Page 27 of Radiant Shadows

Verifying I had my hotel key in one of my pockets, I slid my phone into the other and pulled the door closed behind me. Walking down the narrow hallway, I skittered past a member of the hotel’s housekeeping staff.

“Good afternoon, sir,” she said, flashing me a smile.

Putting on a smile of my own, I nodded and returned her greeting, then scuttled to the elevator. I mashed the button pointing down, and it lit up with golden light.

Moments ticked by, and I spun my thumbs around one another as I waited for the elevator to arrive. I trusted Julian. At least, I thought I did. Julian had his own agenda, and now Shea was part of that. Had Julian made some deal with Hadrian as a ploy to get rid of me? Eliminate the competition?

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened. Julian was standing on the other side.

“Caesar,” he said, cocking an eyebrow.

I hesitated a moment, finding myself unable to enter the elevator. In such confined quarters, Julian could snap my neck faster than I could react.

“Is everything okay?”

I set my jaw, deciding to cut to the chase. “I need to know, Julian. Did you bring me all this way just to kill me?”

The elevator doors began to close, but faster than a blink, Julian threw an arm out to catch it, all without breaking his gaze from mine.

“I have no qualms with you and have never wanted to kill you.”

His voice was silky and sincere as he spoke, but he’d been lying to much more shrewd characters than me for months now—his acting abilities had clearly improved to undetectable.

“Not even to have Shea all to yourself?” I growled.

He gave a sad sort of laugh through his nose, then looked down at the carpeted floor of the hallway. “Not even then.”

The grief on his alabaster face touched me, and despite my possessive suspicions, I believed him.

“You and I have been allies for too long,” he said, looking up to meet my eyes. “And I would hope you know me well enough by now to at least be certain of one thing—I can’t ensure Hadrian’s defeat without you. No witch, no matter how tempting, could sway me from our allegiance.”

He stepped out of the elevator, and the doors closed angrily behind him as if they knew they’d been held up.

Coming closer, he put a firm hand on my shoulder, and I let him. “I know we need to talk about Shea, but she has nothing to do with why we’re here.”

I nodded, trying to rein in the emotions wrestling in my gut. “I already made the trip to Mount Logan. There was no sign of gryphons there.”

Julian’s brow furrowed. “What? That’s impossible. Hadrian said the reports came from good sources.”

I shook my head. “We’ve been duped. And I fear something terrible will happen because of it.”

He stared at me seriously. “You’re sure there weren’t any signs of gryphons?”

“The mountain was untouched. Gryphons put off a scent that is easily detectable by other gryphons, and there wasn’t even a slight chance they were there.”

He pursed his lips, considering all I’d said. “It’s more likely that Hadrian was given bad intel. If he knew of our involvement, the last thing he would’ve done is let me leave the premises, let alone order it.”

“Unless he’s planning to attack the school while you have me distracted,” I countered, the thought flashing a fresh wave of panic over me.

He shook his head. “Such an attack would take a great deal of preparation, and I saw no such signs of that while I was there. The last time they made an attempt on Arya, there was so much movement in the building it would have made any non-vampire dizzy.”

I took in a shaky breath, unsure what to think.

“I can assure you that, whatever the intentions behind Hadrian’s task, an attack on the school isn’t one of them,” he said in a soothing tone. “At least, not today. If it makes you feel better, you should call the school, if for no other reason than to get some peace of mind.”

I let out my shaky breath as I nodded. Perhaps I was being overly paranoid.

The elevator dinged, and an elderly couple emerged through the open doors and walked past us.

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