Page 38 of Radiant Shadows

A silence settled between us for a few seconds, but then something she’d said occurred to me. “Wait, you said they were friends. Are you saying that Caesar and—”

She lunged forward and pressed a firm hand over my mouth, shocking me into a temporary paralysis.

“Yes,” she whispered. “They’re working together against Hadrian.”

I nodded behind her palm so that she understood I knew the danger of this particular secret, and she slowly lowered it.

“Why are we whispering?” I asked in the same hushed decibel, almost afraid of the answer.

Her eyes darted from side to side as if she was afraid she was being watched as well as overheard. “The vampires have been spying on me. They can’t know about Julian, or they’ll kill him.”

“But it’s daylight,” I hissed softly.

“They have humans working for them,” she whispered. “No time of day is safe.”

My eyebrows shot into my hairline. Fuck, this was a much bigger deal than I ever could have imagined walking into when I came here.

The silence returned. I didn’t know what else to say. If we were being listened to, whatcouldI say without incriminating anyone?

“What are you going to do?” I asked finally, having found a safe question.

She shrugged, pushing a hand into her long brown waves. “I don’t know. My gram finally agreed to teach me magic, so I’m just going to focus on that for a while. Take a break from romance and drama.”

“That’s awesome, Shea,” I said. I knew how much she hated not having access to learning magic. That had been the whole reasonshe wanted to get admitted to the Dome. “And for the record, I think you’d make a fine addition to the school. They’re all idiots for not seeing the potential you could offer us.”

She gave me a half smile. “Yeah, well, doesn’t matter now.” She looked to the wall where a ticking cuckoo clock hung. “My gram should be back soon. First magic lesson!”

I nodded and got up off the couch. “Thanks for letting me come over and vent. And thanks for trusting me with your troubles. They’re safe with me.”

She stood and pulled me into a grateful embrace. “Thank you. Arya’s lucky to have you as a friend.”

I smiled and pulled away. “Good luck with your lesson.”

She held up both hands with her index and middle fingers crossed. “Here’s hoping I don’t burn the house down.”

We laughed as she escorted me to the front door.

“Stay safe,” I said sincerely as I stepped out onto the porch.

“You, too,” she said, then quickly closed the door behind me.

I turned to face the street and the light of the afternoon sun, whose faint warmth did nothing to the chill that rose up my spine. Shea said the vampires had humans working for them during the day. They could be anywhere at any time. And though they weren’t anywhere near as formidable as the vampires themselves, I couldn’t help but feel just as squirrely as Shea had seemed when I arrived.

I scurried at a brisk pace back toward the bus stop, urging the bus to arrive soon so I could feel some sense of safety, of relief.

I couldn’t help but appreciate the irony. I had come here with the intention of sharing a secret that now paled in comparison, andI was walking away with a handful more, each of them far more deadly.

Chapter 14

Shea

As I walked back to the couch, I felt so much lighter, like this massive weight had just been lifted off my shoulders.

I finally told someone everything. I finally wasn’t keeping these secrets alone. I just hoped Ashlyn would keep them, too. I hadn’t meant to tell her about Caesar, and though I was brimming with relief that I did, I couldn’t help but worry that he might get in trouble because of it.

I had to trust Ashlyn. I had to trust that she wouldn’t say anything to Arya. If Arya ever learned about any of this, it had to be from me. And I would tell her. I just had to figure out how and when.

But that was a matter for another time. Now that I’d vented about my relationship problems, I could hopefully focus on my mission for the day—learning magic from Gram. I tried not to get too excited about it as I waited for her to come back with Aunt Janette. This had been the one thing I’d wanted for so long, and I was afraid that Gram might change her mind at the last moment.

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