Page 55 of Radiant Shadows

Celeste’s gaze slid to me as if in warning not to say what I was going to. But she needed to know.

“Well, I took a leap of faith and asked for Shea’s help. I brought her into the school, and—look, she’s the reason Letti is conscious and healthy today.”

“You didwhat?” Celeste hissed, her emerald eyes full of venom as they glared at me.

“Hey, chillax,” Kai said to her, choosing the absolute wrong moment to play it cool. “Caesar did what he thought was best, and it paid off. I, for one, think it was—”

“No!” she said, slamming a palm onto the table. “There will be no witches at this school. Not as long as I am funding it. This conversation is over.”

Without another word, she spun on her stilettos and stormed out of the lounge, leaving a ringing silence in her wake.

Kai and I exchanged nervous glances.

“What the hell is her problem?” he grumbled, then flicked the side of his phone with his index finger. “Women. They’re all fucking crazy.”

I nodded quietly. I hadn’t expected such a dramatic response from Celeste. I knew she could be elitist, like most mermaids were, but I also thought she had a level head on her shoulders. I had believed she would hear me out and at least be open to discussion. Instead, she just shut me down.

What was I going to do about Shea? I’d made her a promise, and I still had every intention to keep it. I just couldn’t see how now.

Chapter 21

Julian

It had been two days since my rendezvous with Caesar and Shea, and returning to Heritage Prep after had been more difficult than ever before. I didn’t know how to feel about what we did. I enjoyed it, obviously, a lot more than I thought I would. I supposed what struck me as odd was that it hadn’t felt odd at all. It felt…like home.

But was it something that was really sustainable? Even now, knowing I was so far away from Shea while Caesar was right around the corner… I felt both relieved and pained by that. Relieved because he was there to protect her. Pained because he would get far more time with her than I would.

And then there was the Alice of it all. Though I had made the conscious decision to move on, to let her continue to rest in peace, letting her go wasn’t quite so simple. I’d held onto her memory for so long that holding on was almost an integral part of me. I didn’t quite know who I was without her as my purpose.

But it was possible that Shea—and Caesar—could be my new purpose. Keeping them safe from the vampires of Hadrian’s army. Helping them to defeat Hadrian once and for all. Building a world where shifters, witches, and vampires could work together in harmony.

That thought had been the only thing compelling me to return to my post as spy at Heritage Prep. Since I’d been back, however, I’d hardly left my quarters. Hadrian was out on one of his missions, so there was no one to boss me around. It gave me time to plot an escape plan for Piper.

That’s where my thoughts roamed as I played the piano in my room. I’d brought along my new piano book—my Christmas gift from Shea. And while I didn’t care much for contemporary pop music, it was at least somewhat enjoyable to play something outside of my usual repertoire on the piano.

My eyes bounced along the notes while my fingers followed suit in practiced perfection. Sight-reading was a skill I’d worked hard on over the years, but now it came so easily.

Julian’s fingers danced along the keys as my mind turned over various options to help Piper. No matter what, Hadrian would never willingly let her leave. If she escaped and he knew she was alive, he would never stop hunting her down, and then he’d either kill her or shackle her to the lab to finish her job before killing her.

The best way to ensure Piper’s safety was to stage her death. But what was the best way to do that?

A soft knock came at the door, and my fingers stopped. I closed the lid on the keys, then hid Shea’s piano book inside the bench—I couldn’t afford unwanted eyes to see that modern collection on the antique piano.

I opened the door to find Marguerite standing on the other side, resting a shoulder against the stone doorway. She was in her typical black getup, her black hood up to the crown of her head and her blonde hair trailing like locks of light. Her arms were folded, and her face held a mischievous smirk.

“Bad Blood?” she asked, puckering her darkly rouged lips. “Really, Julian? I’d never have marked you as a Taylor Swift fan.”

Had I been capable of blushing, I knew my cheeks would have been as crimson as a cardinal.

I scratched at the back of my head and adopted the same irritation that came so easily in Marguerite’s presence. “Never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks.”

Marguerite snorted, then straightened her pose. “The boss is back and wants an update from you. But I can tell him you’re too busy busting out pop music up here if you’d like.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said quickly, stepping past Marguerite and pulling the door shut behind me.

Marguerite smacked me on the arm. “Oh, you’re no fun. But your nervousness is extremely cute.”

I stopped dead in my tracks and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Cute?”

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