Chapter 20 Shea
I set down my bag and tucked it under the bed, which was just a mattress on a metal twin frame. The room I’d been assigned was more the size of a large closet, with my bed against the wall on the left side and another one on the right. No dressers. No windows. There weren’t even pillows on the beds, just a thin sheet. No wonder even the humans here were so pale—they were all suffering from low-grade hypothermia.
Whoever my roommate was, they weren’t in here right now. I only had a few minutes to get myself “settled” before Hadrian summoned me again, and I had to use this tiny window of time to my advantage; this might be the last time I was ever alone in this place.
Sitting on my bed with my back to the door, I whispered the words to the communication spell, focusing on Caesar. The connection snared, and I could feel Caesar’s warm, summery presence like sunlight filling my soul.
“Caesar,” I whispered.
“Shea! Oh, thank God!” his voice sounded in my head. “What was all that? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied as quietly as I could. “The shifters attacked the castle, a failed rescue attempt for Arya. Tobias was leading the charge, and unfortunately, he and another dragon chick got captured.”
I couldn’t bring myself to confess that I had been the one to prevent them from escaping. The guilt over that fact gnawed at my insides. But I had no choice. If I hadn’t followed Hadrian’s orders exactly, I’d be the one in that dungeon right now instead of Tobias, and I wouldn’t be of any use to anyone.
“Ugh, fucking Dracul!” Caesar snarled. “Leave it to him to try a stupid stunt like this—and fail! Goddammit. Is Arya okay? Have you found her yet? What about Julian?”
“Arya is okay. She’s being treated like a princess here, so I guess that’s…something.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that about her current stance on escaping, either. Mostly because I had every intention of changing her mind. Hell, I’d take her out by force if I had to.
“No sign of Julian, yet,” I added, my heart tightening at the thought of him. “What about you? Have you located him in the cameras?”
“No, we’re still working on mapping out the locations of each camera, but we’re almost there. I just…” He sighed. “I have no way of contacting you when I find him.”
I could feel his desperation through our connection, which only amplified my own.
“I know,” I said, his anguish eating away at my soul. “I’ll try to stay in contact with you every chance I get.” I just don’t know how many chances I’ll have.
The doorknob turned behind me, and I whipped around to see my rather mannish escort, Kristen, standing in the doorway. “Lord Hadrian is ready for you.”
I gave her my biggest grin, even as my heart was about to pound right out of my chest. “Okay. Give me just one second.”
I knelt beside the bed and turned my head away from her view as I slowly tugged my bag out from under it, whispering into the lapel of my coat. “I gotta go. Check in later.” Then I ended the connection as I popped back up.
She looked down her long nose at me, her expression unabashedly filled with disdain. She clearly thought she was better than me. She’d been here long enough to earn the position of an Initiate Prefect—which basically meant she could boss everyone else around. But I took that to mean she wasn’t good enough to be turned.
As I followed her out of my room and toward the spiral stairwell, I wondered if she’d figured that out yet. Maybe that was why she was so bitter.
My thighs began to burn again as we trudged up the stairs. After hiking through the forest this morning, and all the stair climbing during the attack, I wasn’t sure how much more my poor legs could take. Obviously, I needed to do a lot more cardio. On the bright side, by the time I left this place, I’d be more fit than I’d ever been before.
Silver linings.
Through panting and trying to keep up with Kristen’s impressive stamina, I studied each floor we passed, hoping for any sign of Julian. I knew it was unlikely he’d be down here in the Initiate quarters, but I couldn’t not try, couldn’t not hope.
Finally, we reached the lobby on the main floor, and it was a serious test of willpower to keep myself from collapsing onto the black marble floor. Kristen impatiently ushered me to a pair of beautifully carved wooden doors.
“This is the Master’s Trophy Room,” she intimated to me as she knocked. “It’s an honor to be given an audience with him here.” Judging by the clipped way she said it, I suspected she’d never received that honor.
“You may enter,” Hadrian’s velvety smooth voice said on the other side.
Kristen opened the doors, then scowled at me as she stood off to the side for me to go in.
“Are you just going to wait here for me? Or how does this work?” I asked her.
Her eyes narrowed to slits, and I flashed her a cheeky smile as I strode past her. The doors closed behind me, and I stopped just inside the room, the shock of the decor rooting my feet to the spot.
The so-called trophy room was more like a horror showcase. Bits and pieces of different shifters lined the walls. A green snake-like tail with a stinger at the end. A cluster of fluffy, tawny fox tails. A pair of feathery wings that reminded me so much of Caesar’s gryphon wings. There was even a burgundy dragon head, mounted with its mouth open, its teeth on display.
My stomach turned as I stared at the mountings with a slack jaw, envisioning the shifters they’d belonged to—shifters like Arya and Ashlyn and Tobias.
“Ah, the witch of the hour. Come in, come in.” Hadrian beckoned me to the seat in front of his desk.
The flash of his fangs as he smiled kickstarted my nervous system, urging my jello-y legs into motion. I sat down across from him, giving him as genuine of a smile as I could muster. If I just stared at his face—his flawless, incredibly drool-worthy face—maybe I could forget he was a soulless monster, for at least long enough to get through this conversation. In this room. Surrounded by the evidence of his cruelty.
“You did very well aiding in the defense of the citadel this morning,” he said. “The capture of the Dracul heir is a great victory for our cause.”
I cleared my dry throat. “Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
His smile widened, and he looked down at his desk. “But there is a small matter we must discuss before we go any further in the admission process.”
Tension rippled across my body, something about his tone setting off all my alarm bells.
“I seem to recall reports of a witch who was seen cavorting with a vampire traitor named Julian Asher in Chicago on several occasions.” His dark eyes flicked up to me. “A witch named Shea.”
Fear shot through me, forcing my heart and my lungs to pause their functions. Cold heat flushed up my neck and face.
“Oddly enough, the scout who reported the findings has no memory of the events he reported,” he continued. “What do you make of all this?”
I only had milliseconds to decide on my plan of action. There was no point in denying any of it. He clearly already knew—fucking Adam. But if he knew how deep my relationship with Julian was, I doubted we’d be having this conversation.
“Yes, I was working with Julian in Chicago,” I admitted, my voice cracking.
I cleared my throat again, but no amount of swallowing could replenish the moisture that my fear had leached from my mouth.
He arched a thick black eyebrow as he regarded me. “And what was the nature of your affiliation with him?”
I took a deep, bracing breath. “He sensed my magic and offered me a deal. He would give me the grimoire he had in his possession if I agreed to use it to bring his wife back from the dead. I was desperate to learn magic, so I took the deal.”
He nodded, seeming somewhat pleased with that answer. “Ah, yes. His lost love. I should’ve suspected as much. He’s never been very good at letting go of the past. I take it you were unsuccessful?”
“No amount of magic can truly bring someone back from the dead,” I said, remembering everything Gram had said on the subject. “Even if I were able to find such a spell, the thing that would come back wouldn’t be her.” Because I am her.
“I see,” he said, leaning back in his leather chain. “Did you tell Julian as much?”
I shook my head. Time to start lying my ass off. “No. He stopped contact with me out of nowhere. I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”
I leaned forward, giving in to my shallow appreciation for Hadrian’s undeniable beauty. “If I’m being honest, he’s the reason I’m here. When he told me about this school, I knew it was the place for me. I had hoped to use him to gain entrance, but when he ghosted me, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I hope that you will give me the chance to prove myself worthy of you.”
The glimmer in his dark eyes and curl of his lips told me he’d taken the bait. “I respect your ambition and tenacity. You remind me of myself at your age, and I don’t dole out such compliments lightly.”
The blush that rose in my cheeks was real, and I felt a twinge of guilt for the effect his praise had on me. “Thank you, sir.”
He leaned forward and folded his arms atop his desk. “Were you aware that Julian is a traitor? He was working with the vile gryphon that runs the shifter school on some plot to betray the vampire cause.”
I gasped, hoping to mask my fear as surprise. “Really? I had no idea. We didn’t talk much outside my magic progress. Is that why he disappeared? Did you kill him?” Saying the word made my heart clench painfully in my chest, every fiber of my being hating this rouse I had chosen to play.
He laughed, again seeming pleased with my reaction. “No. Betrayal such as Julian’s deserves a punishment worse than death. Which brings us to your next assignment.”
The muscles of my chest squeezed, threatening to crush my ribcage. “Oh?”
“If you can perform the daywalker spell, I assume you can also undo it,” he said, his tone leading.
“I—I imagine so,” I said, unsure where he was going with this.
“Good. Then you won’t have any issue stripping Julian of his daywalking abilities.”
I forced myself to blink to keep my eyes from widening.
“He has a gift, one that he’s refused to use to its full potential and that he no longer deserves. While I’m eager to possess such power, I need to know you can be trusted first. This is how you’ll begin to prove your worth.”
I nodded. Okay, this wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like he was ordering me to hurt Julian. It was just a harmless spell, and one I could always reverse later. Stay calm, Shea .
“It would be my honor to do whatever you ask of me.” I knew I was laying it on thick, but Hadrian seemed to be gobbling it up, so I was just going to run with it—especially when catering to his massive ego was blinding him to my inner turmoil. “Are we doing this thing now, or do I have time to prepare?”
“Do you need time to prepare?”
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “There’s not a counter-spell in the grimoire. I’ll have to improvise based on what I do have. Enacting the daywalker spell is pretty complicated, but reversing it shouldn’t be nearly as hard.”
Hadrian cocked his head curiously. “And why is that, exactly?”
I shrugged again. “I guess because magic is a funny thing. A vampire walking in daylight kinda goes against the rules. It’s like putting in a cheat code. It’s going to take more to work against nature than it would to reset it to the way it’s supposed to be.”
Not exactly true. Witches did a lot of magic that went against nature. But Hadrian didn’t need to know that. As it was, I hoped my knowledge of the language would allow me to take away Julian’s daywalking ability, but only temporarily. Assuming neither of us caught on fire in the process. Spell manipulation wasn’t exactly reliable, as I’d learned the hard way a few times.
Hadrian nodded. “Well then, let’s test this theory of yours out and see if we can’t make a daywalking vampire just a vampire again.”
He stood, and I followed him out of the nightmarish taxidermy museum, my mind racing in a thousand different directions.
He was taking me to Julian. I wouldn’t have to spend hours and risk exposure trying to find him. The anticipation of seeing my beautiful vampire’s face was bittersweet.
Because I was going to have to use magic against him—not harmful magic, as long as I translated everything correctly, but still magic that was meant to negatively impact him. If Hadrian viewed this as a form of punishment, I trusted his sadism. Would Julian be upset with me?
Hell, what if Julian was so far gone that he slipped and exposed us both? What if I was walking right into my own execution?
Hadrian stopped in front of an elevator in the lobby, and I was so stupidly grateful that my throat tightened. After all the damn stairs, an elevator was a truly beautiful site, and in my current vulnerable state, small comforts had a monumental impact.
He slid his keycard through the slot on the wall, and the silvery door sprang open as if it had been waiting for us. I took a spot in the corner, leaning against the railing. My heart was already racing, so it didn’t much matter when the door closed, and I realized I was trapped in a small space with the most dangerous vampire in the world.
And the elevator seemed to take forever. Even Hadrian started tapping his foot. No doubt with his speed, he could’ve taken the stairs and beat me to the top. As much as I didn’t want to do this, I was desperate to see Julian, to know beyond doubt that he was in one piece.
When the elevator finally stopped and the doors slid open, I eagerly followed him out and—ah dammit, not another stairwell! This one was wider than those down below, and I assumed it led to one of the many towers crowning this place. I appreciated that Hadrian was preceding me at a human pace rather than using his vampiric speed, but I couldn’t tell if that was out of gentlemanly respect or the desire to keep me in his sight at all times.
Parts of the wall of the stairwell were eaten away and covered over with thick black tarp. I’d heard three towers were destroyed, the walls stripped away like magic, making them unlivable for vampires. I had to hand it to Tobias—he’d dealt the vampires a heavy blow before fucking things up entirely.
At last we emerged from the winding stairs, and I tried to catch my breath quietly as Hadrian led me to a room with an open door. Hadrian knocked on the frame to announce his presence before stepping inside.
I entered the lavish bedroom, marveling at the silver and purple decorating the space. It was so different from the rest of the citadel—and definitely a far cry from the Dursley style broom closets they called the Initiate bedrooms. Obviously, one of the vampires stayed in here.
“Hadrian, I’m honored.” The stunning creature who I now knew to be Marguerite, walked up to us in a slinky black gown, air-kissing Hadrian on either side of his face.
Hatred for her simmered inside me, my hands clenching around the straps of my bag. I knew at least half a dozen spells I could use on her right now that would at least deeply wound her if not kill her. But I’d promised Caesar I wouldn’t be foolish, and doing anything to this succubus right now would be the dumbest fucking thing in the world.
“Ah, and you brought the witch.” Marguerite set her sights on me, and I mentally slapped the sneer off my face, forcing my lips to spread in an amenable smile. “I think you and I are going to be fast friends.” She winked at me.
Not in a million years, you evil, heinous bi—
My eyes fell on the shadowy form laying on the couch beyond her, and my heart shattered, silencing even my never-ending inner monologue.
The body splayed on that couch was little more than a shell of my beloved Julian. His hands were bound in front of him, caught between shining steel cuffs, his head lolled back. His skin had a sickly greenish tint to it, his cheeks sunken, and a haunted look to his glassy eyes.
I wanted to run to him, to scoop him into my arms and kiss him everywhere and reassure him that everything was going to be okay. But I had a part to play, and I locked my broken emotions deep down inside, determined to pretend I felt nothing for him—for his sake.
His eyes widened when they eventually spotted me, the recognition that sparked there both reassuring and terrifying. “Shea?”
Marguerite turned to pass a scrutinizing gaze over her captive. “You know her?”
Julian didn’t respond, lolling his head to the other side, either in feigned or actual deliria, I didn’t know.
“Yes,” Hadrian answered for him. “Our young witch here ran into Julian in Chicago. Apparently he commissioned her to resurrect Alice.”
Marguerite returned her pensive eyes to me. “Did he now? And were you successful?”
Like I’d tell you, hell whore.
“No,” I said in as cool a tone as I could manage. “Like I told Hadrian, such a spell doesn’t exist. I was only using Julian to get what I wanted.” I had faith that Julian would know I was lying.
Her eyes drilled me for a long moment, but I didn’t back down from her probing stare. “Hmm,” she finally hummed with a shrug. “Well, are we going to do this or not?”
Hadrian held out a hand to invite me to proceed. I stepped past him and the demon slut to kneel beside Julian. He rolled his head back in my direction, his sallow eyes fixed on me. And though his face was an unreadable mask, his eyes held all the love that I’d hoped was still there—and that I hoped would remain after this.
I hadn’t anticipated how painful it would be to be so close to him and not be able to touch him or do anything to help him. It shredded my heart. But I had to get through it. I had to do this now so that he and I could have even a shot at forever. This was only temporary.
With my back to the vampires, I mouthed the words, “I love you. Trust me.”
I slid my bag off my shoulder and pulled out the grimoire, doing a quick study of the words of the spell and mentally translating the words I’d need to accomplish this.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and began, a slight tremble in my voice. “Hetem kekeru sa en ra. Ra sa sheni em eb, nai em ba.”
I ended the spell strong and sure, letting the magic flow slowly through me, setting every intention for what I wanted it to do. I needed Julian to show a weakness to the sun to convince Hadrian of my compliance, but I didn’t want to completely destroy the magic that had allowed him to walk in light for so long.
I could feel that old magic, the protection balling tight within Julian as my spell did its work. It was as if I’d formed a box around Alice’s magic, locking away his daywalking ability until we were ready to release it.
I opened my eyes and looked into Julian’s, hoping he could read every emotion I tried to convey with that one look.
Then I stood, turning to Marguerite and Hadrian. “It’s done.”
Hadrian lifted a brow. “That remains to be seen. Marguerite?”
The succu-bitch nodded, then in the next blink she was across the room and scooping Julian’s limp form into her arms.
“Follow me, Shea,” Hadrian ordered, turning and leaving the room with Marguerite and Julian in tow.
Oh God, where the hell were we going? What was I going to be forced to do? Alice, give me the strength for whatever is coming next.