Page 80 of Radiant Shadows

I bit down on my lips to try to stifle the laughter, taking deep breaths through my nose to regain control of my lungs. When the fit had finally subsided, I wiped at my watery eyes with the backs of my hands.

“There’s a curse on my family,” I explained flippantly because I no longer cared about guarding the secret. Fuck Claudette Dracul. Fuck the witches who cast it. And, above all, fuck my father. “Any Dracul who falls in love with an outsider, and vice versa, is doomed to have that love forever unrequited. My asshole sperm donor made sure I was no exception.”

“Wait,” Niko said. “Does that mean you’re in love with Arya?”

“That’s your question after all that?” I asked, feeling the laughter begin to shake my ribcage once more.

“But you imprinted on her. Dude, if you can’t be with her, you’ll—”

“Die? Yep!” I gave in to the laughter once more. “Why do you think I fought it so hard? I tried several times to sever my imprint, none of which worked. I even went so far as to ask Arya’s witch friend to help me break the curse. I was just there a few hours ago, and she performed a countercurse, but apparently it didn’t work. So I’m totally fucked! Isn’t that funny?”

“No, man.” Niko shook his head, sorrow and sympathy scrunching his features. “That’s just about the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I know!” I squealed. I was really losing it, but what did it matter? What did I really have left to lose, aside from myself?

Niko fisted the front of my shirt and pulled me toward him. “You can’t just let it end like this, Tobias. You may have given up, but I’m not just going to sit back and watch my best friend waste away from an unfulfilled imprint.”

“Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do about it?” I countered through giggles. “You haven’t even fixed your own fucked up love life. How are you going to fix mine?”

He glared at me, then nodded. “You know what, you’re right. But I’m not fucking around anymore.”

He rose to his feet with purpose.

“I’m going to win Ashlyn back, and then I’m going to help you clean up this mess you’re in.”

He strode out of the room, and I called back after him, “Good luck!”

I really did hope he succeeded. If my complete and utter failure was what it took to encourage him to fight for his love, then at least it wasn’t a total loss. But regardless of the outcome, nothingwould change for me. The curse couldn’t be broken, and the imprint couldn’t be severed. I was a lost cause. End of story.

I continued to sit there, staring at the opposite wall as the increasing pain in my soul silenced the laughter. I didn’t know how much time had passed, and I also didn’t care. I didn’t have anywhere to be. The only place I wanted to be, that my body urged me to seek, was the one place I couldn’t go.

The tap of a polished shoe against the side of my sneaker roused me from my stupor, but I wasn’t going to give him the benefit of my attention.

“My soldiers said you were having some kind of mental breakdown,” Arthur said. “Surely, you’re not so broken up over a silly girl.”

I breathed a laugh through my nose. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

He strolled into the room, his shoes clacking against the smooth floor. “I warned you not to be a fool. Love is not meant for us, Tobias. I thought you knew better. I only hope that I chased her away before she got her claws into your heart.”

I dragged my eyes up his body to lock eyes with him. And I smiled wickedly. “I imprinted on her.”

He held my gaze for a long moment, his smug expression slowly sliding away as realization sank in. He shook his head. “No.”

“Yep,” I said, lazily folding my arms over my chest. “And maybe it’s true that your intentions were tosaveme from the curse. More likely, you already knew I was falling for her and wanted to ensure I didn’t escape the same fate as you and everyone else in our fucked up family. Whatever the reason, by pulling your little strings with Arya, you’ve just ensured the slow, inevitable death of your only son.”

His breathing began to speed up as the wrinkles in his forehead deepened. “No. No, that can’t be.”

I shrugged as I stumbled to my feet. If Arthur was going to insist on being here, then I was going anywhere else. “Who knows, maybe Mom will give you another one. But I wouldn’t count on it.”

I pushed past him and strode out of the room. I didn’t know where I was going. But it gave me more pleasure than I thought I’d ever feel again to know that I was leaving him with the consequences of his selfish choices, even if one of them was my destruction.

Chapter 30

Caesar

The world was a blur.

Conversations fluttered around me, muddled and muted. My mind couldn’t concentrate as I packed a bag—the same bag I used almost a week ago when I traveled to Canada in search of gryphons.

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