Page 28 of Dark Embers

I kept my gaze on the stairs. Iloatheddrinking straight from a human. It was too intimate of an experience, like a violation of the victim’s rights. And though fresh blood was more potent,I felt dirty every time I’d had to do it in the past. Animalistic. Unable to control my urges.

“Very well,” I said with forced pleasantness.

Remembering Caesar’s wish to discover Hadrian’s knowledge of the prophecy, I shifted gears. “I’ve been out of the loop for quite some time. What news can you tell me? Anything you think I may need to know about?”

Hadrian nodded. “We find shifters frequently, but never in large groups. Nothing that would equate to a school.”

I shrugged. “Perhaps they learned their lesson after what happened in South Dakota.” I hoped my tone didn’t reveal the lie.

“No, those animals can’t stay apart for extended amounts of time,” Hadrian spat. “And we’ve caught plenty who have witlessly revealed such information. We’ve just been unable to find outwherethey are.”

“So, there is a school then?” I replied with feigned ignorance. “I don’t know your sweeping strategies, but the shifters must be hidden well if you haven’t been able to catch them over the past fifteen years.”

“It appears they’ve finally learned their lesson,” Hadrian said. “They aren’t hiding in plain sight. My guess? They’ve rallied the witches, and wherever that school is, it’s being hidden by concealment spells.”

If only that were the case. Then Shea would be safe.

“I thought shifters hated witches,” I said as we entered the staircase to the lower levels of Initiate housing.

“Who knows what kind of alliances have been created among the shifters?” Hadrian said flippantly.

He’s accurate as far as alliances go.

We made it to the first floor of Initiates, which meant I was assigned one of the more promising humans.

“Here we are,” Hadrian said, letting me precede him into the room.

As I passed the threshold, I found that I was entering a common room. Luxurious chairs and sofas were placed in perfect symmetry, not one piece of furniture off. Dark, hardwood floors ran the length of the room, along with equally symmetrical, extravagant, blood-red rugs. In the center of the room was a long table made of solid wood.

Several Initiates were sitting down, engaged in quiet conversations. Others were standing and talking. But as Hadrian and I entered, the room fell completely silent.

“Good morning, most-favored Initiates,” Hadrian greeted in grandiose fashion. “Today will be a great day for one of you: another vampire is ready to have an Initiate assigned to him!”

I looked around and found one thing in common among all the humans’ faces—hope. They were all hoping for an assignment. It was the final step in proving their readiness to be turned.

And their eagerness disgusted me.

I had never wished for immortality and believed that any human who did had selfish motivations. No human-turned-vampire had ever set out to spend eternity ending world hunger or reversing climate change. Vampires had only ever wanted power and domination.

“Would Piper Adams please step forward?”

A tall, gangly woman from the left side of the room, who was an inch or two taller than me and looked to be nothing but skin and bones, stood up. She had sandy-blonde hair and freckles speckled across her cheeks and nose. Her almond-brown eyes were slightly magnified by golden-framed glasses.

Her eyes lit with excitement as she took long strides toward us. She was wearing a charcoal skirt that came up to just above her knees with a matching suit coat. Underneath was a simple white button-up shirt.

“A girl?” I muttered to Hadrian.

“A girl who double majored at Harvard in molecular biology and electrical engineering,” Hadrian clarified.

“So, she’s overconfident?” I whispered.

Hadrian sighed. “She’s a genius.”

The girl stepped directly in front of me. Her proximity made me uncomfortable, but I held my ground and looked up into her eyes.

“Piper, meet Julian Asher,” Hadrian said. “Julian, meet Piper Adams.”

Even though my hands were at my sides, Piper grabbed one and squeezed overzealously.

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