Page 57 of Radiant Shadows

A moment of discomfort went by before Hadrian finally looked up.

“Ah, Julian, forgive me,” he said, scooting his chair back and straightening his spine. “DNA is such a fickle thing to study—more detailed than an image with a trillion pixels, more intricate than a hand-woven rug, and more delicate than love.” He waved at me. “Come in, come in.”

I stepped forward, and a loud clang sounded behind me. I whirled to find Marguerite standing in front of the now-closed door, crossing her arms as if she were guarding it. The pained look was still in her eyes, making my pulse increase.

“We need to talk, Julian,” Hadrian said, his tone resounding with disappointment as he got to his feet.

Panic shot through like a bolt of electricity, and I knew that what I’d felt in the Great Hall had been a warning I’d ignored.

I forced myself to swallow. “About what?”

“A lot of things, I think,” Hadrian replied airily as he approached me with authority in his stride. “Let’s start with your mission. How did your hunt for the gryphons go?”

I faced Hadrian, planted my feet, and stood my ground. “Something tells me you already know the answer to your question.”

“Of course I know,” Hadrian snapped. “I asked you a question. Now answer it!”

I licked my lips, noticing their dryness. “There were no signs of gryphons at Mount Logan nor in Whitehorse. You were given bad intel.”

A wicked grin formed on Hadrian’s pale face. “Oh, therewasa sighting of gryphon activity.”

The vampire leader strode back to his desk and removed one of the tablets from its docking station. With several quick taps, he approached me and handed over the device. “For your viewing pleasure. This footage was taken four days ago by drones equipped to handle extreme temperatures. Go ahead, push play.”

Setting my jaw, I looked at the screen. The date stamp embedded on the video readJanuary 7, 1:11 p.m. I tapped the play icon, and the top of Mount Logan showed against the light-blue sky. Seconds ticked by, and a large brown gryphon suddenly flew into frame.

I gasped.Caesar!

“So therewasa gryphon in the Yukon Mountains on the day you went to check for yourself,” Hadrian said in a mysterious tone. “But you just told me there were no signs of them. Tell me, old friend, why did you lie to me?”

I’d been caught. How was I going to talk my way out of this?

“It seems you’re a bit tongue-tied at the moment,” Hadrian commented. “Perhaps I can elaborate for you. Of course, I don’t haveallthe pieces of the puzzle, so please, do correct me if I’m off. First of all, you know exactly who that gryphon is. His name is Caesar Rex, the director of the shifter school.”

I didn’t acknowledge my recognition of the gryphon. The less I verbalized, the better off everyone would be.

Hadrian waited a few moments before continuing. “Perhaps a little more dissemination is in order? Let’s go back to the evening you voluntarily came back to Heritage Prep. You smelled of gryphon the moment you entered my trophy room, which means you had dealings with one. And it stands to reason that those dealings had to have involved Caesar Rex, the last living gryphon in the world. Am I right so far?”

I blinked but didn’t say anything. I focused on maintaining a neutral mask and regulating my breathing to slow my pulse. Still, Hadrian continued to study me, his eyes piercing through as if reading my mind.

He chuckled and extended his hands forward. “Your silence speaks volumes, Julian. So Caesar sent you here, but for what purpose I have yet to discover. You came back and suffered a full day of drowning, followed by three awful days of hallucinations. You sacrificed much to join me again. I can only assume the great gryphon promised you something in return.”

This time, I didn’t even blink. What were my chances of getting past Marguerite at the door? Then making it out of the castle after?

“Whatever he promised is of little consequence now,” Hadrian said, his wicked smile growing wider. “You played your part well. You caused the accident that blocked access to the subway station in Chicago, but you stood by as we fought my daughter and her friends. You knew I was watching then. And then your assignment to catch Arya and bring her to me... It was all a ploy. I sent you back to Chicago so I could keep eyes on you. And those eyes saw much. On Christmas day, one of those vampires suddenly disappeared.”

I glanced down as I recalled the fight in my apartment with Solomon. The Australian vampire had nearly killed me, but Piper had come through and saved me at the last moment.

“Ah, yes, it seems you remember that particular detail,” Hadrian said. “It didn’t take much for your Initiate to spill what had happened.”

I could no longer contain the panic. Everything was spiraling down. Hadrian knew everything.

“What did you do to Piper?” I hissed.

Hadrian’s brow raised. “Do I detect concern for your Initiate? Good heavens, Julian, you’re growing soft. You’ll be happy to hear that her punishment was minimal, and she’s back at work helping me. As of a few days ago, she’s unassigned.”

If Hadrian was telling the truth, Piper likely was still alive. I just hoped Hadrian hadn’t done something terrible to her. My only relief was that Hadrian hadn’t said anything about Shea. I hoped it would stay that way.

“You’re a traitor, Julian. You’re a traitor to your species. You’re a traitor to those who once called you friend. Your disloyalty eliminates any status you once held. You are below the humans and shifters you sympathize with. And your silence magnifies your guilt.”

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