straddles me, pinning me with his weight. He stabs his unsheathed claws the ground.

“Lorcan,” I say again, louder, but the man staring back at me from only an hour ago is no longer present. His black eyes shimmer, and the same desperate, chilling feeling I get when I visit the asylum washes over me.

He rocks on his knees, his groin pressing into me, as my demon comes apart at the seams. He laughs, and goose bumps pebble on my flesh. My eyes look anywhere but at his face. It’s never smart to lock eyes with an alpha predator. He leans over me, slamming his palms down on either side of my head. I flinch but realize that the dagger forgotten on his waist now dangles within my reach. I need a distraction. I lean up and bite his lip, tearing through the soft, plump skin, and grab the dagger. His hands launch to my throat, but he’s not quick enough.

I stab the blade into his abdomen.

He hisses, releasing my throat to cover the wound, and glares at me. The madness swirling in his eyes deepens. He falls back on his ass, then lies on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

I stand on trembling legs and sprint away from the demon.

FORTY-ONE

Lorcan

My madness breaks free, and I welcome it.

My laughter eventually subsides, but I remain lying on the cold stone, thoughts of my brother killing Evie, then her stabbing me and him keeping me trapped here forever wash through me. I dissociate from reality, the evil inside taking over every pore.

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