Chapter 24 Arya
I knocked on the door, the sound very staccato, very direct.
Hadrian had never allowed me to enter his office. I’d come knocking twice before, and both times, he’d slipped out and closed the door faster than I could peek inside. I couldn’t help but wonder what he had in there that he didn’t want me to see. But I had more important things to worry about.
I heard the lock click, and once again, he exited in the blink of an eye and now stood between me and the closed door.
He cocked a brow, ignoring the guards standing behind me. “Hello, Arya. Is there something you need?”
Yeah, he definitely doesn’t want me to see what’s in that room.
“Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you about a delicate matter,” I began.
“Oh? And to what does this matter pertain?” He cast scrutinizing eyes down on me while wearing a playful expression on his perfect face.
I looked around the Grand Hall at all the vampires lounging about, and the guards standing behind me. “I was hoping we could speak in private.” I nodded toward his office.
“Ah, yes. We can go to the conference room.” He put a hand on my upper back and started to lead me away.
“What’s wrong with your office?” I couldn’t help but pry.
“It’s just a little too cluttered at the moment for a private conversation with my daughter,” he dismissed. “The conference room is much better.”
I let go of the issue and let him lead the way, reminding myself that I didn’t come to interrogate him about a silly room. I came to try to save Tobias and Char.
Hadrian held open the door to the conference room for me and closed it behind me, leaving the guards standing outside. The room was large with a very long, rectangular table taking up the majority of the space. He took the seat at the closest end and offered me the seat catty-corner to it.
“What’s on your mind?” he invited.
For a moment, I considered using my siren voice on him to force his cooperation. He trusted me. All I had to do was say the words and he would never know the decision wasn’t his own.
But we were in his conference room—I wouldn’t put it past him to have cameras set up in here. In fact, I expected it. And if he found out I had broken his one rule... I wanted to believe this whole father bit was sincere, but I wasn’t prepared to face the consequences if it wasn’t.
I took a deep breath, mustering all my courage and hoping my heart rate was steady enough to prove me a worthy advocate.
“The Dracul boy. I’d like for you to let him go,” I declared. “As well as his female companion.”
Hadrian gave me a blank look for a moment, then burst out laughing, the sound so sharp it rang in my ears. I suddenly felt very small and insignificant.
“Do you have any notion of wartime politics?” he asked, still chuckling. “They attacked us, and they lost. It’s then our right to execute them or keep them prisoners as we see fit. I feel I’ve been rather lenient on the boy. Why do you care what happens to him? I know you two were acquaintances at your little school, but it’s time to let go of such trivial connections.”
“I’m not as comfortable with violence as everyone here seems to be.” I swallowed. “I’d appeal to you for mercy regardless of who it was, but this particular dragon happens to matter to me.”
Hadrian cocked his head, studying me. “Ah, perhaps he wasn’t merely an acquaintance. Perhaps he was something more? Has my daughter fallen in love?”
The question felt like an accusation, triggering the anger and heartache that still lingered from Tobias’s betrayal. “We might have been close to that at one time.”
His eyes narrowed, a knowing smirk spreading across his lips. “Ah, so that’s it. The royal pretender has broken your heart.”
I kept my expression blank and my breathing still, but sorrow spilled out through the cracks in my heart, spreading through my chest like a poison.
“Tell me, what happened between the two of you?” he asked, the softness in his expression disarming me. I wanted to open up to him, wanted to believe he could really be the father I’d missed my whole life.
I leaned forward, tucking my hands between my thighs. “Well, basically…”
I paused. I knew that Hadrian knew I was a siren, but I didn’t want to bring that to his attention again. The less he knew about that ability, the safer for everyone.
I shifted in my chair. “He just lied to me about so many things. He used me, manipulated me, pulled me in only to push me away over and over.”
He nodded, wearing a sympathetic frown that made him look even more beautiful. “If that’s the case, then why do you want him to go free? Why do you care what happens to him?”
“Love isn’t something you can just wash away when you’re done with it,” I said, looking at the table. “No matter what he did or didn’t do to me, I still don’t want to see him suffer. I know he’s a good person behind all of that. And he doesn’t deserve to be punished for trying to rescue me.”
“And do you believe you need rescuing?” he asked, a sly note to his voice.
I shook my head. “No. I feel I’m where I’m supposed to be. But Tobias couldn’t have known that.”
He rubbed his chin, looking at me intensely for a long moment. I could see affection and concern in his eyes, could feel it emanating from him. I was getting through to him. Maybe he wasn’t a monster after all. Maybe there was some goodness in him yet.
He suddenly stood, his posture stiff and all softness gone from his features. “I’m sorry to deny your request, but I cannot and will not set him free. It’s become quite clear that he deserves much less mercy from me.”
Panic slammed inside me like a heavy door closing on the hope I’d started to have.
“Wh–what? No, p–please—” I stuttered, reaching for his hand unintentionally. How had this conversation gone so horribly wrong?
He accepted my hand and squeezed it. “No filthy dragon is going to break my daughter’s heart and get away with it. You deserve so much better than the likes of him, and maybe when he’s removed, you’ll understand that.”
“No! Please, don’t kill him!” I begged.
He brought my hand to his lips and brushed a cold kiss on my knuckles. “Oh, don’t worry. I can assure you he won’t be dying for a long, long time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.”
Then he released my hand and vanished.
What have I done?
* * *
I raced to the dungeons after giving my guards the slip, practically tripping down the stairs of the lower levels to where Tobias was being held. I didn’t know what I was going to do or say. I only knew that I had to see him.
My siren voice had a tremble to it as I compelled each set of guards in the dungeons to let me pass, but it worked all the same. I only slowed when I neared the room with Tobias’s cage, coming to a complete stop just before the entrance. What the hell was I going to say? How could I tell him that things were going to get so much worse for him, and all because of me?
The heads of Tobias and Char snapped in my direction as I came into view, caution plastered all over their faces. I whipped my hands out of my pockets, instinctively hugging myself, and not just because of how inhumanely cold it was down here.
Tobias’s face seemed to have aged in the handful of hours he’d been here. The skin under his eyes looked bruised, his eyes dry and bloodshot. And then there was Char, who still looked gorgeous even with dirt smudged across her face and hair bunched in tangles.
“Arya? What are you doing here?” Tobias yelled at me in a whisper, if such a thing was possible—leave it to Tobias to be a walking contradiction.
I crept to the bars, gripping them for support, but hissing and pulling my hands away as the metal seemed to burn me. I inspected my singed palms, then looked up at the prisoners, noting the burn marks on their arms. Understanding bloomed inside me.
Lead.
The bars were lead. Even the floor and back wall of the cell were lined in it. My mind flashed back to the attack in the alley when Tobias had been shot with those lead pellets, and I remembered the horrible effect they had on him. Hadrian knew full well that avians were allergic to lead. This wasn’t just war politics to Hadrian; no, he enjoyed making his enemies suffer. A lesson I would not soon forget.
I took a deep breath, curling my stinging hands behind me. “Tobias, I messed up. I tried to talk Hadrian into letting you two go.”
“You did what?” he asked, looking bewildered.
“I thought that as his daughter, I could change his mind,” I went on. “I thought he’d do it just to make me happy, to further convince me he was on my side. But, then...”
Tobias scooched closer, the act being made much more difficult with his broken arms dragging limply at his sides. His eyes were filled with concern as they locked on me, but not for himself—for me. I covered my mouth, trying to keep the bubbling emotions from spilling over.
“I take it he didn’t grant your request?” His voice was raspy, but deepened by a hint of sadness.
I shook my head. “Tobias, I’m so sorry. He figured out that you...that you weren’t just a friend to me and... that it didn’t end well. I didn’t mean to tell him, he just—”
“And now he wants to punish me for hurting his daughter,” he guessed. It wasn’t an accusation. There didn’t even seem to be any anger or resentment in his tone. His expression was smooth, though somewhat defeated.
“Tobias, I really am so sorry,” I pleaded, tears beginning to spill. “I know you must think I did this on purpose to get back at you, but I would never—"
“It’s okay, Arya,” he interrupted. “I know you wouldn’t do that. Getting information out of people is what vampires do, and Hadrian is a master at it. The truth is, he wouldn’t have let me go no matter what. He has a particular hatred for my bloodline. But I’m touched that you tried.” He offered me a weak smile.
I wiped at my cheeks and under my eyes until I could see clearly again. Then I reached through the bars as far as I could and put my hand on his knee, ignoring the slow burn of the metal on my arm. “I will get you both out of here, I promise.”
Tobias huffed a defeated laugh and smiled wider. “No, you won’t,” he said, shaking his head. “The best you can do is get yourself out. Hadrian’s daughter or not, this isn’t where you belong.”
My brows creased as I stared at him. I didn’t want to believe he was right. I had never fit into the human world, and despite my best efforts, the shifter world had rejected me at every turn. Here, I had Alex. I was respected. Feared, yes, but respected nonetheless.
I didn’t know where I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to do. My heart told me that Alex needed me, but…as much as I hated to admit it…my heart also told me that I needed Tobias.
“I would never leave you to rot in a place like this,” I said softly. “I promised that I was going to get you out, and I have every intention of keeping that promise.”
“Arya, please,” he whispered pleadingly.
If Hadrian was true to his word, he wasn’t going to just kill Tobias, at least not right away. No, he wanted to make Tobias suffer. That meant I still had time. I would free him.
“I’ll be back,” I promised, slipping my hand back through the bars and turning for the hallway before he could make any further objections.
Tobias had risked his life to save me. If necessary, I would do the same for him. Even if I didn’t still love and hate him in equal measure. Imprint or not…he was still my mate.