Page 3 of Deadly Alliances

I allowed them to hoist me up into my seat, and Hadrian entered right behind me, never allowing more than a foot of distance to spread between him and his new prize. My mind whispered not to let him get too close, but my body wouldn’t register the threat. I was just too numb, like an emotional switch had been flipped off.

Besides, I was surrounded by vampires, creatures who thrived on the blood of humans and killed shifters for sport. The cab of the helicopter was a cramped space, and I had no choice but to be shoulder-to-shoulder with at least one of them. There was no sense in fearing one of them more than the others—or at least my internal alarm system didn’t think so.

The helicopter rocked as it left the ground but soon stabilized. I hugged my arms around myself in a futile attempt to keep them from making contact with anyone else.

Hadrian leaned closer, making sure to meet and hold my gaze. “I know this will be hard for you to believe, but I’ve been looking forward to this day for a very long time, Arya.”

His voice sent a chill up my spine, but I didn’t respond in anyother way. I picked a diamond shape in the plating on the floor and stared at it with strict determination.

“That’s alright. You don’t have to talk to me. But it’s a long flight to Washington.” Hadrian folded his arms and leaned back, making himself comfortable.

Washington? Where is he taking me?

But I didn’t say a word. I kept staring at that little metal diamond, clenching my jaw firmly shut the whole way.

Hours passed in this fashion. No one said anything else to me, but Hadrian made idle conversation with his followers. Words were only spoken when Hadrian talked first. I got the impression that his followers weren’t allowed to talk to or around him unless directly invited to. What manner of leader was he?

I didn’t know how long we’d been flying, only that I was getting very tired. But I didn’t dare shut my eyes for longer than a blink.

“And there she is,” Hadrian announced, leaning forward to wave his hand toward the windshield. “Your new home. Heritage Prep.”

I broke my gaze away from my diamond to look out the window. A towering black castle rose against the lightening pre-dawn sky. Tall, pointed towers stretched upward, giving me the impression of upside-down vampire fangs taking a bite out of the sky—a fitting dwelling for the vampire leader. The building was dark and beautiful, just like he was, and I was sure it held just as much evil behind its façade.

The helicopter landed on the widest, flattest part of the roof surrounded by towers. An attendant outside pulled open the door, and everyone in the cabin squeezed against the walls to allow Hadrian to exit first. Hadrian waited outside the door for me, but I didn’t budge, and for a moment, no one else did, either.After a pause, one of the vampires decided to move toward the door.

Hadrian back-handed him across the face, slamming him into the cabin wall and denting the metal.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you that ladies always go first?” Hadrian said with a deadly calm. Somehow, that made him even more terrifying than if he’d yelled it.

I jumped at the sudden assault. Hadrian just hurt his own lacky. And for something as innocent as not wanting to wait for a stubborn girl to get out of a vehicle!

The vampire doubled over in obvious pain. I didn’t know him, but I didn’t want more people getting hurt on my behalf. There’d been enough of that tonight.

Reluctantly, I hopped to my feet and climbed out of the copter. Hadrian took my hand and helped me step down onto the rooftop. Though my hands were chilled by the winter air, Hadrian’s were infinitely colder, intensifying their repugnance.

“I’m sorry about that,” Hadrian said, keeping hold of my hand and tucking it under his other arm, as if to act as my escort. “Good help is so hard to find. Come, let me show you to your room.”

Touching him made me cringe, but try as I might, I couldn’t pull my hand out of his iron grip. He didn’t even seem to notice I was trying.

He led me toward what appeared to be the only door on the roof, which another attendant opened as we approached. We went inside, and were it not for the sconces casting their orange glow on the black walls, I would have thought I’d entered night itself. Everything was black—the walls, the floor, the ceiling. It was hugely unsettling. And the white of the skin of those aroundme was such a striking contrast that they almost seemed to shine like the moon.

We went down a narrow staircase and came out into a wide area. Several staircases were nestled in black cylinders, which at first appeared to be oversized pillars. He led me past an elevator and down another flight of steps.

As Hadrian tugged me through the halls, vampires stopped and stood with their backs against the walls until he passed, few of them daring to cast their eyes above waist level.You know someone is bad when even his followers are terrified of him...

Black banners hung along the walls, bearing some sort of logo—a large red drop symbol in the middle of the words HERITAGE PREP.What kind of place is this?

Finally, he paraded me back up a set of stairs, through the large room again—or at least one that looked similar, I couldn’t be sure—and up one of the winding staircases. He stopped when we reached a landing with a door and released my hand, which I greedily jerked away.

Hadrian held out a black card with the same red drop on it as the banners. “This will be your new room. If you need anything, knock on the door, and your attendants will get you whatever you want. They’ll be standing outside your door at all times.” He gestured to the two bulky, white-faced men on either side of the door.

The thought crossed my mind to refuse the keycard, but the heaviness of my eyelids made a private space too tempting to resist. I took the card with a snap and glared at him straight in the eyes. I refused to show him the same fear everyone else around here did. I wasn’t going to give him that kind of power over me.

“So I’m to be your prisoner then?” I asked behind gritted teeth.

Hadrian smirked, a twinkle in his blue eyes. “You haven’t seen your room yet. I’d hardly call your accommodations a prison. Besides, the dungeons are in the basement.”

“Accommodations I’m not allowed to leave,” I hissed, narrowing my eyes further.

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