Page 34 of Cruel Destinies

I sighed heavily, my mind coming up with several coverups—most of them not very convincing. “Things did not sit well with me after our attack at that alley near the Chicago subway station.”

Hadrian nodded, and I hoped my on-the-spot story was good enough. “Yes, you have always needed to satisfy your memories, haven’t you? Always living in the past.”

“It’s a habit that’s helped with strategic planning,” I commented.

“And it’s also been known to be a complete waste of time,” he countered. “But do tell, please, was your trip a successful strategic move for our cause?”

I stared at him for a few seconds, determining which web of lies I should weave for myself. I decided on the most plausible. “It was the dragon shifters we encountered that drew me back to Chicago.”

“The dragons?” Hadrian asked, cocking his head to the side. “What about the dragons?”

“One of the boys...” I started, dipping into my memories from over one hundred years ago. “The dark-haired one. He resembled a certain enemy of mine from my past.”

I held Hadrian’s penetrating gaze, and I felt as if the vampire leader was looking straight into my mind.

“You believe the dragon we shot down was of Dracul lineage?”

Hearing the name on Hadrian’s tongue filled me with rage, my mind forming the image of Claudette Dracul. I’d blamed a lot of people for ruining my life over the years, but Claudette was one person I’d never be able to forgive.

“If what you say is true,” Hadrian said, rubbing his chin in thought, “then that shows that the Draculs are involved with the shifter school.”

He laughed loudly, casting his eyes about as if my words were the best news in the world. That the Dracul name could bring such happiness to anybody only enraged me further.

“If word gets out that we killed a Dracul, we could rally more of the older vampire lines to our cause. After all, Julian, you are not the only vampire with a cause for hatred against the Draculs.”

I held no malice for any Dracul other than Claudette. The sin of an ancestor didn’t trickle down through the generations. At least, not to me.

“Are we sure we killed that boy?” I asked, crossing my legs and lacing my fingers in my lap. “The shifters have been notoriously good at staying alive, even when we think it’s impossible.”

He snorted. “We riddled that dragon with enough lead to kill him ten times over. But I do suppose there is always the chance he was saved in time. Even if that’s the case, the branch of vampires still holding a grudge against the Draculs will be running at the chance to ensnare them.”

I nodded slowly, resigning myself to the fact that I might have just made matters worse for Caesar and the shifter school. I shouldn’t have brought up the possibility that the dragon shifter we’d encountered in the alley had been a Dracul.

“It sounds like our attempt to capture Arya wasn’t a complete failure, then,” I pointed out.

“We’ll see,” he mused. “But on the subject of Arya, I have a new mission for you.”

I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening, causing Hadrian to grin again.

“I see that sparked your interest.” The vampire leader leaned forward and interlocked his fingers, resting his elbows on the desk. “I want you to personally see to the capture of my daughter.”

“Wh– what?” I stammered.

“As a daywalker, you’re the best option for the job,” he explained. “We know where the shifters enter and exit their school. Eventually, Arya will come out. And when she does, you’ll grab her and bring her to me.”

“This task is being assigned to me alone?” I asked with uncertainty.

“You are fully reinstated here at Heritage Prep.” His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Just as I trusted you before your desertion fifteen years ago, I trust you again now. And you’re the only one who can survive in sunlight. So yes, you’ll be on your own.”

I could hardly believe what he was saying. I’d expected to be trapped at Hadrian’s fortress—or, at the very least, sent out on missions where other vampires could keep an eye on me.

“Nobody else that I trust is as familiar with Chicago as much as you,” Hadrian continued. “Plus, you already know what my daughter looks like. You are the obvious candidate for the mission.”

“I’m honored, Hadrian,” I replied, bowing slightly, attempting to bury the excited emotions that threatened to burst from me. I looked into the vampire leader’s sky-blue eyes. “I will gladly take on this responsibility.”

Hadrian’s face grew serious. “If you succeed and bring Arya to me, you will be rewarded beyond measure. Your status will elevate higher than any other vampire’s—excluding me, that is—and you will have made your mark on vampire history.”

I nodded, having no intention at all to follow through with this task. And if history forgot me, I was okay with that.

---