Chapter 30 Arya
As I traipsed back up the steps from the dungeon, inserting my hands into my rear pockets, I realized my keycard was no longer there. Fear instantly spiked through me at the consequences of losing it—in the dungeon, of all places! Hadrian’s daywalker spell would be completed soon, and I had no doubt he’d pay a visit to Tobias right after. If Hadrian found my keycard down here, I’d lose any chance of breaking Tobias out.
I raced back down the stairs, scanning every inch of the floor until I saw the shiny white plastic winking at me in the darkness. Flooded with relief, I knelt and picked it up, clutching it to my chest as if it were something precious.
“I don’t think you activated the curse,” Char’s voice carried from down the hall.
I froze on the spot, my ears pricking with intrigue. Char knew about Tobias’s so-called family curse? How close were they?
“Thanks, but I have to disagree with you. I saw the look in her eyes the instant the curse was triggered. I felt it, and then saw the change in her . So much hatred. All the potential of whatever we could’ve been, snuffed out just like that.”
A storm of curiosity, confusion and guilt began to brew in my stomach. Was that what he really thought happened? That this curse was the reason I…
I didn’t even know how to finish the thought because I wasn’t ready to face my own feelings for him yet. Yes, I was furious at him for his betrayal, for all the lies and manipulation. But… I didn’t hate him. I had been missing him since I left the Dome, regretting breaking our bond. I still cared about him deeply. Maybe I even…
“Sometimes I feel like I triggered the curse a long time ago,” Char said softly.
The vulnerable note in her voice had me shuffling quietly closer, until I was crouching against the wall beside the archway.
“I’ve always accepted it, you know? And I know we’re young, but I’ve always accepted and looked forward to the eventuality that one day it would be you and me against the world.”
Pain sliced through my heart, tipped with jealousy that burned in my chest. I thought I had sensed those strong feelings from her, but I had no idea how deep they were, or what the nature of their relationship was.
“I’m glad we were so close at school before I left. I thought at least we’d always have that friendship foundation when either you or I...”
“What? Got married and triggered the curse?” Tobias finished for her.
Marriage? Oh God, was she his fiance? They had obviously known each other for a long time.
“Have you seen my parents?” Tobias asked, a bitter note to his voice. “Do you think my mom is happy to be crazy about my dad when he’s so indifferent to her?”
I thought of the few times I had seen his parents together, both at the ball and on The Real Shifter Housewives, and my heart broke again for his mom. It was clear to everyone how little his dad cared about her. Tobias believed their dynamic was because of the curse. Could that really be it? I’d dealt with the general myself, and, honestly, he didn’t seem capable of love.
But that wasn’t the point. The point was that Tobias believed in this curse. And if he thought he’d triggered it with me, that meant he truly believed he loved me.
“He respects her, which is a sort of love,” Char argued.
“Char—” Tobias said.
“Do you respect me?” she interrupted.
No response.
“Do you...” she choked. “ Love me?”
I stopped breathing, my eyes widening as I stared unblinking at the wall in front of me, waiting for his response.
“I do love you, Char,” he finally said, and I sucked in a gasp. “I always have. But not in the way you want. I’m sorry. I love Arya.”
My mouth fell open, my heart squeezing with a sad kind of joy. He had just rejected the beautiful blonde who’d clearly been in love with him for years and confessed he loved me. This was no lie, no manipulation, no show for my benefit because he couldn’t know I was listening. This was the way he really felt. And the chaos of emotions writhing inside me made it impossible to know what to do with that information.
“I hate to interrupt, but you and I have some business to take care of, Tobias Dracul.”
Oh no.
Fear seized through me, clenching every muscle in my body tight enough to snap. Hadrian was here! He’d sped right past me, and I didn’t even know it.
I covered my mouth and stifled my breathing. If Hadrian caught me down here... I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen.
I smashed myself against the wall, praying to be invisible, undetectable, as Hadrian began to interrogate the two prisoners.
Please don’t hurt them, please don’t hurt them.
There was a hiss, then a familiar yellow fog filled the air.
No!
It was the same gas he’d pumped into the training room to force me to shift. I couldn’t transform into an ursa now! I’d expose myself for sure! My only comfort was that I still wore the turquoise necklace. Maybe it would protect me, maybe—
But before I could fully process the thought, agonizing pain splintered across my back and in every bone in my feet. I clenched my jaw tight to keep a scream from slipping out as the transformation rapidly progressed. I squeezed my eyes so tight that my face hurt as my wings bulged under my sweater and eventually burst through the fabric, and my talons shredded through my tennis shoes.
In seconds, the nightmarish mutation was over, and I could once again take a silent, steadying breath.
It wasn’t my ursa that came out, but my harpy. Why? Was it because my ursa had been so closely under the surface that first time I’d been exposed to the gas?
I didn’t have much time to ponder, because an ear-splitting, pain-filled roar wracked the dungeon walls, and I knew it came from Tobias. Tears freely spilled down my face. The torture had begun. It was all I could do to keep myself from bursting in to come to his rescue. But this was a fight I couldn’t win. Not here in the heart of Hadrian’s dungeon with hundreds of vampires above that could be at his defense in a heartbeat.
No, I had to keep myself hidden and hear every horrible second of it.
“Shift them back and cuff him,” Hadrian finally told his lackey after a bit more interrogation. “Also, attach the belt, the one that shoots out lead barbs whenever the wearer speaks. He’s too mouthy for my liking.” Then Hadrian sauntered down the hallway, walking at a human pace this time, no doubt so he could savor the screams as his minion tortured them further.
As he walked past my hiding place, he slowed, then paused.
I held my breath, willing my frantic heart to silence its panicked beat. Did he know I was here? Did he smell my harpy scent? Could he hear my pulse beating rapidly out of control? I was done for.
But after a moment of standing perfectly still, he lifted his foot and continued forward. I didn’t release the breath I was holding until I heard his footsteps fade down the hall and ascend the staircase, the door to the dungeon booming closed.
I got to my feet—or talons rather—and hovered in the shadows in indecision. Hadrian’s lackey was going to torture Tobias further, using some device that would once again force lead pellets into his body. I couldn’t bear the thought. Even though I couldn’t use my siren voice on Hadrian, I might be lucky enough to catch his lackey off guard and use my voice on him.
But I wasn’t ready to help them escape, yet. I had no plan. Sure, I could get them out of the cell right now, but not out of the fortress.
There was a hiss, and green vapors rolled around the corner and filled my nostrils. I welcomed the rapid shift back to my human form, though I dreaded it for Tobias and Char. At least in their dragon forms, they were more formidable. As humans, they were completely at the vampire’s mercy.
Metal clanked, and Tobias groaned painfully.
That’s it!
I spun out of my hiding place and strode up behind the vampire with way too much hair gel. “Stop,” I ordered, my voice deep, melodious and resonating.
The vampire froze in the middle of locking the second lead cuff around Tobias’s still-free wrist.
Those were the first things that had to go.
“Remove those cuffs and slam them on the floor,” I commanded. “You will tell your master that the Dracul boy was stronger than you thought and broke them himself.”
As instructed, the vampire unshackled Tobias’s wrists and smashed the cuffs against the hard floor, breaking them beyond repair.
Tobias and Char gawked at me, their mouths hanging open.
I ignored them and kept my eyes trained on the vampire, not wanting to break my concentration. There was a strange looking object at his feet, a thick metal oval with bolts at both ends. That must be the belt Hadrian mentioned.
“Now, the belt,” I said, my voice still musical and compelling. “Break it in the most believable way possible and tell Hadrian it was already broken.”
Without hesitation, the vampire picked up the large belt and jammed his razor-like thumb nail into the edge of the control panel on the outer wall, making little sparks fly and sputter.
Satisfied with that, I commanded, “Leave and make yourself scarce until Hadrian calls for you, and only then will you report to him.”
The vampire robotically stood up and marched down the hall and up the stairs.
The dungeon was silent after he left, and Tobias and Char continued to stare at me like I’d just turned water into wine.
“Arya,” Tobias said slowly. His arms still hung awkwardly at his sides, but I didn’t have the means to heal him, not with the little amount of light in this place.
“I’ll come back for you,” I said. “As soon as I can. Shea and I will get you both out.”
With a newfound determination, I stalked out of the dungeons to find Shea.
* * *
The Grand Hall was a circus of celebration. Vampires and humans were dancing about, rejoicing in the victory of Hadrian’s new status as a daywalker—the only one in existence, now that Julian’s ability had been stripped. Scattered throughout the frolic, there were vampires locked in intimate embraces with their Initiates for a twisted kind of toast. It made my stomach turn, and I wondered if I’d find Shea in the arms of one of them.
Scanning the crowd, I spotted Shea’s flowing brown hair, relieved to see that she was unaccompanied.
I pushed my way through the melee—which wasn’t easy to do with vampires, and I was sure I ended up with quite a few bruises.
She was dressed in a beautiful green silk gown that took me off guard for a few seconds—I’d never seen her in anything so elegant, so formal, and she looked truly stunning.
“Shea,” I called when I reached her.
She turned around, her blank expression lighting with a small smile when she saw me. “Hey.”
The sadness that darkened her usually bright green eyes struck me with concern. What had she been through in these last few hours? Did someone hurt her?
“I need to talk to you,” I said in a lowered tone.
She nodded, and together the two of us weaved through the throng of festive vampires back toward the lobby. The space was empty and eerily quiet, but that meant little when surrounded by creatures with lightning speed and supernatural senses. I looked around in search of somewhere more private.
“Down here.” Shea tipped her head toward the stairs and took my hand, tugging me in that direction.
Apprehension sizzled inside me at descending these steps again after what I’d just witnessed, but she stopped on the first landing and towed me through a swinging door. The bright fluorescent lights overhead had my eyes straining for a few seconds, but upon recovering I saw we were in a communal bathroom. Shea bolted the lock on the door before gesturing for me to follow her further in.
She leaned against the corner of the farthest wall. “There, we should be safe here.” Her voice sounded so somber, her usual spunk absent.
“Are you okay?” I asked, folding my arms and leaning my shoulder against the wall in front of her.
She stared blankly forward. “I just made the most powerful vampire in the world even more powerful, and I’m officially the snack for a succu-bitch. But other than that, yeah, I’m great.”
I frowned, pouting out my bottom lip, though it was slightly comforting to hear her sarcasm alive and well. “Who were you assigned to?”
Her eyes lifted to mine, hatred sparking inside them and making them practically glow beneath the fluorescents. “Marguerite.” She said the name like it left a foul taste in her mouth, the sides of her nose twitching in disgust.
I had only met the vampire in question in passing a handful of times, but I knew nothing about her character outside of the haughty way she carried herself. But so did most of the vampires. What could she have done to Shea to ignite such hatred in such a short time? The question made me angry and defensive on Shea’s behalf.
“Did she hurt you?” I asked, a grisly growl rumbling low in my throat.
Shea cast her gaze toward the stone floor. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
My frown deepened, contorting into a scowl. But I shook it off, smoothing my features with my inner determination. “Well, how are we going to get out?”
Surprise and hope flared as she flicked her gaze to mine. “We?”
“I’m going with you,” I said, cutting her a look of solidarity.
Her entire body seemed to brighten at that, her lips spreading into a hopeful grin. “What changed your mind?”
Tobias’s screams echoed in my mind, chilling me with despair and desperation. “I was down in the dungeons, checking on Tobias, and Hadrian showed up. I don’t think he caught me, but I… I had to listen the whole time as he tortured him.”
Shea cringed, jerking as if she could hear the screams that haunted me.
“We need to leave before Hadrian decides he’s done with Tobias.”
She nodded. “And Julian,” she whispered sadly.
I cocked my head at her. “Julian?”
Her forehead crinkled in a way that made her look so vulnerable. “He’s the other reason I came here. He’s a vampire that was working for the shifters. Hadrian found out and imprisoned him. It’s a long story—one we don’t have time for right now—but I’m not leaving here without him.”
The deep conviction in her voice told me a lot more than her words did. Whoever this vampire was, she cared more for him than she did herself. Weren’t she and Caesar a thing?
The memory of our girls day out flashed in my mind. The two men she got texts from. Caesar was Professor Douche. Julian was the other one. There was apparently a whole lot she and I needed to catch up on, but that would have to wait until we got out of here.
“Okay, we’ll make it work,” I said with a nod of acceptance. “So that makes four people we have to somehow get out of here.”
“Four?” she asked.
“Julian, Tobias, Char, and Alex,” I clarified. “I’m not going to leave him here to become a monster like our father.”
She tipped her head to the side. “Better make it five. Julian’s Initiate, Piper. I promised to help her, too.”
I blew out a breath. “We’ve really got our hands full, then.”
“But we can do it,” she said, the fire I always loved in her smoldering back to life. “Any ideas?”
I pursed my lips, considering. “Well, one. It’s gonna be tricky, but it’s the best chance we’ve got.”