Chapter 19 Arya
I continued to stare at the TV screen in Alex’s room for several minutes after the broadcast ended. The same terror I’d felt on my first day here welled inside me again, threatening to overflow.
The booms and blasts had startled me awake, and when I saw my walls melting, I thought for sure that I was still sleeping, stuck in the thrall of some terrible nightmare. Even when my door flew open and I watched that vampire sizzle to death, the unholy stench of undead flesh burning, I willed myself to wake up, huddled in a ball beside my bed.
Then the man in my room turned around, and it was Tobias, battered and bleeding and looking like some kind of warrior god in the beautiful sunlight, and though my eyes couldn’t believe it, my heart knew: it wasn’t a dream.
But I’d realized too late, and now Hadrian had him locked up in the dungeon with the dragon girl he’d come here with—to save me.
After watching Hadrian’s video stunt, I shuddered to think of what Tobias was going through down there. Why wouldn’t they just shift and fight their way out? Tobias could use his invisibility trick and get out without detection. Hell, why hadn’t he just shifted in my room and escaped while he still had the chance?
But I already knew why. He’d come for me, and he would never have left without me.
And the terrible truth was…I wasn’t sure I would’ve gone with him. After spending the last week in this castle, I’d come to believe that I was meant to do something here. Alex needed me. And maybe I could change things for the better for everyone.
“Arya?”
I turned to Alex, only just realizing he’d been talking to me. “Huh?”
He sighed, the gesture seeming adorable coming from him. “I was saying you can stay with me until Father gets you a new room.” He cocked his head at me curiously. “Are you okay?”
I chewed on my lip for a moment, finally finding the courage to do what I’d been aching to since the capture.
“Yeah, there’s just something I have to do.” I pushed away from the table and stood up. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
He shrugged, and I hurried to the door and out into the hall. This floor was largely untouched, and whatever holes had opened up in the walls were now mostly covered by thick black tarps, save for small slivers of sunlight that snuck in.
My guards were waiting outside as always. I pulled an Alex and raced ahead of them down the stairs, hopping in the elevator and forcing the doors closed, descending before they had a chance to catch up. That should buy me some time.
When I reached the lobby, a shockingly familiar face made me freeze just past the elevator doors. Shea, being escorted by one of the Initiate organizers. I wasn’t sure whether to be excited or angry to see her. I hadn’t forgotten the dirty little secret she’d been keeping from me, though I guess I understood why, if I was being honest. If I was sleeping with my friend’s teacher, I probably wouldn’t have told her either.
But seriously, what the hell was she doing here? And helping Hadrian?
I changed course to pursue and caught up with her in the stairwell leading to the Initiate quarters. I grabbed her arm and she whirled around, her face flooding with shock, then relief. She launched into a hug that I didn’t know how to respond to, so I patted her back and waited for Shea’s anaconda arms to loosen.
Her Initiate escort was eyeing both of us with a mixture of caution and frustration.
“I need to talk to Shea for a moment,” I told her. “She’ll be along soon.”
The woman nodded and continued her descent down the stairs, leaving us alone.
“There you are!” Shea said, keeping her voice low despite her excitement.
“Yeah, I’m here. What are you doing here?” I crossed my arms and stepped back.
“Well, I figured since the Dome wouldn’t have me, I’d try my luck with the vampires,” she said, holding a facetious grin for a moment before giving me a sincere look. “You know why I’m here.”
I was afraid of that. “You shouldn’t have come,” I whispered, shaking my head. “You’re playing with fire.”
“That’s kinda my thing, you know,” she said teasingly, but I could see the fear hiding behind her eyes. “Besides, you’re not my only friend here.”
I narrowed my eyes at her as I tried to discern her meaning. “Wait, did you know about Tobias? Were you part of their—”
She scoffed. “No, I had no idea they were going to show up the same time I did. Their timing couldn’t have been worse. I really hated having to do that.” Her eyes darkened, and I could tell how hard working against Tobias and his friend had been for her.
I frowned, knowing full well that, if she stayed, she’d probably have to do a lot worse.
She looked in both directions of the stairwell, double-checking that we were alone. “None of that matters. I’m working on a plan to get you out—all of you.”
I chewed on my lip and looked away. “Shea… I don’t think I can come with you.”
She looked at me blankly for a moment as if I’d just spoken a foreign language. “I’m sorry, what?”
I let out a sigh. “I have a half-brother here. Alex. He’s only eight, and he…needs me.”
She blinked at me again with that same dumbfounded expression. She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.
“And it’s not just that. Hadrian has been kind to me, and the people here treat me like royalty. I think I’m supposed to do something here. I think I can make things better from the inside.”
She folded her arms and jutted out a hip. “Okay, hold on. You can’t actually think he genuinely cares about you. Didn’t you see what he did to Tobias?”
“I know. Trust me, I know what he’s done, and what he’s capable of doing. But I also don’t believe he would ever hurt me. On top of that, I think he just might listen to me.”
The features of her face were creased with conflict, and I could tell she wanted to persuade me against this path. How could I explain to her my reasoning, how dear Alex had become to me and how something just felt right about being here? Hell, that one I couldn’t even explain to myself.
But I didn’t have time for that. It wouldn’t take long for my guards to find me here, and I had more important things to do in my window of opportunity than argue with Shea.
“Look, I have to go,” I said. “I’m glad you’re here for Tobias’s sake. But whatever you’re planning, count me out. And please stay safe.” I gave her one more quick hug, then skipped down the stairs before she could do or say anything else.
I continued swiftly down passed floor after floor of Initiate dorms and classrooms, trying to be seen as little as possible so my guards wouldn’t know where to look. Despite what I’d told Shea, I wasn’t exactly sure what Hadrian would do if he found me in the dungeons—talking to the pair of dragons that had destroyed half the citadel. And I really didn’t want to test the limits of his “fatherly love.”
The temperature dropped more and more the further I descended. No wonder Tobias and the girl had looked so pale in the video. The understanding of the shape they were in only tightened the knot in my stomach.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stiffened. There were two guards blocking the entrance to the dungeon. And they had already spotted me. I had to act quickly before they notified anyone of my whereabouts.
Holding my head high, I sauntered up to them with a confidence I didn’t feel. The guards there froze at the sight of me, both men looking at me like I was the predator, even though they were the vampires.
“I’m to be allowed to see the dragon shifters unhindered and unaccompanied,” I said, my voice a melodious tone vibrating with the power of my will. “You will not interfere as long as I’m here, and you will forget I was here once I leave. Do you understand?”
The guards, who had taken on a glassy-eyed look, nodded.
My confidence bolstered, at least for the moment, I proceeded forward. The men shook out of their stupor, but let me pass without further glance.
I scanned the cages in this room for any sign of Tobias. Instead, I found a human—an Initiate, I assumed—wide-eyed and cowering. I bit my lip and turned my head. I didn’t know what the guy had done to deserve such treatment, but I couldn’t allow myself to become side-tracked.
I went through the archway at the opposite end and found myself among more cages. This room was empty of both guards and prisoners, and I breathed a sigh of relief, pressing forward again.
I peered into the third room, and my heart skittered as I finally spotted Tobias and the girl he’d been caught with huddled in the center cell. There were also four vampires standing guard.
I pressed my back against the wall beside the archway, frozen with indecision. The way the two of them clung to each other so tightly looked very intimate. I told myself that they probably desperately needed each other’s warmth to fight the cold down here, and I hated that I still felt any twinge of jealousy toward him. I didn’t really have a right to feel jealous. I had severed the bond between us. And I was stuck between regretting that choice and still resenting him for everything he’d done.
Snap out of it, Arya. You’re wasting time.
Gathering what remained of my courage, I stepped into the room. I didn’t know how far my siren voice could go. I’d never compelled more than two people before. Would it work on four?
I repeated the same command on these guards as I had the last. And to my surprise, all four of them listened and obeyed, appearing oblivious to me as I approached the cell. Just how many people could I influence at once?
The girl’s eyes widened as I came closer, and she nudged Tobias, who was lying unmoving with his head in her lap.
My heart stopped beating for a moment at the fear that Tobias was dead. He wasn’t responding, and the blue tainting his complexion was sickening. Had I come too late? No, please, no.
Finally, he stirred, and my breathing resumed with a grateful hiccup. With help from the girl, he managed to sit up, his two broken arms making even the simplest movements almost impossible. When he registered my presence, his entire body seemed to come to life.
“Arya! What are you doing here?” he hissed, warily eying the guards. But they didn’t acknowledge any of us.
“It’s okay, I sirened them. I just wanted to…”
My voice vanished as the sight of him in such pain stole all my words. I hated seeing him like this, and hated even more that I couldn’t do anything about it. There wasn’t enough light down here for me to heal him.
“Why did you come here?” I asked, more of a wish that he hadn’t than an actual question.
“I’m your mate,” he said in a weak, raspy voice. “It’s my job to protect you.”
I shook my head, even as tears of refusal began to stung my eyes. “I freed you from that obligation.”
“And I will always choose to do it anyway. Ahh—” He tried to lean forward but put too much pressure on his broken arm, making him flinch and wince in pain.
“Please, stop moving,” I demanded, my fear and sorrow turning into anger. “Dammit, Tobias, you shouldn’t have come here! I didn’t need you to save me. As you can see, I’m fine. All you’ve accomplished is making yourself a prisoner.”
“And I would do it again,” he said, squinting through his grimace. “Though probably not quite the same way.”
“Ugh!” I had to turn around to keep him from seeing the tears drip from my eyelashes. How was it possible to both hate and care about someone so much? He was absolutely fucking infuriating!
“Can you get us out of here?” a soft female voice said behind me.
I hastily wiped my stupid eyes and turned back around to face them, really looking at the girl for the first time. Her blond hair was matted, her face was the same bluish white as Tobias, and she was covered in dirt and scratches, but none of that hindered her obvious beauty. That same irrational jealousy tugged at my insides again, but seeing the terror and desperation that carved every feature on her pretty face dissolved it into pity.
A deep well of helplessness and regret formed inside my gut. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can.”
She inched closer, reaching for the bars but then hissing as they seemed to burn her. “But you’re a siren. You just forced all four of these guards to bend to your will. Couldn’t you—”
“We’re in the lowest level of a vampire fortress,” I countered, trying to make her understand how truly powerless I was. “Even if I could somehow get you out of the cell, you’re both weakened, and there are at least several hundred vampires above us waiting for an excuse to kill you. What sort of fight could we possibly put up?”
The girl shrunk, sagging her shoulders as she admitted to herself that I was right.
I immediately regretted being so honest. They didn’t need the bitter truth right now, they needed hope.
“Shea is working on a plan to get you two out of here,” I confessed.
Tobias’s mouth puckered like he was sucking on a lemon. “I’m not sure her magic will be enough.”
His tone triggered a memory to surface, one that I had all but forgotten with everything that had happened the last few days: he had gone to Shea to break some supposed family curse. What had it been about again? I’d been so angry and hopped up on ursa hormones that I hadn’t paid much attention to his confession.
But that was the least of our worries right now.
“Well, it’s the best chance you’ve got,” I said. “Look, I can’t stay much longer, but I’ll do what I can to help you.”
“No. Just let Shea work her magic,” Tobias insisted, a thread of panic in those steely eyes of his. “You’ve risked enough by coming down here.”
I knelt down to his level, locking eyes with him. “Haven’t you learned by now, Tobias Dracul? You can’t tell me what to do.”
I stood and walked out the room before he could launch an argument that would only make him injure himself worse. I wasn’t sure exactly what I could do to help him, but I was determined to come up with something. I wasn’t about to let him waste away in the dungeons—or worse—because of me.