Page 58 of Radiant Shadows

Hadrian kept his gaze poised on me, and the silence screamed at me to retort, to argue, to give the vampire leader an earful.

I breathed deeply, then found words tumbling out of my mouth. “Whatever you decide to do to me today, I need you to understand why I left you and your vampire legion seven years ago.”

Hadrian nodded. “Go on.”

“You seek peace in this world, but you go about attaining it the wrong way. Your motives are barbaric and genocidal. You’d destroy the majestic shifters because you feel you’re somehow greater than they are. But at the same time, you’re envious of them—you want to take what they have and throw their corpses away once you have what you want. I left because I knew there was another way to live peacefully with the shifters. Italkedwith them. Ilearnedabout them. And Icaredabout them. I care about all life.

“So tear my status away—it means less thannothing.Kill me, I don’t really care. But know this: I was done with you seven years ago, and that fact hasn’t changed since I’ve been back.”

Hadrian shook his head like a pendulum. “Julian, Julian, Julian, I’m not going to kill you. I’m not going to give you the freedom you’ve been wanting since your precious witch was buried.”

Anger surged within me like a thunderstorm.

“How dare you talk about Alice that way!” I shouted, and I could withhold my bursting abhorrence no longer.

Fueled by the desire to defend Alice’s name, I moved faster than ever before, slamming a fist into Hadrian’s jaw and sending him flying backward. The vampire leader slammed into his desk, and the hardwood cracked from the impact. I leaped through the air and planted a knee into the crook of Hadrian’s neck, then clapped my hands on either side of his head.

“Your rule ends today, Denholm Heir,” I hissed.

Flexing my muscles, I clenched my teeth as I prepared to tear the vampire’s head from his shoulders.

My hold slipped as something impacted my back, and my head smashed against the corner of the desk, leaving me dazed for precious seconds. Something pulled on my shirt, tearing it inplaces while I was thrown to the ground. My head cracked against the floor, and stars blasted into my vision. They cleared fairly quickly, and I found I was looking up at Marguerite, who was now sitting on top of me. I’d forgotten she was in the room.

She punched me once in the side of the head, causing another burst of stars to pop in my vision like fireworks. It happened again, then again.

Before my vision cleared, I heard Marguerite crying nearby. She’d gotten off me but had proven where her loyalties remained.

“You broke my desk,” Hadrian growled. His voice sounded distant, but I could see the vampire leader towering over me, holding...something. I couldn’t focus enough to see what it was.

“Like I said, I’m not going to kill you, although you more than deserve it. And the three years of drowning I promised you before? That’s not nearly enough of a reward.”

Hadrian bent closer and grabbed my wrists. I was too weak to resist. The cold kiss of metal on my wrists was followed by a series ofclinks.

“Your eternal punishment?” Hadrian continued. “I’m turning you over to Marguerite for whatever purposes she intends.”

I wiggled my arms uselessly against the cuffs.

“You get to test a new invention we’ve created.” Hadrian grabbed the chain holding the cuffs together, dragging me upward like a rag doll. “These are called probe manacles. Let me just push this little button.”

My eyes were slowly coming back into focus enough to see what Hadrian was doing. There was a small button on the middle chain, and when the vampire leader pushed it, I felt a prick as something within the manacles inserted into both of my wrists.

“The probes are detecting what kind of creature you are, and after a few moments...”

The dull sting in my wrists flared as if I were being branded by a hot iron, and I cried out.

“Ah, see? The probe has discovered that you’re a vampire. Every six hours, it will insert a minuscule speck of copper into your wrists to keep you in a weakened state. In this manner, Marguerite will be able to have her way with you.” Hadrian looked up at Marguerite and smiled. “Will this suffice, my most loyal friend?”

My head slumped to the side as I looked up at my ex-girlfriend and new captor.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” she said, her eyes growing distant, perhaps remembering something from our past.

I couldn’t think clearly. The sharp pain was one thing, but whatever copper had been placed in my bloodstream was clouding my thoughts. What would Marguerite do to me? How would I escape?

“On your feet,” Marguerite ordered, grabbing the chain and pulling me up.

I swayed back and forth. Dizziness threatened to throw me back to the floor, but Marguerite steadied me.

“Let’s get you to my chambers and make you a little more comfortable, hmm?” she purred.

---