Deadly Alliances (Dark Shifter Academy #5)

Chapter 33 Shea

“Shea, are you with me?”

I blinked a few times to rouse myself at Arya’s question. “Yeah, sorry. It’s been a long…ugh, life.” I ran my hands over my face, trying to rub the sleep away.

I was so tired. After everything that had happened yesterday and a full day of sitting through classes today that mostly focused on propaganda about how the vampires were so great and the shifters were weak and inferior, I had very little energy left in my reserves.

Sitting in Arya’s room didn’t help where that was concerned. Not only was her bed over-the-top comfy, but this room was actually heated! Only the best for the dick-tator’s daughter. The cozy warmth, while blissfully welcomed, only exacerbated my exhaustion.

“I know,” Arya sighed with a nod. “But we have to focus on ironing out our plan.”

I nodded groggily, then gave myself a few slaps on both cheeks. “You’re right. The sooner we get the fuck out of here, the sooner I can sleep.”

Arya pretzeled her legs beneath her and leaned forward. “Okay, so if we can get everyone to the roof, we can pair off and fly out of here.”

“Let’s see, we have Tobias, Char, Caesar, and the other dragon soldier at the camp.” I counted each person with my fingers. “That’s four flyers. And as for passengers, there’s you, me, Kai, Janette, Julian, Alex, and the other three soldiers. That’s nine. How do we make that work?” I rubbed my face again because even this level of math was a struggle.

“Wrong, we have five flyers,” Arya corrected. “I’m a harpy, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “So, five flyers and nine passengers.”

“Eight passengers,” Arya said with a chuckle.

“Ah, for fuck sake!” I groaned. “Okay, five flyers, eight passengers. Unless I’m wrong, that math still doesn’t math right.”

“Well…” Arya pursed her lips, her eyes darting from side to side as she considered. “I’ll take Alex; he’s lightweight and small, so I should be able to carry him, no problem. Do you think Caesar can carry both you and Julian?”

I rubbed the back of my neck as I bounced my knees beneath me. “Well, once Julian is restored to his full strength, Caesar won’t have to carry him—he can run, at least until we make it to the airport. In fact, he might be able to carry someone. Which reminds me—Piper!”

Arya cocked her head in confusion. “Who’s Piper?”

“She was Julian’s Initiate before everything went to shit,” I explained. “She helped him when I got hurt—long story, but she’s on our side. He promised to help her get out, and we can’t leave her here.”

“Okay, well, I guess you were right about nine passengers,” Arya mused.

“Of course, I was,” I said with a wry smirk, and she shook her head. “So, Julian can carry Piper out. I can ride with Caesar, and he can probably take one more—Kai or Janette.”

“Then that leaves three of the soldiers and Kai or Janette to fly with Tobias, Char, and the other dragon,” Arya summarized, then she gave a firm nod with a smile. “I think we can do this.”

“God, I hope so.” I flopped back onto the bed, loving how I sank into the plush comforter.

“So the question is, how do we get everyone on the roof? And when?” Arya asked, flipping through her tablet for anything useful. There was nothing, of course. I had already looked. The vampire school info was focused more on their dominance over the shifters than anything else.

“Well, Julian and Alex are relatively easy since they’re practically on the roof already,” I said, pushing myself up to sit before I melted into her gloriously comfortable bed.

“Maybe I should leave you with collecting them, then. I’ve got an idea for Tobias and Char.”

I stiffened slightly. “Does Alex know he’s coming?”

She sighed and tossed her tablet onto the bed. “Not yet. I was going to wait until the last minute and just use my siren voice on him if he resisted.”

“You don’t want to give him a choice?” I asked.

“It’s not that simple. He’s been told shifters killed his mom, though I’m not entirely certain that’s true. But he’s been groomed by Hadrian for a long time. And Hadrian is really good to Alex—at least, from what I’ve seen.”

“Doesn’t mean Alex wouldn’t want out,” I suggested.

She propped her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands. “Alex might be okay with leaving, but I can’t risk him telling Hadrian of our plans if he’s not.”

“Okay, so we wait until the last minute. But maybe give the kid a choice?”

“He’s eight, Shea.” Her head rolled back, and she ran her hands over her face.

“And a smart kid, if everything you say is right.”

“I don’t want to leave him here,” she said into her hands.

“And maybe you won’t have to. Also, if I’m collecting Alex, I don’t have the siren voice,” I pointed out.

She removed her hands and looked at me with wide eyes. “Then you’ll have to come up with some lie to get him to come with you. Maybe you can use magic?”

I gave a noncommittal shrug. “Maybe.”

I didn’t exactly love the idea of being responsible for Arya’s brother. I mean, I wasn’t the best with kids, and if things went wrong… I didn’t want to have that on my conscience forever.

A ping broke the uneasy silence, and I lifted my left wrist to check my school-designated smart watch.

There was a message from Marguerite that read, “I need you at my room asap.”

I dropped my wrist and hung my head. “Looks like I gotta go. The succu-bitch is asking for me.” I slipped off the bed. “The best time to leave will be midday tomorrow when the sun is at its highest. I can probably use magic to blow the tarps away from the walls so the vamps will be at least hindered from following us. You might want to find out when Hadrian will be occupied.”

Arya’s shoulders slumped, the light dying from her eyes. “You’re probably right.”

“Unless you want me to do that,” I offered. “I’m sure you’re probably tired of dealing with dear old Daddy.”

She shook her head, getting off the bed to follow me to the door. “No. It should be me. I can ask questions you can’t because I’m his daughter, and I have what he wants.”

“And what’s that?” I asked, pausing at the door.

“My blood.” She looked down at her wrist as if she could see the precious liquid pumping through her veins. “It’s the last piece in his plan to become a hybrid.”

“And he hasn’t just taken that yet?” Knowing what I knew of Hadrian, I couldn’t believe he didn’t just poke her on day one.

“He said he wanted my permission and seemed pretty determined he’d earn it. But so far...” Before she looked away, I caught a glimpse of conflict in her eyes. Even after everything her father had done to Tobias, she obviously still held onto some hope that he had goodness somewhere in that black heart.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “At least you’ve been able to keep him from getting some thing he wants. I practically served him daywalking on a silver platter.”

“Shea—”

I shook my head. “No. I’ve been stupid. That’s on me.”

She put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You know, one of my teachers told me that living in the past is useless. We can feel guilty over it, but it won’t change anything. And it will probably keep you from doing what you’re meant to do to make things better. Or something like that.”

I gave her a knowing sideways glance. Totally something Caesar would say. “Sounds like good advice. I’m not sure I’m there yet, though.”

She nodded. “I understand. Just try not to beat yourself up too much. I’d hate for you to do something stupid right as we’re about to get out of this place.”

I frowned at her as I opened the door. “The days of Shea Le Fey doing something stupid are over.” God, I hope so.

* * *

I pulled my sweater tighter around me as I slowly made my way back through the halls of the upper towers. Though I missed the heat of Arya’s room, the cold certainly woke me up a bit more, and I was going to need all my wits about me to face Marguerite after last night.

While I was grateful she hadn’t sent for me all day, it was also a cause for alarm. There was a lot I did with that memory spell, and magic can go a little haywire when your focus and intention spread too thin. And if she was sending for me, there was likely only one reason—blood. I was about to find out how well the latter part of my spell panned.

When I finally reached her room, I knocked tentatively on the door, my heart beating an ominous tune in my temples. The door suddenly opened, with Marguerite standing in front of me.

“Well, it’s about time,” she snipped with a haughty roll of her eyes. “What took you so long?”

“Human legs, stairs,” I answered casually.

Her eyes narrowed to slits, the predatory look spiking my heart rate, and I realized I was being far too catty. But part of me didn’t care anymore. I was so done with this bitch. And last night changed me. I was no longer afraid of her. I had seen how easily I could destroy her, and I had let her live. She was still a lot faster and physically stronger than me, but my magic evened the scales and put us on equal footing. And the fact that she didn’t know that gave me the upper hand.

I cleared my throat and gave her an obliging smile. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m thirsty. What else?” she replied, pulling the door open further in a gesture for me to enter.

I nodded and stepped inside as my heart pounded like a war drum. Okay, maybe I was still a little afraid of her.

I flicked my gaze to Julian, where he still lay in the bed, but he didn’t make any sign of acknowledging my presence, then I turned to face the bloodwhore.

She held out her hand expectantly. “Wrist.”

Apprehension gnarled inside me as I lifted my arm and set it in her waiting palm. She scowled at the inside of my wrist as she held it for a long moment, her tongue flicking the tips of her fangs. She seemed more hesitant than I was. Had she already tried to drink today and failed?

Finally, she lifted my wrist to her mouth, and I cringed as her teeth punctured my skin, more out of disgust for the contact than actual pain. I wasn’t sure if it was an effect of vampire venom, but being bitten always triggered a sexual response, even when the situation was violent. I’d felt a twinge of desire even when Solomon had attacked me in the alley, and I had felt it the last time Marguerite sucked on my boob.

Feeling anything like that for someone I hated more than anything, made me feel dirty and betrayed. My stomach knotted with revulsion as I watched her suck on my inner arm.

But she coughed and began to choke, doubling over to heave and spit out my blood. I backed away, clutching my still bleeding arm as she vomited my blood onto her pristine lavender rug.

“Why is this happening to me?” she whimpered as blood dripped in long strings from her lips.

I stole a glance at Julian, and there was a hint of an amused smirk on his face.

“Is my blood not to your satisfaction?” I asked, doing my best to hide my own amusement.

Marguerite snapped her head up at me, looking positively monstrous with blood still dripping from her bared fangs. She straightened to her full height and glared at me. “Yes. You’re blood is fucking disgusting. Get the hell out of my sight!” She whipped up her arm and pointed a finger at the door.

I tightened my grip on my wrist, holding it up to show it was bleeding. “You’re not going to heal me?”

She began to stalk toward me, and I instinctively backed up toward the door. “Get one of the Initiate nurses to bandage you up.” She slammed the door closed so that I had to practically jump backward to keep it from hitting me.

I grinned at the wood with impish glee. I may have a small flesh wound, but Marguerite was starving, and it would only get worse. With a skip in my step, I turned on my heel and strode down the hall.

My first intention was to go to my room and wrap it with a cloth, but then I remembered that Piper was one of the medical Initiates, and this was the perfect excuse to seek her out.

Either way, I needed to do whatever I was going to, fast, before the smell of blood drew every vampire on the floor straight to me. Just because Marguerite couldn’t drink from me didn’t mean others couldn’t, and not all of them had the self control that she did.

I hurried to the elevator and took it straight to the main floor, then scurried out of the lobby and down the stairs before I could attract too much attention. As it was, the head of every vampire I passed turned to follow me, and I prayed to any deity that would hear me that I’d make it unscathed. I had just promised Arya only a moment ago that I wouldn’t do anything stupid, and yet here I was, running through a vampire fortress with my arm bleeding.

Typical.

In my haste, I stumbled into the medical ward and bumped a lab table with my hip, sending a beaker crashing to the floor. Every head in the room snapped in my direction, and I offered a nervous, apologetic grin.

“Sorry. Bleeding.” I lifted my crimson-smeared arm.

A nurse scoffed and rose from her chair across the room with great reluctance, but having noticed me, Piper rushed to her and put a restraining hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, I’ll take this one. Why don’t you take your lunch break?”

The nurse shrugged and walked past me, hopping over the scattered shards and then disappearing through the archway.

Piper gestured for me to follow her to a station in the far corner of the room. I sat opposite to her and lay my arm on the table between us.

“What happened?” she asked as she pressed a square of gauze over the bite.

“Let’s just say my assigned vampire couldn’t stomach my blood,” I replied, my lips curling in victory. “But the real reason I came here was to talk to you.”

I looked over her shoulder to make sure there was no one else in the ward to overhear us before leaning forward and lowering my voice to a whisper. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

She looked at me for a long moment, then back down at my wrist as she applied more pressure. “How?”

“The roof,” I whispered, pointing up with my other hand. “Can you find some excuse to go to Alex’s room midday?”

Piper cast a cautious look over her shoulder, then turned back to me. “Possibly. The boy does get scrapes now and then. I’ll figure it out.”

I let out a breath. “Good.”

She opened a bottle of super glue and dabbed it thickly over the punctures.

“I can’t believe this works,” I commented in a normal decibel as I watched her work.

“That’s actually what glue was made for,” she said, then blew a stream of air at the goop on my arm. “One of the greatest nontechnical inventions of all time, and we mostly use it to stick pieces of paper together.”

“Human nature, at its finest,” I said.

She chuckled, covering her mouth as if the action was reprehensible. Poor girl. She tapped the clear gel with the tip of her finger, finding it solidified. “There, that should do.”

I withdrew my arm and tucked it in my lap. “Thanks.”

“Any time.”

We both stood, and she walked me back to the entrance of the ward.

“Have a good evening,” she said, though her eyes and body language delivered a different message.

“You, too. I’ll see you around.” I waved and headed for my room, crossing my fingers that everything went as planned tomorrow. There were so many moving parts, so many things that could go wrong. If even one cog in our clockwork jammed, we’d all be fucked.